The day after, on the rest day for the Academy, Zhulan longed for a street outing after a long absence. No sooner did she mention going out than she received a number of eager replies—cough cough, mainly from two young girls, Yu Die and Yu Yi. As the eldest sister, Yushuang felt it necessary to accompany the two younger ones, and Yu Lu, the second sister, also joined.
Chang Zhong wished to follow along, Ming Hui also wanted to go, so the group expanded.
Zhulan watched over the children inside the house, feeling almost as if each time she ventured out, she needed to bring along a string of kids. It was difficult to say no to anyone, so with a grand wave of her hand, she decided they would all go. However, they could not simply wander the streets—too many children with such young ages made it rather risky.
Now that autumn had arrived, the scenery at several of the capital's tea houses was quite nice. Zhulan had someone reserve a large private room before they set off.