Morning mist like thick ink, carrying the chill of the lingering night, surged across the sky above the Capital. When the first ray of morning light pierced the heavy haze like a sharp sword and slanted down upon the glazed tiles of the Golden Luan Hall, the entire rooftop was instantly dyed an eye-piercing blood red, as if portending a storm of blood and slaughter in the court today. The bronze bells at the eaves chimed faintly in the wind, startling the swallows and sparrows roosting in the beams; the sound of their fluttering wings added an even heavier air of grim hostility.
As Shen Mingyue stepped onto the white marble terrace, the golden-threaded luan and phoenix on her dark court robes unfurled in the morning breeze. The feathers embroidered in gold thread were so lifelike they seemed ready to break free from the fabric and soar into the air. Clasping the slightly warm Qiankun Jade in her sleeve, she could clearly feel the pulse of the divine artifact. Together with the secret dossiers Gu Jinghong had worked through the night to compile, it became her solid armor against hidden arrows. Blue smoke rose in curling wisps from the bronze crane incense burner under the corridor, yet it could do nothing to mask the tension permeating the air. That heavy atmosphere was just like the suffocating quiet before a tempest. The hairpins at her temples swayed gently with her steps, their red jade pendants casting blood-colored halos in the morning light.
"State your business if yo…
Chapter 104