"Senior Sister, where can we see the Winter Marsh Bird now? Should we go look for it?"
After leaving Sanwei Manor and returning to their lodgings on Little Crescent Island, Zishu eagerly tugged at Zhao Wuyan and started talking.
Zhao Wuyan was very fond of the dean's only daughter, her junior sister at the Academy.
She ruffled Zishu's long hair and said gently, "Winter Marsh Birds are migratory. They come and go according to their own patterns. We shouldn't disturb them at will."
"Oh." Zishu looked a little disappointed, but she listened to Zhao Wuyan and didn't press the matter. Instead, she asked, "Senior Sister, do you think that Yan Fu was right or wrong?"
Zhao Wuyan replied softly, "Not everything has a right or wrong."
They were staying at the best inn on Little Crescent Island. From Zhao Wuyan's room, the Azure Sea stretched out beyond the window.
The window was half open. The sea breeze slipped inside and curled gently through Zhao Wuyan's long hair.
Zishu thought her Senior Sister was truly gentle. No wonder so many people liked her.
After a moment, she tilted her head and asked, "Of the two men pursuing you, Senior Sister, which one do you think is better?"
Zhao Wuyan glanced at her and asked in return, "What do you think?"
"I don't think much of either of them! Neither is good enough for you!" Zishu giggled. "One's all slick talk, and the other's all slicked-back hair and powdered face!"
"We women aren't Three-Winged Birds or Two-Winged Birds. We don't need someone to pair up with. We can fly freely beneath the vast, open sky."
Zhao Wuyan gazed out the window. The silhouettes of islands appeared only far beyond the reach of her sight.
She thought for a moment, then offered her