The next morning.
Qingqiu Mansion's main dining hall.
Su Shijun sat at the head of the table, rustling through the morning paper that had just arrived and carefully reading about the accident at the celebration banquet after she had left the night before.
"Squeak, squeak-squeak..."
Poseidon sat beside the newspaper, chattering endlessly to the witch at the head of the table. Her topics ranged from today's bad weather, to the nightmare she had had last night, to a Flower Sprite that had just flown past the window. Hardly a single sentence repeated itself.
Ordinarily, talking at the dining table was rather improper.
But breakfast had not yet begun, Nanny, who was in charge of etiquette, was absent, there were no outsiders, and the contents of the newspaper before her had claimed most of the witch's attention. So the mistress of Qingqiu Mansion merely treated it as though there were an extra sparrow by her ear, turning a deaf ear to the Little Fox's chirping.
On a winter morning, the sun had not yet fully risen. Cool white light streamed through the tall French windows and fell upon the mahogany table and chairs, forming a narrow band of light that gradually widened. The great witch and Little Fox sitting within that beam seemed like two pieces of jade nestled together, clear and pure, radiating soft colors.
When Zheng Qing entered the dining hall, that was the harmonious scene he saw.
"Sorry..."
He had only spoken two words when a streak of white light shot from one end of the table to the other with a whoosh. Like a ball, it crashed into his arms and cut off the rest of his words.
"Squeak squeak squeak squeak..."
The Little Fox wagged her tail excitedly, impatient to show off the several new spells