Chapter 59: Last Night’s Peace in Chang’an, Today’s Palace Examinations to Meet the Ruler (1)
“Then what do you think, sixth brother?”
Lian Qin asked nervously.
“Seventh brother, how is your protégé Si Lanfeng?” Lian Yu didn’t answer but asked in return.
Lian Jie touched his nose, “He could have claimed the top position, but unfortunately Li Zhaoting appeared. I secretly pulled Li Zhaoting’s test paper to look at it—his literary talent and knowledge are truly astounding. After seeing him tonight, I’m even more certain he’s remarkable. That Si Lanfeng is too ostentatious and cannot match him.”
“Oh my, seventh brother, so you barely spoke tonight because you were observing Li Zhaoting? You… don’t you have interests in that direction?” Lian Qin laughed loudly.
“Get lost! I’m naturally the gentle-as-jade type, alright?”
Lian Jie glared at him. Lian Qin nearly choked to death on his cold joke and expression. After quite a while, he finally recovered, his eyes flashing with shrewd light, “No more joking, sixth brother, have you investigated Li Zhaoting’s background? His relationship with Quan Feitong must be more than just teacher and student.”
Hearing this, Lian Yu glanced at the roof beam.
Immediately, a figure suddenly leaped down.
“Xuanwu, can’t you be less frightening? Every time you appear, you’re so mysterious!”
Lian Qin jumped up with a cry. The masked figure in black kneeling on one knee raised his sharp eyes and replied, “As the saying goes, when you drift in the martial world, how can you avoid being stabbed? If someday His Majesty is assassinated again, this subordinate would be His Majesty’s last line of personal defense. Being mysterious is necessary. As they say, if the enemy doesn’t move, I don’t move.”
Everyone: “…”
Lian Qin muttered, “When the emperor and his concubines are doing that thing, are you also personally guarding…”
Xuanwu thought for a moment, “His Majesty can pretend I’m not there. Besides, His Majesty has never—”
Everyone: “…”
Under Lian Yu’s murderous glare, Xuanwu immediately changed expression, putting on an extremely serious face, “Master, according to news brought back by Zhuque’s people, Li Zhaoting and Prime Minister Quan share the same master—both studied under Listening Rain Scholar.”
“Listening Rain was a great scholar of his generation.” Lian Jie frowned slightly, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, “When Father Emperor was alive, he sent people to invite him many times. If that old gentleman had been willing, he would now be one of our Great Zhou’s important ministers. Sixth brother, what about tomorrow—”
“Lian Jie, if Si Lanfeng loses tomorrow, I’ll kill you both. Fine, prepare the palanquin for Mingfeng Palace. If we don’t go over now, Mother Empress will probably disown me as her son.”
Lian Jie’s handsome face, which remained unmoved even when Mount Tai collapsed before him, finally fell. Empress Dowager, please, kill this sixth young master first.
At this moment, Empress Dowager Xiao’an was indeed quite furious.
When the three arrived at Mingfeng Palace and paid their respects, Empress Dowager Xiao’an sat coldly smiling on the central soft couch, saying nothing.
This woman, now in her fifties, had once been an iron-willed empress. At that time, having no children of her own, she adopted a child born to a palace maid who had died early after being casually favored by the former emperor, teaching him imperial studies with her own hands and personally helping him ascend to the throne.
This child was the current Lian Yu.
Their relationship was not that of mother and son, yet it surpassed mother and son.
Xiao’an rarely got angry in ordinary times, always showing a smiling face. Now with stern brows and phoenix eyes glowing red under the dim lights, she was quite intimidating.
Lian Qin was frightened but still wanted to say a few words for Lian Yu. Lian Jie pulled him hard, whispering harshly “Don’t add fuel to the fire,” before he reluctantly shut up.
Lian Yu stood on the jade steps with his hands behind his back, also saying nothing, his thin lips slightly pursed, giving a sense of listening to instruction yet ultimately persisting.
This continued until a woman beside Xiao’an’s seat frowned slightly, “Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, Wuyan feels slightly unwell and wishes to take leave first.”
Xiao’an snorted coldly, “What you’re thinking, child, does this old woman not know? You want this old woman to let the emperor accompany you when you leave.”
The speaker was Lian Yu’s beloved concubine, Wei Wuyan. Hearing this, her eyes swept toward Lian Yu, then she lowered her head, “Wuyan dares not.”
