Heaven Dou City, Moonlight Pavilion.
Unlike the clamor outside, Moonlight Pavilion was always quiet and elegant.
Sandalwood incense curled through the air, mingling with the faint fragrance of orchids as it lingered between the carved beams and pillars.
Melodious zither music drifted from a private room on the second floor. The arc of fingers gliding over the strings was as gentle as spring water, while the chiming notes, like flowing streams through lofty mountains, seemed capable of washing away all the restlessness and hostility in the world.
More than a dozen richly dressed young nobles sat properly on prayer mats, learning court etiquette from Tang Yuehua. Each held themselves straight and moved with grace. Even their breathing was kept exceptionally light, as though they feared disturbing this tranquility.
Tang Yuehua sat at the seat of honor, wearing a pale violet flowing gown embroidered with delicate silver-threaded orchids along its hem. It made her skin seem as white as snow and lent her a gentle, waterlike air. Her fingers lightly plucked the strings, and a perfectly measured smile rested between her brows. The corners of her eyes tilted up slightly, yet there was not a trace of seductiveness to her. She was like a secluded orchid blooming silently beneath moonlight—noble, elegant, and untouched by the dust of the world.
She was Heaven Dou City's most renowned etiquette master, the perfect feminine ideal in the hearts of countless young nobles.
No one could have imagined that this gentle woman, who looked as though she would never even raise her voice, had long since had her heart scorched full of holes by blazing hatred. All that remained was an exquisite shell, barely maintaining the last of her composure.
"Pavilion Master."
A maid in black slipped in soundlessly, like a Gui Mei merging into