Before the Storm

The sky remained leaden. Last night's battle had destroyed many districts within the city; none knew how many soldiers and civilians on either side had been killed or wounded. Fortunately, before the fighting could spread, the commanders of both armies had sounded the gong and withdrawn their troops. After a night of heavy snow, Di'an City's wounds were blanketed beneath white—but only temporarily.

The armies belonging to the imperial house and the Prime Minister's Mansion still occupied the vast Di'an City. The flames of war had ceased, but the standoff had only just begun.

Using Skywater Street, which ran east to west, as the dividing line, the imperial clan held the north while the Prime Minister's Mansion held the south, cleaving the entire giant city in two. Both sides had pulled back two li from this line and begun setting up checkpoints and building fortifications.

The palace city atop Nine Dragon Mountain had been completely occupied by the Black Scale Army in last night's battle. Yet under military orders, the Black Scale Army had not ventured deeply into this forbidden ground of the imperial clan. Most remained active around its perimeter, holding the northern palace walls as they watched and guarded against the imperial forbidden army farther north, as well as the Wugui Army left behind by Crown Prince Yuan.

As for the Prime Minister's Estate, the imperial clan's main target last night, its interior was now littered with ruins. Ink Shadow Pavilion, the administrative center, had been reduced directly to ashes. At such a critical time, no one suggested rebuilding it, though some proposed moving straight into the Golden Throne Hall. Xu Yuan temporarily ignored those voices and set the meeting place in the underground Black Prison.

Di'an's situation thus remained deadlocked for the moment.

The imperial house and