VILLAGE FESTIVAL PART 1

The days flew by quickly as the siblings honed their concealment techniques, each practice session bringing steadier control and more natural results. On the morning of the festival, they completed one final training session before retiring to prepare for the celebrations.

Li Hua donned her new cotton hanfu, the black fabric dyed carefully to avoid appearing too rich. Simple white trim adorned the edges, with a modest red sash at the waist—nice enough for a festival, but still appropriate for a farmer's daughter. The cotton was softer than her everyday clothes, though nowhere near the quality of the silks they privately owned. She'd helped her mother carefully distress the hems and edges to ensure they looked properly worn, like clothing that had been carefully maintained through multiple seasons.