An old minister at the level of Yuan, the Prime Minister, no longer needed to engage in meaningless social interactions; he could avoid even the meaningful ones.
After finishing his duties, Yuan, the Prime Minister, read for a while and then went directly back to the Yuan Residence.
Madam Yuan was originally from a scholarly family in Jiangnan, and as such, she oversaw the construction of their residence, which she made to resemble a miniature Jiangnan garden.
Yuan, the Prime Minister, did not take any concubines throughout his life, and none of his sons did either, with the exception of one who remarried after his wife died in difficult childbirth.
In the garden, a young Taoist nun in a blue robe was casually reading a book.
Not a scriptural text, but a chat book she got from a bookstore.
Next to her, a young maiden in a purple dress was using a butterfly net woven from spider silk and bamboo strips.