Climbing the Social Ladder
Her mother was a woman of peerless beauty, ethereal and enchanting, yet her own father sent her away to curry favor with those in power. At only six years old, Wang Heng, who had perfectly inherited h
The ninth year of Yongtai, spring.
After several days of gloomy clouds, they finally began to dissipate, revealing the long-awaited sunlight.
In the radiant days of spring, the river tinkled, the grass grew lush, and orioles flitted across the sky.
"Meow!"
A yellow tabby cat, its belly round and full, yet still surprisingly agile, leaped out from the grass with a swish, vaulted over the moat, slipped through a hole in the city wall meant for dogs, darted through patches of verdant vegetable beds, and stopped before a somewhat old and dilapidated residence.
Though the estate bore signs of decline, its vermilion doors, glazed red roof tiles, and the elegant eaves peeking above the wall still spoke of its former grandeur, nobility, and solemnity.
The orange tabby, intimately familiar with the place, found the dog hole in the corner of the wall and slipped inside.
It passed through a courtyard planted with crabapple blossoms, crossed a winding corridor, glanced into a pond adorned with drifting lotus flowers—tsk, no fish—its tail swished in disappointment, and padded toward the inner quarters.
The pond and artificial hills, pavilions, and towers were all exquisitely arranged, each step revealing a new view. Yet, whether from years of neglect or the upheaval of the times, a sense of decay permeated the garden's flowers and scenery.
It was as though the place mirrored a dynasty on the brink of collapse, or a family long since fallen from grace.
Having wandered outside for most of the day without finding