"What do you need those two things for?"
For the first time, she realized her imagination wasn't up to the task.
Shen Zhi twisted her handkerchief between her fingers, looking a little unsure. "I heard by chance that Captain Bai's birthday is in a few days, so..."
"Shaoxuan's birthday is coming up?"
Shen Tang genuinely had no idea.
She didn't know about Bai Su's birthday, or anyone else's, for that matter. None of them had a habit of celebrating with a party, so she never knew when to give them gifts. Of course, perhaps they knew Shen Tang was short on money and felt awkward inviting her, so they simply didn't celebrate?
That was possible, too.
Shen Zhi nodded lightly. "Mm."
"Does Shaoxuan like beeswax and flower seeds?" Shen Tang hadn't known about the birthday, but now that she did, she ought to prepare something out of courtesy. Yet when she tried to recall Bai Su's preferences, she realized that besides cultivation, Bai Su did nothing but spar and drill the troops.
Shen Zhi hurried to explain. "No, no. It's just that Captain Bai usually dresses so plainly, so I thought I'd make her some rouge and flower dew..."
At first, she had wanted to choose something Bai Su would like: perhaps a few rare ores, or some rare military treatises. But her ideals were full and her reality bare—neither rare ores nor rare military books were easy to get, and it had left her fretting.
Embroider a handkerchief?
Make a garment?
Sew a purse?
But she had already given Bai Su all of those things.
Give them again, and wouldn't she seem thoughtless?
After much deliberation, she had set her sights on rouge and flower dew. No one had decreed that Martial Gall Warriors had to go around with