The scorching sun hung high in the sky, baking the flagstone courtyard of Count Jingwen’s Estate until it was searing hot. The leaves of the old locust tree drooped and curled, and the chirping of cicadas clung listlessly to the heat-laden air.
Mammy Zhou, her back hunched, felt sweat streaming down her cheeks.
"Cough, cough..." She raised a hand to wipe her brow, the bald broom in her hand scraping back and forth against the stones, sending up a cloud of choking dust.
Chapter 89