Guo Baiyu sat alone under a cherry blossom tree in the courtyard, painting a picture of Ping'an. Every detail of her still lingered clearly in his mind. At that time, he believed that if he returned home, he would slowly free her from his memory, but the longer the time passed, the clearer the memory became and the stronger the feeling of missing her.
It had been two years, ten months, and twelve days since Guo Baiyu last saw Ping'an and Zhao Renshu on that lonely dirt road. He remembered the way back to them, but he chose not to visit. Since the day he left them, he had decided to step away from this love triangle. In two months, the three-year contract between Zhao Renshu and him would end.
Guo Baiyu's courtyard was the smallest of all other family members. He liked a simple life. While other family members had twenty to fifty maids and servants, Guo Baiyu had only three. For example, the Grand Lady of the house, who was Guo Baiyu's grandmother, had ten personal maids. Twenty maids cleaned and took care of her yard, and ten male servants helped them. She also had ten private guards who were strictly trained to protect herself from thieves.
He heard footsteps slowly approaching him.
"What is it?" Guo Baiyu asked, continuing his painting.
"Young master, I'm sorry to disturb you, but the Master is back," Xiao Mei said, her voice soft. "He wants a family dinner tonight."
"Thank you, Xiao Mei," Guo Baiyu said, turning around to give her a small smile. "Please remind me later."
"Yes, young master. Do you wish for anything in the kitchen?" Xiao Mei inquired.
"No, you can go," Guo Baiyu replied, turning back to his painting.
Xiao Mei had known for two years and ten months that whenever the young master missed this lady, he would draw a picture of her. In his study room nowadays, most of the paintings by the young master were of this lady, but she dared not ask him who she was. Even if she didn't ask, Xiao Mei knew this lady was very important to him, and he missed her deeply.
The Guo families were very strict in choosing maids, so when Guo Baiyu brought Xiao Mei back to his home five years ago to be his personal maid, everyone was shocked. His father and grandmother could not go against his wishes at the time, because he was solely conducting business and bringing money into the family coffers.
Xiao Mei had been deformed since she was born. One of her eyes was bigger than the other. Her crooked mouth made her speech a little difficult to understand. She was four feet ten inches tall, and her head was a bit large. Moreover, her hands were also deformed: her pinky finger stuck to her ring finger, and her middle finger stuck to her index finger on both hands.
The reason Guo Baiyu chose her was that Xiao Mei was a quick learner. Guo Baiyu taught her how to read and write. Within six months of working for him, she could read and write without any problems. On the other hand, Xiao Mei admired Guo Baiyu very much. Since she was born, she had been an unknown child until Guo Baiyu named her Xiao Mei.
Guo Baiyu put the finished painting on the table, put away the paintbrush, and looked at the painting. He closed his eyes, and the memory of the one month he had spent with Ping'an and Zhao Renshu began to play in his mind again. From the first time he met her on that dirt road, to the last moment of goodbye when he kissed her. He didn't remember how long he had daydreamed until Xiao Mei's voice woke him.
"Young master, it is six in the evening," Xiao Mei announced.
Guo Baiyu opened his eyes.
"Do you want to change clothes before going to the main dining hall?" Xiao Mei continued. "The Master said we have guests tonight, and he ordered all the young masters to attend."
Guo Baiyu rolled up his finished painting and handed it to Xiao Mei.
"I'll go change," Guo Baiyu said.
"I will take the painting to the study room," Xiao Mei replied.
"Thank you, Xiao Mei," Guo Baiyu said warmly.
The Guo family dining hall was very large. The maids had set two large Chinese round tables in the middle of the hall. Fifteen servants walked back and forth between the kitchen and the family dining hall, placing dishes of food on the two tables. There were two rows of seats in the large hall, with ten beautiful wooden chairs on each side. When Guo Baiyu arrived at the dining hall, everyone except the Grand Lady had already arrived, including the four guests. Guo Baiyu found an empty chair beside the doorway. The five Guo brothers looked at the two fairly beautiful ladies sitting across from them. Shortly after, the Grand Lady Guo walked into the dining hall with her ten maids. Master Guo stood up and walked to Grand Lady Guo.
"Mother, this way," Master Guo said, leading her to one of the round Chinese tables. "The elders are sitting here, and the young are sitting over there."
