The next morning, Xu Nian’an went to inquire about Yin Furen’s well-being and returned to find Zhao Huanxi sitting below the window, looking listless, with a hint of dark circles under his eyes, clearly indicating that he hadn’t slept well the previous night.

She found it funny and decided to tell him some interesting stories from the market while they had breakfast together. It worked like a charm; he was soon distracted and his face lit up again with enthusiasm.

After breakfast, seeing that the maids were not around, Zhao Huanxi asked Xu Nian’an in a soft voice, “Can I go and call Zhiyi now?”

Xu Nian’an shook her head, saying, “Who thinks of peaches so early in the morning, unless you’re a monkey?”

Zhao Huanxi couldn’t help but laugh.

Xu Nian’an got up and said, “Let’s take a stroll in the small garden, digest our food, and then come back to practice calligraphy. We’ll call Zhiyi over before noon.”

Zhao Huanxi had no objections. As long as she was by his side, whether strolling in the garden or practicing calligraphy, he wouldn’t be bored.

While called a small garden, it was actually quite spacious compared to the large gardens in the mansion, and its landscaping was meticulously designed.

Among the flowers, there were hidden pavilions, and by the water, there were peaceful pavilions. Unique rocks complemented each other, and curved walls and corridors intertwined. The roses dotted the grey tiles with red, while the Musa Basjoo (Japanese Banana) Tree tinged the pink walls with green. A pond of lotus flowers bloomed quietly and beautifully.

The hour was still early, and in the thick shade of early summer, there were only the gentle morning songs of birds.

Zhao Huanxi was in high spirits, leading Xu Nian’an with light steps along the waterside corridor. As they approached a corner, he stopped and pointed ahead, saying to Xu Nian’an, “Dong Jiejie, you look there. Doesn’t it look like a painting?”

Following his finger, Xu Nian’an saw an elegant pomegranate tree and a delicately shaped rock perfectly framed by the corridor’s columns and eaves. It indeed looked like a natural painting.

“It’s true. Sanlang, you really have such a discerning eye,” Xu Nian’an said joyfully.

“As long as you’re willing to look closely, everything can be a painting,” Zhao Huanxi said, guiding her through the garden and pointing out many scenes that required a specific angle to appreciate their beauty.

“Is this a skill unique to you painters? Did you especially practice it?” Xu Nian’an asked, looking at the young man who appeared as white as a jade doll against the backdrop of deep and light greens, inside a pavilion called Guanyu (Fish Viewing) Pavilion by the lake.

“I didn’t practice it, I naturally see landscapes this way. Maybe the scenery I saw was unforgettable, so I wanted to paint it,” Zhao Huanxi said. He picked up a small stone from the steps of the pavilion, raised it high, and threw it into the lake. With a splash, a pair of brightly coloured mandarin ducks flew out from under the lotus leaves. He hurriedly turned to call Xu Nian’an to see.

The two of them watched the mandarin ducks bathing with relish. Xu Nian’an said to Zhao Huanxi, “I’ve been thinking, why don’t you practice calligraphy in the morning, read books for an hour in the afternoon, and use the rest of the time to paint?”

Zhao Huanxi was initially pleased but then became cautious and asked, “Read books? Read what kind of books?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t make you read the Four Books and Five Classics. Nor do I dictate what you should read. You can read whatever you want. I just feel that since you love painting and have talent, it would be a waste to bury it. But if you keep painting and never leave the residence or the capital, how many beautiful scenes are there to paint?”

As Xu Nian’an spoke, she sat down on the beauty-leaning armchair in the pavilion, and Zhao Huanxi hurriedly followed suit.

美人靠 (měirénkào): Literally "beauty’s lean-to." It is a specific type of traditional architectural feature: a curved, comfortable wooden bench built into the railing of a porch or pavilion. Its elegant shape was designed to allow ladies to lean back and look at the water or garden while remaining graceful. In ancient times, women in the inner chambers could not easily go downstairs and out, so when they felt lonely, they could only lean on the chairs around the courtyard, gazing at the outside world or peeping at the socializing activities downstairs. Therefore, these chairs were elegantly called "beauty-leaning."

