Night fell. Jiaxing Garden was completely silent.
The warm, slightly fragrant breeze swirled fallen petals and leaves, scattering them across the spacious courtyard. Red lanterns, specially hung beneath the eaves of the two wooden buildings to welcome the Mid-Autumn Festival, cast a warm glow, painting the architecture in hazy silhouettes.
It was nearing 9:00 PM. The loud croaks of frogs echoed throughout the garden. Yet, inside the upstairs room, Xiao Wan'er seemed entirely oblivious to the noise, remaining hunched over her desk as she wrote continuously.
Two oil lamps illuminated the Phoebe Wood desk. On her left lay two stacks of account books, and on her right was a Geomancy Map of Shu State Prefecture City. Pausing intermittently to write, she would flip through an account book or locate a specific spot on the Geomancy Map before jotting down her findings. Rows of elegant, delicate characters filled the pages, her sentences varying in length but never feeling disjointed.
