Luo Qi entered the Inner Hall of Longevity Palace under a palace attendant's guidance.
If Changle and Weiyang represented Great Han's traditional power, then Longevity Palace undoubtedly represented the pinnacle of all its technology, art, and culture.
The part where Zhao Feiyan lived, in particular, possessed a magnificence that the finest words could not describe even a fraction of.
Yet none of that beauty surpassed the palace's mistress. She wore none of those elaborate ceremonial robes and headdresses, only a simple, slightly loose Quju Shenyi.
Against her crimson robes, her snow-white skin and lovely, unpainted face appeared all the more alluring, yet she also possessed an imposing, inviolable air of royalty.
At the sight of Luo Qi entering, Zhao Feiyan's eyes rippled with unusual light. She reclined on her mat, her exquisite figure stretched out. Luo Qi took it in with a glance from the corner of his eye, then ignored her burning gaze and bowed with his hands clasped. "Your subject pays his respects to the Empress Dowager and wishes you every blessing."
"There is no need for such ceremony, Young Master. Please, sit wherever you like. This is no deliberation in the Great Hall, nor are there Court Historians here recording our words. Whatever we say here will be known only to Heaven, earth, you, and me."
Zhao Feiyan's voice was soft, yet carried a trace of authority. People changed, after all. Now that she had become Empress Dowager, with power bolstering her, Zhao Feiyan was no longer the performer and dancing girl Wang Mang could manipulate at will.
Luo Qi took a lower seat. Once a palace maid had poured tea, he immediately asked, "Did Your Majesty summon me for some important matter?"
Zhao Feiyan withdrew her somewhat heated gaze and asked, a thread of coldness in