Throughout the walk, the ministers had a spring in their steps. Only Emperor Deyuan was drenched in sweat. Watching the eager Jian Ruonan, he felt as though he had invited a wolf into his home.
Every secret in his household had been exposed, and now they were going to catch his eldest son.
Emperor Deyuan deeply regretted it.
But since they were already here, he could hardly throw them out.
Let's get this gossip over with and send them away!
Next time, I absolutely cannot let this little darling in so carelessly!
Great Xia's Imperial Study combined government offices with living quarters. It contained the emperor's bedroom, his sitting room, and a room where the ministers of the Grand Secretariat discussed affairs.
Since Emperor Deyuan had given advance instructions that he would not be sleeping in the Imperial Study tonight, only two young eunuchs stood guard outside.
[The young eunuch on the left was sold into the palace because his family was poor. The one on the right was abducted and sold by human traffickers... Great Xia has human traffickers too?!]
Time was tight, so Jian Ruonan had no chance to dwell on the human traffickers. She quickly finished digging through the two young guards' gossip and led everyone inside.
Inside the Imperial Study, the throne stood in the center of the hall. Desks made of Phoebe Nanmu flanked it, piled high with books.
With no one inside, the entire Imperial Study was dark. Jian Ruonan took a flashlight from her pouch and shone it ahead as she walked.
After learning how powerful Jian Ruonan's magic was, everyone would have considered it perfectly normal even if she had pulled a sow recovering from childbirth out of her pouch.
The flashlight was rather bright when she first switched it on.