Capital City
Dusk had fallen faintly, the evening sky orange-red.
The crowds were as dense as swimming carp, weaving through the streets and alleys.
Cao Yiyan wore wide sleeves and a square scholar's kerchief, along with a coarse linen robe washed pale from wear.
These were not his usual clothes.
A Provincial Graduate who had repeatedly failed the examinations and remained in the capital to study bitterly, with only a few changes of clothes, naturally looked rather impoverished.
He paced forward, his gaze taking in the surroundings.
The shops and houses were all open, bustling with people, and there was little sign of alarm.
His eyes swept across the Imperial River. The willow trees along its banks had not yet fully withered, their long silken branches hanging to shoulder height and carrying a trace of chill.
From the back door of a nearby shop, the chatter of several clerks drifted into his ears.
It was originally so noisy that ordinary people could not make out what was being said.
Yet his profound martial cultivation allowed him to hear clearly when he deliberately focused.
"Hey, have you heard?"
A clerk carrying a three-legged tea table lowered his voice. "Prince Shu's Residence was officially confiscated by decree yesterday."
"Wasn't it already confiscated?"
"A confiscation is not the same as a confiscation. I heard this was rebellion. Not only has he been reduced to a commoner, but his entire family is to be held accountable."
"When I went to look, there were heaps of young ladies and pretty little wives inside, every last one of them beautiful. They were all dragged away..."
As he spoke, the clerk swallowed hard.
The shopkeeper, who was looking over the account book, did not even raise his head. He merely smiled and rapped the clerk on the