Slaying a White Horse to Seal a Covenant, a Sparrow in Heaven and Earth's Cage

[At the banquet!]

[Everyone exuded their own presence to some degree.]

[Those long accustomed to high office possessed a bearing all their own!]

[Even the sovereign of the Han Kingdom, though outwardly expressing great appreciation for the dancers' performance, harbored an almost imperceptible contempt deep in his eyes.]

[The gulf in status and standing seemed born of nature, impossible to cross.]

[Yet there was none of it in Lu Chen.]

[That astonished her!]

[As the night deepened, the joyous songs and graceful dances in the High Sparrow Tower gradually faded, giving way to the business at hand as the parties began discussing the covenant's specific terms in depth.]

[At last, they reached a decision!]

[The following day, on the banks of the Zhi River, they would slaughter a white horse as their oath and seal the covenant.]

[Not until light began to dawn on the horizon.]

[Did movement stir on the second floor!]

[At that moment.]

[In a side room on the second floor, a group of dancers waited in silence. Even their breathing was cautious. They dared only crack the door open a sliver, peering through the narrow gap toward the room where their futures would soon be decided.]

[Their hearts were full of dread and unease. Every footstep outside made their hearts clench.]

[These women of North Wind had once been daughters of officials' households.]

[Their lineages' misfortunes at court had implicated them as well. Their standing had plummeted, and they had been reduced to musical courtesans, forbidden to buy their freedom for the rest of their lives!]

[Though their station was lowly, they lived in comfort, adorned in gold and silver like daughters of wealthy families.]

[Yet they had no freedom!]

[A few days earlier.]

[The chief eunuch of the Rites Instruction Office had brought unexpected news:]