Late spring roses climbed the western wall of the Marquis's Mansion, their pink and white petals falling onto Jiang Wan's round fan like rouge spilled by a careless hand. She sat beneath the grape trellis, listening to footsteps echoing from behind the rockery, her fingertips gently flicking the jade pendant on her fan—a gift from the Crown Prince, which she deliberately tilted to catch the sunlight and shimmer with a soft, warm luster.
"Miss Jiang is in high spirits," Zhao Er said, hobbling over on his crutch. Blades of grass still clinging to his hem were wet with morning dew. "I heard a magpie chirping this morning; surely, it portends good news."
"Oh?" Jiang Wan lifted her gaze, purposefully letting the round fan obscure half her face. "Does the young master understand the language of birds?"
Chapter 68