The porridge was piping hot, as it was still bubbling away on the surface.

The rice grains were longer and thinner, and were light green in color, much like the l.u.s.tre of jade. It gave off a distinct aroma.

Long Xi was surprised, “It's green j.a.ponica rice porridge, as mentioned in “A Dream in Red Mansions!”

She swallowed hard uncontrollably, and her stomach growled in antic.i.p.ation.

How embarra.s.sing! Long Xi had never made such a gaffe, in her eighteen years of life!

When she read “A Dream in Red Mansions,” there were many delicious foods mentioned, in the book. One of them was this green, j.a.ponica rice porridge.

Her eyes were fixed greedily on the porridge, like a hungry wolf.

That bowl of green porridge looked like a rippling spring lake, reflecting the blue sky. It must have been simmering for a long time, as the color of the rice had seeped into the gruel.

Though she was very hungry, she politely filled the bowls for the people at the table, before getting her own.

The porridge was hot, but very delicious.

The essence of the green j.a.ponica rice had been infused into the porridge gruel.

Long Xi enjoyed the porridge so much, that she gladly ignored the piping hotness of the porridge and wanted to eat it in a single gulp.

Very hot! Her tongue was almost burnt by the heat.

Although her tongue felt tender, she was still reluctant to spit out the delicious food. Instead, she blew on her porridge to cool it down.

She felt as if she had turned into the dragon lady in the myth, riding a green dragon, roaming heaven and earth freely, and sometimes feeling lonely.

One day, she flew over an emerald bamboo forest, and saw a man dressed in a pale green robe, leaning against a bamboo grove. He merged perfectly into the green sea of bamboos.

The man played a melodious tune on a green bamboo pipe.

This was when she suddenly realized that there were more beautiful sounds between heaven and earth, other than the sounds of a mountain stream trickling, birds singing…

Mo Kun looked at her in surprise, “You must be really hungry!”

“I've wanted to eat this delicacy for so long already. Green j.a.ponica rice is not easy to come by and it is usually too expensive.” Long Xi said, without lifting her head.

Consuming bowl after bowl of porridge, the other people echoed her words. Soon, the small clay pot was almost empty.

While Long Xi concentrated on eating the porridge, Lord Mo Kun watched her, intently.

He thought Long Xi was more delicious than the delicacy they just had.

Her fair and tender face looked like a steamed, glutinous rice dumpling, which made him want to take a bite. Her eyes were like freshly picked, black grapes, which increased his appet.i.te.

The maids brought out the second dish.

Mo Kun introduced the dish, “This dish has a really poetic name, Snow Night Peach Blossom!”

Long Xi said, “This is Peach Blossoms in Snow Night. I have long been aware of this dis.h.!.+”

Everyone ate, while listening to Long Xi's story of Snow Night Peach Blossom

It was a long story.

In February of a certain year, Emperor Gaozong of Tang, had a serious illness and was totally bedridden. In the blink of an eye, it was March, the beautiful season, when peach blossoms bloomed. However, Gaozong could no longer enjoy the flowers, unlike the previous years.

It began to snow shortly after midday. The wind and snowfall stopped in the evening, and the moon rose. The whole land was covered in a silvery white hue and the scenery was just breathtaking.

Empress Wu helped Gaozong to the window to enjoy the view. Gaozong clapped his hands and exclaimed, “How good that peach blossoms can bloom in this snowy night!” A smile brightened his pale cheeks. He immediately felt better and asked for food.

Empress Wu Zetian immediately asked the imperial dining room to prepare some food.

After a while, the food was ready.

Gaozong found that there was a new dish that night, which looked good and tasted delicious, but he couldn't remember its name.

He picked up a piece of pink shrimp, put it into his mouth and chewed, then asked, “What is the name of this dish?”

Empress Wu smiled and said, “Your Majesty, this dish was named by you. You were talking about Peach Blossoms in Snow Night, when you admired the scenery outside the window. So I asked the royal chef to make that.”

Gaozong suddenly realized that and said happily, “Yes, yes, yes, it was named by me! It was named by me! ”

Since then, this dish would be served at every festive feast.

After Gaozong's death, the dish “Peach Blossoms in Snow Night ” was also placed in front of his altar.

Long Xi finally said, “I know what the ingredients are. The mixture of egg whites and fried milk was cooked like Shunde Stir-fried Milk, symbolizing the snowy night. The tiger shrimps were stir-fried with fresh spicy sauce, and looked like peach blossoms. The winter bamboo shoots were cut into the shape of peach leaves and peach branches.”

Mo Kun smiled and said, “You really have an acute sense of taste!”

There was something between the lines of his speech, that made Long Xi's pretty face blush like the “peach blossoms” they had just eaten.

Yan w.a.n.gchuan, sitting at the next table, had been paying attention to the story, and couldn't help saying, “In fact, this is just a legend. It is not so creditable. Were Empress Wu Zetian and Gaozong in such a good relations.h.i.+p? Isn't it a simple fact that Empress Wu Zetian was always trying to use Gaozong, to achieve her desire for power? I think this story was merely told in order to glorify Empress Wu Zetian! There's a famous dish called Baiqie Concubine Pheasant in Guangdong, and some later generations came up with a far-fetched story, related to Concubine Yang. In fact, Concubine Yang had never been to Guangdong from her birth to death, in history.”

