"Oh, Seventh Sister is here too! What a surprise for your royal brother." As he spoke, Zhao Huai approached Zhao Jingya and reached out to pat her rather frail shoulder.
"Greetings, Royal Brother," she said first, then continued, "What, are you the only one allowed to come? Am I not allowed? Although this is your birthplace and means a great deal to you, on this three-hundredth anniversary of its founding, every capital other than present-day Kuo City has long since fallen halfway into ruin. Of course I had to come and have a look."
"Hehe, that tongue of yours gets sharper by the day. I wonder whether the fellow who marries you will be able to stand it. Oh, did you come alone? You didn't bring our little sister?"
She shook her head. "Unfortunately, Eighth Sister has been feeling unwell these past two days, so she couldn't come with me, even though we'd already agreed on it. That's how things always go, isn't it? The unexpected always strikes at the most important moment, so she could only stay home and recover."
"Yes, that's how the unexpected works." Zhao Huai nodded repeatedly, his smile looking wonderfully warm in the sunlight. Yet in Zhao Wei's and Zhao Huai's eyes, that smile was utterly false and hideous.
Still, neither revealed his true feelings toward Zhao Huai in front of their royal sister. They spoke in turn, exchanging solicitous greetings before finally taking their seats. One side felt relaxed, while the other felt a mixture of satisfaction and bitterness, as though this were their final conversation before parting.
Once they were seated, everyone who mattered had arrived. If a few people had overslept after a poor night's rest and failed to make it, that hardly mattered. Those people were only there to fill out