Houmen Embroiderer

Dusk always comes very early in Dingyuan Hou Mansion, and the twilight is like ink-splashed silk and satin, pressing heavily on the eaves of Tingyuxuan. Zhou Jingxing stood in front of the window, twirling the silver bell left by Su Jinxiu with his fingertips. The tongue of the bell had been warmed by his caressing, but it never rang. Ah Fu whispered for the third time behind him: "Second Young Master, it's time to take medicine." He seemed not to have heard anything, and his eyes passed through the withered crabapples in the courtyard and fell in the direction of the main courtyard in the distance - the lights were brightly lit there tonight, and the sound of silk and bamboo orchestras could be heard faintly. It was Zhou Jingming who was hosting a banquet for his father who had returned in triumph. The entire Hou Mansion was rejoicing for the new master's accession to the throne, but this dilapidated Tingyuxuan was like a forgotten island, soaked in the dead darkness. Zhou Jingxing suddenly chuckled and tied the silver bell back to his wrist. The friction of the cloth made a very light rustling sound, like a warning before a poisonous snake spits out a message. "Afu," he said, with a hint of long-lost vitality in his voice, "go tell the kitchen that I won't be eating tonight." He turned around, the candlelight dancing on his pale face, reflecting the bottomless cold pool in his eyes, "Since Miss Su said she wanted to embroider a phoenix, let her see how the sky in the Marquis' Mansion fell."