Dwelling of Memories Chapter 7

The tenth year of the Republic of China, the winter solstice.

The snow fell heavily this year, and the flowers in the plum garden seemed to be nourished by the snow and bloomed better than in previous years. My house happens to be directly opposite the plum garden. When I open the north window, I can see white snow dotted with red clothes, which is a beautiful sight.

I love calligraphy and painting. Every time after snow, painting plum blossoms is a required course for me. At this moment, I was leaning on the desk in front of the window, washing my pen and studying ink, and she was sitting next to me, looking at the red plum trees with a happy face.

Her name is Ivy, she is only fourteen years old and was sold to the Cao Mansion as a maid last winter.

I still remember that day, when the sky was covered with heavy snow and covered with snow, the old servant held her hand and walked into the backyard one foot deep and one foot shallow.

At that time, I was lying in front of the study window copying the red plums outside the window. My husband was standing behind me with a ruler. As long as I was distracted, it would be a ruler.

Suddenly, a black-tailed magpie landed on the windowsill, taking small steps, lowering its head and pecking at the snow flakes on the window lattice. My eyes were attracted by this little thing, and I leaned out to take a look. She happened to walk to my window. When she raised her head, her eyes met, and I saw a pair of eyes set in the snow, as bright as stars.

"Concentrate!" The back of the head was immediately hit with a foot.

She smiled slyly, revealing a naughty little tiger tooth.

I hugged my head, and before it was too late to signal, I leaned towards the window again, and saw two silhouettes, an old one and a young one, walking away into the distance. In the vast whiteness, only the red rope tied on her head was bright and plump, disappearing around the corner.

A few days later, I found out that her name was Ivy, that she was one year older than me, and that she was the maid in the Sixth Aunt’s mother’s room. After that, I went to my sixth aunt's room every day, used a stone as a wake-up call, and told her stories to make her happy. However, I always found various reasons to ask Ivy to stay and take care of me. After a while, I deliberately found excuses not to go. As expected, this little girl took the initiative to pester me and kept asking what happened to Qin Shubao.

"This fan is so skillfully made." Ivy picked up the fan on the table and looked at it carefully. Su Gong's gold-sprinkled fan was exquisite and meticulous, and the fan bones were made of fine white jade, which was transparent and flawless.

"I heard from my father that it was given to me by a blind fortune teller on the day I was born."

I taught Ivy how to hold the brush. As we went back and forth, I held her hand and a red plum blossom bloomed on the fan. She learned very well, her hair brushing my neck, making me feel uneasy. My hand trembled and the flower branch tilted and fell to one side. I took some ink again and added a few strokes. This red plum blossom stood out from the crowd and the picture became lively instantly.

"Ivy, when you grow up," I deliberately raised my voice, "will you marry me?"

When I lowered my head, I saw Ivy looking at me blankly, with a blush on her cheeks, which was more beautiful than plum blossoms.

"Damn girl! Mrs. Six is   looking for you everywhere!" Old Liu, who was in charge of the servants, shouted at Ivy from a distance, "You are hiding and enjoying your time!"

"I have to go." Ivy blushed and left in a hurry.

I put the painted fan in front of the window. The white snow outside the window made the red plum blossoms more vivid.

I sat on the chair and felt empty inside. Suddenly, a gust of wind came in through the cracks in the window. I shivered, but I smelled a faint fragrance of plum blossoms. When I looked up, I was stunned.

Wherever the wind blows, the red plum blossoms on the paper fan flutter with the wind, lifelike!

I couldn't believe it. I rubbed my eyes. The wind stopped and the red plums fell steadily on the fan. I sat in front of the window and couldn't recover for a long time.

That night, it was snowing heavily and a red plum tree came into my dream.

Finally it was time to go to the market. I took Ivy out to join in the fun on the pretext of buying candy. She looked left and right excitedly, and I ran after her toward the juggling troupe.

Suddenly, a car drove over and the driver kept honking his horn.

"Xiao Lian!" I shouted to her at the top of my lungs.

Ivy was focused on the sideshow and ran on the road without noticing. Seeing that the car was getting closer and closer, I didn't care much. I rushed forward and pushed Ivy away. Seeing her fall on the roadside, my body softened and fell to the ground.

Before the driver got off the bus, I had already stood up and patted the dirt on my body. Ivy ran to me worriedly and looked at me in surprise at how freely I moved.

"I was scared to death just now! Your whole body was knocked away! You rolled on the ground several times!" Ivy was still in shock.

"Really?" I didn't feel any pain, and there were no scars on my body.

"Fan!" Ivy exclaimed.

The fan lay on the ground, only half an inch away from the wheel. I felt so distressed that I quickly ran to pick it up. When I opened it, I saw that there was an extra scratch on the fan.

I held the fan in a daze.

"Master, be careful when you go out." At some point, a blind old man with a cane appeared next to him.

"none of your business?"

I blew the dirt on my fan and walked towards Ivy. Suddenly, a word floated behind me.

"This fan has spirituality, can ward off disasters, and boost your fortune. Once you lose it, you will no longer have protection in your life, and it will be difficult for you to turn around in the future!"

I was just about to ask for a clear answer, but when I looked back, I saw that the blind old man had disappeared.