Outside Xie Manor, rain poured in torrents.
Hu Yunniang looked up at the gilded plaque reading "Marquis Dingyuan Manor." Rainwater slid down the ribs of her umbrella, splashing blossoms of water across the bluestone pavement. Everything felt like a dream...
Several dozen Academy students stood solemnly in the rain behind her. Their tall hats and broad sashes were drenched through, yet not one of them wavered.
A curtain of water streamed over the umbrella's surface, like shimmering strings of pearl drapes.
A chill wind blew through the street, piercing to the bone.
Hu Yunniang had thought seeking help from the Academy was merely a desperate gamble. Who could have expected it to go so smoothly?
She recalled what had happened at the Academy: at its entrance, she had encountered the ever-proud Elder Jin Zitan. She had expected him to ignore her, but the moment she explained her purpose, he had slapped the table and risen.
He had called friends and companions throughout the Academy, and the students had set aside their brushes to follow him. Zhang Yuanlai was among them.
Hu Yunniang had assumed Elder Jin Zitan simply had a vast circle of friends at the Academy.
"How could this old man have such face?"
Raindrops hung from Jin Zitan's white beard, yet his eyes shone fiercely. "These young men truly admire Xie Guan's talent."
The old man raised a hand to catch the rain streaming from the eaves, his voice carrying through the rainfall. "How can we stand by and watch such a man perish within his own household?"
"When heaven envies genius and he dies at a woman's hands, who would not lament it?"
Hu Yunniang's hand tightened slightly around her umbrella.
Jin Zitan's voice was somewhat desolate. "This old man was born into poverty. My home had