Wang Sanniang waited by the door.

“Mother, mother, put it on quickly!”

“And Candied Hawthorn! It’s so sweet, Mother!”

Wang Sanniang took the hairpin. She patted Ping’an and Ruyi’s heads and smiled. “Ping’an and Ruyi have both grown up.”

She felt very comforted in her heart.

After sending Ping’an and Ruyi inside, Wang Sanniang stepped forward. “Brother Chen, please take this little money. I can’t let you spend without payment.”

Chen Changsheng didn’t accept it. He shook his head and smiled. “That pin? It didn’t cost me any money. Ping An guessed it from a Lantern Riddle. The Candied Hawthorn was what I didn’t want to eat, so I saved it for them. Didn’t cost a thing. So no need.”

Wang Sanniang was about to speak, but Chen Changsheng cut her off. “It’s getting late. I should head back now.”

He didn’t pay Wang Sanniang any more mind. After returning to the courtyard, he closed the door.

Wang Sanniang sighed helplessly. How could she not understand?

She didn’t mention it again, just quietly kept it in her heart.

After returning indoors,

Ruyi and Ping’an crowded around again.

“Mother, the Temple Fair was so fun! There was shadow puppetry, with little figures! And someone could put their hand in boiling oil! So amazing!”

“And then?”

“And we paid respects to the Dragon King!”

“Ping An guessed two Lantern Riddles! But I guessed wrong!”

“Uncle Chen made a Lantern Riddle too! Later, someone else guessed it.”

The room was dim. As Wang Sanniang listened to Ruyi and Ping’an chattering,

she couldn’t help but feel this kind of peaceful life was truly wonderful.

Ping’an was well. Ruyi was well.

Safe and sound. May all your wishes come true.

Chen Changsheng sat down in his small courtyard. He lifted his hand and waved, lighting a candle’s flame.

Come to think of it, the oil in the lamp was nearly finished. He’d need to go buy more in the street another day.

Manyue revealed her form. “You live such an idle life.”

“Isn’t that good?”

“Quite good.”

Manyue then said, “Someone knocked earlier. That lady from the courtyard opposite, with a maid.”

“I know.”

“Mm.”

Manyue didn’t say anything more.

The night was hazy. Chen Changsheng glanced at the moon, yawned, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, he was woken by raindrops.

Qingshan City had a light drizzle in the early morning.

The surrounding mountains had all turned a hazy grey.

The air carried the scent of damp earth, making it fresher.

The wilted Phoenix Flowers also seemed to perk up, likely because the rain brought a breath of cool clarity.

Jian Shenghua stayed inside the white flower on the tree, hadn’t come out.

He was also seriously injured, slowly recovering. Gaining his freedom back wasn’t something to rush.

There was a knock at the door in the early morning.

When Chen Changsheng went to answer, he looked down.

“You weren’t here yesterday when we came back from the Temple Fair. Sister Yun asked me to bring this over this morning.”

It was Yu Hongjin, that little wine fiend.

She stuffed the things into Chen Changsheng’s hands and left.

Chen Changsheng looked down. One parcel was Preserved Fruit wrapped in oil paper. The other contained lotus seeds.

He raised his head and glanced at the opposite door. Silently, he withdrew his gaze, closed his own door, and returned to the courtyard.

The Preserved Fruit was delicious. The lotus seeds were very sweet and fresh.

In Qingshan City, lotus seeds were probably only available during Temple Fairs.

It seemed a shame not to make porridge with these lotus seeds.

Chen Changsheng thought for a moment, then went out.

He bought several pounds of rice from the street, then went to find Wang Sanniang to borrow a bucket. The wooden bucket Old Huang left behind had long since rotted.

Chen Changsheng drew several buckets of water from the neighborhood well.

He found a few pieces of rotten wood and started a fire.

Lotus seed porridge wasn’t hard to make. Some people were particular, they would remove the bitter core from the lotus seeds to get only the sweetness. But for Chen Changsheng, that hint of bitterness felt pretty good.

Though not everyone shared his taste.

