Shangguan Hong had never expected to be summoned. He had merely been carrying some winter supplies to the Dragon King on Queen Ju's orders, and he had assumed the process would be very simple. Back in the Dragon Court, he had never received such treatment.
He still remembered going to Tongtian Pass to try to persuade Shang Liao to pledge allegiance to Queen Ju. It had been a humiliating failure. Perhaps Right General Shang Liao had told the Dragon King everything, he thought. Unease churned in his heart, and he hesitated, unsure whether he should expose Queen Ju.
"I hate everyone in the Shangguan Family." Shangguan Hong had prepared a speech that would clear Queen Ju of blame, but in the end, he never had to use it.
Most of the exquisite furnishings in the tent had been moved out, making it seem even more spacious and empty. The Dragon King stood alone beside the table. From the entrance to where he stood seemed an endless distance, and Shangguan Hong immediately felt that indescribable majesty. Envy and jealousy warred within him, and before he knew it, he had dropped to his knees.
He had grown somewhat accustomed to the gesture, to the point that when he recalled the scene from years ago when Huan Nu had begged him for help, it felt utterly unreal.
"Your slave... pays his respects to the Dragon King." Saying those words before the Dragon King was extraordinarily difficult for Shangguan Hong. He had never felt such resistance toward Queen Ju.
"Rise."
Shangguan Hong slowly stood, bending at the waist with his head lowered, humble as an old eunuch who had spent years in the palace.
Gu Shenwei studied him for a while. He had experienced everything from favored darling to despised slave, and from despised