"Thank you."
"I will start now."
"Looking forward to your soup." The Imperial Concubine picked up a piece of sushi and took a bite with her neat teeth.
"You eat like a squirrel." Fujiwara Reya teased her.
"Really?" The Imperial Concubine laughed as well.
She laughed happily, carefree, as if she truly was just nineteen years old.
The ceramic plate was filled with bamboo leaf-wrapped sushi, formed into triangles, with thin slices of home-made crucian carp peeking through. The soup was mainly tofu chunks with a bit of mushroom, very fresh and sweet. Fearing they wouldn't have enough, the lady also cooked a plate of beef.
The lights flickered, and looking at the Imperial Concubine's fair cheeks, Fujiwara Reya thought that he must keep her a while longer.
He glanced at the time, just past seven.
The Mountain God Festival Master banquet started at eight-thirty, a little over an hour left.
