Outside the City of Evernight, eight hundred Bai Bao Guards stood fully armed and ready to depart. Every one of them was clad in full armor, their faces covered by demon masks and their bodies draped in cloaks. Longspears, curved blades, and waist bows were all in place. Standing in formation, the entire army was solemn, like a forest of sturdy tombstones. Even the fiercest sunlight could not draw a trace of warmth from them. The whole world seemed to have turned black and white.
The only color came from Ying Le atop the war chariot. Today, she wore a robe with a bright-yellow base, displaying the nobility of the imperial family to its fullest. Yet her long hair hung loose, and she sat barefoot on the chariot with her legs crossed, her little feet swaying adorably. Her head was tilted as if she were asleep, and she even raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight.
Yet when Ying Ru Shi saw Ying Le like this, she breathed a sigh of relief. At least she was properly dressed.
"Come up." Ying Le spoke lazily.
There was a seat on the war chariot, complete with a tiger-skin cushion. Ying Le never cut corners when it came to enjoyment. Once Ying Ru Shi sat down, Ying Le leaned over without the slightest awareness that she was an aunt and lay across Ying Ru Shi's thighs. "Give me a massage." Her voice was as coquettish as a girl begging for affection, as if she were the niece instead.
Ying Ru Shi was hardly surprised. Not to mention her—even during court assemblies, whenever Ying Le was in the mood, she would make an Attendant in the Palace or a Minister come up and massage her feet. With time, the capital's high