So much had happened that day, it was mentally and physically draining.
Chen Wanqing was utterly spent, both in body and mind. Her eyelids were heavy, yet her mind was stubbornly clear, refusing to rest.
Her mother was fast asleep beside her, her breathing long since even and steady, but Chen Wanqing still couldn't find sleep.
The air, cold and damp after the rain, was filled with the occasional, desolate cries of birds and insects.
The sky was moonless and the room was pitch-dark. The sheer emptiness of the world around her was unnerving.
Drifting in a daze, she suddenly heard soft, furtive sounds from outside. The government officials staying at their house were awake.
The big, burly men, stepping out from their warm beds into the cold, stark courtyard, couldn't help but start cursing under their breath.
Chen Wanqing also heard her father stir. He went to the kitchen to fill the men's waterskins with the hot water he'd kept warm in the pot before seeing them off.
