West side of the Hall of Literary Glory.
Cabinet, Chief Minister's office.
An old man stood on the steps before the door, gazing into the distance.
He was of medium build, neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin. His beard and hair were gray-white, deep and shallow wrinkles crisscrossed his face, and his skin was rough and dark as soy paste. Were he to remove his First Rank purple crane-embroidered official robe, he would look like an old farmer weathered by wind and sun.
His appearance was unremarkable, and his bearing was not imposing.
Even his eyes were murky as a mud puddle after rain.
"Return to the residence. Change into coarse clothes."
Eerie City.
All sounds had fallen silent, and the sky seemed like an enormous overturned pot.
The once-gray sky had gone completely dark.
The gray mist dispersed, and the night grew thicker than the mist had been.
In the sky, only a single star, its edges giving off a faint violet glow, illuminated the entire city.
Everyone's hearts sank deep into their eyes.
Shen Xiaoyi instinctively shifted sideways, his shoulder brushing Li Qingxian's upper arm.
Before the gates of the Imperial City, the Emperor Star shone down.
Three or four thousand people stood with their eyes open, silent as the dead.
Even the examinees who had lost their children heard the words, "Night has fallen."
The Imperial City gates burst open with a thunderous roar, and a group of guards clad in brilliant golden armor rushed out.
Everyone's eyes narrowed. They were no longer children, but adults.
The leader unfurled a bright-yellow silk scroll embroidered with dragons and proclaimed, "There are treacherous ministers within the Imperial City, and Fate Corpses hidden in the deep palace. By special decree, all of you are ordered to uphold the