Morning Thoughts

Third Watch. Time for bed.

Snow had fallen thickly all night.

Even by dawn, it had only weakened slightly; the clouds had not truly parted to reveal the moon.

But the sparse, drifting snowflakes clearly could no longer hold back the young men and women who had been restless for so long. Before Aunt Xue had even risen from bed, the silvery sound of laughter and play outside was already ringing without end.

She subconsciously glanced beside her, only to see that Li Wan's bedding had been folded neatly. Clearly, she had gotten up long ago.

That was for the best.

Aunt Xue secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She had tossed and turned until the latter half of the night, growing less and less confident that she could handle Li Wan's crooked arguments.

For some reason she could not quite explain, she did not call out for the servants. Instead, she silently rose, dressed, and washed up. Yet the noise she made still alerted Su Yun, who was on duty outside.

With Su Yun attending her, she simply freshened up and then sat down before the dressing table.

Seeing that above the Bronze Mirror there was another Glass Mirror, no bigger than a goose egg, Aunt Xue could not help leaning close to examine her reflection.

Even at such close range, only a few faint fine lines showed at the corners of her eyes.

Yet Aunt Xue could not stop looking. The more she looked, the more bitter she felt, as if those hair-thin lines were actually hideous scars.

At that moment, another burst of cheerful laughter drifted in from beyond the window.

The voices were sweet, innocent, and clear, carrying the breath of youth itself. But now, to Aunt Xue's ears, they sounded piercingly harsh.

She stroked the