Imperial City, Hall of Mental Cultivation
Outside, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. A vast curtain stretched across heaven and earth, shrouding everything beneath it.
Having bathed and changed, Chu Jinghui gazed darkly at the black sky beyond the hall without a word.
Eunuch Zhang stood cautiously behind him, his heart bouncing uneasily in his chest.
He exchanged a glance with Suotu on the other side, whose expression was equally grave.
Neither of them could fathom what the emperor was thinking at that moment.
But they dared not guess, much less ask.
Chu Jinghui stood solemnly before that patch of sky outside the hall for so long that a fine layer of sweat had formed across Eunuch Zhang's back.
Sweat had already soaked the corners of his eyes, its salt stinging unpleasantly.
Yet Eunuch Zhang did not even dare raise a hand to wipe it away.
"Little Zhang..."
Chu Jinghui's voice sounded distant. Although Eunuch Zhang had been focusing all his attention on him, perhaps the silence had lasted too long: even after Chu Jinghui called his name, he remained in a daze.
Several sluggish seconds passed before he came to his senses and hastily replied, "Your servant is here!"
"Go and summon Yang Chengming to see me!"
Both Eunuch Zhang and Suotu froze at Chu Jinghui's words.
"Your Majesty, it is almost the second watch. Besides, it is pouring outside, and the palace gates have already been locked for the night. Summoning Lord Yang now... this would violate protocol!"
Eunuch Zhang addressed Chu Jinghui.
"So, according to you, I cannot even see one of my own subjects now?"
Chu Jinghui's voice barely rose or fell, yet Eunuch Zhang and Suotu could both sense a towering fury between his words.
They dropped to their knees before Chu Jinghui, one after the