The thunder of the Grain Rain season shook the pines and cypresses of the Imperial Mausoleum until they rattled. Shen Xitang’s deerskin boots crunched over the freshly turned soil beside the spirit way.
The magnetic needle in her hand suddenly vibrated violently, pointing toward the Bixi stele at the entrance of the underground palace—the "Xuanwu Carrying the Stele" erected during the reign of the Taizu Emperor to suppress the ley lines.
"Be careful, Director!" the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works suddenly stepped in front of the stele. "The underground palace is forbidden ground for the ley lines; no one but the Imperial Astronomical Bureau is permitted to..."
Chapter 19