The intricate carvings of the hundred children playing during spring were coated with a tea-colored stain. A few gray magpies perched on the eaves of the pavilion, and Shen Bozhong could only see, from a distance, the silhouettes of birds pecking at each other and flapping their wings against the backdrop of red and purple clouds.
Shen Bozhong didn't know how long he had been following the servants of the Princess of Zhen's residence. It wasn't until nightfall, when the sheepskin lanterns under the long corridors and verandas of the residence were gradually lit, that he arrived at Bai Qishan's study door.
Several servants stood outside Bai Qishan's study, their faces glowing red under the lantern light.
Shen Bozhong was not invited inside. He had to stand outside the door and look in, always feeling that this place was tangled with his past.
