Chapter 11: The Friend Who Stood Up

Tang Wenrui offered Luo a patronage sash before he asked what she wanted.

He laid it across the tea table between the two women.

The red silk carried the academy's gold border and a very new clasp.

Ji recognized the value before she could stop resenting the offer.

A sponsored disciple received instruction she could not otherwise afford.

Luo would have a direct path toward a second ring.

The choice ought to have made Ji happy for her friend.

Instead, she looked at the little school purse and imagined its lightness without Luo.

She hated that calculation as soon as she understood it.

They had come to the provincial guest hall because Tang requested a conversation.

Shen waited outside with the other visiting masters, unwilling to answer for her student.

Ji had asked Luo whether she wanted company before following her inside.

Now she would have to remember why she had been invited.

Tang poured tea for himself and left the smaller cups empty.

"We can overlook your recent company," he told Luo.

His gaze touched Ji before returning to the red sash.

Luo looked at the silk without putting her hands near it.

"Which company?" she asked.

Tang smiled with the patience he usually reserved for beginners.

"The unfortunate influence of an expelled disciple," he replied.

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