)

“The world is so big, and even if a person can go out, there are limits to what the eyes can see. But as you said, when you look with you heart, there are no limits. When one is at home, to look at the world with the heart, the cheapest way is to read. Just like me, I have never been to Jiangnan, but I have Jiangnan in my heart.

“In my heart, the spring of Jiangnan is; ‘On the boat, the sound of music and strings is endless, the river is a piece of emerald green (indicating the spring scenery). The city is full of flying willow catkins, rolling light dust. Busy killing those who stop to admire the flowers!’.

From "望江南·闲梦远" or “Thinking of Jiangnan: A Leisurely Dream”, a ci (a form of classical Chinese poetry) composed by Li Yu, the last ruler of the Southern Tang dynasty. After the fall of the Southern Tang, Li Yu was taken captive and later entered the Song dynasty. In this ci, the poet focuses on depicting the scenery of spring and autumn (in this chapter, she only used the spring part), using a dreamy form to blend imaginary and real scenes into one. Through the dreamlike setting, the poet expresses longing for the tranquil and carefree life in his former country (which was centered in Jiangnan region) and nostalgia for the people there.

“The summer of Jiangnan is; ‘Watching the shorebirds dance again and again, the fragrant breeze rolls up the pearl curtains for ten miles. The painted boats reach the edge of the sky, and the wine flags flutter beyond the wind’.

Extracted from “水仙子·咏江南” or "The Water Immortal: Ode to Jiangnan", a song created by the Yuan Dynasty literary figure Zhang Yanghao. It is also depicting the scenery of Jiangnan but in autumn. Idk why the author used this poem for summer, since all the information I could find relates this poem with autumn. Maybe because usually all autumn poems often carry a sense of desolation, but this song is different. It not only lacks a sense of sadness, but also brims with a rich life atmosphere and is full of optimistic colours and moods, which is perfect for summer.

“The autumn of Jiangnan is; ‘A thousand miles of rivers and mountains, shrouded in the cold (faint autumn) colour. In the reeds deep where a lonely boat moors, the melodious flute plays in the high tower bathed in moonlight’.

This is the continuation/the autumn part of “Thinking of Jiangnan: A Leisurely Dream”.

The winter of Jiangnan is: ‘The light frost has not killed the lush grass, the warm sun has just dried the sandy expanse. The old camphor leaves, yellow like young trees, and the cold cherry branches, white like wildflowers’.

Extracted from “早冬” or “Early Winter”, a seven-character regulated poem written by the Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi. It describes the early winter; the weather in Jiangnan is still clear and pleasant, without the desolate scene of all things withering, but rather lovely like spring.

Xu Nian’an is using various poems to describe the beauty of Jiangnan, although she herself has never been there.

“This Jiangnan that I envision is just a glimpse of Jiangnan that I see in poetry. But what does it matter? Who can say that the Jiangnan in my heart is not the real Jiangnan?” Xu Nian’an looked at Zhao Huanxi and said, “I think you also need such a Jiangnan. Perhaps one day, you will want to paint the Jiangnan with its singing orioles amidst greenery and red blooms, or the many towers in misty rain. But if your eyes have not seen it, and your heart has not experienced it, how will you paint it? Will you never be able to paint Jiangnan in this lifetime?”

Zhao Huanxi listened in fascination, his eyes, with exquisitely shaped contours, shining brightly, fixed on Xu Nian’an. It wasn’t until Xu Nian’an gave him a push that he snapped out of his trance.

“Dong Jiejie, you’re absolutely right!” After coming to his senses, he stood up and excitedly paced back and forth in the pavilion.

“The painting teacher my mother hired for me before was surnamed Feng. Although my relationship with him as student and teacher was brief, there was one thing he said that I’ve always remembered. He said, ‘To paint well, making it look good is just basic skill; to make it spirited is the essence of painting’. I couldn’t understand it at first—how can a painting be spirited? But now I understand. To make a painting spirited, the painter must first have spirit. Where does the spirit come from? It comes from knowledge, from experience, from perspective, and from the depth of one’s understanding of the subject. What if one lacks knowledge and experience? Then one must seek out others’ knowledge and experience! By observing more, one will naturally form one’s own insights. Perhaps my thoughts are still one-sided. But if one doesn’t even have one-sided thoughts, where can one begin?”