Xiao’an snorted coldly again, then looked sternly at Lian Yu, “That day, when she was about to marry, you used the matter of ‘Wuyan being poisoned’ to keep her, regardless of cost. This old woman saw your determination and, though opposed in her heart, finally adopted her as a daughter, letting her stay in the palace. Outsiders think you mean to suppress Quan Feitong’s influence. Emperor, are your thoughts truly thus? You have feelings for that woman! These years, you absolutely cannot touch her unless someday you bring down Quan Feitong. Otherwise, she will surely become a source of trouble. Our Prime Minister Quan may not be as indifferent to this fiancée as he appears. You should also see Wuyan’s grievances.”
“Mother Empress’s teachings, your son keeps in his heart.”
“Keep in your heart? Then why, when I deliberately let Shuangcheng leave the palace today to go home and meet with Quan Feitong, did you immediately bring her back to the palace?”
Xiao’an suddenly stood up, slapping the table with a bang that startled the tea-serving Hong Gu beside her.
This female official who had gone to the inn to deliver messages to Suzhen had followed Xiao’an for many years.
Wei Wuyan had considerable courage and remained so now, but heard Lian Yu chuckle softly, “Mother Empress, over these years, how many things has your son insisted on having for himself?”
His voice was distant and serene. Xiao’an stared at this tall, handsome son before her, and events from these years flashed before her eyes.
Lian Yu’s birth mother Xiaoyu was of lowly status, a small palace maid beside Lian Jie’s mother, Imperial Concubine Ai. The former emperor merely played with her on a whim—his greatest love was still Imperial Concubine Ai. Afterward, when Imperial Concubine Ai was angry, the former emperor intended to beat Xiaoyu to death, but she deliberately saved Xiaoyu’s life to provoke Imperial Concubine Ai.
It was also destined—from one night of dew, Xiaoyu actually conceived dragon seed.
Imperial Concubine Ai couldn’t oppose her dignity, so she found other ways to torment that mother and child.
This became quite entertaining.
Later, for unknown reasons, Xiaoyu mysteriously died one night with blood flowing from all seven orifices. Lian Yu grew up doing all kinds of rough menial work in the palace—washing clothes, organizing animal hides in the needlework rooms, sweeping stables… suffering all manner of bullying from the palace princes, including Lian Jie and Lian Qin who stood here today.
She had the most prominent family background—her brother was the great general protecting the nation, Marquis Murong Jing. She was the current empress, yet she was not the former emperor’s beloved. She had much free time each day and loved wandering the palace, observing this most beautiful of prisons.
The first time she saw him, the sky was full of stars. He was seven or eight years old, crouching in a corner, tightly clutching a wooden bowl, fiercely scraping out the little bit of vegetable juice and scraps left by the young eunuchs.
She didn’t know who he was then. After rescuing him that day, she never inquired about that mother and child again.
Both were pitiful people—she reached out and touched his head.
He looked up and said, “My lady, I haven’t eaten anything for five days. If this continues, I’ll starve to death. Will you save me?”
She was startled and half-jokingly said, “Give me a reason to save you.”
“Now, you protect me. When I grow up, I’ll protect you.”
He thought for a long time, then said this solemnly.
At that time his face was waxy yellow, but his amber eyes were like starlight, shining brilliantly.
In the palace, countless low-ranking concubines begged her to adopt their sons, yet she had never been interested.
She didn’t know what she was fighting for. She feared betrayal, just as the former emperor had made solemn vows when he ascended the throne, yet afterward the Murong family remained prominent while she slept alone night after night.
When she met Lian Yu, however, her heart rekindled.
Even after she later had Lian Xin, her love for Lian Yu never diminished.
People are such strange creatures—they can give everything for just one moment of being moved.
Regardless of whether that moment moved others or only moved oneself.
No one knew better than she how difficult these years had been for Lian Yu.
The former emperor originally didn’t want to establish him. He was sent to various places to handle affairs, achieving excellent political results wherever he went.
In the struggle among brothers, he completely won over Lian Jie and Lian Qin, sons of the former emperor’s most beloved women, Imperial Concubines Ai and Ping. They willingly supported him as crown prince, defeating the other princes.
He also did things she dared not recall, fulfilling his promise from that day, truly making her the mother of the nation.
