Return to Familiar Ground

The wind rustled the leaves in the rear garden of the Bai residence, birds sang in the trees—it was wonderfully peaceful.

The wind gently swayed the curtains, filling the courtyard with the fragrance of lotuses. Pearls of water danced wildly across the green lotus leaves. The fragrant couch was soft and comfortable. Bai Yujun turned over and stared up at the clusters of white clouds, seemingly lost in thought, half a pastry dangling from her little mouth, forgotten before she could chew it.

With a gulp, the pastry went down her throat.

"An eventful autumn, with mountain rain about to come and wind filling the tower. Sure enough, I still like courting death..."

Lazily reaching for pastries on the small table, her thin gauze slipped down, revealing half of an arm as snowy and jade-like as a lotus root. Her slender fingers pinched a pastry and leisurely placed it in her small mouth, slowly savoring its flavor. She was not sleepy in the least.

After a while, she stretched, extending her arms and legs.

The smooth, delicate ankle beneath her skirt flickered in and out of view. She yawned, utterly lacking the awareness that she ought to be anxious and inflamed over the great calamity facing the realm.

The dragon temples in the Northern Lands had been almost entirely destroyed, with little remaining. It did not matter. She had intervened once to preserve the temple in Longze County, and that was enough. Let them tear down whatever they wanted. Fewer entanglements meant greater peace. She had not considered why those people at court had done it. There was no need to know.

Bai Yujun knew it was difficult to guess what those people were thinking. If it were only one person, perhaps she could make a guess, but there were