He put in half the lotus seeds, then covered the pot.

Just then, Ruyi and Ping’an also arrived.

Chen Changsheng said, “Quick, come help me peel the lotus seeds.”

Ruyi took a look. “So this is what lotus seeds look like?”

Both Ruyi and Ping’an were seeing them for the first time, only having read about them in books.

Ping An asked, “Uncle Chen, do we just peel off the skin?”

“We’re making lotus seed porridge. The lotus seed core is bitter. Do you two like it sweeter, or with a bit of bitterness?”

“Sweet!”

“Yes, yes!”

Children always prefer sweets. That saying was certainly true.

Peeling went much faster with three people.

Ruyi and Ping’an even tasted a few raw lotus seeds.

Ruyi tasted a bit of the peeled-out core. Her face instantly soured. “Pff, pff! It’s really bitter!”

Ping’an tasted it and also found it bitter, but as he chewed slowly, it began to taste a bit different.

“Hmm… it’s… not too bad?”

The more bitter it was at first, the more you could feel the clean sweetness that came after.

Ping’an and Ruyi were very different people.

By the time they finished peeling, the porridge in the pot was ready. It was made with lotus seeds that still had their cores.

After ladling it out, Chen Changsheng scooped a bowl. He asked Ruyi and Ping’an if they wanted some.

“Ruyi won’t drink bitter stuff!” Ruyi resisted fiercely.

Ping’an, however, wanted to try the taste.

After tasting, Ping’an said, “The lotus seeds are so fragrant! The core is a bit bitter, but it gets sweeter and sweeter later! Delicious!”

Ruyi didn’t understand why Uncle Chen and Ping’an would want to eat such bitter things.

Chen Changsheng made another pot. This time, he used seeds without the cores.

After it was cooked, he gave a bowl to Ruyi.

Ruyi drank it with relish. She loved the soft, sticky texture of the lotus seed porridge.

Chen Changsheng said, “Ping’an, could you take this bowl to the household opposite? After all, they gave us the lotus seeds.”

“Oh, okay.”

Ping’an blinked, then went.

He wondered why Uncle Chen didn’t go himself, but didn’t ask. Ping’an wasn’t like Ruyi, who needed to know the ‘why’ for everything.

Ping’an went and knocked on the door.

The door was opened by Yun Xiang’s maid. Yun Xiang happened to be in the courtyard.

She walked to the door and looked at Ping’an. “Did Mr. Chen say anything else?”

“Mr. Chen?” Ping’an paused, realizing she meant Uncle Chen.

Ping’an added, “Uncle Chen didn’t say anything else. He just asked Ping’an to bring this over. The seeds are without cores, so it’s sweet. Ruyi loved it. Sister Yun should like it too.”

“Ping’an doesn’t like sweet things?” Yun Xiang asked.

Ping’an replied, “With cores, it’s bitter at first, but then it gets even sweeter. Uncle Chen made two pots. One had cores, one didn’t.”

Hearing this, Yun Xiang was momentarily stunned, then she smiled. “Please thank Mr. Chen for me.”

Ping’an agreed. As he was about to leave, he asked, “Sister Yun, did you know Uncle Chen a long time ago?”

“To say we knew each other… yes,” Yun Xiang answered.

Ping’an nodded, then left.

Yun Xiang carried the bowl of lotus seed porridge back to the courtyard.

She told the maid to bring a small bowl, ladled some out, and tasted it.

It tasted light and sweet.

But Yun Xiang seemed lost in thought.

The maid beside her noticed and asked, “What are you thinking about, miss?”

Yun Xiang slowly returned to herself. She looked down at the porridge.

She was thinking that Mr. Chen still seemed to treat her like a child.

Though… maybe that wasn’t a bad thing.

“The porridge is sweet,” Yun Xiang replied.

The maid asked, “Did he add sugar?” But Yun Xiang shook her head.

The maid was puzzled. If no sugar was added, how sweet could it really be?

And another thing…

It seemed her mistress hadn’t been too fond of sweets these past years either.