Although Grand Duke Ivan worked in the royal palace, he could not live in a residence that, in theory, belonged only to the empress. His luxurious mansion stood on another mountaintop slightly lower than the Palace of Spring.
They were both on mountaintops, so naturally the distance was not far, yet Murphy still delayed for more than an hour before arriving.
As the saying went, a banquet was rarely held with good intentions. Although he did not know what Ivan was really planning, it definitely could not be as simple as inviting him over to eat and drink.
But Murphy did not refuse.
After all, the empress had said they would act tonight, and he had already planned to make a trip to Ivan's residence this evening. Now it saved him some trouble.
It was just that the timing was a little too early. He was afraid Granny Yaga might not receive the news in time and make preparations, so he dragged things out in every possible way.
First he said he needed to change clothes. After changing, he had to wash up. After washing up, he said his clothes had gotten wet and changed into another set. By the time he finally finished tidying himself up and came out, the attendant waiting outside to lead him over took one look—wasn't this exactly the same as when you went in?
The attendant looked utterly confused. After they left, Murphy kept dawdling too. One moment, he said the scenery here was rather nice and he wanted to compose a poem. After chanting for ages, he managed only one line: "Ah, look at the moon, so big and so round..."
The next moment, he went to the edge of the cliff and said he wanted to piss ten zhang with the wind.