The setting sun sank below the horizon, staining the sky a deep orange. The chirping of cicadas in the courtyard grew faint, punctuated only by an occasional, lazy buzz.
Fu Yingzhi sat on the daybed by the window, waving her round silk fan listlessly. As she gazed at the magnolia tree in the yard, a dark-clad figure flickered through her mind. It had been many days since they last met; she wondered how he was faring.
"Miss," Qinyin said, pushing the door open and interrupting her thoughts. She held a plain white letter.
Chapter 57