Myriad Treasures Tower stood in the heart of the Capital City, surrounded by shops selling paintings, calligraphy, and antiques. Few people came to browse this street so early in the morning; only the occasional passerby could be seen.
In the early morning, as four guards escorted the young lady's carriage out of the alley beside Myriad Treasures Tower, a middle-aged man emerged from the fan shop across the street. Holding an ivory fan up to admire it in the morning light, he glanced sidelong at the departing carriage.
Inside the shop stood an elderly man in a scholar's robe, dressed like the senior patriarch of some wealthy household. He examined several scholars' fans at the counter while chatting with the shop assistant, who had just gotten out of bed:
"Myriad Treasures Tower across the street is quite an establishment. Its proprietor must be someone of consequence?"
"You've only just arrived in Yanjing, sir?"
"I used to travel in the north. I haven't been here long."
"That explains it. Myriad Treasures Tower is no small shop. They say its proprietor is a distant relative of the former Grand Preceptor Hua. Grand Preceptor Hua's legitimate son recently came to the capital and is staying there temporarily..."
"Is that so? This old man is poorly informed... Was the person who just left in that carriage Grand Preceptor Hua's young master?"
"That carriage goes to the Imperial Academy. It should be Myriad Treasures Tower's eldest young lady inside. Have you heard of Hua Qingzhi, sir? Yanjing's most talented lady, the Little Chess Saint. Unfortunately, she was left disabled as a child and has difficulty walking..."
After chatting for a good while, the elderly scholar casually took out some silver, bought an ordinary landscape fan, and left the shop for the street.
The middle-aged