Elegant Bamboo Ward
The thunderstorm had briefly let up. After the rain, the whole of Capital City looked as though it had been washed clean, revealing a different face.
Viewed from above, Capital City resembled a grid of well-field plots, remarkably orderly, with broad streets, neatly arranged wards, and uniform layouts, divided into 120 wards and twelve markets.
"When Shizu built Capital City, everything was planned. Of all the splendor under heaven, none surpasses this capital."
The nobility tended to cluster together, and the imperial relatives even more so.
The residences of imperial princes and commandery princes were almost all bestowed by the emperor.
The emperor did not have many sons. When he first granted them residences, the princes received old mansions from the previous dynasty, all spacious and well situated.
As hoofbeats approached this lane, leaving aside the masters behind the high walls of the nearby mansions, the servants who had already been ordered to watch for activity outside were peering through cracks in the gates.
"Oh! People are coming past! So many of them!"
"At least thirty riders. Where are they heading?"
"Could they be going to that one?"
The "one" this servant referred to was none other than Prince Ninghe.
There was no one living nearby who did not know Prince Ninghe's circumstances.
Everyone knew that this prince's prospects had been utterly ruined back when he was demoted to commandery prince.
If the princes lost their struggle and the old emperor emerged as the final victor, Prince Ninghe might not necessarily remain so unfortunate.
After all, however much the man in the Imperial Palace disliked Prince Ninghe, he had only demoted him to commandery prince back then. As long as Prince Ninghe did not cause further trouble, he could probably retain that title at worst.
Indeed, if