But here the blad, gray skinned Elder sat in a mere black sleeping robe, belted around his waist with a white sash. Somehow, it made him look thin and wasted. He had a long silver pipe in one hand, a faint trail of inky black smoke rising from the bowl.
"Did you do all of that, and really not bother getting dressed, husband?" Xin asked, looking faintly exasperated as she stepped over the threshold of the workshop.
"Pfah, Why bother. I was merely going to tinker with the suspension array today," he said, leaning his head back to look over her shoulder. "Only someone had to drag a stray in."
"Jiao, you have been playing with that array for half a century," Xin said dryly. "And you have never once even ridden in that thing. We don't even own horses."
"And it can still be improved," he sniffed. "I can acquire horses whenever I like."