Jiang Li traveled as the wind, returning to the Imperial City without alerting anyone.
As he passed the palace gates, cries caught his attention.
"Princess, if you do not see us today, we will kneel here and not rise."
The officials knelt down in unison, their formation strikingly neat.
"With the Emperor absent from the throne, the officials are getting rather audacious," Jiang Li observed, feeling a mix of emotions.
In the eight hundred years of Great Zhou, this form of kneeling protest was a rarity. The Emperor's love is public, seemingly emotional yet devoid of humanity; even when choosing an Empress or concubine, it's a duty, not affection.
Even if deeply attached to the Imperial Concubine before ascending, the emotions turn fake after ascending, only acting as if it's real.
To threaten the Emperor this way is simply courting danger.
But now, with the Emperor absent, and the Princess accused of colluding with the Great Venerable, the officials are ready to take chances.
