As he walked out of the imperial palace, the eunuch who served Chu Xuanzhen followed beside him, urging, "Lord Shen, please take the palanquin. If His Highness finds out we let you walk out like this, he'll never spare us!"
The servants jogging behind him with the palanquin wiped the sweat from their foreheads, panting as they called, "Lord Shen!"
After walking for a full hour, Shen Yangge reached the palace gates. He did not even know what he was angry about; he simply felt miserable. Since he could not reveal the system's existence or the reasons behind certain things, he felt guilty toward Chu Xuanzhen for his concealment and lies. So perhaps he was angrier with himself.
But the moment he saw that look in Chu Xuanzhen's eyes, he could not suppress the urge to leave for a while.
He could not let Chu Xuanzhen see him so disheartened, so he had asked for leave. Even though the other man had remained silent, refusing to agree, he still had to go.
He walked all the way from the imperial palace to the Shen Residence, until darkness fell. Though plenty of people urged him to take a carriage along the way, he ignored them and kept walking. Many commoners recognized his face, but seeing his poor expression, they did not approach. They merely bowed deeply to him before hurriedly clearing the way.
When he returned to the Shen Residence, the sun had slanted westward, and only the two lanterns outside the gates cast a dim yellow light. The guards recognized his face and gleefully sent someone to announce, "He's back! Our lord is back!"
"Who did you say was back?"
Shen Mother had been chatting with her daughter about the past. At the servant's report, both of them sprang to