Dark clouds shrouded the skies above Fragrant City, massing thickly overhead, yet not a breath of wind stirred the hot, oppressive air. A carriage slowly drove into the Yuqing Treasure House. A man stepped down, dressed in a blue robe, his bearing refined and scholarly. It was Hu Buwei.
After laying his cards on the table with Long Xuanjiao, Hu Buwei no longer needed to conceal his relationship with the Xu Family. He entered the back courtyard. Up in a small building, a ******** stood by the railing. She was Xu Fengmei, steward of the Xu Family.
The moment Hu Buwei came into view, Xu Fengmei's expression turned alluring and tender.
Hu Buwei looked up at her, then gave a faint smile.
The wind rose without warning, stirring the treetops. Clouds gathered overhead at a speed visible to the naked eye, and a raindrop the size of a soybean fell. Hu Buwei quickened his steps and hurried into the small building, where he could shelter from the wind and rain.
By the time Hu Buwei reached Xu Fengmei's side, the rain outside had begun to fall thick and fast.
Xu Fengmei rested her chin in her hand and quietly watched the rain outside the window, looking just like a young girl. "I remember how we used to watch the rain like this when we were children," she murmured. A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a sudden peal of thunder that made her tremble. Then she felt an arm settle around her shoulders, and Hu Buwei's gentle voice sounded beside her ear. "Fengmei, after all these years, are you still afraid of thunder?"
Xu Fengmei nodded, then leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. When the thunder sounded again, she was no longer so