Xu Nian’an smiled encouragingly and said, “I think Sanlang’s words make a lot of sense.”

Zhao Huanxi, upon hearing this, smiled shyly, but then became somewhat worried, “But, practicing calligraphy only in the morning, isn’t the time too short? If my calligraphy skills lag behind my painting, what should I do?”

Xu Nian’an replied, “Actually, I’ve never worried that you wouldn’t be able to write well.”

She turned to the side and pointed to an orchid growing in the crevice of a rock below the pavilion, asking Zhao Huanxi, “Can you paint that orchid?”

Zhao Huanxi walked to her side, rested his hands on the railing, leaned over to look at the orchid, then walked to the other corner of the pavilion to observe it again before nodding and saying, “I can.”

“Do you have confidence that you can paint it well?”

“Of course.”

“That settles it. Look at that orchid—some leaves are long, some short, some wide, some narrow, some are stretched out, some curled. In the middle, there are even two peculiar flowers protruding. If you can paint this cluster of orchids beautifully, why wouldn’t your calligraphy be beautiful as well? Each stroke of every character is similar to the leaves of this orchid, isn’t it? If you know how to arrange the branches and leaves of the orchid to make them look beautiful, then you will surely know how to arrange the strokes of the characters to make them look beautiful too.”

Deep in thought, Zhao Huanxi stared at the orchid for a while, then lifted his head and nodded with bright eyes at Xu Nian’an.

At this moment, a young man carrying a long knife and dressed in a short jacket suddenly emerged from a cave in the rockery.

With his sleeves rolled up, his limbs were long and slender. When he wiped his sweat, the muscles on his forearms bulged solidly. He looked up and saw Zhao Huanxi and Xu Nian’an in the pavilion. After a moment of hesitation, he nodded to them and actually turned around, leaving through another path.

Xu Nian’an was good at remembering people, but on the second day of the wedding when she went to kowtow at Songmao Hall, there were just too many relatives of the Zhao family, and some who didn’t make much of an impression on her, she couldn’t recall very clearly. She vaguely remembered that this person seemed to be one of the descendants of the Zhao family, but she couldn’t remember which branch or what his name was.

“That is…” Seeing him leave, Xu Nian’an turned her questioning gaze to Zhao Huanxi.

“That’s Huanrong Tangxiong, three years older than me, he’s a shu son from the Fourth Branch. His Yiniang passed away early, quite pitiful.” Zhao Huanxi said.

“Does he love martial arts?” Xu Nian’an asked.

Zhao Huanxi nodded, “He loves playing with knives and fists, and nothing else. Zhao Huanxu and the others often teased him and gave him a nickname, ‘Martial Arts Fool’. He didn’t provoke or offend them, so why should they tease him like this? If he’s a ‘Martial Arts Fool’, then what are they? Book Fool?”

Xu Nian’an chuckled, looking at the indignant young man in front of her, and joked, “This is what they say as those with the same illness sympathise with each other.”

Zhao Huanxi was stunned, then embarrassed and annoyed. His eyes widened as he stared at Xu Nian’an, looking like he wanted to fight her back but didn’t know how to start.

Seeing his reaction, Xu Nian’an couldn’t help but laugh even more, covering her mouth with a handkerchief and laughing uncontrollably.

“Hmph! I’m ignoring you!” He huffed and turned away, running down to the pavilion.

By the time Xu Nian’an slowly walked down to the pavilion, he had already run along the cobblestone path for five or six yards, pretending to watch the fish by the bridge.

Xu Nian’an smiled slightly, calmly walked to the edge of the pond, squatted down, and stretched out her arm to pick a lotus leaf.

“Ai, ai! You, be careful not to fall in! Let me do it!” He ran back again.

After a moment, the two returned to Shenhui Courtyard. From afar, they saw Zhao Yujie lingering in front of the courtyard’s screen wall.

影壁 (yingbi) -screen wall; is used to shield an entrance gate. So here it means that he does not get in their courtyard. (remember XNA’s instruction not to let anyone in w/o permission?)