He jokingly called himself Murong Liu—the entire court knew this.
Over these years, except for Wei Wuyan, whom he personally said he liked and wanted to marry, he seemed never to have wanted anything for himself. Before the grand wedding, he had no concubines or chamber maids. Regarding food, he was also casual. Several times when she visited him in various places, he was supervising water conservancy projects, eating simple meat scraps and pickled vegetables with the workers…
Even now, ruling the world.
Her thoughts suddenly fixed on an incident from five years ago, and her cold, hard heart trembled almost imperceptibly.
At this time, Lian Yu walked to the small couch, picked up the cloak from it, and slowly draped it over her shoulders, bowing, “Mother Empress, regarding tomorrow’s palace examination, Lian Yu must think carefully. Your son takes leave first and will come to pay respects to Mother Empress again tomorrow. Please don’t make things difficult for Gu Shuangcheng anymore.”
“Mm, let it be for now. Yu’er, regarding tomorrow’s palace examination, if there’s truly no other way, we might as well let Prime Minister Quan have this round! This old woman has considered it from all angles—this matter is difficult.”
In the night palace quarters, watching Lian Yu walking slowly ahead, lost in thought, Wei Wuyan’s feelings also grew complex, and she couldn’t help sighing.
Suddenly, Lian Yu turned back, his gaze directed at her, his brow arching wickedly, “What are you sighing about? Think I’m not treating you well enough?”
Poor Lian Qi and Lian Jiu, who had been walking slowly behind Wei Wuyan to match their pace, immediately turned and retreated.
Wei Wuyan laughed and spat lightly.
Lian Yu suddenly strode toward her and swept her up in his arms, “Let’s go back.”
Wei Wuyan was startled at his sudden action, her face reddening, “I heard you turned over Concubine Cuan’s tablet tonight.”
Murong Cuan, Marquis Murong Jing’s youngest daughter.
Lian Yu stared at her, his gaze deepening, “Not going tonight—you accompany me.”
Looking at the sky above, with this man’s elegant fragrance wafting from his clothes, Wei Wuyan felt completely at peace, slowly nestling her head into his embrace.
“Your subject Huo Chang’an pays respects to Your Majesty.”
A low, husky voice shattered her tranquility, and Wei Wuyan started, opening her eyes.
Lian Yu smiled, “Chang’an, rise quickly. Why are you in the palace at this hour?”
“My aunt summoned Chang’an to the palace to play chess and relieve boredom. Chang’an was about to enter just now when the palace supervisor reported Your Majesty’s arrival, so I waited here for Your Majesty to finish visiting with my aunt before going in.”
Ahead, Huo Chang’an paid his respects and slowly raised his head, his eyes showing slight darkness before quickly looking away, as if avoiding impropriety.
His aunt was Empress Dowager Xiao’an—he was the son of Xiao’an’s sister and particularly close to Xiao’an.
Wei Wuyan’s gaze fell precisely on his hand—he wore a jade thumb ring.
She closed her eyes. Lian Yu had already carried her away, his voice drifting down from above, “Still thinking of him?”
She remained silent. After a long while, she suddenly said, “Your Majesty, what if I said I was thinking of you?”
That night, whether from nervousness or some other reason, Suzhen’s eyelids twitched all night.
She actually understood the meaning of Murong Liu’s words, but couldn’t fathom the key point—why it would relate to the palace examinations.
Early the next morning, an official sedan came to fetch her to enter the Imperial City for the final test of the imperial examinations—the palace examination. Presumably, when Huo Chang’an reported her whereabouts to Murong Liu, he also reported to the officials.
Huo Chang’an was a generous and righteous man.
Lengxue and the others couldn’t enter the palace, so they followed behind the sedan, intending to wait outside the palace.
As the sedan passed through Ning’an Street from the night before, she heard people constantly running by outside, urgently shouting something about “Look quickly, someone’s blocking Prefect He’s sedan to file a complaint—seems like a major murder case.”
Suzhen was startled and lifted the sedan curtain. Unexpectedly, Wuqing appeared outside the sedan, giving the meddlesome her an eye roll and pulling the curtain back down.
The curtain piece that Wuqing had pulled down seemed to still be swaying before her eyes. In an instant, it had transformed into the golden crown and pearl curtain of the sovereign she had struggled countless times to meet, sitting high above in the Golden Throne Hall.
