Everyone was so busy their feet barely touched the ground.
The side hall was in utter chaos. Officials from the Ministry of Rites shouted themselves hoarse, while eunuchs and palace maids hurried back and forth carrying all manner of trays, moving as if demons were chasing them.
Guards carried a brand-new imperial robe, maids brought the emperor's ceremonial crown, and eunuchs knelt on the ground to lay out the red carpet. Once they finished, they noticed the pattern was crooked, so they simply pulled it up and laid it again. They went through the whole ordeal several times.
The new emperor's enthronement ceremony had been set for three days later. The schedule was absurdly tight, but no one below dared utter a single complaint.
Xu Yanli sat quietly in a corner of the side hall, lazily turning a fan in his hand. His eyelids drooped as he watched the crowd bustle about, his face utterly impassive.
Xu Jiawei sat beside him, looking worse with every passing day.
His whole person seemed drained and lifeless, his pallid face tinged with green. He looked like tofu left to go moldy, or a zombie on the verge of death.
He wore a bright yellow imperial robe, but it was wrinkled and rumpled, the collar sitting crooked. No one was willing to come over and straighten it for him.
The eunuchs and maids assigned to serve him had long since gathered in the main hall to help prepare for the ceremony. Who had the time to care for an old emperor who was about to abdicate?
Xu Yanli shot him a sidelong glance and said nothing.
Xu Jiawei fidgeted, unable to find a place for his hands or feet. One moment, his hands rested on his knees; the next, he gripped the chair's armrests