Zhao Huanxi hesitated for a moment. Xu Nian’an smiled gently and said, “I’ll go back first.”

After a while, Zhao Huanxi returned to the study and found that Xu Nian’an had already arranged the flowers they brought back.

Two graceful lotus leaves, a plump flower bud, and two palm leaves with trimmed ends were artfully arranged in a black hexagonal vase with icy cracks on its surface, placed on his desk. Seeing this sight made one’s heart calm.

“Did you arrange this? It looks really nice,” he exclaimed joyfully, admiring it for a while.

“Just a small skill for my own amusement,” Xu Nian’an said modestly as she approached the bookshelf, then turned to ask him, “Which character would you like to practice today?”

Zhao Huanxi thought for a moment and said, “Let’s go with 《Memorial for Nephew》.”

Xu Nian’an found the copybook for him and casually pulled out a book of《Lü’s Spring and Autumn Annals》 to read from the bookshelf.

Zhao Huanxi wrote a few characters at the desk, but his mind was still unsettled. He looked up at Xu Nian’an, who was reading by the window, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke up, “Dong Jiejie, Jie Ge’er said that Daixue asked him to pass on a message to me, saying she wants to see me to end things between us.”

Xu Nian’an looked over. The young man behind the desk looked half confused and half at a loss.

She covered her lower jaw with the book, chuckled, and said, “You see, if you don’t go see her, she must be thinking a lot, right? Put yourself in her shoes. If you were her and she had married someone else, and after many days of marriage, she didn’t come to see you, would you feel at ease?”

The young man thought carefully and muttered softly, “If that’s the case, I can rest assured.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing, I didn’t say anything,” he replied hastily.

“What’s your plan then?”

“I…” Zhao Huanxi looked down at the characters he had written on the desk, then looked up at Xu Nian’an and said, “Maybe I’ll go see her today.”

Xu Nian’an nodded. “Remember what I told you last time. This evening, I’ll cover for you to go see her.”

With this matter settled, Zhao Huanxi felt relieved and focused on practicing calligraphy seriously.

✦

Around the Si hour (9:00 am to 11:00 am), Nuanxing arranged the lychees, cherries, and sweet melons sent by Yin Furen into a plate and brought them to the study. Xu Nian’an instructed her, “Send someone to the Second Gate to call Zhiyi over.”

After Nuanxing left, the young couple put down their books and pens, sitting on either side of a small table under the window to rest.

Zhao Huanxi peeled a lychee for Xu Nian’an, and Xu Nian’an forked a piece of sweet melon for him.

“When Zhiyi arrives later, do you know what to ask him and how to ask?” Xu Nian’an asked Zhao Huanxi.

After some thought, Zhao Huanxi said, “I’ll ask him to find out if my Si Jie has been wronged in the Wu Residence?”

Xu Nian’an shook her head. “Your question is too general. If the question is too broad, the answer will also be vague, which is not conducive to us understanding the specific situation.”

Zhao Huanxi quickly sought advice, “Then what should I ask and how?”

Xu Nian’an analyzed, “A woman can only be wronged in her husband’s family by three types of people: parents-in-law, sisters-in-law, and the husband himself. If it’s the parents-in-law or sisters-in-law who have caused trouble for your Si Jie, with Pomu’s experience of running the household for many years, she should be able to give her advice, rather than venting her frustration on you. So, I suspect that the grievance is mostly caused by your Jiefu. And when a woman is pregnant, what kind of trouble can her husband cause her?”

Zhao Huanxi clenched his fist and said, “Taking a concubine! This… this…” He seemed to want to curse Wu Cheng but couldn’t think of the right words, so he stopped.

Xu Nian’an continued, “Your Si Jie has already given birth to Ying Jie’er before. If it’s about taking a concubine during pregnancy, it’s not the first time, and theoretically, it shouldn’t have made your Si Jie so upset. The problem should lie with the newly taken concubine. When Zhiyi comes later, you just need to instruct him to find out the following points. First, after your Si Jiejie became pregnant, did her husband take a new concubine? Second, where is this concubine from? Who approved her entry into the residence? Third, how did this concubine behave in front of your Si Jie after entering the residence? Once these three points are clarified, we can discuss the rest later.”