Subordinate Third Rank

After a long while, the emperor came back to himself. When he looked at the two memorials again, the chill in his gaze was gone.

Eunuch Zhao was adept at reading the emperor's wishes. One look at his expression told him the matter had probably passed.

Su Ziji is the crown prince's blood. He still carries some weight with His Majesty after all. With that thought, he decided that if His Majesty asked again, he would share the intelligence he had gathered.

The forces under his control gathered intelligence through covert channels. Their focus differed, and they could fill in details missing from the secret memorials.

Sure enough, the emperor asked a moment later, "Dexi, has anything else come in about Su Ziji? Let me hear it."

This was the benefit of preparing for rain before it fell. Though the emperor had given no special orders, Eunuch Zhao had kept people watching Su Ziji and gathering intelligence, so he would have an answer ready at a moment like this.

At a time like this, saying he knew nothing would displease the emperor. Having prepared in advance, he had no reason to fear.

Eunuch Zhao said lightly, "This old servant does know one thing."

He cleared his throat and recited a poem before the emperor.

"The lone goose neither drinks nor pecks; it cries in flight, longing for its flock."

"Who pities that solitary shadow, parted from its kind by ten thousand layers of cloud?"

"It gazes until they seem still in sight; so deep its grief, their calls seem still to sound."

"The wild crows have no such cares; they squawk and clamor among themselves."

"Lord Su composed this poem in Shunan Prefecture," Eunuch Zhao said with a smile when he had finished reciting.

The poem certainly carried a sense