Heaven and earth seemed to fall completely silent at this moment.”Then what do you think, sixth brother?”
Lian Qin asked nervously.
“Seventh brother, how is your protégé Si Lanfeng?” Lian Yu didn’t answer but asked in return.
Lian Jie touched his nose, “He could have claimed the top position, but unfortunately Li Zhaoting appeared. I secretly pulled Li Zhaoting’s test paper to look at it—his literary talent and knowledge are truly astounding. After seeing him tonight, I’m even more certain he’s remarkable. That Si Lanfeng is too ostentatious and cannot match him.”
“Oh my, seventh brother, so you barely spoke tonight because you were observing Li Zhaoting? You… don’t you have interests in that direction?” Lian Qin laughed loudly.
“Get lost! I’m naturally the gentle-as-jade type, alright?”
Lian Jie glared at him. Lian Qin nearly choked to death on his cold joke and expression. After quite a while, he finally recovered, his eyes flashing with shrewd light, “No more joking, sixth brother, have you investigated Li Zhaoting’s background? His relationship with Quan Feitong must be more than just teacher and student.”
Hearing this, Lian Yu glanced at the roof beam.
Immediately, a figure suddenly leaped down.
“Xuanwu, can’t you be less frightening? Every time you appear, you’re so mysterious!”
Lian Qin jumped up with a cry. The masked figure in black kneeling on one knee raised his sharp eyes and replied, “As the saying goes, when you drift in the martial world, how can you avoid being stabbed? If someday His Majesty is assassinated again, this subordinate would be His Majesty’s last line of personal defense. Being mysterious is necessary. As they say, if the enemy doesn’t move, I don’t move.”
Everyone: “…”
Lian Qin muttered, “When the emperor and his concubines are doing that thing, are you also personally guarding…”
Xuanwu thought for a moment, “His Majesty can pretend I’m not there. Besides, His Majesty has never—”
Everyone: “…”
Under Lian Yu’s murderous glare, Xuanwu immediately changed expression, putting on an extremely serious face, “Master, according to news brought back by Zhuque’s people, Li Zhaoting and Prime Minister Quan share the same master—both studied under Listening Rain Scholar.”
“Listening Rain was a great scholar of his generation.” Lian Jie frowned slightly, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, “When Father Emperor was alive, he sent people to invite him many times. If that old gentleman had been willing, he would now be one of our Great Zhou’s important ministers. Sixth brother, what about tomorrow—”
“Lian Jie, if Si Lanfeng loses tomorrow, I’ll kill you both. Fine, prepare the palanquin for Mingfeng Palace. If we don’t go over now, Mother Empress will probably disown me as her son.”
Lian Jie’s handsome face, which remained unmoved even when Mount Tai collapsed before him, finally fell. Empress Dowager, please, kill this sixth young master first.
At this moment, Empress Dowager Xiao’an was indeed quite furious.
When the three arrived at Mingfeng Palace and paid their respects, Empress Dowager Xiao’an sat coldly smiling on the central soft couch, saying nothing.
This woman, now in her fifties, had once been an iron-willed empress. At that time, having no children of her own, she adopted a child born to a palace maid who had died early after being casually favored by the former emperor, teaching him imperial studies with her own hands and personally helping him ascend to the throne.
This child was the current Lian Yu.
Their relationship was not that of mother and son, yet it surpassed mother and son.
Xiao’an rarely got angry in ordinary times, always showing a smiling face. Now with stern brows and phoenix eyes glowing red under the dim lights, she was quite intimidating.
Lian Qin was frightened but still wanted to say a few words for Lian Yu. Lian Jie pulled him hard, whispering harshly “Don’t add fuel to the fire,” before he reluctantly shut up.
Lian Yu stood on the jade steps with his hands behind his back, also saying nothing, his thin lips slightly pursed, giving a sense of listening to instruction yet ultimately persisting.
This continued until a woman beside Xiao’an’s seat frowned slightly, “Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, Wuyan feels slightly unwell and wishes to take leave first.”
Xiao’an snorted coldly, “What you’re thinking, child, does this old woman not know? You want this old woman to let the emperor accompany you when you leave.”
The speaker was Lian Yu’s beloved concubine, Wei Wuyan. Hearing this, her eyes swept toward Lian Yu, then she lowered her head, “Wuyan dares not.”
