Zhenqing Daoist Abbey stood at the foot of a small hill outside the commandery city's west gate, and was slightly larger than Ge Hong's Chuyangtai Taoist Monastery. Chen Caozhi and Lu Weiwei alighted from their carriages in front of the abbey. Chen Caozhi first went to pay his respects in the Three Purities Hall. Following his mother's instructions to give alms whenever he entered a Buddhist temple or Daoist abbey, he had Lai De fetch a hundred Wuzhu coins as an offering for incense. Then he and Lu Weiwei followed an abbey attendant through the rear courtyard to the foot of the hill behind it. Halfway up the slope, a riot of purple and crimson blossoms spread before them: pink, deep red, rose red, pale purple, dark purple, and goose yellow. Several hundred camellias of various colors stood in the direct sunlight near noon, their profuse blossoms like brocade, more beauty than the eye could take in.
Stone steps funded by the abbey led halfway up the hill, where there was also a pinewood pavilion for resting.
The young maid Duan Chu walked ahead with Lu Weiwei, while Chen Caozhi and Ran Sheng followed behind. Looking up, Chen Caozhi saw Lu Weiwei lifting her skirts with both hands, revealing the green silk shoes on her feet; even her pink lined socks were visible. She walked very lightly and nimbly, presumably from frequently going out in search of flowers, and had quite some strength in her legs.
When they reached the pinewood pavilion, Lu Weiwei looked at the clusters of camellias blooming at different heights along the hillside and said, "There are a few unusual varieties here too. I thought that since it's close to home, I could come and see them whenever I liked, and the abbey takes very careful