The young people went to their table and sat down. The names of Guo's sons all ended with "Yu." Guo Baiyu was the first young master of the Guo family. Guo Yingyu was the second young master and the first son of Lady Fourth. Guo Jinyu was the third young master and the second son of Lady Fourth. Guo Hongyu was the fourth young master and the only son of the Second Lady. Guo Heiyu was the fifth young master and the youngest son of Lady Fourth. Guo Mingyu was the sixth young master and the only child of the First Lady of the house.
In Capital City, everyone expressed admiration for Master Guo's six handsome and talented sons. The Guo family was the fourth richest family in Capital City. The Wu and the Fang were the richest among the rest of the upper-class families in Capital City, so when the Wu family visited the Guo family tonight, Guo's sons must show their best behavior.
Guo Baiyu already knew the reason why the Wu sisters came here tonight. They visited the Guo brothers to choose a husband according to their parents' request. His other brothers were already in conversation with the Wu sisters, trying hard to leave a good impression on them. Guo Baiyu remained silent and just looked at them.
At the dinner table, the younger generation was eating and sharing educational experiences. Memories flashed in Guo Baiyu's heart. He recalled the moment at Peach Blossom Valley where he was sitting at the kitchen table with Zhao Renshu and Ping'an, eating the plain food she cooked. He recalled her smile, he recalled his jokes, and his own happiness.
"It's just you, him, and me," Guo Baiyu murmured softly.
"Ge, what did you say?" Guo Mingyu asked, curious.
"Nothing," Guo Baiyu replied.
"Why should I come?" Guo Mingyu complained. "I don't even like the two ladies."
"Behave yourself," Guo Baiyu admonished gently.
The younger brother nodded and continued to eat without looking at his other brothers.
"How about after dinner we can show you two around?" Guo Yingyu suggested to the Wu sisters.
"That's great. I want to discuss some business with Master Guo," Master Wu replied.
"Baiyu, you stay behind," Master Guo commanded. His three wives and four sons gave Guo Baiyu disgusted expressions.
One of the maids pulled another chair beside Master Guo. Guo Baiyu walked over and sat between Grand Lady Guo and Master Guo, across from Master and Madam Wu.
"Childe Guo," Master Wu began, "the reason we brought our daughters here today is to let them look at you and your brothers. My daughters, Meixiang and Meirong, are both taking a liking to you."
"Master Wu, I understand that both of the maidens like Baiyu," Master Guo said, a confident smile on his face. "You don't need to ask him. I accept the marriage proposal, and I will counter with a proposal of my own."
"Oh?" Master Wu said, surprised.
"Baiyu will marry Lady Meixiang, and Yingyu will ask for Lady Meirong's hand," Master Guo announced. Everyone smiled except Guo Baiyu. "What do you say?"
"Master Guo, I have nothing to say," Master Wu replied, a hearty laugh escaping him. "You chose two of the most talented sons to be my sons-in-law. Besides accepting, what can I say? Ha... ha... ha..."
"Good. Baiyu and Yingyu will have families," Grand Lady Guo smiled, pleased.
Around midnight, Xiao Mei walked to her master's bedroom. She saw that the light was still on, so she peeked inside and saw her master's painting again. She then walked to the kitchen.
Guo Baiyu heard a knock at the door.
"May I come in?" Xiao Mei asked softly.
"Come in," Guo Baiyu replied.
She put the dessert and a pot of green tea on the table next to her master. She looked at the painting, and this time there were three people in it. She recognized the lady, but she did not recognize the other man in the painting. She knew that the other one was her young master. They sat and ate under some blossom trees.
"You don't have to wait for me," Guo Baiyu said, not looking up from his work. "I will sleep here tonight. Please close the door when you leave." He continued painting.
Xiao Mei walked to the door. "Good night, young master." She closed the door.
After he finished, he wrote on the painting:
"Meet or part, live and die,
Took an oath, sworn our lives,
Walk with you, side by side,
Be your cane throughout your life,
Forever I stand beside you,
Until hair turns grey, our day is due."
Guo Baiyu sighed softly, the painting a stark reminder of her absence. "Ping'an," he whispered to the silent room, a painful yearning in his voice, "are you doing well, my love? And do you ever miss me?"