After drinking, Heng brought his brother to their father’s desk, where they saw Wei Luo’s painting of a lotus flower. Amidst green lotus leaves, three or four young buds were layered, with one slightly open bud revealing a fresh pink.
The phrase ���outstanding among the best” came to Heng’s mind. “Father is truly talented at painting,” he said with sincere admiration. Although renowned for his martial arts prowess and military exploits with his grandfather, Wei Luo’s artistic skill was unknown to many.
Wei Luo smiled at his sons and instructed, “Your mother hasn’t woken up yet. Go back to your rooms, take a shower, and return after cleaning up.”
The brothers nodded respectfully.
As they left the study, Xun remarked to his brother, “Father seems to be in a good mood today.” Heng nodded, noting that it had been a while since he had seen his father wear light-colored clothes.
“Is it because our cousin left?” Xun speculated.
Xiao Heng looked at his younger brother in surprise, saying, “Why do you say that?”
Xiao Xun chuckled, “I just get the feeling that Father doesn’t care much for his cousin.”
Xiao Heng gently patted his younger brother’s head, saying, “I understand. Let’s keep that to ourselves.”
As the brothers leaped into the tub to play, Yin Hui had just finished combing her hair. Upon learning of her sons’ return, she made her way to the front yard.
Not finding them there, Yin Hui reluctantly headed to the study to find Wei Luo.
Wei Luo had just completed his painting and invited her to take a look.
Yin Hui recalled Jinzhan and Yinzhan’s remarks about Prince Shu departing shortly after she had fallen asleep. Was Wei Luo, who hadn’t taken a break, painting in the study all afternoon?
Yin Hui had known about Wei Luo’s painting skills since her grandfather’s 60th birthday celebration, but she hadn’t seen any new paintings from Wei Luo since then, as there had been no time for practice.
This lotus painting, simple and elegant, captured Wei Luo’s essence, especially in the depiction of the blooming lotus, reflecting her deepest thoughts.
As Yin Hui admired the painting closely, Wei Luo whispered in her ear, “This is you.”
In the bed earlier, amidst layers of skirt and flushed cheeks, Yin Hui resembled the lotus perfectly. She understood Wei Luo’s sentiment.
A flush of enthusiasm rose to her earlobe, coloring her face like the lotus. “Naughty,” she softly scolded before turning away.
Wei Luo cast one final glance at the lotus on the table, pressed the paperweight to dry it, and followed Yin Hui.
Xiao Heng, Xiao Xun, and Xiao Ning had all gathered, leaving only five of them at the dinner table that night.
Xiao Ning observed, “Father looks so good dressed like this,” voicing what her brothers only dared to discuss in secret.
Wei Luo calmly fed his daughter.
Yin Hui glanced at the summer robe he wore. It was a fabric she had chosen for Wei Luo’s summer attire this year. In fact, she ordered two sets of light-colored clothing for Wei Luo annually, purely out of habit. While the fabric was too light for women’s attire, Wei Luo, with his own preferences, usually opted for darker colors like black, gray, dark blue, or brown. However, he never touched the light-colored ones, which remained in the closet. That day, Wei Luo seemed to be in good spirits as he donned this tea-white set after bathing.
Xiao Ning blurted out, “Mother was peeking at Father.”
Wei Luo glanced at his wife.
Yin Hui quickly clarified, “I was just admiring your father’s robe.”
After a brief pause, Xiao Ning realized that her mother hadn’t actually looked at her father’s face.
Wei Luo observed his wife serving vegetables to their sons, subtly covering up her actions, and then glanced at his own sleeves.
After dinner, taking advantage of the summer warmth, the family of five strolled in the garden.
Lately, Xiao Ning frequently visited the garden as the cherries on the two cherry trees were ripening.
That evening, she went to check again and found a few that were fully red.
Wei Luo lifted Xiao Ning and encouraged her to pick cherries herself.
In the end, Xiao Ning found six ripe cherries. After washing them, she distributed one to each family member.
“There’s one left, what should we do with it?” Yin Hui asked her daughter.
Xiao Ning blinked mischievously and grabbed them into her hands, one in each.
Xiao Heng and Xiao Xun didn’t mind that.
Yin Hui smiled, popped her own cherry into her mouth, and took a bite, squinting at its sourness.
“This one feels soft, indicating it’s ripe.” Upon seeing this, Wei Luo offered his cherry to her.
Yin Hui glanced at the children, noticing that the three siblings didn’t see any issue with it, so she lowered her gaze and took a bite.
Indeed, Wei Luo’s cherry was sweeter.
The cherries were becoming increasingly red, and they could pick more than ten cherries every day. Picking cherries with her brothers had become Ning’s favorite activity.
However, when the lychees got ripe, Xiao Ning lost interest in cherries and became even more enamored with lychees.
Each mansion was allocated a basket of lychees.
Lychees couldn’t be stored for long periods, as they lose their umami taste if they were kept in a cool place for too long, so they needed to be eaten as soon as possible.
After Wei Luo returned, Yin Hui discussed with him and sent a portion to Wen Ruyue.
Wei Luo remarked, “She’s alone, so two catties are enough. Give ten catties to your grandfather, and five catties to the Jiang family.”
There were so many lychees that they couldn’t consume them all quickly, and they would go to waste if kept for too long, so distributing them to relatives was a good idea.
Wei Luo distributed the lychees according to each family’s population. Although the Yin family was small, Yin Yong was an elder, so they should receive more.