In the depths of winter, the bamboo groves on the mountain were as silent as death, which instead made sleep harder to come by.
In the West Wing of the Daoist Temple's rear courtyard, the Empress Dowager lay on her side with her eyes closed, still holding the Peace Amulet she had casually bought along the way. After sleeping for an unknown length of time, she slowly opened her eyes.
That afternoon, Shui'er had said Ye Jingtang was training on the back mountain. Not wanting to disturb him, the Empress Dowager had returned first. He still had not returned when she went to sleep, so waking from her dreams at midnight, she naturally felt a little worried about him.
The Empress Dowager blinked. Once she was a little more awake, she propped herself up and looked around.
The Daoist Temple was small, with only three rooms. Just as when they were children, Hongyu shared her bed and was now lying on the inside. To leave her more room to sleep comfortably, Hongyu had her back practically against the wall. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she seemed to be having some mortifyingly embarrassing dream.
Outside the window, all was quiet except for the faint sound of a rocking chair slowly swaying.
Seeing this, the Empress Dowager quietly got up and put on her dress, then stepped outside to look around. The courtyard was empty except for Niao Niao, perched on the chair and rocking back and forth, looking utterly carefree-"the bird idled as osmanthus blossoms fell; the night was still, the spring mountains empty."
"Where is everyone...?"
The Empress Dowager looked around and saw no one, so she approached the rocking chair and asked:
"Where did Shui'er and Ye Jingtang go?"
"Chirp."
Niao Niao tilted its head toward the back