Noon.
Dark clouds blanketed the sky above the majestic Forbidden City.
Thirty zhang outside the Imperial City, four Capital Camp Elite Troops carried a coffin while Madam Wang, dressed in her Third-Rank Imperial Mandate robes, paced anxiously.
"Court still hasn't ended?" she asked, clutching her handkerchief and gazing toward the Ninefold Palace.
This was a task from the Empress herself!
Success would change their destinies and open boundless prospects!
Baoyu would wield real power, and she would enjoy the honors of a second-rank lady!
With the Brocade Pouch tucked into his sleeve, Jia Baoyu declared with grand assurance:
"Mother, please be patient. If court hasn't ended yet, they must be deciding on the thirteenth Commanding Commissioner. That beast's reputation is already ruined!"
Clang-
The moment he finished speaking, a sonorous bell rang out from deep within the Forbidden City.
"My hour of glory has come!" Jia Baoyu exclaimed, flushed with excitement, and hastily ordered the Capital Camp Elite Troops to lift the coffin.
He carefully straightened his ninth-rank official robes and headed toward the Imperial City, nerves taut. Yet his legs could not stop trembling, and his heart nearly leaped into his throat.
Never since his birth had he encountered such a magnificent, imposing scene.
"Kirin Child, Kirin Child, you will dazzle the whole world!"
Jia Baoyu breathed heavily, endlessly bolstering his courage.
Seeing her son stagger, Madam Wang immediately encouraged him:
"Baoyu, if that beast could do it, how could you possibly be worse?"
Jia Baoyu's face flushed crimson. Clenching his fists, he quickened his pace.
*Yes, that beast had still been an obscure nobody when he carried a coffin through the rain to remonstrate at the risk of death. That single feat had made his name, leaving a deep impression on the powerful figures of the Central Court