Min Soyon stayed for three days.
I had not expected that. When I first received her letter requesting a visit, I had assumed it would be a single afternoon — formal, measured, the kind of meeting that accomplished its purpose and then concluded with appropriate politeness. I had prepared accordingly: set aside the relevant documents, briefed Yam on the nature of her request, ensured the house was presentable without looking like it had been made presentable specifically for her. I did not want to appear either careless or desperately eager. I wanted to appear exactly as I was: composed, competent, and unsurprised by anything.
She arrived on a Tuesday morning in a plain travelling carriage with no family crest on the door. That alone told me something. She was not coming as a representative of the Min family. She was coming as herself.
