They travelled in silence the whole way and soon reached Tonglin County.
“Lu Lang, Sister, Si… Senior Si?”
Sensing Lu Zheng’s arrival at the entrance of Renxin Hall, Liu Qingyan, who had no patients at the moment, came out to greet them. When she saw Si Lingxi, she was utterly astonished, but the astonishment quickly turned to delight. “Why has Senior come to Tonglin County?”
When the group had left Wan Song Mountain, they had not told Si Lingxi where they lived. They had never imagined that she would seek them out on her own initiative.
“I came to the Central Plains for a stroll and happened to encounter Lu Zheng and Shen Ying.” Si Lingxi smiled.
Du Yueyao followed from behind, looking at Si Lingxi with curiosity.
Si Lingxi’s gaze shifted. “The saintess of the Yuan Sheng Cult?”
Du Yueyao jumped in surprise. She had not expected this great expert to see through her origins at a single glance.
Liu Qingyan smiled and made the introduction. “This is Du Yueyao, the one I mentioned before. Yueyao, this is Senior Si Lingxi, master of Phoenix Mountain in the Southern Border.”
“Greetings, Senior Si!” Du Yueyao hurriedly paid her respects. She had heard Liu Qingyan speak of the events at Wan Song Mountain and knew this was a supreme expert.
Si Lingxi nodded. Then she saw Old Liu hurry out and cup his hands in greeting.
It was nearly the middle of the You hour, with no patients about, so Old Liu simply closed the clinic for the day. Everyone then returned together to Lu Zheng’s home.
Lu Zheng cooked in person, with Aunt Liu assisting. In short order, they prepared seven or eight dishes. Though time was limited and the food was only everyday fare, it was full of colour, aroma, and flavour. Paired with rare Wuliangye and Huadiao wine from this world, the table was a feast for the eyes.
…
Everyone took their seats, glasses clinked, chopsticks flew.
Lu Zheng and the two women kept Si Lingxi company in conversation. The others had all visited the Dragon Palace, so although they respected Si Lingxi, they felt no fear or restraint. This made Si Lingxi feel quite at ease.
She listened to Liu Qingquan boast about the sights in the Dragon Palace and to Old Liu describe difficult medical cases. It was all rather entertaining.
After a while, Liu Qingquan, flushed with excitement from the meal, waved her chopsticks and declared, “Brother-in-law, it would be wonderful if you cooked every day!”
“Hm?” Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow. Liu Qingyan gave a soft laugh and lightly nudged her younger sister.
“Eh?” Liu Qingquan turned her head. Beside her sister sat Madam Liu, face calm, eyes still smiling as she listened to Si Lingxi and Shen Ying speak.
For some reason Liu Qingquan suddenly felt a chill run through her. She shivered, her eyes darted about, and she quickly lowered her head to eat, becoming the picture of obedience.
Old Liu and Yue Honghai clinked cups, pretending they had seen nothing.
Si Lingxi took a delicate sip of green plum wine. The faint sweetness lingered in her mouth. She savoured it gently, let it slide down her throat, then looked at Lu Zheng with a smiling reproach. “Such fine wine. Why did you not bring it out when we were at Wan Song Mountain?”
The smile was cool yet radiant, and it gave Lu Zheng a start. He rubbed his nose and replied, “Senior Wan Song does not drink, and I prepared soup with every meal, so I did not think to serve wine.”
Si Lingxi’s lips curved. She accepted the explanation and took another sip.
This was fruit wine that Lu Zheng had brought from the modern world, and it was expensive. Though it contained many additives, the acidity was light and the sweetness rich. The alcohol was mild, the proof moderate, the taste refreshing on entry, and the aftertaste purely sweet. Compared to the turbid fruit wines of ancient natural fermentation, sweet yet sour, sour yet astringent, it was in a different class altogether.
Si Lingxi had lived three thousand years and tasted countless fine wines. Yet, limited by ancient techniques, even the very best ordinary wines, apart from spiritual brews, could not compare to this cup of green plum wine.
