Qian Renxue knelt before the funeral altar, dressed in mourning clothes, her face sorrowful.
Her eyes were slightly red, as though she had been crying.
But only she knew that she had merely rubbed them that way.
Queen Eva knelt beside her, likewise dressed in plain white. Her ink-black hair was gathered into a simple bun, and her emerald eyes were lowered, concealing her expression.
Princess Snow White knelt behind Eva, her moon-white hair almost blending into the white drapes, her clear eyes as calm as still water.
There was little sorrow on her face, for she had little affection for this father of hers in name.
But she knelt with impeccable posture and observed every courtesy, leaving no fault to be found.
The courtiers arrived one after another, kowtowing before the funeral altar, offering incense, and weeping bitterly.
Every face bore precisely the right amount of sorrow, and every sob was measured just so.
Qian Renxue returned their courtesies one by one, her expression mournful and her manners flawless.
Every movement was beyond reproach, and every word was watertight.
As though she truly were nothing more than a son who had just lost his father, a crown prince overcome with grief.
Outside the mourning hall, the people of Heaven Dou City had also hung white funeral banners of their own accord.
The shops lining the streets closed their doors, the storytellers in the taverns fell silent, and even the usually bustling markets grew much quieter.
Whatever they thought in their hearts, they still had to make a show of mourning.
After all, it was the emperor who had died.
The funeral rites lasted seven days.
Seven days later, Xue Ye's coffin was taken to the imperial mausoleum, where he would rest forever alongside the emperors of past generations.
But