~ The Guest Cottage
The cottage was modest.
A simple structure within the Purple Astral Palace grounds, allocated to those who accompanied the Emperor's retinue but held no standing among his women. The walls were purple crystal like everything else in this palace, but the furnishings were plain. A wooden table. Two chairs. A tea set, untouched, the steam long gone cold.
Madam Fengyuan sat in one chair. Her robes, the dark red and gold she had been given, were loosened at the collar. Her hair, dark and disheveled, fell around her shoulders. Her eyes, sharp and calculating, were fixed on the young woman across from her.
Bai.
