Pines and cypresses stood quietly, a gentle breeze drifting past as wisps of Smoke Sand curled above the clouds, their source unknown.
The little courtyard was peaceful, with no unnecessary ornamentation beyond a few clumps of green bamboo. Beneath a date-red octagonal pavilion, the voices of an argument gradually rose, spilling out and striking the gray-white courtyard walls until the vine leaves clinging to them rustled.
Zhang Gaoxia wore a pale green silk dress. A trace of anger showed on her usually kindly face, only to turn into deep concern. Fixing her gaze ahead, she said, "You're still young. This is a matter that concerns your entire future Dao Path. How can you make such a decision so lightly?"
Her brows knitted slightly as she looked at the woman before her, her tone coaxing.
Zhang Yiwan had snow-white skin, ink-black hair, and a slender figure. The passing wind stirred her deep purple dress.
She lightly stroked the bluestone tabletop before her and looked at the woman who had come to persuade her. "Aunt, my mind is made up. Grandmother is getting on in years. She needs me by her side."
"You could send someone to look after her. If that won't do, you could bring her here to recuperate."
Zhang Gaoxia's expression softened. She and Zhang Yiwan were not particularly close relatives, but she knew that this girl had lost both parents, had a withdrawn disposition, and shared her surname. She could hardly help feeling some compassion.
Her own family had split away from Dapan in an unpleasant dispute involving farmland, and this branch of the Zhang family had moved near Longbright. When Dapan fell, quite a few of their relatives had taken pleasure in its misfortune.
Yet Zhang Gaoxia paid no heed to those ancestral grudges. Acting on her