In the capital of August, early autumn began to set in.
The streets regained their former bustle, the white flags faded away, unveiling a refreshed visage.
The Immortal Guest Building introduced a new dish, the Eight Treasure Wild Chicken Banquet. A meal of nine courses, attended by beauties, to be savored lightly—a flavor all its own.
New flowers bedecked the Brewed Golden River; with the "Wide Sleeve Eighteen Touches" and the "Twelve Beauties of the Capital" drawing countless wealthy patrons, lingering and forgetting to return home.
The Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion's status as the industry's leader seemed to face a challenge.
After the national funeral, the capital saw a bout of retaliatory spending.
Even as the world's political landscape changed, sects were obliterated, and experts fell from grace… To the common folk, none of it seemed to matter; it didn't affect their meals or rolling around on their heated brick beds.