Before dawn
The Capital City's streets had long since fallen silent. Every household had extinguished its lamps, save for the lights still burning within deep mansions and grand estates, where servants had risen at midnight to boil water and make preparations for their masters.
The palace gates slowly opened, clearing the broad imperial road. Under the cover of night, file after file of eunuchs led the way, with several guards following behind as they hurried straight out.
Torchlight illuminated their armor before they vanished in an instant.
Within this quiet, deep courtyard, screen walls stood layer upon layer, while artificial hills and doorways were draped with curtains.
Su Ziji stood in the courtyard, looking up at the starry sky. A Yellow Gate eunuch stepped forward and heavily kowtowed. "This servant pays respects to the Imperial Grandson!"
"Speak!"
"Imperial Grandson, His Majesty has just issued a prohibition order. To guard against treacherous villains taking advantage of the chaos to cause trouble, none of the Capital City's camps may transfer a single soldier without an imperial decree!"
"Any who make unauthorized moves shall all be treated as guilty of treason and rebellion."
The stern edict had been carried out with thunderous speed. Ordinarily, not a drop could leak through the net; before handling any great matter, the first step had to be to clear the field. But now, though there were hundreds of thousands of troops, they could not move.
They could not rush to the king's aid at the sound of alarm.
At last, the final link had fallen into place.
Su Ziji listened silently, then let out a long breath. There was little emotion on his face as he waved a hand.
"You may return first. Remember to pass word to Her Majesty."
"Tell her that where wind and rain