After they were done with everything, they casually ate something in the village. After washing up, Yaelle fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed. She didn't even bother to take care of the blisters on her feet.
She slept deeply through the night. When Yaelle woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky. She moved her limbs and felt sore all over, worse than running several 800-meter laps and doing sit-ups and leg lifts during gym class.
It was more exhausting than a whole day of military training with standing at attention and marching drills. Her legs especially didn't feel like hers anymore. It reminded her of the miserable college days when she couldn't climb into the top bunk after military drills.
After she got up and freshened up, she went outside. Attendant Sean told her the honeysuckle had already been planted. Well, it was her own fault.
She was too tired and woke up too late. Looking at the stretch of honeysuckle that now grew along the village fence, Yaelle couldn't help but feel a sense of achievement. Next time she went up the mountain, she'd dig more to bring back.
She wanted to cover the whole fence, which would look good and be useful too. "Hopefully they all survive," Attendant Sean said with a smile. "Yeah, but I'm really tired now."
Yaelle stretched lazily. "Do you want to rest a bit more, Miss?" Attendant Sean asked with concern. "No need, I'd better check on my feet first."
Yaelle remembered the blisters. "I was so tired yesterday I just passed out and forgot to take care of them." Attendant Sean nodded and went with her to check her feet.
"Oh no, so many blisters. They're all swollen. No wonder it hurts so much."
Yaelle frowned when she saw her feet. "Don't worry, Miss, I'll get you some medicine right away." Attendant Sean turned to go fetch it.
Yaelle looked at his back and felt a little warmth in her heart. Attendant Sean quickly came back with some medicine. He cleaned the wounds, popped the smaller blisters, applied the ointment, and carefully wrapped them.
"Miss, your feet are pretty bad. It'll hurt to walk. Should we stay at the village for a few more days before heading back?"
Attendant Sam was worried. Women were precious now, and they kept letting Yaelle get hurt. If the authorities found out, their jobs as attendants could be in danger.
They might even be sold or sent to the army. "No need. It's just a small injury. Nothing serious."
It wasn't a big deal. She'd been through worse. Back when she worked, heavy boxes had fallen and scraped her legs badly.
She had big scrapes and didn't even bother to bandage them. She still had to keep working. Graphic designers often cut their hands.
As long as the bone wasn't hurt, it was all minor. It healed in a few days. Only here, even a light cough made everyone nervous, treating her like she was made of porcelain.
After breakfast, Yaelle brought the group back on the road. Since they were in a carriage, there wasn't much walking involved. Just a few steps here and there, so she could still manage.
Back at her own courtyard, she took off her shoes and socks and lay down on the bed, falling asleep right away. That trip had been way too tiring. Her body really lacked exercise.
The mountain she climbed yesterday would've been easy for her before, since it was relatively gentle. It wasn't even that steep around here.
After resting at home for a few days, the Dragon Boat Festival came around. Maxim sent a visit invitation, saying he would come over during the festival. According to custom, couples like them, though engaged in a formal agreement, still had to exchange gifts during important festivals.
Even if the man was too busy to come in person, he still had to send someone to deliver the gifts, so it wasn't surprising. They hadn't seen each other for over a month. When things were busy, it wasn't noticeable, but now that things had calmed down, Yaelle actually missed him a little.
On the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, Yaelle got up early and had Attendant Sean and the others prepare everything. She wore a light blue dress, her hair in a simple bun with a jade hairpin, looking fresh and graceful. Soon after breakfast, Maxim arrived at the Xia residence.
He brought many gifts like rice dumplings, scented sachets, and five-colored strings, along with fine jewelry, tea leaves, pastries, wine, and more. He first went to visit Michael, and the two exchanged polite greetings. They chatted about recent events and some future plans, then Maxim headed to Yaelle's courtyard.
It had been a while since they last saw each other, and both felt slightly awkward. Especially Maxim, who blushed when he saw her, thinking of the dreams he'd had. They chatted briefly and decided to take a walk by the lotus pond.
The lotuses were in full bloom, filling the air with fragrance. Maxim picked a lotus pod, carefully peeled a few seeds for Yaelle, even removing the bitter cores, showing his care. The atmosphere between them grew warm.
They walked for a while on the small bridge in the middle of the lake, then reached a pavilion. There, Maxim suddenly stopped and took out a delicate wooden box from his robe, handing it to her. "This is a gift for you," Maxim said softly.
Yaelle opened the box. Inside was a pair of pearl-inlaid earrings, glowing with a beautiful sheen. "They're beautiful… thank you," Yaelle said, her cheeks flushing red.
Maxim smiled, gently lifted her face, and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. Well, this guy dared to kiss her outside the room. She felt shy, not liking such things out in the open, afraid others might see.
These people didn't seem to mind the servants around, as if assuming they wouldn't dare look. She still preferred being affectionate somewhere private. "Brother Maxim, I've got a new kind of tea. I'll brew it for you later."
Yes, it was the golden-silver lotus. Last time, they had gathered several sacks of it. After drying it in the sun, they only got about forty pounds.
It had just finished drying recently, and Maxim happened to come, so she figured he could try it. People here only knew its medicinal use, no one had brewed it as tea before. "Alright. Where did you get the tea, Yaelle?" Maxim asked casually, setting down what he was holding and clapping his hands.
"Picked it on the mountain." "You went up the mountain? Was it tiring? You could've had others do it. Don't wear yourself out," Maxim said with concern.
"It's fine, it was safe. I didn't go far and brought a few guards. Treated it as a little outing."
They returned to Yaelle's courtyard. She led him to sit by the small tea table in the side hall with three small stools. Attendant Sam brought over a small jar filled with morning dew they'd collected from lotus leaves and blossoms earlier that day.
It was hard to gather and had taken them several days to collect just three jars, totaling less than three jin. But it was worth it. No matter what kind of tea leaves were used, when brewed with this water, the tea would carry the delicate scent of lotus blossoms.