His heart leapt into his mouth and started beating like a drum. He stared studiously ahead.
"You're my best friend," she said.
His heart plummeted, still beating like a drum, but for all the wrong reasons now.
"No, Mei Meili," he said grumpily.
"Why not? Don't you like me?" her voice was light and sweet but tinged with insecurity.
"Of course I like you, but not in that way. Do you really believe men and women can be best friends, Mei Meili?" he asked her, uncharacteristically serious.
"Yes," she said with implacable confidence. "Especially me. I can be your best friend along with Fifth Brother. I have five brothers and I'm the same as them. Well, I want to be as good as them. I nearly am."
Tan Bowen stared down at her perfect feminine face and graceful figure, swathed in the softest of pinks. She was like a painting of a fairy descended from the heavens.
"Mei Meili," he said firmly. "You're not the same as them, and you are as good as them. Better, even. You don't need to be the same as your brothers. After all, they're men, and you're a woman. And a very beautiful one at that," he muttered the last part.
He felt guilty letting that slip out. Among her father's many rules for the outing was that Mei Meili was not to be told that she was pretty. He had reminded Tan Bowen that the family had worked hard since she was born to preserve their only daughter's modesty and humility. Tan Bowen didn't dare argue with him on any counts. He wanted his permission, so he simply agreed with it all.
She laughed sadly. "Tan Bowen, I don't need vapid compliments. I know the reactions my face draws from people, and I don't mind. I have other talents which are more important. I've studied the female arts to a high standard, and I can just about keep up with my brothers in archery and horse riding. First Brother says my martial arts are very good for a woman."
"If you say so," Tan Bowen replied, non-committal.
Today wasn't the day for him to convince her of her beauty. Not right on the heels of the promises he had made to her father. Especially if he wanted to be allowed to take her out again. And of course, he wanted to further his betrothal prospects with her parents.
"Have you thought about marriage?" he said casually, glancing down to see her reaction. "That could be your ticket to freedom from the golden cage of the Mei mansion; your best chance to see the outside world."
She trailed her elegant wrist over the edge of the boat, her fingers lightly touching the lotus stems as they paddled past.
"Marriage is not a ticket to freedom for women, Tan Bowen. You know that."
"That depends on who you marry, Mei Meili," he said pointedly. "The right man will give you your freedom. The right man will pamper you and give you the entire world," he said with feeling.
Her gentle laughter rang out across the lake.
"In a marriage, I'll be having children, serving my Mother-in-Law and running a household, Tan Bowen. Of course, I will obey my parents when they insist on my marriage, but Father says there's no rush. He says I'm the pearl in his hand and he can't bear to part with me. So, I don't have to worry about marriage just yet, thank goodness. Plus, I have to go through next year's concubine selections first."
So, it's her Father I need to convince, thought Tan Bowen. He had thought that if he won her over to the idea, she would inveigle her father. A reverse plan started to form in his head.
"First brother will be the first one to marry. He'll probably marry Yue Tingting. Then there's Second Brother, then Third, Fourth and Fifth ahead of me," she said cheerfully.
"I hope you're not covering your ears and stealing the bell, Mei Meili. Girls marry younger than men. You should start to think about it before it's upon you," he warned her. "It's much closer than you think, and it's too important for you to leave everything to your parents."
"You're probably right, but not today Tan Bowen," she protested. "It's much too beautiful for such a topic."
Mei Meili drew a line under this unloved subject by starting to sing the grasslands folk song they had played together at the royal feast. Tan Bowen closed his eyes in appreciation.
As had happened to him on their return from the royal hunt, he was seduced by her voice, just as he was by her dancing and guqin. He was not just a mere man at the mercy of her physical beauty; he was also an aesthete lying prostrate at the feet of this ridiculously complete package of a woman. He refused to feel guilty for being bewitched by such sweet pleasures.
He raised the pole, letting the boat drift through the lotuses where it may, his heart filled with the sublime joy of just this moment.
The song of yearning for one's homeland, was perfectly matched for the feelings of a man yearning for his beloved's affections. He joined her in the chorus of the song of longing. The pair finished the song together, their voices once again, beautifully matched, Tan Bowen's eyes glistening with emotion.
As Tan Bowen started punting again, Tricky, who had kept a silent vigil at the prow of the boat all of this time, without ever leaving his post, let out a vicious growl. He flew across the prone Meili.
Within seconds, he had bitten onto the head of a small green snake that was half-in, half-out of the boat. With some manic head shakes, the snake was flipped to-and-fro, slapping against the bottom of the boat.
"Thwack, thwack, thwack."
His mistress curled into a tiny ball and squealed. She peeped open one eye. "Good boy Tricky! Bite it! Bite it!"
Tan Bowen jumped between Mei Meili and the snake that was being shaken to death, if the biting hadn't already killed it.
Tricky had turned from a cream fluffball into a growling beast. He was possessed by rage that such a creature should dare come near his mistress. With a final toss of his head, Tricky flicked the dead snake out of the boat into the water.
The dog allowed his beloved girl to pet and praise him, and he gave her a few licks in return. He glared at his nemesis Tan Bowen, as if to say, 'what good are you?', before he returned to his careful vigil at the prow.
Tan Bowen scratched his head. "No wonder your father insisted on him coming with you."
"He's very protective of me," said Mei Meili, still patting her chest as she tried to calm her racing heart. "He's always on the lookout for danger."
"He shook this life, and all of its future lives, out of that snake. Are you okay? That was an unexpected show of violence among the lotus blossoms." He sat down beside her, leaving a courteous distance in honour of her father.
"I'm fine," she said, though she was still a little shaky.
He gave her shoulder a gentle pat, calling Tricky over to her, guessing correctly that stroking the dog would have a calming effect.
The sun was starting to peak, bringing the heat with it, so he stood and turned the boat back to shore.
"That wasn't quite the end I had in mind to the perfect day," he said ruefully.
She smiled. "It was a perfect day in my mind. It was beautiful. The weather was divine. It was my first boat trip. I was out without a chaperone with my best friend," he winced, "and my puppy," she finished.
That beast was no 'puppy', Tan Bowen thought. "It's never a boring day with you Mei Meili. Let no one accuse you of that."
Tan Bowen wiped the sweat from his brow as he picked up his pace. He was sure that her father would chalk that snake up against him. He wasn't off to a smooth start on this campaign of his to win the parents over. He wondered despondently if he would be trusted with her care again. And he needed to work his way out of this 'best friend' position. Why couldn't she be more like his sisters and their friends? He was used to having to politely fight off the attentions of pretty young girls besotted by his face and his family.
Mei Meili, Mei Meili, what is the key to your heart? he thought. If only you'll give me a hint, I'll definitely climb Mount Wugong for you, to grasp it. He looked down at her. She had her back to him and was idly twirling her umbrella. She was a prize beyond compare and he was hopelessly entangled, with no chance of escape.
The boat owner, who had been sitting on the jetty the entire time they were out on the lake, now saw them returning, and jumped to his feet. His faint shouting could be heard in the distance. Every third or fourth word could be made out.
"Beauty … welcome back … beauty … flower…"
Tan Bowen steeled himself not to give in to his temptation to punt the man from the jetty with his own oar.