“The Huo Family is pretty straightforward and easy to deal with.” After lunch, Madam Gu went back with Huo Qingling while Song Zaishui brought Wei Changying back to Jianjia Court where she lived. Peeling a pomegranate, she smiled, “It is too costly to refuse a marriage from the royal family. Plus, Her Highness Princess Anji is not in favor. Hence, all they need to do after the marriage is for her to obey them. After that, they don’t need to worry that Her Highness Princess Anji will use her status as a Princess from the royal family to bully them, so they accepted the marriage. It’s just that since you were the main culprit of this matter, they can’t just suck it up like that without getting some benefits from you. Did you get what she meant?”

Wei Changying was not as relaxed as she was and said with a worried frown, “That’s the main reason why I’m so troubled. Well, Huo Zhaoyu was originally one of the people my mother-in-law had in mind for my sister-in-law! When my mother-in-law found out that I had recommended him to Her Highness Princess Anji, she humiliated me so bad! If it hadn’t been for Shuguang, I wouldn’t have known how I would have gotten out of this. The worst part is that now Madam Gu is implying that she wants Huo Qingling to marry my sixth brother, Liankun.”

Song Zaishui was stunned for a moment before she let out a laugh, “Gosh! You did just rob your mother-in-law’s choice of husband for your sister-in-law for the Princess! And now you’ll have to use her son to make amends for this matter. If I were your mother-in-law, I would be furious, too.”

Seeing her frown in sorrow, Song Zaishui reassured her, “Anyways, Madam Gu only asked for your mother-in-law's opinion. She didn't ask you to guarantee the marriage, right? Like I just said, if the Huo Family really didn’t want Huo Zhaoyu to marry a Princess, we can just tell the elders so they could call it off. It's not like she wants it anyways. Well, in that case, you don't really owe the Huo Family anything.”

Wei Changying sighed, “The problem is, how do you think I'm going to tell my mother-in-law about this? I don't know how to tell her about the marriage between Huo Zhaoyu and Princess Anji, not to mention Liankun’s marriage. Madam Gu was trying to be polite. She was implying so bad that Huo Zhaoyu’s future had been screwed up by me. How can I live up to the Huo Family if I don't make it up to them? The Huo Family is of the aristocratic family, and Huo Zhaoyu is the lineal son. They’re never short of money. What else can I do to make it up to them if I don't follow what she said? If I had known this would happen, I would’ve rather let Princess Qingxin ask me to kneel for three hours in King Run’s mansion.”

“That fussy little Princess doesn't know any better! Empress Gu must’ve done something bad in her past life to be able to give birth to her and the Crown Prince. The Empress is trying so hard to woo the gentlefolks while the two siblings are as rude as they can be.” Song Zaishui sneered and said, “But you have nothing to fear for, right? You have my little nephew to back you up now. You've admitted that you’re treated well because of your son! Why are you worried about seeing your mother-in-law all of a sudden? No matter how mad your mother-in-law is, she won’t mistreat you too badly for the sake of Shuguang. Just do it! Your mother-in-law has nothing to be angry about. You've already said that Huo Zhaoyu is only one of the candidates your mother-in-law is considering for your sister-in-law, so there must be somebody else she has in mind. If he had been the only candidate she had in mind, she would have discussed it earlier as your sister-in-law has already reached her age of marrying. The only reason why they didn't do so is that they either had a better candidate in mind or felt that Huo Zhaoyu wasn't good enough.”

“As for the matter of Huo Qingling, your mother-in-law’s son is nothing more than a son of the concubine. The Shen Family has so many sons. Do they have to marry the lineal daughters from the gentlefolks? In this case, demand exceeds supply. You get me? It's not like all the ladies are waiting for someone from the Shen Family to marry them! Isn't your fourth brother’s wife from the aristocratic family too? She is even the lineal eldest daughter-in-law in Count Xiangning’s mansion! Huo Qingling is not worse than Pei Meiniang. Even if the marriage doesn't work out, it's not an insult to the Shen Family, either. Moreover, I think Mrs. Gu's intention is for her daughter to marry a good man. If your mother-in-law doesn't like Huo Qingling, you can find her another man. Don’t forget the six gentlefolks! Huo Qingling has a pretty good family background, and she’s pretty and talented too, so it’s impossible that none of them from the six gentlefolks wants to court her.”

After being encouraged by her, Wei Changying felt much better and asked about Song Yuwang, “Is uncle not home yet? I wonder if I can meet him if I go back before dinner?” During the banquet for celebrating Shen Shuguang getting one month old, Song Yuwang had gone over to visit his grandnephew, but he only stayed at the main hall to drink wine throughout the banquet and was said to have hugged his baby grandnephew. However, Wei Changying was at the back hall and missed the chance to meet him.

When Song Zaishui heard this, she said, “I knew you would finally be able to meet my father today. These days he is not as busy as he was last year, and he will be back in a while.”

Hearing this, Wei Changying was busy looking at her clothes and accessories to see if she was presentable. Song Zaishui laughed, “Don't worry about it. You are very neat and tidy. Besides, Father is here to meet you, not your clothes or accessories.”

