As dusk neared, Tang Manor had been fully prepared, adorned top to bottom with bright red silk. It looked joyous and festive.
The father and son of the Tang family chatted with Mr. Chen for quite a while, recalling past etings. Each story piled up, making one feel emotional.
Ti was ever changing, yet if it stayed exactly the sa, people would grow restless. Short wasn’t good, long wasn’t either—a constant contradiction.
The glow of twilight filtered into the courtyard. Chen Changsheng had supper at the Tang Manor. In his leisure, he pondered how to bring up what he needed to say.
But then, Yun Xiang spoke up: “Shall I accompany you for a walk to the lotus pond beyond the lane?”
The Tang father and son exchanged a glance. Tang Mingjing said: “This year’s lotus flowers bloom especially beautiful. It’s the perfect season. Now that Mr. Chen is here, you can see them again.”
Chen Changsheng gave a slight nod. “That was exactly my thought.”
Tang Mingjing stayed behind at the manor, claiming he needed to prepare for tomorrow’s wedding. Before leaving, he even gave Yun Xiang a aningful look.
Yun Xiang pursed her lips, feeling rather shy.
The servants did not follow. Yun Xiang walked out of Tang Manor with Mr. Chen, heading beyond the district wall.
Lotus Root Lane was as peaceful and serene as usual.
Beneath the setting sun, people on the street strolled slowly, enjoying the most relaxing ti of day.
Yun Xiang walked alongside Mr. Chen. She glanced at him occasionally, seeming like she wanted to say sothing. But lacking the courage, she couldn’t bring herself to speak.
Mr. Chen’s gaze fell on a Preserved Fruit Shop by the street. “This shop is still open.”
Yun Xiang replied: “It’s been open for many years.”
Having said that, she stepped towards the Preserved Fruit Shop.
A woman guarded the shop, accompanied by a seven or eight-year-old girl.
Yun Xiang smiled warmly. “He Niang, please pack so preserved fruit for .”
“Ah, Miss Yun. You’re here!”
He Niang, the shop owner, greeted her with a smile. “What would you like today?”
“More lon strips, please. And anything else is fine too.”
Yun Xiang took out her purse.
“Ah!”
He Niang quickly stopped her. “Miss Yun, you really shouldn’t pay! You’re the proprietor. It doesn’t make sense to pay for things in your own shop.”
“To avoid ssy accounts.” Yun Xiang smiled mildly. “Please take the money.”
He Niang knew she couldn’t argue, sighed, and accepted the paynt.
Yun Xiang turned back, holding the preserved fruit. She approached Mr. Chen’s side.
She handed him a wax-paper package of the preserved fruit.
Chen Changsheng couldn’t help saying: “I already received the preserved fruit you sent before. Even more… I fear I won’t finish it all.”
Yun Xiang blinked. “But it’s been so long. They must have spoiled.”
“They won’t spoil,” Chen Changsheng replied.
Yun Xiang processed this, still holding the package, determined to give it to him.
Chen Changsheng asked: “By the way, when did you beco the proprietor of this shop?”
Yun Xiang looked up. “Ah, you heard…”
“It was just by chance I overheard.”
Walking alongside him, she said: “After you left that year, He Niang found a good husband and intended to follow him away from town. That’s when I took over the shop. Then war broke out. He Niang’s husband was drafted into the army… he never returned.”
“With no husband to wait for, life got very tough. So I invited He Niang back to manage the Preserved Fruit Shop. That’s why it lasted till now.”
Yun Xiang picked a lon strip from the package and offered it to Mr. Chen.
“Try it, sir. Still the sa taste as all those years ago.”
Chen Changsheng accepted it. After thinking briefly, he placed it in his mouth.
He vaguely rembered not actually tasting the lon strips those years ago. Yet now, inexplicably, it felt familiar.
Perhaps it was simply because he stood before soone long known.
Yun Xiang murmured softly: “In the blink of an eye, He Niang is a wife and mother.”
Even she herself had grown up.
After hearing this, Chen Changsheng said: “I too sotis feel moved by it all, yet it feels unreal. For these many years, you all moved forward step by step.”
“Only I… passed by like a dream about golden millet. Hazy and indistinct.”
Yun Xiang seed to grasp his aning but managed a tense smile. “Worldly affairs trouble the heart. Rembering too much may only lead to deep regret in the end. Sir, forgetting more things… might be a good thing.”
Chen Changsheng looked at her. “Perhaps…”
They walked out of Lotus Root Lane.
Before them stretched the lotus pond rging with the sky, lotus blossoms basking under the sun. All they saw were shades of crimson and bright green jade.
They stood near its bank, admiring the view.
Yun Xiang said: “I recall how Sir said this place was beautiful long ago. Back then, I never asked if you thought the lotus flowers lovely or simply the pond’s scenery itself. Well, I simply planted more of them all these years.”
Chen Changsheng’s lips parted slightly. He recalled the letter once left with a jade pendant.
In that mont, lost in mories, he could scarcely tell whether the figure before him was Yun Xiang, or Zhu Qi.
Chen Changsheng said: “My ties to mortals snap just as I touch them. They do not last. To cling… does not guarantee an echo. You should understand this truth, Miss Yun.”
Hearing this, Yun Xiang lowered her eyes. She gazed at the lotus blooms in the pond. Squatting down, she reached a hand to touch them.
“You said those words long ago too, Sir.”
Yun Xiang said: “You told then that of all people in the world, nine in ten were bound to walk a different path from yours. It is your destiny.”
Chen Changsheng looked down at her. “Perhaps not even that scarce one in ten remains.”
Yun Xiang shook her head slightly. A lotus flower stirred before her.
“Petals fall to reveal seedpods. Drought exposes the roots. Lotus seeds drop into water, becoming one more cycle of the seasons. This lotus pond is at its most beautiful… only during Huai Xu (its peak bloom ti).”
Rising to her feet, she said: “This world truly holds no perfectly flawless things. Why insist on achieving it then? I clearly see in my heart I cannot catch up to Sir’s steps.”
“I simply hope you might rember this lotus pond in free monts to co, Sir. Just co to admire its sunset beauty from ti to ti. That is enough.”
Yun Xiang watched Mr. Chen, awaiting his answer.
Chen Changsheng withdrew his gaze. With a soft sigh, he asked: “A human life is painfully short. So things simply aren’t worth it.”
Even those embarking upon the Path of Immortality couldn’t be assured of a good outco.
Yun Xiang looked directly at him. “Sir may find it unworthy, but to …”
“It is worth it.”
eting her steadfast gaze, Chen Changsheng found himself montarily lost for words.
Coming here, he had prepared reasoned phrases. Yet truly facing this mont, tenderness stirred unbidden in his heart.
All spoke of destiny as heaven’s decree. But truly… Was fate only Heaven’s doing?
Sotis even Chen Changsheng suspected his eting Yun Xiang wasn’t pure chance.
The notion of ‘Fate’ seed marvelously elusive… Yet now, drifting into thought, he felt those two words truly did harm more than good.
He looked upon the pond thickly covered with lotus blooms. He spoke a promise.
“If I find free ti… I will co to this place frequently.”
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