On a midsummer afternoon, the incessant chirping of cicadas was enough to fray one’s nerves. In the back garden of the Zhennan Prince's Estate, the wisteria trellis cast mottled shadows, and the Heir of the Prince of Zhennan, Yao Sichen, listlessly twiddled the jade fan in his hands.
"Sichen, have you heard a single word I’ve said?" The voice of the Prince of Zhennan drifted from the pavilion, carrying an authority that could not be ignored.
Yao Sichen finally snapped back to reality and shuffled slowly toward his father. On the stone table lay three portraits; the women depicted were either dignified or alluring—all of them the cream of the crop among the noble ladies of the capital.
Chapter 88