Lekui, carrying the food box, was also filled with emotion.
"Yes, I miss the Second Miss too. Now that Madam and Master are missing, our Zhao family is in trouble..." She shook her head as she said this.
They had just walked past the artificial hill when Li Huai'an came over from the other side with a scroll in his hand.
He heard every word they said.
He tucked the scroll under his arm and strode quickly toward his mother's courtyard.
Bai Lian saw Li Huai'an coming from afar and ran inside with a smile to announce his arrival.
"Madam, the young master is here," she said with a gentle smile.
Bai Wei yawned and had Bai Lian help her with a quick wash. Just as she finished getting ready, Li Huai'an entered the room.
"Good morning, Mother!" He greeted Bai Wei while gesturing for Bai Lian to go out first.
Bai Lian understood that the mother and son must have something to discuss, so she lowered her head and left the room.
"An'er, what's all this secrecy about?" Bai Wei asked as she buttoned the top button of her white brocade cotton-padded jacket.
Li Huai'an noticed a new mark on her neck. If he wasn't mistaken, it was a hickey from after they had sex.
It must have been that after Father had his fun with that woman at the Hidden Spring Pavilion, he returned home and became intimate with Mother.
He suddenly felt nauseous.
Li Huai'an turned his back, placed the scroll on the tea table to the side, and slowly unfurled it.
"You came back so late yesterday, did you go to the Hidden Spring Pavilion? Did you see Zhang Fang?"
After Bai Wei buttoned her clothes, she immediately recognized that the painting Li Huai'an had brought was by Zhang Fang. Her series of questions also made Li Huai'an realize that she and Zhang Fang might have indeed had a deeply unforgettable relationship when they were young.
“I went to see Zhang Fang. This painting is what he asked me to bring to you. Mother, he also asked me to give you a jar of Shefu tea, but I accidentally broke it,” Li Huai’an said with some guilt.
"Was it you who caused the commotion at Pear Fragrance Courtyard last night?" Bai Wei asked with a smile, her gaze lingering on the painting.
Li Huai'an, observing his mother's expression, replied, "It was Yue Kui, the maidservant of Aunt Rou, who mistook me for a thief and hit me with a peach!"
“That girl is quite loyal. I like her very much. I was thinking of asking you if you like her. I think that although Le Kui is a bit clumsy with words and straightforward, she is honest and much more pleasing to the eye than Liu Mei. If you like her, you might as well take her in.”
"Mother!" Li Huai'an quickly interrupted his mother, "What do you take your son for?"
Bai Wei reached out and carefully ran her hand over the painting, smiling as she said, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about it anymore. I'm just saying this now: you're my only child in this life, so you have to give me lots of grandchildren to make up for my regrets..."
She paused abruptly, a look of disbelief on her face. She then reached out her other hand and gently stroked the shimmering surface of the lake, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears.
Unbeknownst to others, these were secret markings she and Zhang Fang made in the painting when they were young.
The coded message left by Zhang Fang in this painting is: "Gentle waves caress the past, childhood sweethearts are always together. The riddle in the painting hides deep feelings, a river winds around the heart, we grow old together on both banks, may the unfinished bond in this life continue for a long time."
She murmured, "For my sake, he has never married, wasting half his life. He..."
"Wei'er, are you dressed? I'm coming in!" Li Zan's voice suddenly came from the courtyard.
Upon hearing his father's voice, Li Huai'an felt a sudden unease.
He exchanged a glance with Bai Wei, then quickly rolled up the scroll, while Bai Wei calmly took a damp cloth and pretended to wash her face.
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