In Chang'an, the wards and markets closest to the Imperial Palace were home to high officials and nobles. Among them stood a rather unusual residence.
What made it unusual was not the size of its grounds or the splendor of its construction, but that it stood alone.
Beyond its courtyard walls, broad streets ran on every side.
High above its main gate hung the character "Luo."
In the past, members of the Zhao City Luo Clan visiting Chang'an had stayed at Marquis Ying's Residence, the Marquis of Dong'e's Residence, or the Peerless Marquis's Residence. Eventually, the Luo Clan had settled on a permanent residence.
Ordinarily, few people lived there, but after the Son of Heaven issued an edict summoning the Feudal Lords throughout All Under Heaven to the capital, Duke Zhao's State dispatched a large delegation.
Luo Bai, Luo Qing, Wang Wenjun, and the others arrived in Chang'an in a mighty procession, accompanied by several hundred attendants as well as guards. This residence alone could not hold them all.
"My lady, what do you think of Chang'an?"
Luo Bai smiled as he asked Wang Wenjun, who was admiring the plum blossoms. Luo Qing and the others also turned their eyes toward her.
Wang Wenjun still wore only a single layer of clothing. When she raised her hand, her sleeve slipped down to her elbow, revealing a stretch of wrist as white as settled frost and gathered snow. The lovely woman stood beneath the plum tree, her maidenly beauty surpassing the scattered, snow-covered blossoms ten thousandfold.
At Luo Bai's question, she pondered briefly, then parted her crimson lips, her white teeth showing as she said lightly, "None of the commanderies or kingdoms can match Chang'an's prosperity. It surpasses even Luoyang by three measures.
"But I still prefer Zhao City, where hazy