“Answer my lord, the prince had taught us that the most import skill of writing a poem is to put your heart and own feelings into it.”Lotus had guessed my thought and explained to me.

    “Good!”I praised, “So all of your names related to lotus?”

    “Yes, Mam.”Lotus replied.

    What a true love on lotus, the flower! I had married a wonderful husband who used the literature to serve his own desires.

    I had planned to live a peaceful common life, but this was nothing to do with his wife. The four was just the beginning. When I remembered that their aroma could be left on his body, I could bear any more.

    Before I left home, mother asked me to take the Book of Songs, advised me to read the two poems: A Fair Maiden and Ge Tan, to learn how to be a good wife of a royal family. I didn’t any useful suggestions from the two poems. Anyway, mother’s advice was the same, do not be jealous. But I didn’t know long could I tolerant. He was a prince, he could have much more women than I could count.

    Poor me and poor them.

    “Madam, give them teas.”I ordered Madam Su to end the ceremony.

    When all the servants left, I asked Mingzhu, my maid, her name given by my husband either, from another poem.“To tell the Highness, that I am too busy this days to serve him.”

    “It is not good, my lady, you are the bride.”Bing advised me.

    “He has so many maids who could serve him, no matter if I am there or not.”

    “Who dared to make my new wife angry?”His voice came to me before he headed in.

    I turned to another direction, pretending not seeing him.

    Bing and Mingzhu left and closed the door.

    Xiao Yi did not comfort me with honeyed words as I suggested, but took my hand and tried to show me something, “Pei, come with me.”

    I was surprised to find a pool outside under his direction. I arrived here in a short time, and did not have the chance to walk around the mansion. This pool was near the reading room of us, with some crumbled lotus in it. The leaves of the willows were withering in yellow, surviving the hard weather.    

    “Pei, I loved lotus, not only because they are good but because you like them. So I dug this pool for you.”My husband murmured beside me.

    I was moved by him again, thinking the next summer, I could stay aside the pool, listening to the songs of cicadas, the bad mood was fading away.

    How could I blame him because he was a born noble in a royal family?

    But I still wanted to keep reserved from showing my satisfaction so soon and let him think that I was easy to coax,“Are my majesty checking my knowledge on poem? I remembered a poem Lovesick in Autumn describing similar scenery but the poet Xiao Que of the previous dynasty.”

    He was surprised,“Yes, that poem gave me inspiration. You don’t like this arrangement?”

    “The poet wrote, that a life is as short as the dew in the morning. The beauty Diaochan had a short life as a dew. How about your opinion on this?”

    “Why are you so sad, Pei?”

    “I am not as beautiful as her, but I might have similar life, or like the lotus, wither after a prosperity.”

    “Pei, come to me. I will give you a greenhouse. You won’t wither.”He hugged me into his arms. I relied on him without saying any more.

    “What are you thinking about?”

    “About the beauty. Does she feel cold after death?”

    “Don’t say such stupid words again. I will warm you in my whole life.”He said.

    “Is this a promise?”I sighed, “Don’t break your promise since you are a good one.”

    “If I break my promise, I am not a good one any more?”

    I smiled, “How could you claim to be a good one if you break your oath to a woman? Didn’t you read the article of Confucius, Only women and villains are difficult to support.”

    “In fact, when I have you, I don’t want to be a good one at all.”He smiled badly.

    Before I could keep on the dialogue, he had stopped me with a feverish kiss.