Although the target was Lu Suhua, Lu Ya still burned with shame, able only to lower her gaze and remain silent.
Yet Yu Ci did not let her off, asking another question that made it nearly unbearable for her: "In your Donghua Palace, does it seem many people are fond of this sort of thing?"
Lu Ya did not know if this was mockery or a genuine inquiry, yet she was forced to answer. After a spell of humiliating silence, she spoke in a low voice: "According to the Mistress—the Junior Palace Mistress, whom we used to call Second Mistress—initially, she was subjected to the Elder Mistress for years on end, which was deeply humiliating. But since their forms and spirits were one, even when she rose above, she found it hard to regain her face. Imperceptibly, her state of mind warped; she externalized it onto others, and thus grew most fond of this way. As those above do, those below follow, and we..."
Yu Ci truly had not expected Lu Ya to rattle off a systematic explanation, and couldn't help laughing: "Is it entirely Lu Suhua's fault? I think not."
Saying this, he had no wish to waste time on the topic, signaling Lu Ya to move aside. He stepped directly onto the daybed, observing the changes in the folding screen at close range.
At this moment, without any action from him, wind and clouds still rose and moved slowly across the screen, as if it had acquired a life of its own.
To this, Yu Ci merely gave a cold laugh, continuing to pour his focus inward.
The closer he looked, the more vivid the imagery revealed itself to be.
Yu Ci knew this was by no means something ordinary paintings could manifest, nor was it the texture