Outside East Brilliance Pavilion, the lights blazed bright. The tall Huo Yanshan stood quietly in their glow, like one draped in snow, gazing at the heavens.
The night was too heavy; the Starry Sky was blocked off by a bowl.
He felt that he, too, was a bearer of the alms bowl, gathering the karmic ties within and beyond the palace, while the Son of Heaven was his only almsgiver.
Han Ling had been promoted and was now in charge of the Night Watchmen. As for the mark he had lost tonight, who knew how long it would take to win it back.
At a certain moment, something stirred within him, and his gaze fell upon the second palace gate—
The shadows were like a lifted curtain. Qiu Ji's overly gentle features surfaced from the sea of night.
"Eunuch Qiu!"
Huo Yanshan raised his voice slightly, though his face still wore a smile. "What is it?"
To attend at the Son of Heaven's side, ever waiting to convey the emperor's will, was a privilege reserved for the chief of the inner officials.
When he had business outside the palace, it was the Attendant Eunuchs' turn.
The Drafting Eunuchs, meanwhile, held the advantage of drafting edicts for the Son of Heaven. They also often proclaimed decrees beyond the palace, conveying the emperor's views.
In general, the Drafting Eunuchs handled affairs outside, while the Attendant Eunuchs served within.
The sixteen Attendant and Drafting Eunuchs, together with himself, the Chief Seal Eunuch, formed the highest tier of the inner officials' power structure.
Within this power structure, the closer one stood to the emperor, the greater one's authority.
Sometimes, people fought each other to the death merely for one chance to show their face before the emperor.
Huo Yanshan was displeased.
He had lost