*
Gao Zheqi offered a faint smile, and the servant immediately fell silent.
*
*
「Upper Monarch Hall.」
A servant added more incense and was about to withdraw when a lazy, scoffing voice drifted from behind the beaded curtain. "So, is that old fool Gao Zheqi here?"
The servant, slightly startled, quickly lowered his eyes. "A messenger just reported that Mr. Gao is already on his way to the Imperial Palace."
"I am tired," came the careless, laughing voice. "If he arrives, just have him wait."
The servant quickly assented and withdrew.
*
*
The wind picked up. The Dayong Dynasty's territory was vast, and the farther west one traveled, the more barren and desolate it became.
Great gullies crisscrossed the land like scars from a divine whip. Carriages and horses struggled over the uneven, pitted ground, and occasional gusts of yellow sand would startle up, forcing people to shut their eyes.
