"His Majesty has withdrawn from court..."
Hu Huai'an and the eunuchs hurried after him. Glancing over the ministers still kneeling in the hall, Hu Huai'an felt a vague unease, as though wind and rain were gathering for a storm.
Once the emperor had left, only the assembled ministers remained in the great hall, standing in silence.
Zhao Xu, Qian Wei, Cui Zhaoqian, Xie Zhi, and the others remained on their knees for a long time.
Some officials had not knelt; those who had slowly rose. The emperor's reaction just now had spoken volumes. No one present was a fool-how could they fail to see what it meant?
Even the most indifferent officials felt wretched, as though cotton had been stuffed into their hearts, choking and blocking them, impossible to swallow or spit out.
Only after a long while did an official wipe his face and step forward.
"Honored elders, please get up."
As that official took the lead, the others followed in twos and threes to help the ministers of the Grand Secretariat to their feet.
Ever since the emperor had strode away, Qian Wei had knelt there like a stone statue.
At the sounds behind him, he suddenly seemed to wake with a start. Someone tried to help him up, but instead of rising, he collapsed onto the floor, as though all his bones had been removed, his body heavy and limp.
Seeing a student supporting him with an anguished expression, he made two rattling sounds in his throat before suddenly releasing a stale breath and letting out an utterly heartrending wail. "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
"These treacherous ministers and rebels!"
The emperor, however, could spare no thought for Qian Wei's feelings. He left the hall and boarded his palanquin, but had barely shouted those words when