Mo Kun smiled and said, “I didn't expect w.a.n.gchuan to be so erudite and well informed!”

“It is only an opinion; you are flattering me!” Yan w.a.n.gchuan smiled and said.

They drank all the wine, gobbled up all the delicacies served and sipped the precious tea, after each course. Everyone was content and tipsy, feeling as lighthearted as immortals.

After the banquet, some of the guests, including village head Long and uncle Zhao, took naps, in the building. Young people like Yu Lanjie and Yan w.a.n.gchuan enjoyed the view by the lake, by boat. Zhu Junyao and Niu Xisuch were going to see the flowers.

Granny and auntie Wu wanted to take a boat to visit Full Moon Island, so they set off happily.

“Would you like to climb to the top of the Star-reaching Building, and take in the panoramic view of the park?” Mo Kun asked Long Xi.

Smiling, Long Xi touched her round belly and said, “I ate too much, going for a walk would be perfect!”

Mo Kun's face was slightly flushed and he smiled a little mysteriously.

So the two went together to the top of Star-reaching Building.

The view was different from such a height, very picturesque, as it overlooked the park.

Long Xi suddenly discovered a whole new world!

It turned out that the golden red chrysanthemums by the lake made up a formation, comprising three Chinese characters ” I love you!” It was as if the characters were embroidered with gold and red threads on the green carpet.

Long Xi looked at it for a while and asked Mo Kun, “Is this your surprise for me?”

Mo Kun nodded and smiled. His face was like the night sky lit up by glazed lamps, a wild field in full bloom, a lotus leaf with dew on it.

He smiled and asked affectionately, “Is it a moving scene?”

Long Xi did not answer, so he tucked in his chin, and closed his eyes.

Long Xi was confused, “Why is he closing his eyes? He… This… is… Is… he… expecting… a kiss?”

He definitely wanted her to kiss him. His handsome face, lovely eyes and gentle smile were like a drug. How could one resist a creature like that?

Since Lord Mo Kun wanted a kiss, Long Xi would not disappoint him.

Long Xi held her breath, standing on tiptoe, as his lips came closer and closer.

When Long Xi was about to kiss Lord Mo Kun, he suddenly opened his eyes and pulled out something, seemingly out of nowhere and popped it into Long Xi's mouth.

He tilted his head like a naughty child, looking at her tenderly with bright eyes and bantered with her, “You were trying to kiss me, weren't you?”

A little embarra.s.sed, Long Xi drew back, and took out the item in her mouth. It turned out to be a very small and exquisite small jade ring, inlaid with gold, with a Pu-pattern. This so-called “Pu-pattern” is a straw mat pattern made of bulrush, which is staggered and slanted, like a cage with hexagonal bulges. This was a typical pattern from the Han Dynasty.

Mo Kun smiled and said, “This is a birthday present for you. I bought it from an antique dealer.”

“How sweet you are! But is there any possibility that it was stolen from a tomb, a burial object for the dead?” Long Xi said, teasing him.

“No! The dealer said it was a family heirloom, pa.s.sed down by his ancestors. He wouldn't have parted with it, if his family had not encountered tough times and were in desperate need of money. I am a layman when it comes to antiques, but I can read people well. He is not lying. Yes, I have another surprise for you. Let's go to Zhenxia Pavilion, next to Xiaoxiang Pavilion.”

Long Xi followed him to Zhenxia Pavilion.

As the name suggested, Zhenxia Pavilion was surrounded by many red flowers. There were many flowers from the different seasons, looking like crimson clouds at sunset. Living in Zhenxia Pavilion, one could be as happy as the G.o.ds, could paradise be any better?

She found her grandmother sitting on a bench in the courtyard of Zhenxia Pavilion, looking at her with a smile. Long Xi asked Mo Kun, “Kun, what do you have up your sleeve, now?”

Mo Kun smiled and said, “This is our home in the future! The three of us will live here! We'll get married, and have children! Granny's name and your name are on the house proprietary certificate. This house is your property now.”

Hearing this, Long Xi was moved to tears.

The surprises from Lord Mo Kun, came one by one. He had gone for cooking cla.s.ses and learned some cooking skills. Today, he made several of Long Xi's favorite dishes.

Although the taste was not that good yet, she was happier to enjoy the dishes.

Because this was the way her beloved man showed his love.

In the evening, Granny went to bed early.

Long Xi helped Lord Mo Kun to take a bath, as she promised.

She walked into the bathroom with Lord Mo Kun.

His bathroom was also decorated in a very interesting way. There was a wooden board hanging at the door, which had three Chinese letterings, stating “Hall of Raindrops.”

When Long Xi ran the bath for Lord Mo Kun, she found that the sound of the water running from the shower head was really like the sound of raindrops. The name “Hall of Raindrops” was both apt and poetic.

The dressing mirror in the bathroom was made in the typical style in Z Country. There were two lines of Li Bai's poem in cursive script “Its torrent dashes down three thousand feet from high, I wonder if it's the Milky Way that is falling from the sky.”

Was that a metaphor, describing the water from the shower head, as flying down three thousand feet?