Not knowing how long it had been, Sheng Weiqiao woke up from a deep sleep. She found that she was dressed and lying on the bed under the north window in the study, covered with a thin quilt, instead of lying on the round-backed armchair.

Through the sandalwood screen that was inlaid with micas and carved with mountains and rivers, she could see a person sitting at the table with his back to the screen among the shadows of all kinds of things. Although she couldn’t see his ...