Qixi Festival[mfn]It’s Chinese valentine.[/mfn] in the thirteenth year of Zhenyou.
Prince Zhao’s Mansion held a Qixi banquet, inviting only the young masters and ladies of the great aristocratic families in the capital.
Although Prince Zhao and his Princess Consort were the hosts, they were not the protagonists today—Lu Lingcong had hosted this banquet as a favor to others.
A few days prior, his maternal aunt had entered the palace to accompany Lady Wu. During their chat, she mentioned that the children at home had gradually grown up over the past two years and reached the age for marriage. Knowing Lu Lingcong’s wide social circle, she hoped to use Prince Zhao’s Mansion as a “matchmaker” to introduce her nephews and nieces to eligible peers, hoping they might find someone to their liking and settle their lifelong affairs early.
This was no difficult task, and Lu Lingcong naturally had no reason to refuse.
Xie Jing, being over five months pregnant, was too lethargic to concern himself with these matters. All preparations were handled by Uncle Zhou and Yin Chou’s group. Even during the feast itself, he only made an appearance to greet a few close friends before retreating to the Qibi Pavilion to enjoy the cool breeze.
After all, Lu Lingcong bore the responsibility of introducing the younger generation to one another; he eventually found an excuse to slip away. He searched all the way to the waterfront and, seeing the main doors of the Qibi Pavilion tightly shut, knew Xie Jing was likely inside.
Lu Lingcong knocked on the door and asked, “Are you awake or asleep?”
After waiting a while, he heard footsteps approaching from within. Xie Jing unhurriedly opened the door.
Lu Lingcong asked curiously, “Why lock the door in broad daylight?”
“There are many children today. I was afraid they might barge in and disturb my dreams.”
He leaned in and sniffed Lu Lingcong; finding no scent of alcohol, he contentedly allowed him into the room.
Lu Lingcong clearly knew what he was sniffing for, “You have such little faith in me? I said I would abstain from alcohol for ten months, and I certainly intend to keep my word. Besides, my injuries haven’t fully healed yet; wouldn’t touching wine be asking for trouble?”
When Xie Jing was diagnosed with the pregnancy, it was right in the middle of the third lunar month; exactly the time when Meishan Snow Liquor was unsealed each year. Having lost out on that treat, he was naturally disappointed; to accompany him, Lu Lingcong declared that he too would abstain for ten months by asking everyone in the Prince’s Mansion to bear witness.
“It just happens to be time for your medicine. Go sit inside and wait for me for a moment.”
Lu Lingcong was surprised. “There’s a medicine chest on the Qibi Pavilion too?”
“There wasn’t originally, but didn’t Qing’er trip on the winding bridge outside last month? His knee was bleeding, and it looked quite frightening. The servants had to travel all the way to Yin Chou to fetch medicine and were gone for a long time; meanwhile, he would not stop crying, which broke everyone’s hearts. Afterward, I discussed it with Yin Chou and decided to place medicinal spirits in several places where he often plays, just in case of an emergency.”
As Xie Jing spoke, he took the medicine chest and walked back into the inner chamber. Lu Lingcong had already shed his outer and inner robes, revealing a sturdy, well-built chest.
A few days prior, Lu Lingcong had traveled to Yizhou on official business and encountered a mountain bandit uprising. He could have retreated unscathed, but unfortunately, there were many innocent elderly and weak people present. Naturally, protecting the commoners had to come first, and so he sustained some injuries during the skirmish.
The wounds were minor; in fact, they were nearly healed by the time he returned to Jinling. However, out of consideration for Xie Jing’s condition, Lu Lingcong had instructed his subordinates to strictly keep the matter concealed, intending to wait until he could stand before Xie Jing whole and unharmed before telling him the truth.
That day, the moment Xie Jing heard the news, his expression turned instantly cold. He dragged Lu Lingcong into the bedroom without a word, loosened his belt, and examined his chest and back with painstaking, meticulous care. Seeing that the injuries were indeed not serious and were already mostly healed, he finally let out a long sigh of relief and begrudgingly allowed Lu Lingcong to hold him.
From that day forward, Xie Jing insisted on personally applying Lu Lingcong’s medicine at the scheduled times. He also ordered the kitchens to brew various nourishing medicinal tonics and watched him drink them down; as a result, in the sweltering heat of midsummer, Lu Lingcong was so over nourished that his nose bled constantly.
……
Just as Lu Lingcong was dressing himself, there was a sudden knock at the door. Lu Shuqing’s youthful voice drifted in, “Mother, are you in there?”
Startled, Xie Jing shoved Lu Lingcong. “Go open the door quickly! He might accidentally fall into the lake if he ran here all by himself without anyone following.”
Without needing to be told, Lu Lingcong had already gotten off the couch and walked swiftly toward the outer room before calling out, “Qing’er, Father is coming. Stay right there and don’t move.”
Xie Jing hurriedly smoothed his robes and followed him out.
Sure enough, Lu Shuqing was standing outside all alone. Xie Jing feigned anger, “How did you manage to shake off your nannies and maids to run around by yourself again?”
Lu Shuqing, however, pulled a handkerchief-wrapped bundle from his chest and carefully unfolded it. Inside was an exquisite pastry shaped like a lotus flower, appearing as if it were just about to bloom.
“I saw that they had Mother’s favorite tea cakes at the feast. I was afraid they wouldn’t taste good once they got cold, so I ran over to bring one for Mother to taste.”
Xie Jing naturally could not bring himself to say anything harsh after that. He took it, bit into it, and smiled. “You ran over so fast, the filling is still hot enough to scald the tongue.”
Highly satisfied, Lu Shuqing climbed from Lu Lingcong’s lap into Xie Jing’s arms, vigorously rubbing his nose back and forth against Xie Jing’s cheek. He rubbed so hard that both their faces became slightly distorted as if they were making funny faces.
Lu Lingcong asked, “Are you going back to the feast to eat or will you play a while longer?”
Lu Shuqing sprawled lazily against Xie Jing’s shoulder and declined, “I’m full.”
Xie Jing gestured toward the inner chamber. “Then shall we go inside for a midday nap?”
Seeing Lu Shuqing nod, Lu Lingcong went into the inner room. He rolled up the mattress cover they had soiled during their earlier tryst, set it aside, and took a clean one from the cabinet to spread out.
Then he called out, “Come in.”
Xie Jing patted Lu Shuqing’s back. “Get down and walk a few steps. My body isn’t very convenient right now; I can’t carry you.”
Lu Shuqing obediently hopped to the ground. As he waited for Xie Jing to stand, he suddenly let out an “Eh?” and asked, “It’s only been a few hours since we got up; why is Mother’s hair all undone?”
Lu Lingcong had already leaned back against the couch, looking utterly satiated as he waited to nap with his wife and son. Seeing Xie Jing play dumb and refuse to answer, he chuckled, pulled Lu Shuqing over, and said:
“Your mother was in a playful mood and got a little too carried away, accidentally pulling all his hair loose.”
Xie Jing shot him a glare before slowly crawling in from the foot of the bed before settling down comfortably on the other side of Lu Shuqing.
Lu Lingcong grabbed a thin quilt to cover all three of them and reached up to pull down the bed curtains.
For a time, the only sounds within and without the Qibi Pavilion were the lapping of water and the chirping of cicadas. All the intimacy, joy, and irrepressible passion that had occurred here today were heard only by the few lotus blossoms in the white jade vase atop the desk.
They seemed to flush with heat at what they overheard; the tips of their vivid red petals swirled slightly as they turned away, hanging their heads in bashful silence, settling down along with this long, deep afternoon nap.