Xiao’an snorted coldly again, then looked sternly at Lian Yu, “That day, when she was about to marry, you used the matter of ‘Wuyan being poisoned’ to keep her, regardless of cost. This old woman saw your determination and, though opposed in her heart, finally adopted her as a daughter, letting her stay in the palace. Outsiders think you mean to suppress Quan Feitong’s influence. Emperor, are your thoughts truly thus? You have feelings for that woman! These years, you absolutely cannot touch her unless someday you bring down Quan Feitong. Otherwise, she will surely become a source of trouble. Our Prime Minister Quan may not be as indifferent to this fiancée as he appears. You should also see Wuyan’s grievances.”
“Mother Empress’s teachings, your son keeps in his heart.”
“Keep in your heart? Then why, when I deliberately let Shuangcheng leave the palace today to go home and meet with Quan Feitong, did you immediately bring her back to the palace?”
Xiao’an suddenly stood up, slapping the table with a bang that startled the tea-serving Hong Gu beside her.
This female official who had gone to the inn to deliver messages to Suzhen had followed Xiao’an for many years.
Wei Wuyan had considerable courage and remained so now, but heard Lian Yu chuckle softly, “Mother Empress, over these years, how many things has your son insisted on having for himself?”
His voice was distant and serene. Xiao’an stared at this tall, handsome son before her, and events from these years flashed before her eyes.
Lian Yu’s birth mother Xiaoyu was of lowly status, a small palace maid beside Lian Jie’s mother, Imperial Concubine Ai. The former emperor merely played with her on a whim—his greatest love was still Imperial Concubine Ai. Afterward, when Imperial Concubine Ai was angry, the former emperor intended to beat Xiaoyu to death, but she deliberately saved Xiaoyu’s life to provoke Imperial Concubine Ai.
It was also destined—from one night of dew, Xiaoyu actually conceived dragon seed.
Imperial Concubine Ai couldn’t oppose her dignity, so she found other ways to torment that mother and child.
This became quite entertaining.
Later, for unknown reasons, Xiaoyu mysteriously died one night with blood flowing from all seven orifices. Lian Yu grew up doing all kinds of rough menial work in the palace—washing clothes, organizing animal hides in the needlework rooms, sweeping stables… suffering all manner of bullying from the palace princes, including Lian Jie and Lian Qin who stood here today.
She had the most prominent family background—her brother was the great general protecting the nation, Marquis Murong Jing. She was the current empress, yet she was not the former emperor’s beloved. She had much free time each day and loved wandering the palace, observing this most beautiful of prisons.
The first time she saw him, the sky was full of stars. He was seven or eight years old, crouching in a corner, tightly clutching a wooden bowl, fiercely scraping out the little bit of vegetable juice and scraps left by the young eunuchs.
She didn’t know who he was then. After rescuing him that day, she never inquired about that mother and child again.
Both were pitiful people—she reached out and touched his head.
He looked up and said, “My lady, I haven’t eaten anything for five days. If this continues, I’ll starve to death. Will you save me?”
She was startled and half-jokingly said, “Give me a reason to save you.”
“Now, you protect me. When I grow up, I’ll protect you.”
He thought for a long time, then said this solemnly.
At that time his face was waxy yellow, but his amber eyes were like starlight, shining brilliantly.
In the palace, countless low-ranking concubines begged her to adopt their sons, yet she had never been interested.
She didn’t know what she was fighting for. She feared betrayal, just as the former emperor had made solemn vows when he ascended the throne, yet afterward the Murong family remained prominent while she slept alone night after night.
When she met Lian Yu, however, her heart rekindled.
Even after she later had Lian Xin, her love for Lian Yu never diminished.
People are such strange creatures—they can give everything for just one moment of being moved.
Regardless of whether that moment moved others or only moved oneself.
No one knew better than she how difficult these years had been for Lian Yu.
The former emperor originally didn’t want to establish him. He was sent to various places to handle affairs, achieving excellent political results wherever he went.
In the struggle among brothers, he completely won over Lian Jie and Lian Qin, sons of the former emperor’s most beloved women, Imperial Concubines Ai and Ping. They willingly supported him as crown prince, defeating the other princes.
He also did things she dared not recall, fulfilling his promise from that day, truly making her the mother of the nation.
He jokingly called himself Murong Liu—the entire court knew this.
