Rain fell on the long streets of Bianjing, damp and humid.
Inside the Chongming Palace of the Imperial City, a deathly silence reigned. The sycophants who once crowded the halls were now nothing more than wisps of smoke in the wind.
In the inner chamber, Shen Wenyao sat by the bedside, her face pale and haggard. Before her lay Ji Yechao, buried under three layers of quilts. Had his chest not risen and fallen with the faintest rhythm, he would have looked like a corpse. He had been brought out of the Dark Penal Bureau without any visible signs of torture, yet he was utterly broken.
Chapter 193