Deeply buried in the ditch

  Three people walked across the long pavilion bridge on the lake and finally arrived at the island in the center of the lake.

  As soon as I arrived on the island, a faint floral scent wafted up to my nose.

  The moonlight is hazy, it's almost June now. In other places, peonies have already withered, but the climate on this island is different from elsewhere. The peony flowers bloom late and are in full color.

  The flower path winds its way, willows lean in dependence, bamboo forest leans against the green.

  The small island is not big, but it is uniquely surrounded by peony flowers in the middle of a three or four-story wooden building. Under the trees are peonies, under the flowers are stone paths, and the stone paths are paved into a maze-like pattern. The wooden building seems to be in front of your eyes, but you can't rush straight to it.

  If it weren't for someone like Li's mother who was familiar with the route leading the way, others would have to trample on these peonies to get into the wooden building.

  I'm afraid no man would do such a thing, ruining everything with his cruel hand.

  Finally arrived at the wooden building, next to the house stood a piece of jade stone with a height of over two meters, white and pink intertwined, carved into a peony flower shape by a skilled craftsman. The snow-white petals were dotted with a faint pink color.

  At the very bottom of the peony, a small line of text is faintly engraved:

  In the first year of Dà Yè, Emperor Shìzǔ personally inscribed this as the foundation stone for the Peony Pavilion's eternal prosperity.

  Further down is a nearly thousand-word rhyming poem, the calligraphy is elegant and unconventional, at first glance it can be seen that it was written by a master calligrapher, vaguely visible signature reads "Nei Shi Shilang Yu Shiji".

  Zhen Ming was about to stop and wait when the young man had already turned his head and called out to him in a low voice.

  The young man deliberately stopped and waited for him to come over, saying in a low voice: "After entering the building later, don't look around, just walk with your head down, don't make any noise. This is the time when the fairy sisters are practicing their songs and dances, they don't like to be disturbed by others. Other people are easy to talk to, but there's a wicked eunuch who often takes out his knife to scare people. He doesn't dare to do anything to me, but if you accidentally make a mistake, I won't be able to protect you."

  ……

  As they entered the building, Mrs. Li led them through the fragrant corridors of the building, where beautiful maids occasionally paid their respects to Mrs. Li, showing that Mrs. Li held a special position in this Peony Pavilion.

  The center of the building is a fountain rockery, with gurgling water sounds and hot air rising from the pool. The entire building is built on top of a natural hot spring in the middle of the lake.

  The floor of the hall is paved with solid wood boards, on which are laid embroidered carpets with colorful phoenixes and birds singing in harmony. The ceiling in the middle is nearly ten meters high, with carved beams and painted rafters, depicting more than a dozen flying fairies in different postures, magnificent and resplendent. The house beam is also wrapped in five-color brocade, extremely luxurious.

  The building is four stories high, with hundreds of rooms, intricately carved beams and beautifully painted windows, uniquely designed.

  Past the artificial hill and hot spring in the hall, Li Mama took the two of them all the way up to the fourth floor.

  "Miss, Master Yang has arrived," said Mrs. Li, knocking on the door.

  A lazy and charming voice came from inside: "Let him in."

  ……

  Zhen Ming was stopped by Li's mother at the outer room and stood at the entrance of the arched carved hollow fan door.

  As soon as the door opened, the young man rushed into the room with joy and flung himself into the arms of a slender woman, burying his face between her high breasts.

  The woman's figure was slender and charming.

  Zhen Ming thought this kid would definitely get a slap in the face, but unexpectedly the woman not only didn't look angry, she was actually teased into covering her mouth and giggling, lightly pinching his ear and pulling him out from between her tall and full breasts, laughing and scolding: "Where did this mischievous monkey come from, coming to my place to cause trouble again, looking for a beating or what!"

  "Frosty sister, I miss you." The young man's buttocks twisted into a knot, hugging her slender waist, his head resting on the shoulder of the peony fairy, coquettishly saying.

  It's somewhat incongruous to hear such words coming from the mouth of a tall and handsome young man, but judging from the expression of that stunning woman, it seems she has long been accustomed to his flirtatious tone when speaking to her.

  "Spare me the flattery! When I was ill, you were nowhere to be seen. Not even a cup of water or a late-night tea from someone close to me. Now you're speaking sweet words? Don't think I'm foolish enough to believe you!"

  Her voice is like a bell, rich in rhythm, with a gentle and soft tone, listening to her speak is like having someone whispering softly in your ear.

  Listening to this beautiful and moving sound, the expression on Zhen Ming's bitter face at the door suddenly became somewhat stunned, with a look of astonishment turning his head, through the thin gauze curtain of the archway, looking into the house.

  In a daze, Peony Fairy's stunning beauty was etched into his eyes.

  A face like a carved melon seed, skin as smooth as jade, bright eyes and a gentle gaze.

  The peony fairy seemed to have sensed something, looked towards the door, Zhen Ming hurriedly put down the curtain, lowered her head and pretended to be a humble servant.

  "Ah Tong, who is standing at the door?"

  "That young man hastily said: 'He is my newly recruited personal bodyguard, responsible for protecting my safety.'"

  The peony fairy heard this and no longer paid attention, allowing the young man to lead her by the hand to the table, where he pressed her to sit down, poured a cup of tea from the table, knelt on one knee, and presented it to her.

  "Frosty sister, forgive me for not visiting you for so long. It's just that I'm being watched too closely and it's hard to get out. Sometimes when I finally manage to slip away, it's in the middle of the night. I know that after midnight, Frosty sister will be composing songs and doesn't like to be disturbed, which is why I haven't come to see you. But if I had known that sister was ill, even if a thousand soldiers and horses were blocking my way, they wouldn't have been able to stop me from coming to visit and serve you, doing all the chores for you..."

  The person outside the door almost suspected that their ears had gone bad, as they were actually able to hear such pleasant words coming from this young man's mouth. Every sentence sounded like it came from the heart, full of emotion and without any pretence or hypocrisy. Added to that was his uncommonly handsome and delicate face, a living embodiment of a "little prince", and even he, as a man, had to admit that this kid really did have the potential to win women's hearts.

  As expected, the young man's words made Peony Fairy laugh repeatedly. She took over the tea cup he handed over and stretched out one hand, her slender fingers lightly poking his forehead: "Every time there are so many excuses, don't think that I'm in the Hundred Flowers Building and don't know about your affairs outside. These smooth talks and sweet words, save them for that beautiful Zhang sister of yours to hear, I won't listen. And you say you're serving me? Others serve you but can't even serve you properly. Luckily, she recovered from her illness early, if I had waited for you to serve me, I'm afraid I would have grown old and toothless waiting!"

  That young man smiled and said: "What's so difficult about this? I don't know where Sister Frost is uncomfortable, let me rub it for you. Is it here?"

  As he spoke, he was about to reach out and touch her waist.

  "Haha... are you looking for a beating? You know I'm ticklish!" Peony Fairy laughed and patted his hand away. The young man finally stopped, kneeling between her legs, his hands naturally placed on her thighs, looking up at her stunning face, asking: "Sister Frost, have you composed any new songs?"

  The Peony Fairy smiled and asked: "Do you want to hear?"

  "I want!"

  "You can't just listen and ignore it, you have to come up with some explanation. If you can't, I'll slap your palm."