After being confined for several days, Shen Yangge felt like a complete freeloader. Aside from eating, drinking, and answering nature's call, he spent almost every day lying in bed.
It wasn't that he didn't want to move. Trapped in the palace with no one to talk to and nothing to pass the time, all he could do was eat and sleep, then sleep and eat.
Or he would carry a chair to the palace entrance and wait for Chu Xuanzhen to return from handling official business.
Chu Xuanzhen rarely had any free time. Most days, he hurried back for a meal before leaving again, and at night, he only appeared when Shen Yangge had nearly fallen asleep waiting for him.
Inside the palace, Shen Yangge knew nothing of what was happening. The elite guards stationed on either side of the entrance were only responsible for keeping watch, not making conversation.
That morning, Shen Yangge had been planning to have a talk with Chu Xuanzhen when he returned to eat.
Suddenly, the piercing clang of blades rang out.
Was someone fighting outside the palace?
Shen Yangge walked to the door and peered through the crack with his round, almond-shaped eyes.
What he saw left him bewildered.
People from the Ministry of Justice?
Why were they here, and why were they fighting Chu Xuanzhen's men?
Something was strange. Shen Yangge shut the door tightly, feeling that these people had come with ill intentions.
He thought of how Chu Xuanzhen had been rushing in and out these past few days, never getting a moment's rest...
Had something serious happened in the palace?
The fighting outside grew louder and louder. Shen Yangge pressed his lips together and, after a moment's thought, found somewhere to hide.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Chu Xuanzhen's men.