The late spring rain swept across the carved lattice windows like fine needles, blooming into spiderweb-like stains on the rice paper spread out by the sill. Jiang Wan lowered her gaze, staring at the minute script on the silk scroll. Her fingertips brushed past keywords like "West City Courtyard" and "Xiaying Gauze Silk Shop." Suddenly, the ticking of the bronze clepsydra on the desk grew piercingly clear. Seven days had passed since the standoff at the opera house, and the secret gatherings of the twenty-three noblewomen remained shrouded in tension—Princess Jianing’s Hundred Flowers Banquet hung over them like a sword, and all they held in their hands were a few jagged shards of jade, far from a complete picture.
"Miss, Miss Su and the others are here," Qiaoyun said. As she lifted the bamboo screen, a draft swept through the room, making the ink on the rice paper flutter. Two or three figures, dampened by the rain, came into view. Leading them was Su Qingqian, who peeled off her lake-blue cloak to reveal the delicate, worn stitching on the cuffs of her moon-white undergarment. Her eyes were rimmed with dark, ink-like shadows; she clearly had not slept well for days.
"The procurement list for the Princess's Estate," she said, pulling a yellowed sheet of paper from her sleeve. On it, items like "three pairs of peacocks" and "five South Sea parrots" were circled in vermilion. "I heard the kitchen is busy curing venison, and they’ve even used half a jar of Persian saffron."
Chapter 58