Weiyang Palace
A sentry every three steps, a guard post every five; everything was as usual.
Palace maids stood at every layer of the inner corridors and passageways. Female officials and eunuchs occasionally passed by as well, all wearing soft flat-soled shoes, their footsteps light.
The inner chambers were brightly lit, veiled by layers of imperial-yellow curtains. The eunuchs held dust whisks and stared straight ahead as the sounds of deliberation carried far beyond.
The old emperor reclined halfway upon an imperial-yellow couch. Several attendants stood at his side, holding memorials and reading them aloud in voices that rose and fell.
"Stop, stop."
At one passage, the old emperor opened his eyes and made a vague pressing gesture with his hand. The reading immediately ceased.
"The summer grain is nearly ready for harvest, yet the Three Adjacent Regions have been battered by unceasing rain. Beyond the Capital City, rain has fallen day after day... and three civilian homes have even been flooded?"
After hesitating for a while, the old emperor felt an inexplicable unease in his heart, yet no matter how he thought, he could not pinpoint its cause.
Could it be that he was still worried about Prince Qi?
"Alas, even with a heart of iron and stone, one cannot escape the tender ties of family." The old emperor smiled at himself and asked, "If I remember correctly, this was not the usual time. Has this year's rainy season... come early?"
"Your Majesty, this servant does not know," the attendant replied respectfully.
"It is understandable that you do not know... Hiss, I had forgotten for a moment. Who has always been in charge of changes in the rainy season?"
"Your Majesty, it falls under the Grand Historiographer's Office." Zhao Bingzhong stepped forward half a pace and replied with a