Yumeng was the happiest of all to be out and about, it being her first time accompanying her parents.
The monotonous life in the military camp was a stark contrast to such an outing.
The entire family's excursion gave Zhao Jiaqi a feeling of a spring picnic.
When the Emperor, after concluding his investigation, sent people to the Regent's mansion with gifts, they were turned away. The reason was simple: the Regent had taken his family out to recuperate, and no one was home.
Wang Shan looked at the palace attendants behind him, holding rare treasures and precious medicinal herbs, standing on the street to be gawked at. He felt quite dejected.
He glanced up at the four characters written in gilded script, 'Regent's Mansion', and silently grumbled that while the Empress was being temperamental, the Regent was no different, disappearing whenever displeased.
This truly put those serving them in a difficult position!
He couldn't report back to the palace empty-handed, nor had he fulfilled his task. He had to find the Regent somehow, but he couldn't glean the slightest bit of information from the mansion's guards.
Dejected, he led the palace attendants back to the imperial palace.
Meanwhile, their entire family was enjoying the scenery along the riverbank aboard a rented pleasure boat.
Seeing the flowers by the river and the koi in the lake, Su Ya exclaimed with a "tsk tsk tsk": "Today in the palace, I saw a vast expanse of fiery red flowers. They were magnificent and beautiful, but alas, I don't know their name."
Yaoyao: "Yes, those flowers were very pretty. I've never seen them before. But the koi in the Empress's palace were also very large, with colors on their backs, truly beautiful!"
The fact that both Princess Consorts claimed to have never seen such flowers piqued the curiosity of Prince Xiaoyao and Prince Xian.
Fan Zehao turned to his wife, who was admiring the lake scenery, and asked, "Were those flowers very beautiful?"
"They were quite lovely."
Seeing that his wife showed no surprise and spoke so casually, he knew that she must know the name of those flowers.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have this attitude.
Zhao Jiaqi gazed at the lake surface for a moment, recalling the Empress's words about naming the flower at the flower viewing festival. It was clearly an opportunity to gain recognition, and the Empress likely already had someone in mind.
This matter was of no consequence to her, but since the Empress had embarrassed her today, she couldn't just let it slide.
She scanned the people on the boat, her gaze finally settling on Pingting. She smiled and said, "Do you want to hear me tell a story? It's a tragic love story. If your hearts can't take it, don't listen. I'm afraid you might sink this boat."
Upon hearing "story," Pingting immediately raised her hand to vote: "I'll listen, I'll listen."
Saying that, she got up from beside Fan Xudong and walked towards Zhao Jiaqi, plopping down beside her so she could hear clearly.
Xiao Ce, who was busy year-round, was finally free and quite interested: "Princess Consort's stories are bound to be wonderful. Please tell us one."
Yaoyao, not shy this time, leaned forward and called out to Zhao Jiaqi over Pingting's head: "Princess Consort, please tell us. The White Snake story you told at the teahouse yesterday was very good; I didn't get enough."
At Prince Xiaoyao's consort's words, all the men on the boat turned their heads towards her, waiting for her to speak.
Thus, Zhao Jiaqi told them a tragic love legend.
"Once upon a time, there were two flower spirits, one named Manzhu and the other Shanhua. They guarded the Lycoris radiata for thousands of years but never met, for when the flowers bloomed, the leaves were unseen, and when the leaves appeared, the flowers were gone. Later..."
She spoke slowly and with great feeling, and everyone listened intently, even Yumeng, who didn't understand love, listened with rapt attention.
When the story ended, everyone's faces were heavy with emotion, and some were even secretly wiping away tears.
Seeing her daughter cry, Zhao Jiaqi pulled Yumeng into her arms: "Silly girl, why are you crying? Mother was just telling a story, it's not real!"
"But isn't it good for people who love each other to be together? Why would anyone be so cruel as to separate them!"
Yumeng asked with wide eyes, genuinely not understanding.
Xiao Ce, after hearing the story, was reminded of a person he had given up in his youth for the prosperity of his family.
But fortunately, after more than a decade of contemplation, he decided to marry someone he loved and turned to Su Ya with a fond, doting smile.
Su Ya felt a bit shy under his intense gaze. She couldn't experience heartbreak, but the suffocating feeling of being forcibly separated from Xiao Ce was something she could deeply empathize with.
However, she was curious: "Madam, they say that after death, people need to drink Meng Po's soup to forget their past lives. But Meng Po has been in the underworld for thousands of years; doesn't she ever want to reincarnate?"
Everyone had been immersed in sadness, but upon hearing Su Ya's words, they suddenly realized. Yes, after doing one job for so long, wouldn't Meng Po want a change of pace?
Zhao Jiaqi looked at Su Ya, who had a confused look on her face, and wondered about the peculiar workings of her mind.
She said, "Meng Po was tired too, so she went to Yama and said she wanted to reincarnate."
Yumeng's eyes widened, and she nestled in Zhao Jiaqi's embrace, asking with curiosity, "And then? Did Yama agree?"
"He agreed!" Zhao Jiaqi paused, then continued, "Yama said that if she wanted to reincarnate, she had to drink a bowl of Meng Po's soup. Meng Po didn't hesitate. She ladled a bowl and drank it. After a moment of confusion, she stood in place, looking around with unfamiliar eyes, and asked Yama, 'Who am I, and where am I?'"
"Yama said, 'You are Meng Po.'"
Everyone was stunned upon hearing this, and when they finally reacted, they burst into laughter.
"Yama is quite the trickster! Meng Po probably never knew she was tricked her whole life!"
The sorrowful mood, which had been so profound, was broken by a small joke.
The boat docked, and they entered a restaurant called "Lover's Lake" for a meal of local specialties. However, the taste of the dishes was surprisingly similar to that of their mansion's chef.
It wasn't exact, but it was at least eighty percent alike.
The group consisted of twenty people in total, including guards and maids, and they were seated at two tables.
As the eldest brother, Fan Zehao was never stingy with money when it came to meals. Yet, the food he ate felt familiar, but he couldn't quite pinpoint why.
He shook his head; perhaps he was too homesick, and it was just an illusion.
After several rounds of wine and dishes, the door to the private room was opened from the outside. A woman in a blue dress, holding a fruit platter, walked in with a smile.
"Greetings, Master Fan and Madam Fan."
Fan Zehao and Zhao Jiaqi paused mid-meal, their hands freezing. They looked towards the doorway, and the long-unseen Bailu suddenly appearing before them made the couple feel as though they were dreaming.
"Bailu? Where have you been all year? Even Deputy General Zhang Heng disappears now and then."
She placed the fruit platter down, paid her respects to her masters, and then sat down beside Zhao Jiaqi: "I've been in the capital all year. Yesterday, I heard from the proprietor of Yunyi Workshop that Madam was here, so I came to find you!"
Zhao Jiaqi held Bailu's hand, as if they were sisters who hadn't seen each other in years: "I know Yunyi Workshop is yours; I saw the cloud emblem."
"I thought you weren't in the capital!"
Bailu smiled: "How could I miss the flower viewing festival, which happens only once every five years, and the opportunity to make money? Besides, I heard that Master and Madam were also coming, so naturally, I had to follow!"
Bailu, Yaoyao, and Jiaojiao had only met once, and they knew that Bailu was originally a maid in the mansion who not only managed businesses for Madam but also married a general.
To be so highly regarded by the Princess Consort was truly an honor.