Chapter 758

Nine Dragon Mountain, the imperial palace of Great Yan.

At the heart of Heavenly Pool, a nine-story tower stood in tranquil silence. The lake breeze, cool with the hint of summer, stirred the gauzy curtains. A graceful woman in an imperial robe and crown sat at her desk, her black hair framing dark eyes. Her long, dense lashes trembled faintly as she turned the memorials in her hands.

When Xu Yuan stepped into the Imperial Study, Li Qingyan was, as usual, attending to government affairs. One delicate hand supported her forehead, her slender brows furrowed as though the contents of the memorial before her were giving her a headache.

Seeing him enter, Li Qingyan lifted her eyes and glanced at him, her voice weary and teasing:

"You're here. What a rare sight."

Compared to the other women who could stay at the Prime Minister's Mansion for long stretches, she and Xu Yuan were always apart more than together. Since the day she had sent him back to the mansion in her imperial carriage, they had seen each other only three times in the past month or so, by her count.

Once at court, and twice in secret meetings—and all three times for official business.

The transfer of power was always accompanied by turmoil. In these troubled times, both the imperial clan and the Prime Minister's Mansion had a mountain of messes to deal with. Neither side had any time to discuss romantic affairs.

Not to mention—

The resistance to merging the imperial clan and the Prime Minister's Mansion was beyond imagination.

The Prime Minister's Mansion and the imperial clan were both vast conglomerates of vested interests. When it came to merging them, when their own interests were involved, the people below grew bold. They would deceive their superiors, defy their