The 17th Year of Yan Huang was destined to be a special year.
Just as the officials were congratulating themselves on the capture of the fraud ring led by the 20th Rank Che Hou, and the royal court had conveniently crushed a group of old-era restorationists who spent all day dreaming in broad daylight, a piece of news caught the entire court of civil and military officials completely off guard. Some even couldn't help looking outside to see whether the sun had risen in the west. "Wait, did I really hear that right?"
"You heard it too?"
"Yeah, yeah. How could..."
Whether they had a grudge or not, they all turned to whoever was nearby to discuss it.
They all suspected they'd misheard.
Shen Tang had guessed some of the reason, and readily agreed.
Qi Shan immediately bowed and thanked her for her grace.
"Duke Jin—"
As soon as court was dismissed, Qi Shan hurried away without looking back, paying no attention to the colleagues calling after him. In the blink of an eye, all they could see was his retreating figure. The officials he'd left far behind exchanged bewildered looks, and one of them murmured under his breath.
"Is Duke Jin rushing off to the privy?"
"Which fool said that? Do you want to die?"
What if Duke of Jin broke with convention and doubled back, only to hear someone call him a fool? He'd definitely make a note of it.
"Why has Duke Jin suddenly requested another six months' leave?"
That was what had shocked the civil and military officials just now.
Ever since Gu Chi had started the trend, the founding veterans from those days seemed to have shared an unspoken understanding and had begun requesting leave one after another. Their absences ranged from six months to