Over these years, except for Wei Wuyan, whom he personally said he liked and wanted to marry, he seemed never to have wanted anything for himself. Before the grand wedding, he had no concubines or chamber maids. Regarding food, he was also casual. Several times when she visited him in various places, he was supervising water conservancy projects, eating simple meat scraps and pickled vegetables with the workers…
Even now, ruling the world.
Her thoughts suddenly fixed on an incident from five years ago, and her cold, hard heart trembled almost imperceptibly.
At this time, Lian Yu walked to the small couch, picked up the cloak from it, and slowly draped it over her shoulders, bowing, “Mother Empress, regarding tomorrow’s palace examination, Lian Yu must think carefully. Your son takes leave first and will come to pay respects to Mother Empress again tomorrow. Please don’t make things difficult for Gu Shuangcheng anymore.”
“Mm, let it be for now. Yu’er, regarding tomorrow’s palace examination, if there’s truly no other way, we might as well let Prime Minister Quan have this round! This old woman has considered it from all angles—this matter is difficult.”
In the night palace quarters, watching Lian Yu walking slowly ahead, lost in thought, Wei Wuyan’s feelings also grew complex, and she couldn’t help sighing.
Suddenly, Lian Yu turned back, his gaze directed at her, his brow arching wickedly, “What are you sighing about? Think I’m not treating you well enough?”
Poor Lian Qi and Lian Jiu, who had been walking slowly behind Wei Wuyan to match their pace, immediately turned and retreated.
Wei Wuyan laughed and spat lightly.
Lian Yu suddenly strode toward her and swept her up in his arms, “Let’s go back.”
Wei Wuyan was startled at his sudden action, her face reddening, “I heard you turned over Concubine Cuan’s tablet tonight.”
Murong Cuan, Marquis Murong Jing’s youngest daughter.
Lian Yu stared at her, his gaze deepening, “Not going tonight—you accompany me.”
Looking at the sky above, with this man’s elegant fragrance wafting from his clothes, Wei Wuyan felt completely at peace, slowly nestling her head into his embrace.
“Your subject Huo Chang’an pays respects to Your Majesty.”
A low, husky voice shattered her tranquility, and Wei Wuyan started, opening her eyes.
Lian Yu smiled, “Chang’an, rise quickly. Why are you in the palace at this hour?”
“My aunt summoned Chang’an to the palace to play chess and relieve boredom. Chang’an was about to enter just now when the palace supervisor reported Your Majesty’s arrival, so I waited here for Your Majesty to finish visiting with my aunt before going in.”
Ahead, Huo Chang’an paid his respects and slowly raised his head, his eyes showing slight darkness before quickly looking away, as if avoiding impropriety.
His aunt was Empress Dowager Xiao’an—he was the son of Xiao’an’s sister and particularly close to Xiao’an.
Wei Wuyan’s gaze fell precisely on his hand—he wore a jade thumb ring.
She closed her eyes. Lian Yu had already carried her away, his voice drifting down from above, “Still thinking of him?”
She remained silent. After a long while, she suddenly said, “Your Majesty, what if I said I was thinking of you?”
That night, whether from nervousness or some other reason, Suzhen’s eyelids twitched all night.
She actually understood the meaning of Murong Liu’s words, but couldn’t fathom the key point—why it would relate to the palace examinations.
Early the next morning, an official sedan came to fetch her to enter the Imperial City for the final test of the imperial examinations—the palace examination. Presumably, when Huo Chang’an reported her whereabouts to Murong Liu, he also reported to the officials.
Huo Chang’an was a generous and righteous man.
Lengxue and the others couldn’t enter the palace, so they followed behind the sedan, intending to wait outside the palace.
As the sedan passed through Ning’an Street from the night before, she heard people constantly running by outside, urgently shouting something about “Look quickly, someone’s blocking Prefect He’s sedan to file a complaint—seems like a major murder case.”
Suzhen was startled and lifted the sedan curtain. Unexpectedly, Wuqing appeared outside the sedan, giving the meddlesome her an eye roll and pulling the curtain back down.
The curtain piece that Wuqing had pulled down seemed to still be swaying before her eyes. In an instant, it had transformed into the golden crown and pearl curtain of the sovereign she had struggled countless times to meet, sitting high above in the Golden Throne Hall.
Heaven and earth seemed to fall completely silent at this moment.