The sky over the Capital was dyed the color of blood by a sea of red silk. The gilded plaque above the entrance of the Second Prince’s Estate glinted with a blinding light under the sun. The mythical beasts upon the glazed roof tiles twisted into ferocious shapes amidst the shimmering heat waves.
Without a breeze, the bronze bells hanging from the eaves chimed with a faint, eerie sound, as if playing a prelude to a conspiracy about to unfold. Three days ago, the Second Prince had knelt in the Imperial Study, clutching an urgent battle report, his python-patterned robes spreading across the cold, golden floor. With tears streaming down his face, he reported a state of emergency at the border, finally bowing his head to request: "I am willing to share the burden for Your Majesty.
I humbly implore you to grant me a marriage with Shen Mingyue, so that the joy of this union may strike fear into the enemy!" The Emperor’s hand, holding the vermilion brush, trembled slightly; his aged knuckles left deep indentations in the parchment before he finally pressed the imperial seal onto the marriage document. When this decree reached the Eastern Depot, Gu Jinghong was slamming a map of the Blood Fiend Alliance's weapons—sent by a spy—onto his desk.
Chapter 30