About a quarter of an hour later, in the main hall of the residence.
Zhao Linchuan and Yue Shen sat in the seats of honor on either side.
Yue Shen had clearly dressed with care today. She wore a brand-new Moonlight Flowing Cloud Dress, her hair swept up into a high bun and adorned with a jade hairpin. She looked breathtakingly elegant, with a touch of a lady of the manor's stately grace.
She could barely contain her smile. Her eyes glimmered with anticipation and the mischievous delight of someone waiting for a good show.
She had already begun picturing the scene in her mind:
Yan Fei, dressed in red and wearing a sulky expression, would reluctantly shuffle into the main hall. Under Yue Shen's pointed, triumphant gaze, she would grit her teeth and call her "sister" in a voice so faint it could barely be heard.
Then she would serve Yue Shen a cup of tea, utterly unwillingly... Just thinking about it lifted Yue Shen's spirits.
Xiao Wu stood quietly below them, holding a redwood tea tray with a steaming cup of tea upon it.
She kept her eyes lowered, doing her best to make herself invisible. She truly didn't dare get involved in the affairs of those two ladies.
A moment later, faint footsteps sounded in the corridor outside the hall.
Yan Fei appeared in the doorway.
She wasn't wearing the flamboyant red Yue Shen had imagined. Instead, she wore a simple, pale-purple gown, its hem embroidered with understated silver vines. The color made her skin look like snow and lent her a gentle, graceful air.
She wore only a light dusting of makeup, and her expression was calm. There was no trace of fatigue from last night's Soul Fighting, nor any sign of the resentment or embarrassment