The blazing sun shone down, and the bitter chill over the land had eased somewhat. All across snow-white Lingwu City, icicles hanging from eaves and towers gleamed with dazzling luster beneath the sunlight.
In Little Rapids Ward of Lingwu's inner city, within an ancient, elegant tea and pastry house built entirely from purplewood.
Inside a private room on the third floor, Ding Zhanyun sat prettily beside the tea table by the window, wrapped in a snow-white fur cloak. She gently blew across the white mist rising from a translucent jade-green teacup, inhaling its faint fragrance as she waited for someone.
Before long, someone pushed open the door and entered. It was none other than Ding Yuqin.
Yet unlike the proud, self-assured, cold appearance she had shown that day at the Ding Residence, she now looked somewhat haggard. There was a trace of melancholy in her eyes, dark circles beneath them, and it was clear that she had not been having an easy time these past few days.
After closing the wooden door to the private room, Ding Yuqin strode over to Ding Zhanyun. She shot an arrow-like glare at the woman lounging there in contentment, plopped down in her seat, and said icily,
"What exactly did you ask me out for? Don't tell me it was just to sneer at and mock me?"
Though the private room was spacious, only two beautiful women were meeting within it. Still, the atmosphere was anything but pleasant. Had an outsider seen them, they might have thought these were two people at odds with each other, perhaps even enemies, gathering together.
There was no true enmity, of course. There might have been a measure of resentment, but what could never be severed was the blood tie between them.
No matter how little they thought