Defying Him

Beacon fires raged for three months straight; a family letter was worth ten thousand in gold. For generals and soldiers on the battlefield, receiving a family letter was like this; for the families waiting in the rear, receiving a letter from a loved one who had joined the army was no different.

Several months had passed since Yin Chong set out on campaign, and Ji Yuan had been in Jingji Prefecture for over a month. At last, Yin Manor received Yin Chong's letter, along with battle reports from the front.

Within the Directorate of Astronomy Office, Ji Yuan was browsing documents in the Directorate of Astronomy's enormous Archive Room.

The Archive Room was like a vast library. It contained astronomical and astrological classics that Directorate of Astronomy officials from every dynasty had sought out from all corners of the world by all manner of means, as well as all kinds of documents with some relevance to the subject. Naturally, it also held writings personally compiled by generations of Grand Ministers of Ceremonies and their subordinate officials over Great Zhen's several centuries of nationhood. There was even a considerable number of historical records, though most concerned celestial phenomena recorded in the previous dynasty or the dynasty before that.

After chatting with Yan Chang several times, Ji Yuan had come to the Directorate of Astronomy for a look and abruptly discovered this treasure vault. His interest was immediately piqued. Judging from Yan Chang, there had been no shortage of capable people among the Directorate's officials throughout the ages, and they even possessed a certain scientific rigor in matters of mysticism.

Thus, Ji Yuan took up residence in the Directorate of Astronomy and read its documents every day.

In theory, these documents were naturally court secrets. Aside from the Directorate's own officials, even