Water Lily Lanterns for the Artist

A kind old woman sold Yujia and Zixu their own lily lanterns. She offered an array of colors, but Yujia picked a lantern that glowed a soft red, while Zixu preferred a faint yellow shade, akin to the handheld lantern he carried. 

Yujia thought it suited him, considering how its pure light tones mirrored the color of the robes that Zixu frequently dressed in: pale, muted, and always spotlessly clean.

As the two made their way down to the riverbanks, Yujia kneeled in the grass. The riverbanks were slightly muddy, perhaps as a result of the melted snow or the fact that it was a riverbank, so she was grateful that the grass kept some of the mud from getting on her. Still, she didn't care too much about the state of her robes, not when they could set off these lanterns into the river.