Nanny Liu smiled and nodded as she uncovered the first dish of the morning meal.
"My lady, though this old servant would love to take credit, today's breakfast was truly not my idea."
Lu Yuanyi watched Lady Lu with eager anticipation.
"Mother, quick, taste it! How does it taste?"
Lady Lu picked up the thin, golden pancake and placed it in her mouth.
The peppery aroma seemed to transport her back to her childhood, when she would willfully nestle in her grandmother's arms, and her grandmother would tear the pancake into small pieces, feeding her bit by bit.
After so many years, she had finally tasted that flavor again.
"It's delicious."
Lady Lu's eyes grew slightly moist.
"Mother, there's also this!"
It was a bowl of translucent lotus root starch dumplings. As a child, her weak digestion had prevented her from eating many foods, and she often envied her brothers for being able to enjoy street snacks. On her eighth birthday, she had made a wish to try the snacks sold outside.
Later, her mother had someone fetch a recipe from the south and prepared a bowl of lotus root starch dumplings, which her brothers brought back from the streets. She had been overjoyed that day, finishing the entire bowl clean.
At a gathering later, when chatting with her young friends about street food, she blurted out, "The lotus root starch dumplings from West Street are so delicious!" Her friends scratched their heads in confusion—there were no such dumplings sold on West Street. Only then did she realize she had been tricked. Too young to understand, she held a grudge against her mother for a long time and refused to eat the dumplings again.
As she grew older, her digestion improved, and she finally got to taste the street snacks she had longed for. Gradually, she began to recall those lotus root starch dumplings—but by then, her mother was no longer around.
Now, she was a mother of three herself. She was luckier than her own mother—her children were better to her than she had been.
"Time flies. So today is the ninth—another year older for Mother."
Lady Lu glanced at her children.
"Mother isn't old at all! You'll never grow old!" Lu Yuanyi exclaimed.
"Come, sit and eat together. Thank you for the birthday gifts you've prepared for me. I'm very happy. Let me tell you about when I was little..."
Lady Lu recounted the memories tied to each dish on the table, the sweet and bitter flavors of the past flooding back into her mind, as if she were reliving her youth.
Lu Chao listened intently. He remembered how, a few days ago, after Aunt Zhou and Aunt Li had returned to their families, Lady Lu had seemed downcast. When he asked Nanny Liu, he learned that since marrying into Yingchuan City, Lady Lu had rarely returned to her hometown due to the long distance. He guessed she must be homesick.
But travel in ancient times was difficult—journeys were long and arduous, and one couldn't just leave on a whim. Besides, Lord Lu was away on official business, and Lady Lu herself was pregnant. A trip home was far from easy.
Food was the essence of life, and dishes carried the nostalgia of home—each meal a story, each bowl a chapter of life.
Lu Yuanzhao and Lu Yuanyi seldom heard Lady Lu speak of her childhood. To them, their mother had always been here since their birth. It had never occurred to them that she might miss home—that she, too, had once been someone else's child.
Had it not been for Lu Chao's attentiveness, they might never have had the chance to hear their mother share stories of her youth.
They barely remembered how her birthdays had been celebrated in previous years. She never made a fuss, unlike other ladies who hosted banquets. She always said, "You being well is the best gift for me."
...
As the sun began to set, the children presented their gifts one by one.
Lu Yuanzhao gave a painted clay figurine of their family of five—Lord Lu in his official robe and hat, arms crossed; Lady Lu tenderly caressing her belly; Lu Yuanzhao reading; Lu Yuanyi laughing with hands on hips; and the well-behaved Lu Chao. The artisan had truly captured their likenesses.
"Wow!!! Big brother, can we ask the artisan to make more? I love it too!!"
Lady Lu's eyes lit up, and she patted Lu Yuanyi's eager hands.
"Shishu!! Quick, quick! Take this to my room and place it on the curio shelf. Don't let this little rascal snatch it!"
The servants burst into laughter.
Lu Yuanyi pouted. "Mother! I was just looking! I wouldn’t dare take it! You’re so stingy! And after I got you such a big gift!"
"Where is your gift, then? Let me see how big it is."
Lu Yuanyi led Lady Lu by the hand outside.
"Mother, close your eyes first."
Nanny Liu and the others watched nervously, afraid their mistress might stumble.
"Okay, open them now!"
Lady Lu opened her eyes to see a tree laden with crabapples.
"I heard from Nanny that since you’ve been pregnant, you’ve had no appetite but crave sour fruits. So I had this crabapple tree brought from the south—it’s even potted! You can pick one whenever you want!"
Lady Lu plucked a crabapple, wiped it on her sleeve, and took a bite.
"Oh dear, young mistress! It’s not even washed yet!"
Nanny Liu was so flustered she reverted to calling her "young mistress."
"Wow!! So tasty!! Sweet and tangy!! Truly a grand gift!! I love it!"
The children gaped as their usually dignified and proper mother wiped the fruit roughly on her sleeve before eating it.
So it was true—she really had been a lively girl in her youth!
Lu Chao, being the youngest, presented his gift last.
He handed Lady Lu a scroll with both hands.
"Chao, did you find a painting for me?"
Lady Lu unrolled the scroll, and her hands trembled.
"It’s Grandmother and Mother—Nanny, look! Isn’t it?"
Tears spilled from Lady Lu’s eyes.
After so many years, her grandmother and mother had rarely appeared in her dreams. She had feared she might forget their faces.
Lu Chao had never met them. He had asked Nanny Liu to describe their appearances, adjusting the portrait stroke by stroke until it was just right.
"My lady, calm yourself—don’t frighten the children. This old servant understands, I do."
Lu Chao hadn’t expected Lady Lu to be so overwhelmed and grew concerned for her health.
"Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother must be watching over you from heaven. If they see me making you cry, they’ll surely scold me tonight."
Lady Lu laughed through her tears.
"Then let them scold me! I’d welcome it! Those two wicked old ladies haven’t even visited me once."
But she hastily wiped her tears, afraid they might stain the painting.
As the moonlight darkened, filtering through the treetops, the usually disciplined Lady Lu finally closed her eyes, the scroll resting by her bedside.
Lu Yuanzhao, reading for a while, mused, "Thank goodness Father isn’t home—otherwise, I’d never have been able to take the day off to celebrate Mother’s birthday."
Under the same sky, in Yuxi County...
Lord Lu pushed his food around absentmindedly, gazing at the moon outside. A sudden wave of longing washed over him, and he sneezed.
Perhaps his wife and children were missing him. He rarely traveled for official business, and this trip had been unusually long. With Lord Zhou of the Inspectorate newly arrived, the matter in Yuxi County would likely take another ten days or more to resolve. He should write a letter home to ease their worries.
"Lord Lu, still eating? You’ve worked hard these past days!"
A hearty voice interrupted his thoughts.