“I don't believe you didn't re-check your clothes and accessories before entering Ruiyu Hall when you arrived in Fengzhou last time!” Wei Changying scoffed.

Song Zaishui smiled and said, “Unfortunately, you weren't there. Even if I had checked it over and over again for days, you wouldn't have known, nor could you have made fun of me. But now you are doing it right in front of me, so I’m laughing at you for that.”

“Cousin, you’re being so mean to me.” Wei Changying sighed, “Won't I be known as the cousin to be made fun of if this goes on? How is that alright?”

Song Zaishui smiled in triumph, “Don’t forget how much you teased me back when we were at Fengzhou? It's time for me to revenge!” She stretched out her finger to scratch Wei Changying’s cheek and laughed, “From now on, you have to be a good cousin for me to treat you well. Or else, be prepared to be bullied by me!”

Wei Changying said righteously, “You wish! I know what I can do to you! When I see my uncle later, I'll tell him that you're bullying me! I'll ask him to reprimand you!”

“You’re all grown up now, and your firstborn is already a month old.” Song Zaishui sighed, “Yet you still have the nerve to go and cry to your uncle about me? What else can I do as a cousin if you’re so shameless? If you really do it, I’ll have no choice but to be the good person and apologize to you.”

“No matter how old I am, I’ll always be my uncle’s niece and your younger cousin.” Wei Changying was not shameless at all and said, “You are older than me, yet you have the nerve to bully me, so why should I be ashamed to complain about you?”

Song Zaishui scoffed, “Well, do it then! I’ll spread the word and let everyone laugh at you.”

“Well, true, they’ll laugh at me alright, but you can’t get away with it too, cousin. I’m your lineal cousin!”

The two of them were laughing and joking around when Qiujing came over to report, “Old Master has returned and is very happy to hear that Miss is here. He said he would get changed at the back hall before meeting you in the living room. Miss, please wait for a while.”

Upon hearing that, the two of them stood up immediately and asked their maidservants to groom them. After checking each other’s appearance, Song Zaishui brought Wei Changying to wait in the living room.

The living room was built on the banks of a lotus pond, with the south side of the living room directly built on the waters. By this time of the day, as the sun was already shining in the west, the bamboo curtain and the silk curtain, which were usually hung over to shade the sun, were rolled up at one corner. Through the glass, the lotus flowers outside the south window were so vast that the Bridge of Nine Turnings which they had passed on their way here was out of sight.

The room was elegantly furnished, and it was pretty obvious that it was a place to welcome visitors that were close to the family. Several paintings and calligraphies done by Song Yuwang were seen to be hung around the room. He was not known for his paintings and calligraphy, nor had he ever been known to think highly of them, so he would not have hung his own work here if this wasn’t a place to greet visitors who were close to him in case he did not avoid making a fool of himself.

Wei Changying glanced at the paintings, which were composed mostly of lotus flowers. The flowers were featured in different seasons of the year. Perhaps, it was because of this lotus pond surrounding the living room itself.

In addition to the in-house accessories, ice boxes filled with melons and fruit for a fresh aroma were placed in the corners to protect them from the heat.

The two of them joked around for some time, yet Song Yuwang was nowhere to be seen. Song Zaishui sent someone to see what was going on. It was only after a long time that the servant returned and said, “There was a visitor, so Old Master had to greet them at the front hall. He asked the two of you to wait for him a little while more. He will come back after seeing the visitor off.” The servant went on, “Old Master said that if you find this place boring, you can head back to Jianjia Court to have some rest first.”

“That's not necessary. We'll just wait here for uncle.” Wei Changying said.

Song Zaishui who was familiar with her own house said, “True, it's a bit of a hassle to go back and forth, so let's just wait here. Never mind. This living room is so boring. I'll take you to my father's study to see if there are any books you like. We can get a couple of them to kill some time.”

She led her out through the side door of the living room onto a corridor. Through a small atrium, Song Yuwang's study was located at the very end.

The study was quite large with clear windows and excellent lighting. Inside, there was a full range of ink, paper, and inkstones, all of which were of high quality and were mostly from the previous dynasty. The bookshelves were also well-stocked with ancient books.

The two of them chose a few books. Wei Changying thought that since her uncle would probably get to them in a few minutes and that she might not be able to finish a whole book, she picked a thin book that consisted of poems from the past. But Song Yuwang was entangled. When she finished reading the book, her uncle was still nowhere to be seen. She turned to talk to Song Zaishui. But upon seeing that Song Zaishui was busy reading a book, Wei Changying decided not to disturb her. Realizing that the study was pretty huge, she started walking around the study.

As she looked at the study, she suddenly noticed that a painting that was hanging on the wall was inscribed with her uncle's name. She stood and looked at it carefully. She scanned the painting, which was a vast expanse of lotus flowers and leaves. The lotus was supposed to be a noble and serene flower, with vibes of tranquility. But in this painting, the color contract was quite strong. There were three colors, blue, red, and white, which reflected the poignant and overwhelming beauty of the painting.

