Zhou Residence
The ten-mu estate was at best half the upper limit, yet it boasted clear water forming pools, winding paths leading to secluded spots, overlapping rockeries, and scattered pavilions, condensing the charm of mountains and rivers into a single corner. The weather was now gradually turning hot, with flowing fire melting gold, but in the rear garden, the water vapor still felt chillingly refreshing, truly a supreme sanctuary for escaping the heat.
"It really is so comfortable this year, even the breeze is cool."
Shi Qin the maid walked over to the window and pushed open both casements. The cool breeze rushed against her face, carrying a faint, secluded floral fragrance that made her unable to resist stretching lazily.
"I thought this Xia was relatively cool, but going out, it's just as hot. Returning to the estate, it's refreshing—the place where the young miss lives is the coolest."
"Right, the pastries in the bamboo hamper are gone. Should I tell the kitchen to prepare more?" Shi Qin asked.
"You're the one who wants to eat them, aren't you?" Seated properly before the window, having washed away her makeup and removed her jewelry, Zhou Yao did not raise her head from the Book of Documents as she spoke.
"Fine, go if you must, and bring me back a melon."
Watching the maid Shi Qin leap away joyfully, she smiled.
The hamper in the boudoir was constantly stocked with honey dates, persimmon cakes, walnut crisps, tuckahoe cakes, and the like, most of which were shared among her close maids; Zhou Yao herself did not partake much.
"Still, it certainly is comfortable." Surrounding stone paths and water seclusion, despite the blazing sun of Xia, wisps of cool water vapor drifted in a recirculating current. This was not something she did deliberately; rather,