Within the towering Imperial City, three thousand palace lanterns swayed in the wind and rain. Hurried footsteps raced through a covered gallery, soon reaching the Palace of Eternal Joy at the very center of the Imperial City.
Tap, tap, tap...
Ye Jingtang's clothes were in tatters, and his hair crown had come loose, leaving his long hair spilling down. As he strode along, he looked like a handsome mountain bandit king, scantily clad and disheveled, carrying a beautiful young woman in his arms and looking for somewhere to do something wicked.
The Empress of Great Wei's face was flushed. Still holding the red umbrella, she leaned against the man's shoulder, her breathing erratic.
Since ascending the throne, the Empress had rarely left the Imperial Palace. Publicly, she claimed to have a supreme expert at her side who could defeat Cao Gonggong. Until troublemakers had probed the truth, they dared not enter the palace to cause trouble, and even if they did, it would never fall to her, the Son of Heaven, to deal with them personally. With care to stay within her limits in everyday life, she had never suffered any major problems.
Today, however, to show off her peerless, pinnacle martial prowess before Ye Jingtang, whose talent outshone all ages, she had exerted herself too much and accidentally overplayed her hand. Her body's reaction was somewhat worse than she had imagined.
Yet despite her discomfort, the Empress's gaze remained composed.
As they hurried back to the Palace of Eternal Joy, palace servants could be seen moving about.
Following her instructions, Ye Jingtang did not alert the palace maids walking among the palace buildings. He skirted the garden with practiced familiarity and arrived at Cheng'an Hall in front of the Dragon-Mingling Pool.
Cheng'an Hall was where the Son of Heaven