Siyan's retirement villa sat on the gentle slopes of Yuquan Mountain's southern foothills. As the carriage rolled over the bluestone pavement, covered in a thin layer of ice, Su Jinli lifted a corner of the curtain to reveal gilded eaves dotted among the pines and cypresses that dotted the mountain. The morning mist, like a veil, enveloped the clusters of pavilions into a breathtaking landscape painting. Three artificial lakes lay in a triangular pattern. A nine-curve bridge spanned the southernmost lotus pond. Its white marble railings, carved with entwined lotus patterns, shone like cool jade in the morning light.
"I'm talking to you, Siyan," Su Jinli stepped on the footrest handed to her by the servant and stepped off the carriage. The pearls on her red gold and kingfisher hairpin brushed against the shaft, making a small sound. "Are you building a villa or a dragon palace?" She pointed at the red lacquer gate in front of her. The door nails were made of pure gold with animal faces, which made people dizzy in the sunlight. "The door of the prime minister's residence is only nine feet high. I'm afraid your door will pierce the sky, right?"
Si Yan wore a brocade robe with a pattern of eight happy reunions, and the ruby pendant on his hair crown swung as he jogged. As he stepped forward to support Su Jinli, the red gold abacus chain peeked from his sleeve. "Mother, this door was carved by the Lu family workshop in Suzhou. The door frame is made of thousand-year-old nanmu wood, and the pine and crane longevity pattern took three full months to carve..."
"Why does Songhe Yannian need such a high door?" Su Jinli raised her eyebrows, and the ruby pendant on her hairpin happened to fall on the word "nian" on the door plaque "Songhe Yannian Manor". "I think you made some money from the bookstore and you are burning it!" As soon as she finished speaking, a egret flew over from the direction of the artificial lake, and the tip of its wings swept across the lake, causing ripples.
Jiang Yan got off the carriage and reached out to smooth Su Jinli's wind-twisted hair. His fingertips touched the familiar red mole behind her ear. "Si Yan's filial piety is rare." He looked at the wind chimes hanging from the eaves of the villa. The bronze bells swayed in the mountain breeze, making a clear sound. "Back in the Prime Minister's Mansion, didn't you also say that I was wasting money buying sugar paintings?"
Su Jinli glared at him, but couldn't help but think of the man squatting in front of the sugar painting stall twenty years ago, using his few copper coins to buy her a phoenix sugar painting. Now his temples were frosted, but his cuffs were still stained with ink from reviewing documents last night.
Entering the villa, the bluestone slabs beneath my feet were polished to a mirror-smooth finish, reflecting the lotus pattern on Su Jinli's skirt. The koi in the pond were as long as my arm, their scales gleaming like rubies in the sunlight. Si Yan said they were "fire unicorns" specially brought from the South China Sea, each costing a hundred taels of silver. The rockery was stacked with Taihu stones, and embedded in the cracks were night-shining pearls the size of pigeon eggs. The housekeeper said that at night, the entire courtyard would be illuminated.
"Si Yan," Jiang Yan suddenly stopped by the pond and looked at the koi swimming in the water, "This fish... seems like I saw it in West Lake that year?" He remembered taking Su Jinli on a boat trip. She squatted at the bow of the boat to watch the fish, and the hairpin in her hair almost fell into the water.
Si Yan immediately smiled apologetically, the abacus beads jingling softly in his sleeve. "Dad, you have a good memory! It's the one you said looked like ruby back then. I specially had a merchant ship bring it back from the South China Sea." As he spoke, he couldn't help but pull out the abacus from his sleeve. "Look, Mom, last month the bookstore published 'Miscellaneous Notes on Jiangnan'. The print run alone is..."
"Stop!" Su Jinli raised her hand to stop him. "I don't want to hear your reckoning!" She looked at the agate tiles inlaid by the pond and suddenly remembered Si Yan as a child, squatting in the accounting office, counting twenty-three copper coins with a chipped abacus. "This villa is too extravagant. Your father and I won't live there!"
Si Yan was dumbfounded, and nearly dropped the abacus. "Mom! This was built according to your preferences! Look at that warm room, it's filled with imported glass from the West, and it's the warmest place to bask in the sun in the winter..."
"My preference is to live in the old house in the prime minister's residence!" Su Jinli stood beside the Taihu stone with her hands on her hips. The night-shining pearls on the stone made her face flicker. "Look at this yard. It's so big that you can run horses there. We have to hire twenty maids just to sweep the floor. What a waste!" As soon as she finished speaking, a group of maids came by carrying a fumigation basket. The hot steam blurred the end of her words.
Jiang Yan stepped forward and patted Su Jinli's back, then winked at Si Yan: "Your mother is always quick with words. Try staying here for a few days." He gazed at the warm room with a glazed tile roof in the distance and thought of Su Jinli's old winter illness. "This villa is backed by mountains and faces the water. It's indeed warmer than the city."
Si Yan nodded quickly, the abacus chain jingling around her waist. "Yes, yes, yes! Mom, if you don't like it, I'll have it dismantled and rebuilt immediately!"
"Tear it down?" Su Jinli glared at him. "If you dare to move a brick or a tile, I'll break your legs!"
As she was speaking, Nianli ran over with Pan'er in her arms. She was wearing a half-worn dark green suit, and her hair was tied up with a red silk silk: "Mom! Dad! You are finally here! Come and see the surprise I prepared for you!" Pan'er fluttered in her arms, holding a freshly picked black chrysanthemum in her hand, with dew still on the petals.
"What are you doing?" Su Jinli took the chrysanthemum. The petals were cold, making her fingertips numb.
Nian Li smiled mysteriously and led them to the backyard. Passing through a flower corridor lined with red plum blossoms, they arrived at an open space where they saw Chen Yue leading the farmhands in building a huge wooden structure. A plaque reading "Martial Arts Field" hung on the beam.
"What is this for?" Jiang Yan frowned, looking at the plum blossom stakes buried in the ground, each of which was cut smooth and round.
Nian Li raised her chin proudly, the red silk rustling in the mountain breeze. "Dad, Mom, this is the martial arts arena I built for you!" She pointed at the wooden frame, "You can practice swordplay here, boxing here, and these plum blossom piles. Pan'er can practice Qinggong in the future!"
Su Jinli nearly fainted, and only managed to stand steady by holding onto Jiang Yan's arm: "Martial arts arena? Your father and I are already this old, why should we still practice martial arts?" She remembered the time when she was a 15-year-old and rode a horse to shake off the arrogant young man, but now her knees often ached.
Pan'er clapped her hands excitedly, and the pollen of the black chrysanthemum fell on Su Jinli's shoulder: "Great! Grandma can teach me boxing!" As soon as she finished speaking, a squirrel ran across the rockery, startling the dagger on Nianli's waist and making a slight sound.
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