“Dayu, look.”

“Ah, the flowers.”

Taeyeon shares a smile with Dayu. Only the two of them know the significance of the flowers they just saw by the river. Peach blossoms. They used to make her sad but now, she chooses to remember the happy memories. The good memories of the times she spent under the peach blossom trees with a young girl she once knew. She has drawn a thousand peach blossom trees since then and they proved to be popular with customers, much to her surprise. Her customers say the paintings are magical, that the peach blossom paintings give them an inexplicable sense of beauty, timelessness. And each time Taeyeon hears such praise, all she does is smile and thank her customer. The secret of the peach blossom trees will be something she keeps precious in her heart till the end of her time.

Their carriage draws to a stop and the door is opened by a young man, handsome in his own right. He offers a hand for Taeyeon to hold but Dayu smacks it away with a grin.

“No, you’re not touching my woman’s hand when I’m around.”

The young man simply grins back. “Does that mean I’m allowed to touch Madam’s hand when Master is not around?”

Dayu sighs and shakes his head. “My dear, I think Zhouwei needs to be talked to.”

Taeyeon laughs. “You’re the one who hired him. You can have pleasure of dealing with him. I’ll be taking a nap in the meantime,” she says, taking Dayu’s hand as she steps out of the carriage.

“I did not marry you so that you can sleep all day.”

Taeyeon shrugs and smooths out her long, sweeping skirt. “It’s too late to regret now, my dear hubby.”

Zhouwei closes the door and bows. “Madam, I’ll take care of the horses and carriage. Please have a good rest.”

Taeyeon nods. “Thank you, Zhouwei. Here,” she takes a coin out from her purse and hands it to the young man, “take it and have a good meal before coming back. You’re worked hard.”

Zhouwei takes the coin with a beaming smile. “Thank you, Madam. You’re the best!”

Dayu chuckles as they watch Zhouwei hop back onto the carriage and pull away from the inn behind them. “You’re spoiling him too much.”

“He works hard and is loyal to us. He deserves a reward every now and then.”

Dayu smiles. “Thank you for understanding me in this way.”

Taeyeon pats Dayu’s shoulder. “You be careful now.”

“It isn’t like that,” Dayu begins to say but Taeyeon enters the inn, forcing him to catch up.

Moments later, Taeyeon is lying in bed, napping as she planned. They had gotten a nicer room than they had asked for without having to pay for it. Well, not by coins anyway. Apparently, stating her name is enough to bring recognition to the inn owner’s eyes and before she even knew what had happened, she was agreeing to a painting for the inn owner. So much for taking a break from work.

Dayu has gone out to look for Zhouwei and also to scout around. This is not the first time they have visited Hangzhou but the last time they passed through this place was years ago. Back then, they were not as wealthy as they are now and they were relegated to the seedier areas to rest since they had to be careful with the money they had left. But judging from the treatment they received from the inn owner, things are no longer the same for them. Now, they are Lim Dayu and Taeyeon, husband and wife, well known for the wife’s incredible gift in painting.

How things have changed. Her determination to get to Shanghai had not been in vain. Shanghai is vastly different from other regions she has been in. Being a coastal region, Shanghai is more open to worldly influences and Taeyeon had been pleasantly surprised to meet female painters when she first arrived. She learnt quickly that paintings sold in Shanghai are valued by virtue of skill rather than one’s birth and that meant she no longer needed to wear her disguise.

Even then, it had not been an easy start. As an arts hub, Shanghai is competitive. There are many painters vying for fame and fortune and striking out as a new, female painter is still relatively challenging. But after a year of hardship, the fortune that had forsaken her in the Hwang estate returned and gifted her with an encounter with a wealthy art collector from a faraway land called England. This English man took one look at her paintings and bought five of them at once. Then, through a translator, he made it known that he would be back for more. And life has never been the same since then.

The sun is shining and birds are chirping when Taeyeon finally opens her eyes again. Dayu is beside her, fast asleep, snoring slightly. She gets out of bed and sets about freshening up. A change of clothes is in order as well.

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