Upon observing the painting, Wei Changying stopped breathing for a moment as her heart skipped a bit. Calming down, she thought, “There are a few paintings of lotus flowers by my uncle which were hung outside as well. But why are they different from the ones here? Judging by the vibes of these paintings, I wouldn’t have thought they were from the same person if it hadn’t been for their similarities in terms of brushwork.”

She couldn't help but look at the words on the painting, which took up most of the painting. Upon further inspection, it was a written tribute. She knew it was written seven years ago as the time was stated in the opening paragraph. “One summer seven years ago, a mild breeze sent me the summer heat as the bright moon fell on the building. I heard someone singing in the middle of the night and looked through the dressing table in front of the window. I saw a shadow in the dark, and I was so happy. But alas, it was a dream, and I sighed with disappointment. I got up, prepared my ink, and wrote down my thoughts.”

It went on like this.

“The tulip incense had not been incinerated for a long time, and there was dust on my guqin.”

“The color of the hairpins and earrings in the trousseau faded while the red silk on the wrist left a deep mark.”

“I remembered it was you who tied the red silk on me and teased that it could keep us together forever.”

“In the middle of the night, when I dreamt of you coming back, I was overjoyed to fulfill the promise.”

“But all I could see was my shadow alone, flickering among the candlelight. Looking at my grey hair in the mirror, I despised the longevity of my life!”

“I looked up to the sky, saw the brightness of the moon, and felt more miserable. I was reminded of the day of our marriage while we whispered until midnight.”

“We made a promise that we would love each other and grow old together. We were covered by the quilt embroidered with the mandarin duck while the full moon was shining in the sky.”

“I was leaning against the red fence with a distressed heart. I was overlooking the lotus pond with a breaking heart.”

“There were lots of leaves of the water caltrop and the lotus. The mild breeze was fragrant.”

“Though the night was raging, I knew that the day was scorching.”

“I used to take you on the orchid boat, while I used the laurel paddle on the green leaves, against the red flowers, and into the depths of the lotus flowers.”

“At that time, we played all kinds of musical instruments, picked the lotus, peeled the water caltrop, played in the water, and caught fish. We would jokingly tease about catching fish back then!”

“You pretended to be angry. You held a lotus flower, filled it with water, and pour the water over me. My clothes were wet. We came back, laughing. The sound of your delicate voice shook the waves as your lotus-colored skirt shone with the summer light.”

“The lotus pond is still the same, and the moon is still hanging brightly in the sky. But alas, the orchid boat was burnt and the guqin was hidden. All that’s left is a sad song!”

“The hibiscus was still here, and I seemed to sense your soul. The song was so quiet, and I was here thinking of you.”

“In the midnight, my tears wetted the paper. I loved you so much that I couldn’t express all my feelings. I remembered the promise I made to you in the past that I would put our coffins in the same grave to be with you forever. Wait for me in the underworld and wait for me to reunite with you in the next life. We will never be apart!”

Wei Changying first looked at the painting that was filled with moody vibes and then at the heartfelt tribute. With a heavy heart, she thought, “My uncle was in his prime when he lost his spouse. but he refused to remarry even when he was the only lineal son of my grandfather. Even though he had two cousins, there weren’t enough children to lift the family’s spirits. Yet he insisted not to remarry. My uncle and his wife were so in love with each other. The tribute was written seven years ago, but it is still hanging on the wall of the study with no signs of dust. Obviously, it is because it is cleaned from time to time. Seems like uncle has never forgotten my late aunt. Now I know why he took no interest in any other women.”

“Father still has a piece of red silk rope tied around his wrist!” Wei Changying didn’t know when Song Zaishui had also put down her book and walked over. She looked at the painting and said leisurely, “It is said that when my mother was alive, she liked to take the red silk ropes and weave them into bracelets for my father so he could wear them. Because there were so many of them, my father couldn't even wear them in time. Later, when my mother passed away, my father wore them all the time. Till this day, he still has one with him. Instead of throwing the worn-out ones, he kept them safe and sound.”

Wei Changying sighed, “It’s such a pity my aunt passed away. My uncle and aunt are so in love with each other.”

“Yeah!” Song Zaishui pursed her lips and said softly, “Don't mention this matter or this painting when you see Father later. Every time someone mentions Mother, he is really sad although he doesn’t mention it aloud.”

Wei Changying didn't expect her uncle to still suffer over the loss of his wife, so she couldn't help but be astonished. Making a mental note, she asked, “How's it going with my uncle?”

“He finally got rid of the visitors.” Song Zaishui said, “You’re so engrossed in this painting? You didn't even hear what Dongjing said when she came to report.”

“In that case, shall we go back to the living room and wait for my uncle?” Wei Changying suggested. She didn’t notice Dongjing at all. She thought that since Song Yuwang still couldn’t get over his late wife, it would be better to not let him know that she had seen the paintings he dedicated to his late wife in his study.