After all, Gu Wenheng had received more than twenty years of cultivation from his family. He possessed a high level of both intellectual and emotional intelligence. Even General Zhou—a man who only knew how to guard the frontiers and lacked the skills for socializing or heart-to-heart talks—suddenly opened up and confided in him.
By the end of the meal, the two men were even slinging their arms around each other's shoulders in a drunken display of camaraderie.
Deep within the Imperial Palace, Empress Zhou, who was in the midst of disciplining the concubines, found herself in a rare, excellent mood upon receiving the news. Even Noble Lady Xu, who had provoked her earlier that day, was spared an extra punitive lap around the Imperial Garden.
