Xi Zhaoting held the sour hawthorn up to his eyes and remarked, “Though inedible, it’s not bad looking.” He recalled Wei Linxia’s fondness for it, despite it being just a sour hawthorn.
Wei Linxia persuaded Lady Wei and Master Wei to each eat one, keeping the rest for herself as a thoughtful gift she couldn’t waste. However, after eating three, she experienced heartburn and an uncomfortable night. She then had the idea to add sugar to make preserves and asked Yumo to prepare them. Once completed, they filled three large enamel bowls, which she chilled. The next day, they were sweet and sour. Wei Linxia shared them with her family and Yan Junzhu and even offered some to the maids for cooling off, keeping only one bowl aside for Xi Linxuan.
In the study that day, while others had cooling tea, Xi Linxuan’s desk featured hawthorns in a beautiful red porcelain lotus leaf bowl, soaked in sugar water and looking quite tempting. When Li Weiheng asked, Yan Junzhu informed him they were prepared by Miss Wei and were quite delicious.
It wasn’t anything special; it was just envy for something one didn’t have. If faced with it, they might not even eat it.
During a break, Xi Linxuan casually enjoyed some from a bowl of ice. Xi Zhaoting sat nearby, rolling his eyes at him. He thought it was ironic that Wei Linxia made preserves from something so sour but here was Xi Linxuan treating it like a delicacy. Li Weiheng observed, propping her chin, remarking, “It looks very delicious.”
“It’s just an ordinary thing; what’s so good about it?” Xi Zhaoting replied.
Today, with Master Wei summoned out of the city on business, they dismissed class early. Xi Zhaoting decided to explore freely through the streets without Wei Fengzhi, bringing only two attendants. After wandering all day, he inquired about hawthorns, and the attendant dismounted, eventually purchasing a large basket of them from a local market, delighting the fruit seller. Xi Zhaoting then instructed them to buy a basket of each fruit, which led to the need to rent a horse-drawn cart for transport.
While passing through a street, they unexpectedly encountered a midday funeral with white paper money flying everywhere. Frowning at the inauspicious scene, Xi Zhaoting dismounted to take shelter under an eaves.
