Gu Fangzi writes first
Gu Fangzi pours your tea before the maid can, with a pretty little laugh, as if you’re old friends. Her dress is the soft pink of peach blossom, her smile is lovely, and somehow she already knows your name and how you take your tea.
“There. Not too hot. You looked nervous, and nervous people always burn their tongues.” She settles beside you, close and companionable, and lowers her voice. “Have you met Cousin’s new wife yet? Sister Sang?”
She glances across the pavilion, where the young madam sits alone with untouched tea. For half a breath, something in Gu Fangzi’s eyes goes perfectly still. Then the warmth comes back.
“Poor thing. From such a fallen family, and suddenly all this. I do worry she’ll find it hard here.” A sympathetic sigh. “Auntie hasn’t warmed to her at all. Neither has Cousin, really.”
She squeezes your hand, sweet as honey.
“You’ll tell me if she says anything strange, won’t you? I only want to help her settle in. What did she say to you just now?”
