First love
Yulan fanned herself with a palm-leaf fan, her sleeves rolled up as she searched through the camphorwood box for thinner fabrics and clothing. It was a rather hot day; just sitting there made sweat trickle down her forehead.
Yulan's face flushed slightly as she thought of the night before. That day, she saw Haitang was already fast asleep, so she took the lunch box and went to find Liu Er.
As soon as I entered the room and walked around the screen embroidered with the Three Friends of Winter, I saw Liu Er, her coat unbuttoned due to the heat, her hair casually tied up in a bun, leaning on a recliner, reading a book. The incense burner was still burning sandalwood to dispel dampness, and the curling green smoke swirled around Liu Er, like wisps of ethereal fairy air, making it difficult to see clearly.
Yulan's face suddenly turned red. It was not like she had not helped Liu Er change clothes and bathe before. Perhaps it was because the hazy moonlight tonight added a bit of indescribable artistic conception, which made her imagine things.
Just like the erotic poems written by Mr. Zhang in the past, the spring scenery gradually deepens in the hazy and twilight, the crimson waves surge, and men and women cannot escape the mundane world.
When Liu Er saw Yulan coming in, he half-raised himself and said, "You're here."
She didn't know what was going on in her mind. Her face turned red and she stammered for a long time without being able to speak. She lowered her eyes and counted the bricks on the ground.
Seeing that she hadn't spoken for a long time, Liu Er closed the book, casually put on a coat and walked over. He was handsome to begin with, and his whole face looked familiar to Yulan. He put the lunch box on the small round table and fled.
"Second Master, there is ice cream in the food box. Please eat and go to bed early. I will not disturb you."
Every time she thought about it now, Yulan blushed. She figured it must have been the heat that had caused this, so she rummaged through her drawers to find some thinner material.
Haitang led several veiled maids into the house carrying a fumigation basket and interrupted Yulan, who was rummaging through boxes and cabinets. "If the master needs any clothes, just go to the East Courtyard and ask for some new fabric to make a few new ones. Why are you fussing?" She noticed the reddened swelling on Yulan's exposed arm and continued, "Get out quickly! While the Second Young Master is away, the house needs some moxa fumigation."
Yulan scratched the itchy bump on her arm and became irritated. "It's time to fumigate the house. The mosquitoes are too rampant. Sister Haitang is really thoughtful. Remember to fumigate our room later."
While the mugwort smoke rose from the incense burner, Yulan went to the east courtyard. Aunt Qingfang wasn't home today, so her goddaughter, Huaxiu, was in charge. Yulan and Huaxiu hadn't met before, so she followed the customary routine by discussing the material. Huaxiu smiled and told Yulan to go back and wait.
A few days later, there was no response, and no new fabric or clothes were delivered. Seeing that Liu Er had developed a heat rash on his neck, Yulan felt annoyed and was ready to go again. But Liu Er persuaded her, "It's nothing, it's just a small matter. We've been doing this every year."
"The Second Young Master is different now. He has to go to school now. How can he concentrate on studying when it's so hot?" Yulan straightened his collar again and told Bao Fu to remember to go to the kitchen to get some mung bean soup to cool him down.
"It's okay. Mr. Chen moved the academy to the pavilion in the middle of the lake in the garden. It's surrounded by bamboo curtains, so it won't be hot." Liu Er reassured Yulan and took out a small porcelain jar the size of a palm from the cabinet and placed it in Yulan's hand. "But you, how come you got a mosquito bite on your face?"
Her hands, which were straightening Liu Er's clothes, suddenly paused, realizing that Liu Er was looking at her face. The mosquito bite also happened to be biting the corner of her mouth. Yulan pursed her lips and swallowed unconsciously through her dry throat.
"Thank you, Second Young Master." Yulan lowered her head and eyes, thinking of what happened that night. The tips of her ears began to feel hot unconsciously, and she even felt a little shy.
Bao Fu was waiting for Liu Er to go to the academy with a box in his hand. He looked at the two silent people in confusion and felt that the atmosphere was quite weird!
Ever since Shen Ju'an's academy moved to the lakeside pavilion, Madam Qin seemed no longer to be so confined to the small Buddhist temple. She preferred to stroll through the garden and glance at Liu San and her daughter from afar. It was hard to tell what expression was on her face; she just stood there numbly, like a straight pole, until she could no longer stand and then returned to her room.
She always wore a crimson jacket, and even in this hot weather, she kept it neat and meticulous. She was dull and rigid, like a blob of ink spread across paper, dotted by the lotus pond.
Sometimes, Fan Ninghua would walk around the garden with her bird, watching the young men and women studying in the pavilion by the lake, and observing Mr. Shen teaching. As a child, she had also leaned against the window to watch her father teach at the private school. Time had passed, and she only felt a slight nostalgia, a furtive touch of the corner of her eye.
This subtle movement was quickly caught by the perceptive Qiuyan. She misunderstood Ning Hua and immediately comforted her, "Auntie, don't be sad. You are still young. If you please the master one day, you will naturally have children."
Once Qiuyan started talking, she couldn't stop. Even if her master didn't tell her to stop, she would have kept on talking all the way. She started by talking about the concubines in the west courtyard who had given birth, then moved on to the favored Concubine Xiang in the Vanilla Garden, and finally to Concubine Yun who was pregnant.
"Aunt, you don't know, right? I heard..." Qiu Yan raised her hand to cover her lips and whispered in Ning Hua's ear.
"Kneel down! Stop talking nonsense! You are courting death!" Ning Hua immediately scolded Qiu Yan to shut up before she finished listening.