Just as with Liu Zong, Hu Yijun, and the others, the dishes had astonished them, but what lingered longest in their memories was the superb wine in Lu Zheng’s possession.
It was not spiritual wine, yet the flavour was impeccable. One could drink freely without concern and simply enjoy it.
…
After dinner, everyone returned to their own homes.
Liu Qingyan stayed overnight at the Lu residence. Si Lingxi and Shen Ying returned to Taohua Ping.
When they reached Taohua Ping, the eighteen peach blossom maidens came out to welcome them. Shen Ying made the introductions, then led Si Lingxi around Taohua Manor for a tour.
They passed the main hall and the rear courtyard, then arrived at Shen Ying’s private bedchamber.
“Eh?”
As soon as she entered, Si Lingxi saw, to her left, an exact copy of herself turning back from within a wooden frame one person tall and half a person wide. The figure looked directly at her, and the scene inside the frame was identical to the room she stood in, only reversed left to right.
“This is…” Si Lingxi tilted her head curiously for a closer look. “A mirror?”
“Precisely. This is the dressing mirror that Lu Lang gave me.” Shen Ying smiled, her voice full of pride.
“Dressing mirror?” Si Lingxi blinked, reached out to touch it, and immediately understood the nature of the glass. “So that is how it is made. How interesting. I truly never thought of it before.”
At that thought, she asked, “I was wondering why the tableware at the Lu home during dinner was so exquisite and luxurious. Could it also have been made by Lu Zheng himself?”
Shen Ying nodded with a smile. “Indeed it was.”
Si Lingxi shook her head in amusement. “Your husband is skilled in all manner of arts. He is quite a remarkable man.”
When she turned back, her eyes lit up. Her attention had been caught by a painting hanging on the eastern wall of the bedchamber.
The background showed the ancient peach tree in the front courtyard they had just passed. Beneath the tree stood a lady in a red-pink gossamer gown with a phoenix-tail train, a golden hairpin of flying birds and emerald plumes, eyeshadow soft as powder, lips vermilion as dew, bright eyes like water, beautiful and bewitching as a demon.
It was the “Portrait of a Lady in a Peach Grove” that Lu Zheng had painted with Shen Ying as his subject.
“A fine painting!” Si Lingxi’s eyes shone. “Splendid technique!”
Si Lingxi was not astonished by the painting’s artistic conception. At the time Lu Zheng painted it, he had only added about a dozen strands of fortune light to his painting skill, reaching perhaps not even the level of Xu Beihong. It was far inferior to his later “Sunrise over Wan Song Mountain”.
Incidentally, ever since Lu Zheng had earned an unknown quantity of fortune light through chess, he had occasionally invested it in his skills in music, painting, calligraphy, and other arts, preparing for future need. Though he lacked frequent practice or competition, over time his abilities had risen considerably.
In painting, for instance, when the mood struck him he would produce a piece. Apart from those seized by Lin Jing’er, the rest had been collected by Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying.
Returning to the matter at hand, Si Lingxi was not surprised by the conception of the painting, but by its technique. Lu Zheng had employed modern three-dimensional composition and sketching methods, creating interplay of light and shadow that made Shen Ying appear almost alive in the painting, extraordinarily lifelike.
“Whose work is this?” Si Lingxi could not help asking. “What manner of painting technique is this?”
Shen Ying did not reply at once. Instead she raised a hand to cover her mouth and laughed softly.
Si Lingxi paused in surprise, then asked, “Lu Zheng?”
Shen Ying nodded, clearly proud of Si Lingxi’s astonishment. “Yes, Lu Lang.”
“He paints as well?” Si Lingxi was rather taken aback, then nodded. “The standard is ordinary, but the technique is most novel.”
“Lu Lang is an excellent painter. This is only a work from several years ago.” Shen Ying defended him. “I had it mounted and hung here simply because it was the first painting he ever gave me.”
