Nothing is easy. Guo Fen walked out of Ming Lao's hall as Deputy Minister Shao and General Tang stood straight ahead of him through the open passage. While behind, the Military Advisor stepped slowly and fell silent. Dressed in Imperial attire, Guo Fen tucked Rong Mei's jade back into his waist belt."I can guess that maybe other than the Lao Military Advisor, you are the one who will leave here soon," General Tang suddenly looked back when they reached the terrace of the hall bathed in the morning sunlight. Guo Fen closed his steps, stopping in front of General Tang who was facing him. Beside him, Minister Shao slightly glanced at Guo Fen.During this one week, Guo Fen's existence was nothing more than a ghostly figure. Everyone was whispering, wondering at any gathering involving the Empress what figure would be standing behind her. A figure clad in Imperial robes with black cloth and a silver cloak, Guo Fen had never formally introduced himself before the Ministers and Officials.M
Guo Fen's room was three buildings away from Ming Lao's hall. He had to pass through a wide garden between the pavilions and several paths lined with cherry trees on either side. Besides the many empty rooms for guests, the Ming Lao Palace is surrounded by cherry trees.Occasionally Guo Fen would hear that the cherry tree was Princess Li Ming's favorite. Since she was little, Emperor Ming Lao always spoiled his only daughter. It was said that Princess Li Ming liked drinking cherry tea the most. Because she liked cherry trees, since the birth of Princess Li Ming, the palace began to be filled with pink trees. Only now, that tree meant nothing at all because soon, it might only be left with its bare boughs and branches that had been bald by the summer heat.Guo Fen climbed up the steps to his bedroom building. Around Guo Fen's room, there were no guards or servants to serve him. Guo Fen took care of all his own needs. When he first stepped into the palace, he always felt that he was b
The Shadow Soldier from earlier must be Xiao Ahn. The youth with the most accurate archer who alone did not consider Guo Fen an enemy from the military warrior sector. Ever since Xiao Ahn helped Guo Fen put up a play about the rescue mission he did while in prison helping Princess Li Ming, secretly, Guo Fen trusted that child. At the very least, Guo Fen avoided the Empress and General Tang's suspicions about his empathy for Princess Li Ming.This was because when Princess Li Ming was released from the prison that night, Guo Fen was increasingly suspected by most of the shadow soldiers who at that time ambushed the man who broke into the palace prison area. But luckily Xiao Ahn helped Guo Fen and witnessed that Guo Fen was actually trying to restrain her and found Princess Li Ming escaping on her own.Maybe that's also why the Empress was worried about the whereabouts of her child. Because until now, everyone believed that Princess Li Ming had some sort of power or at least—someone h
What conference was the Empress referring to just now?Guo Fen was preoccupied with his head starting to crash into each other as several conjectures arose. Since when was there also a foreign girl who occupied and pretended to be Princess Li Ming? Guo Fen didn't know if the other soldiers could see that such a stupid trick was being carried out so blatantly but—how could they allow the Empress to control something that was so clearly out of control?He was so preoccupied with his own thoughts that Guo Fen didn't realize that all of a sudden, he had returned to his own building. The wind swept gently, the sun's rays descending to the western horizon, but the light was still as bright as this morning. When Guo Fen was about to climb the wooden stairs to his room, in front of the terrace, Guo Fen found a man standing with his arms crossed."You seem to be thinking about something, huh?"General Tang with a light frown on his forehead glared at Guo Fen. But fortunately, the expressio
One of the reasons why until now there had been no large-scale rebellion against the Empress over the Emperor's death in the palace was—that the support of the people who believed in the Empress had been planted many years ago. In fact, if Guo Fen could say, maybe before the Empress really was still the Crown Princess.How about the connections and communications that the Empress had from long ago—has been tightly held by the people. One of the strengths of the Empress that the Emperor does not have is; Civil Palace.The large and spacious building with official quarters was not far from Li Ming Palace's residence, being one of the places where the people could communicate directly with the Empress. The Empress heard and saw the voices of the people. With the help of the military, she allowed the Civil Palace in the center of the city to become a public area for every citizen to preserve the culture of the Li Dynasty.In the past, when Guo Fen was still a child, several uncles and aun
General Tang turned out to be not far from the small stage where two jars full of rolls of people's letters were located. Between the stage are two small lanterns to light up a dark corner. The windows and doors of the Civil Palace hall were tightly closed. Only the wide main door at the front of the terrace was opened. Wooden pillars are spaced every two meters. The wooden floor creaked softly as Guo Fen stepped every inch of it.He approached General Tang who was unrolling one of the scrolls in his hand. His lips curved into a slight smile.“General,” Guo Fen called quietly. General Tang was still reading, for a moment he rolled up the letter again and placed it on top of the jug which was full to the brim.There is one wide table in the center of the pulpit. Stand between the two pitchers of thanksgiving and the pitcher of advice. Blank papers piled neatly in the middle, accompanied by a brush and black ink for writing.“Did you know about this before entering the palace?” Gene
In fact, were it not for ego, General Tang would probably be the person Guo Fen could trust the most until now. The first time when Guo Fen stepped into the palace, he was immediately handed over to General Tang and General Tang ordered Guo Fen to demonstrate his ability to fight against a wild lion.At that time, Guo Fen, who had just lost his ice knife, could only use a sword that could turn into arrows. He did not display that change in front of General Tang's eyes. So until now, the ice sword had never changed shape because—if everyone saw that magical thing, Guo Fen could be considered a descendant of a warrior.In the Li Ming area, the descendants of warriors have been cleared dozens of years ago. Those with the power of warriors could influence the people not to believe in the palace. Because of that, Guo Fen would rather let people think that he was a martial artist who possessed a rare ice sword.When he defeated the wild lion, General Tang immediately hated Guo Fen and re
Guo Fen tucked Rong Mei’s jade into his silver belt then walked out of the room holding a bag filled with some dry buns and underwear. Xiao Ahn should have helped him prepare the horse. Tonight he will leave for En Shu.Walking down the path to the Lao Military Advisors Pavilion, Guo Fen had to report first—at least so that the Empress knew he was gone. Although actually, he did not care whether the Empress needed the report. Because the bottom line was, Guo Fen needed to listen to the Military Advisor's advice while he was away from the palace.“Counsellor Lao,” Guo Fen called entering the Military Advisor Pavilion which was not far from Guo Fen's building. In front of the door of the room, two guards in armor-holding spears were guarded. Guo Fen stepped in without any suspicion.Military Adviser Lao is reading a document on his desk. Two large candles stood at the corners of the table. The lighting in Mister Lao's room was as luxurious as in the Empress's Pavilion. The difference is