A Long Letter In The Sky

The air in the grand banquet hall of Duke Su Aoming's estate was thick with anticipation, the soft murmur of guests punctuated by the rhythmic beats of traditional music. At the head of the immense dinner table, Su Aoming, his face a canvas of mixed emotions, watched his only daughter.
Su Ninou, barely fifteen, swayed gracefully on the stage, her every movement a testament to the talent that had garnered hushed praises from the assembled guests. Today was her coming-out feast, a spectacle meant to present her to potential suitors, yet for Su Aoming, the thought brought only a restless disquiet.
"So talented, so talented..." a guest muttered, his eyes fixed on Ninou, his beard stroking. Another raised a glass to toast, his words echoing the sentiment, but Su Aoming's mind drifted, caught in the intricate web of his family's fortunes and his daughter's undeniable, yet complicated, destiny.
