"Three years alone," she muses, shaking her head. "And then to be punished for breaking that seclusion...I can't imagine. I've been alone, often, but never for so long, and never as punishment."

It has taken less time to form a disapproving opinion of Lan Wangji's uncle than it has for her to take another sip of her ale. "That's how she knew you, then," she says, casting her memory back to that night and pushing it past the last few horrible moments in her room. "I suppose she sees a lot of that sort of thing, here."