Fourth Watch had passed, and the main hall of the palace was brightly lit. Rows of branched candelabras filled the room, their candlelight flickering, illuminating the grand hall to resemble daylight. Nangong Yi sat behind a Purple Sandalwood desk intricately decorated with agate and carvings of fish playing among lotus flowers. He was still dressed in the riding attire from the daytime, his previously amiable and gentle demeanor replaced by an unparalleled gloom and a ferocity that seemed capable of destroying the heavens and earth at a moment's notice.
His own younger sister had died under mysterious circumstances. Nangong Yi was both grief-stricken and enraged. Empress Dowager Mo had already fainted from crying twice. Every time she regained consciousness, she was inconsolable, wailing and seeking death. In his grief, Nangong Yi decreed that the Temple of Dali investigate the matter thoroughly. If the truth wasn't uncovered, he vowed not to rest until the mystery was resolved.
