Lu Weiwei had only returned to the residence in Wu Commandery before noon, but after lunch she told her father, Lu Na, that she wanted to paint peach blossoms west of the city. In previous years, she had traveled hundreds of li in search of flowers and trees. Now that she had reached hairpin age, Lu Na would not allow her to travel far, but he could hardly forbid her from visiting the nearby countryside of their own commandery. He therefore ordered the household steward to take extra servants along to attend her, and insisted that she return before sunset.
Arriving outside the peach grove on Lion Mountain, Lu Weiwei alighted from the ox cart and told the steward and the other servants to wait outside. She entered the grove with only Duan Chu and Zanhua. Duan Chu was carrying a cloth bag containing brushes, ink, paper, an inkstone, and painting pigments.
Early the previous winter, Lu Weiwei had come here once to tell Chen Caozhi that the chrysanthemum Jade Edition had been saved, but she had not entered the peach grove. The peach leaves had all fallen then, and the grass had withered yellow; all she could see was a stretch of bleak woods and scant water. Lu Weiwei disliked that desolate, monotonous scenery. She loved a riot of colors and masses of blossoms, and now the peach grove before her filled her with delight-
The spring sunshine was lovely, and the peach blossoms were in glorious bloom. Walking beneath the peach trees, Lu Weiwei breathed deeply and said to her two maids, "Even the wind here is pink. Walk a little way, and you'll be drunk on it."
Sharp-eyed little Duan Chu said, "Little Lady, Master Chen is over there looking at us."
Lu Weiwei had been stretching