The banquet ended quickly.
It was not yet midnight.
After offering their thanks, the civil and military officials gradually left the imperial palace.
Before long, only the Emperor and Lin Zhou remained at the banquet grounds.
Yes.
The Emperor did not let Lin Zhou leave. Instead, beneath an eave near the banquet hall, he had someone bring over a chair. He sat quietly at the edge of the eaves, with Lin Zhou standing off to one side.
The eunuchs and palace maids kept their heads lowered. No one spoke.
Yongning took a book handed over by a eunuch. Ignoring Lin Zhou, he began reading it by himself.
"I hope you are a smart man."
Emperor Yongning flipped through several pages, then said nothing more.
Only the busy palace maids and eunuchs clearing away the remnants of the banquet remained, along with the soft rustle of the Emperor turning pages.
Time passed.
Gu Yuan looked up at the sky.
By his reckoning, it should have been about time.
Yes, there was still no sign of rain.
Then how many of Lin Zhou's remaining prophecies could still come true?
A light breeze drifted by.
The moon hung bright overhead.
Moonlight spilled across the ground, making everything seem incomparably peaceful.
"Your Majesty, midnight is nearly past."
Just then, a eunuch approached and softly reminded the Emperor in a low voice.
At those words, Emperor Yongning's hand paused slightly as he turned a page.
He looked up at the sky.
A cold laugh touched his face, though it was impossible to tell whether it was mockery of himself or disdain for another.
A torrential rain at midnight.
Where was this torrential rain?
Midnight was nearly over.
Not a single drop had fallen.
Sure enough, he was a petty man trying to take crooked paths.