Sunlight shimmered, and the clouds were thin as gauze.
Inside the great tent, warm sunlight filtered through the roof, spreading a soft halo across the command desk. Wang Yang reclined in a specially made rocking chair, leisurely reading the Collected Works of Gu Yong.
Chen Qing Shan sat beside Wang Yang, shelling pine nuts and feeding him a few whenever she had enough.
Wang Yang kept his eyes glued to the book and opened his mouth as a matter of course. This way, he could snack without dirtying the pages. The fragrance added by a lovely woman's red sleeves had become the scent of pine nuts, lending the experience a charm all its own.
The tent was quiet, with only the slow drift of sunlight and the faint patter of pine nut shells falling into a bamboo basket.
Just then, a report came from outside.
Without taking his eyes off the book, Wang Yang merely nodded. Chen Qing Shan said:
"Send him in!"
A military clerk entered with a bow, keeping his gaze straight ahead.
"Reporting to the Military Commander: General Yin has sent another envoy. I told him that you were unwell and receiving no visitors. Upon hearing this, the envoy left an official letter. He said, 'Military correspondence must be presented upon arrival, not left sealed. Anyone responsible for delay must answer for it,' and asked that you 'read it personally without fail.'"
Wang Yang did not even raise his head.
"Understood. Xiao Shan."
Chen Qing Shan stepped forward to receive the letter, and the clerk saluted and withdrew.
The letter's outer cover was stiff yellow paper. A square ocher label was affixed to the center of its back, bearing the words: "Central Army regular officer Yin | Official writ | Army Commander Wang of the Barbarian-Pacification Army.