A few days ago, the snow fell heavily. The air was cold, and despite the daily sunny days, the snow on the mountains outside the city remained unmelted. Only the main road, frequented by carts, horses and pedestrians, had little snow left on the surface, making it easier to travel, not too slippery.
The Mei Mountain Villa is fifty miles from the Capital City, not exactly close, the carriage ride took over an hour.
Su Rong and Ye Guixue played chess. Their games were always fiercely contested, so engrossing that they forgot about their surroundings. By the time the carriage arrived at the foot of Mei Mountain Villa, they had played countless rounds, and every game ended in a draw.
With a sigh of laughter, Su Rong said, "And here I thought I had made good use of the chess manual I borrowed from the Buddha Temple."
Ye Guixue smiled, "I also studied that chess manual."
Su Rong suddenly remembered, that’s right, she was too lazy to transcribe it and had asked him to do it instead. He had a good memory and had memorized the manual while writing it down.
Still unconvinced, she said, "Sooner or later, I will be able to beat you."
Ye Guixue chuckled, "I’m looking forward to it."
Su Rong got off the carriage first and looked at the mountains before her. She could vaguely see a villa halfway up the mountain. It must be the villa Zhou Gu had mentioned.
Ye Guixue got out of the carriage shortly after.
Su Rong said to him, "Yesterday, Zhou Gu found out that we planned to go outside the city today to admire the plum blossoms. He gave me a jade token, a pass to this mountain. According to him, this Mei Mountain Villa was part of Princess Sheng An’s dowry. At his birth, it was given to him. Half of the mountain slope is planted with a special variety of wax plum trees. The trees here have already blossomed while others elsewhere are just beginning to bloom."
Ye Guixue nodded his head, "We owe a lot to Lord Thursday."
Su Rong smiled, gesturing to him, "Let’s go!"
Ye Guixue nodded.
The two of them ascended the mountain together and quickly arrived at the mountain gate. As expected, a guard was there. Before Su Rong could show the token, the gatekeeper already greeted them saying, "May I ask if you are Lady Su Qi and Second Young Master Ye? Our Young Master sent a message yesterday saying that the two of you would be coming to admire the plum blossoms today. Lady Su Qi is free to command anyone in Mei Mountain Villa."
Su Rong nodded, "That’s correct, it’s us."
"Please come in, Lady Su Qi, Second Young Master Ye." The gatekeeper immediately opened the gate and invited them in.
After they entered, a manager-like figure came forward and bowed to Su Rong, "Lady Su Qi, Second Young Master Ye, are you here to admire the plum blossoms? Do you need me to assign someone to guide you?"
Su Rong waved her hand, "No need, just point out the way to us."
The manager nodded and quickly showed them the way, then asked Su Rong, "Will you be having lunch at the villa? Do Lady Su Qi and Second Young Master Ye have any dietary restrictions?"
Su Rong shook her head, "Anything is fine."
After he responded, the manager hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively, "Will the two of you be staying overnight?"
Su Rong laughed and shook her head, "No need."
The manager nodded.
Su Rong and Ye Guixue went up the mountain, following the direction given by the manager.
The mountain was quite large, extending across two or three slopes. The mountain path had been turned into stone steps, which rose step by step. As it was winter, there were no trees to shade the path, just un-melted snow covering everything. The stone steps had been swept clean, the marks freshly made. Presumably, when Zhou Gu had sent word, the people in the villa had made preparations overnight.
As they walked, Su Rong chatted casually with Ye Guixue, "It seldom snows in winter in Jiangning County, it’s also hard to see the scene of red plums competing with the snow."
Ye Guixue said, "The seasons in Nanchu are distinct. In winter, it’s even colder than the Capital City of Daliang. When the cold wind whips up the snow, you sometimes can’t even open your eyes. Even for plants like red plums, in the harsh winter with extremely low temperatures, they could hardly survive without proper insulation. Therefore, it’s rare to see large areas of plum blossoms. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons with suitable temperatures. The summers are hot and rainy, sometimes it can rain for a month, so every year Nanchu has to build embankments, costing quite some silver."
Su Rong nodded. She had already learned about these things from geography books and travel notes on Nanchu. The small country of Nanchu had managed to stand between Dawei and Daliang for hundreds of years, thanks to its advantages. One was the snow-capped mountain range, a natural barrier, and the other was its developed military-industrial sector with many talented people. The ancestors of Nanchu improved and opened up trades, letting the money of Dawei and Daliang flow into Nanchu. They then used the earned silver to manufacture and modify weapons for its military.
Therefore, the status of merchants in Nanchu was not low, unlike in Dawei and Daliang, where merchants were ranked last.
Similarly, women in Nanchu also enjoyed a higher status than in Dawei and Daliang. The historical period when women were kings in Nanchu laid the foundation for women’s status.
When the two of them reached halfway up the mountain, they saw a hillside not far away where some plum blossoms were just about to bloom and some had already blossomed, forming a sea of plum blossoms on the mountain.
Su Rong admired, "It’s really beautiful."
Ye Guixue also showed his appreciation, "Indeed, it’s a rare sight."
The two of them followed the mountain path towards the red plum flowers, soon they were close to them. The view from a distance and close up was different. From a distance, it looked like a sea of fire cloud, a mixture of red and white, like the sky was covered with rosy clouds. Up close, each red plum was dazzlingly beautiful, displaying myriad forms, looking pure and flawless after the snow’s baptism, making people unwilling to touch it.
Ye Guixue admired them, "Red plums compete with snow in beauty, not arrogant, not impetuous, and early in the year."
Su Rong gave a knowing smile.
The two kept walking deeper into the plum blossom forest, stepping on the thick fallen snow on the ground. Naturally, the snow here remained unmelted, quite solid and heavy. Stepping on it made a creaking sound and left only a shallow footprint on the surface.
After they had walked a while, Su Rong turned to look at Ye Guixue who still appeared as handsome as when they first met. He was dressed in a sky-blue brocade, with a jade belt around his waist. His face was delicate, divinely beautiful, and extremely striking, especially here amidst the red plum blossoms, he was even more captivating than the red plums.
She stopped and quietly watched him.
Ye Guixue brushed aside a plum branch, seeing Su Rong silently looking at him, he smiled and asked, "What’s the matter?"
Su Rong sighed softly, "Guixue, you are really wonderful."
Ye Guixue was taken aback, followed by a soft laugh.
Su Rong lowered her head, looking at the footprints on the ground, then raised her head to look at him, somewhat helplessly said, "If I were to return your Tiger Talisman of Hundred Thousand Soldiers to you, will you be very disappointed?"
Ye Guixue’s expression slightly changed, he froze.
Su Rong found it hard to face Ye Guixue, but she still looked at him honestly, "I think, I can’t be too selfish. After accepting your Tiger Talisman of Hundred Thousand Soldiers, using you to return to Nanchu, if I were to ungratefully break off our engagement someday, I would be too inhuman. Therefore, before I go to Nanchu, before I use you as a ladder to climb to that position, I think, I should leave some leeway for myself, so as not to owe you too much in the future. I certainly can’t make amends with my death."
Ye Guixue moved the corner of his mouth slightly and asked softly, "May I ask why?"
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