Qiuyan was a simple-minded girl, innocent and simple-minded. She wasn't a bad person, but she loved to gossip. She had to talk about everything, and she couldn't tell what was acceptable and what wasn't. If she continued like this, she would sooner or later get into trouble.
"...That's what everyone is saying." Qiuyan knelt on her legs, feeling dissatisfied. Everyone was saying it, so why couldn't she say anything? There were only a few trivial things going on in the backyard, so who could find out where the source was? If she had the ability, she should stop doing things that would cause people to make fun of her! Aunt Yun was originally from the lowest class, so such things were not uncommon. Why couldn't she say anything?
She curled her lips, tilted her head, and looked unconvinced.
"You are so confident and self-righteous. It's my fault that I was too lenient in disciplining you. Just kneel here by yourself!" Ning Hua said, and felt that Qiu Yan must be taught a lesson this time. He made up his mind and returned to Jinlan Courtyard, but then thought about the weather and turned back. "Go back and kneel!"
Qiuyan was scolded so much that she had to lower her head and follow Ning Hua on tiptoe back to Jinlan Courtyard. On the way, she passed by Yulan who was going to the East Courtyard to ask for materials in the narrow corridor.
"Sister Huaxiu, when will Aunt Qingfang come back?" Yulan was afraid that Huaxiu would forget many things, so she thought of asking Aunt Qingfang directly for the material.
Hua Xiu greeted her with a smile, "Unfortunately, my godmother has gone to the farm to do some work, and I'm afraid she won't be back for a while. Sister Yulan, is there anything you want to tell me?"
Looking at Hua Xiu's smiling face, Yulan couldn't get angry and just spoke politely about the summer material.
"Sister Yulan, you're so lucky! The shop just delivered it. Madam has your North Courtyard in mind. When the Second Young Master returns to the North Courtyard, the tailor will come over with the material."
After hearing what Hua Xiu said, Yulan had no choice but to go back to the North Courtyard to continue with her own business. However, she always felt something was not right in her heart. She looked back at Hua Xiu every few steps, but Hua Xiu always looked at her with an impeccable smile.
Yulan saw that it was almost time for Liu Er to come back, so she sat on the swing and looked at the moon-shaped gate.
She didn't know when it started, but she began to have secret little thoughts in her heart. She began to hope to look at Liu Er more often, and also hoped that Liu Er could look at her more.
Sometimes she would toss and turn and find it difficult to fall asleep while looking at the moonlight. Perhaps it was because of the hazy night that night, her cheeks were burning red, or perhaps it was because Liu Er held her sleeve and taught her to write, whispering in her ear.
At the age of first falling in love, ignorant and elusive desires quietly sprout in the heart.
As Mr. Zhang once told Yulan, "Once a person enters the mortal world, they cannot escape the seven emotions and six desires, greed, anger, and delusion. Only with these emotions can one become a human being. Once one becomes a human being, one cannot escape the sufferings of the world."
Outside the Moon Cave, the air was lush and green, and the fragrance of trees filled her nostrils. She tilted her head and saw Bao Fuxian carrying a box and basket in, with no one behind him. When Liu Er didn't come back, she felt a pang of emptiness in her heart, a little disappointed.
She asked, "Where is the second young master?"
"The master had something to ask the second young master, so I came back first." Bao Fu took out a plate of almond cakes from a box and placed it in front of Yulan. "The eldest lady gave it to you today. The second young master doesn't like sweet food, so I asked him to bring it to you."
Yulan was not polite either. She loved almond cakes the most and stuffed them into her mouth. "Thank you, Brother Fu. Thank you, Second Young Master, on Yulan's behalf as well."
"You are so lucky, little girl. Your brother Fu follows the second young master around every day but doesn't get much benefit. Whatever benefit he gets, he thinks it will go into your stomach first." Bao Fu put the almond cookies on the plate into Yulan's mouth without even taking a single bite. She felt a little upset when she said that.
"Then let's eat together, Brother Fu."
"Come on, I don't mind your one bite." Bao Fu looked at the almond cakes and saw that there were only a few pieces, so he naturally didn't take more. Looking at Yulan sitting on the swing and eating snacks, he felt an inexplicable warmth in his heart.
Well, Bao Xiaofu is probably in trouble too.
He thought this, and understood the subtleties between Liu Er and Yu Lan recently. He looked at the round reflection in the Tai Ping jar in the yard, thinking that he was probably asking for trouble, so he just let it go.
Liu Er had dinner in the main hall before coming back. Yulan was still sitting on the swing looking at the moon.
"I've taken my measurements in the main hall. You don't have to worry about the clothes." Liu Er walked behind Yulan and gently pushed her swing. He continued in a calm tone, "My father asked me to learn the business from him. Things will get more complicated in the yard from now on."
"Then Yulan congratulates the Second Young Master." The night breeze gently ruffled Yulan's hair. She no longer followed any rules in front of Liu Er. Sitting on the swing, she spoke, "When I first came here, I thought you were a child without parents, just like me. Now you're getting better, and I'm really happy for you."
"Actually, it's all thanks to you." Liu Er looked at the magnolia-shaped hairpin on Yulan's head. This was the first time he had seen Yulan wearing one. He asked, "Why don't you wear a pearl hairpin?"
Yulan touched the hairpin on her head, then suddenly looked up at Liu Er and asked with a silly smile: "Does the Yulan hairpin look good?"
Looking up, moss has already covered the bricks and tiles in the yard; looking down, clusters of flowers fill the corners. Once, this place was empty and gray, piled with countless wastes. Someone, sewing the sunlight, stitched the gaps together with an embroidery needle, stitch by stitch, creating a complete person, a square courtyard, and a "home" that makes people want to return.
Liu Er looked down at Yulan's expectant eyes and whispered two words: "I like it."
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