The morning was extra chilly with the autumn winds.
Inside the shabby wooden shed, Ni Wen changed into the old but mended academy uniform. There was some noise in the kitchen—her mother was preparing tofu pudding to sell in the market.
When Ni Wen reached the kitchen, the older woman in rags stood up and wiped her hands on her apron.
"Little Wen, you're awake?" the woman said with a smile. She had beautiful features but the years had not been kind to her. The marks of age diminished her beauty, a flower worn out by life.
The woman took out a hard-boiled egg from her apron.
"Little Wen, are you going to the Spirit Pagoda today? You need to give your very best. Mother's not capable of buying spirit crystals to help with your cultivation, but I know you can only change your fate through cultivation. If you manage to excel in the Imperial Examination, our lives will be a bed of roses. I don't need to sell tofu pudding at the break of dawn."
