"Court is dismissed~~!"
The high-pitched, drawn-out cry pierced the thick palace walls and echoed over the Great Cang Imperial City in the faint light of dawn, startling a few roosting crows from the eaves. They flapped away into the lead-gray sky.
Outside the Diligent Governance Hall, below the white jade steps, the civil and military officials bowed like a receding tide before departing in an orderly fashion.
Among them, many faces were not the same as they were sixty years ago. The younger ones now had frosted temples, and the elderly walked with faltering steps.
Time had carved deep marks upon the bricks and stones of this Imperial City, and upon the hearts of its people.
The hall doors slowly opened, and a figure in a bright yellow Dragon Robe emerged, supported by a eunuch.
It was none other than the Great Cang Emperor, Zhao Xuanji.
