Xiao Rongyan, led by Bai Qingyan, entered the inner room. In front of the thin gauze curtains hung several paintings by renowned artists. He paused when his eyes fell on the one in the center.
In the painting, his mother, Empress Ji, wore a simple household hairstyle, adorned with a white peony jade hairpin, dressed in a tea-white top and a deep red skirt embroidered with white butterflies, her slight belly showing. A jade cicada hung from her waist, surrounded by his siblings, in this Qiuhua Pavilion draped everywhere with wisteria curtains.
Xiao Rongyan's eyes grew warm, and his smile deepened slightly. He lifted the curtain with his hand and couldn't help but quicken his pace toward the painting, as if seeing his mother standing at the end of the silk curtain hanging from the agarwood beam, smiling gently at him.
He finally stood before the painting, staring intently at the figures within, the sway of the thirty-six lotus lamps casting light on the slightly faded painting.
