"Your Majesty, I obey."
Lin Wanwan nodded slightly to Wang De, accepting the cryptic imperial edict.
She didn't linger. She simply returned to her inner chamber, changed out of her slightly extravagant palace dress into a more dignified and elegant lake-blue casual outfit, and then, under Wang De's personal guidance, headed towards the Imperial Study, a place she had never set foot in before, a symbol of the center of imperial power.
Along the way, the autumn sun shone brightly, casting a warm glow on the palace road paved with white marble.
But Lin Wanwan's heart was not as bright as the weather.
She could clearly sense that the atmosphere around her was completely different from usual.
In the past, as empress, although she had ceremonial entourage when she went out, the respect shown by the palace servants was mostly superficial and perfunctory.
But today, things are different.
From the moment she stepped out of Kunning Palace, every palace servant and guard she encountered, no matter how far away, would immediately stop what they were doing, bow down by the roadside, bury their heads deeply, and not even dare to breathe.
It was a heartfelt, genuine surrender, a mixture of fear and reverence.
Lin Wanwan knew that this was the most direct change brought about by the birthday banquet incident.
She earned this unique "prestige" with a brilliant victory.
However, this imposing presence did not make her feel at all at ease.
Because she knew that what truly determined her fate was not the attitude of these palace servants, but... the man in the Imperial Study, whose thoughts were as deep as the sea.
Wang De, who was leading her, also underwent a dramatic change in attitude.
He no longer displayed the deliberate flattery he had shown in Kunning Palace, but rather a purer, heartfelt reverence. He bowed slightly, always half a step behind Lin Wanwan, his steps light and his words respectful, perfectly embodying the "sense of propriety" of a chief eunuch.
"Your Majesty, it's just ahead."
After passing through several palace gates and around a square filled with green pines and cypresses, a solemn and magnificent palace finally came into view.
That was the Imperial Study.
Unlike other palaces with their ornate carvings and glittering splendor, this grand hall is dominated by a somber palette of black, red, and gold. With its soaring eaves and imposing brackets, it stands like a silent, dormant behemoth, quietly proclaiming its supreme power.
As you get closer, a chilling aura washes over you.
The guards in the Imperial Study were a hundred times more formidable than Lin Wanwan had imagined.
Outside the palace, the square was filled with imperial guards, each clad in heavy armor and wielding a long halberd, standing guard every three steps and sentry every five. Their faces were stern, their eyes sharp as lightning, and they exuded the iron-blooded aura of seasoned warriors, making them completely different from ordinary palace guards.
Lin Wanwan knew that these people were the real "Emperor's personal guards," the sharpest knife in Xiao Che's hand.
Wang De led Lin Wanwan to the tightly closed, vermilion palace door and stopped.
He bowed deeply to Lin Wanwan once again.
"Your Majesty, His Majesty is currently reviewing memorials in the palace. Please wait here for a moment while I go in to inform him."
Lin Wanwan nodded without saying anything.
She stood quietly before the massive palace gate, gazing up at the three large characters "Imperial Study" carved from golden nanmu wood in a vigorous and elegant style.
The sunlight was a bit too bright.
Every minute and every second of waiting felt exceptionally long.
Her heart was filled with uncertainty.
She carefully recalled every detail from the start of the birthday banquet to its final conclusion.
She was certain that she had done a perfect job.
Whether it was exposing Liu Fu's corruption or revealing the "incompatible" properties of perilla leaves, all the evidence perfectly closed a loop. She not only successfully brought down the Empress Dowager's confidant, but also cleverly concealed her true discovery about the "withered heart grass" without a trace.
She left no evidence that could be used against her.
But……
Facing Xiao Che, a man with a mind as deep as an abyss and seemingly accompanied by his own "comments" above his head, she still dared not let her guard down in the slightest.
Today, he has summoned her here, to this domain of absolute power that belongs solely to him.
What, then, is it for?
Is it simply a matter of rewarding merit?
Or... will we settle scores later?
Has he already discerned more from this storm than she has revealed?
Is he beginning to have new doubts and tests about himself?
Lin Wanwan's heart was like a small boat sailing in the fog, unable to find its direction or see the other shore.
Just as she was lost in thought—
"Squeak—"
The heavy, vermilion palace door, which separated the inner and outer worlds, finally opened slowly inward.
Wang De appeared at the doorway.
He bowed deeply to Lin Wanwan and made a "please" gesture.
"Your Majesty, His Majesty requests your presence."
Lin Wanwan took a deep breath, straightened her clothes, and stepped forward, preparing to enter this unknown territory.
However, just as she was about to cross the high threshold, Wang De added a sentence in an extremely respectful yet somewhat warning tone.
"Your Majesty, His Majesty has given his orders."
"He's waiting for you inside."
"No one is allowed to enter without His Majesty's permission. Your servants will stand guard outside the palace."
After saying this, he and several other eunuchs retreated outside the hall, and then slowly closed the two huge hall doors again.
"Bang--"
A muffled thud.
The light was shut out from behind.
The entire imperial study instantly fell into a dim and solemn atmosphere.
Lin Wanwan's heart tightened suddenly with the sound of the door closing!
This is quite a sight...
This is quite a spectacle...
Is it a reward, or not?
Or... punishment?
Was this imperial study a victory celebration banquet, or... a trap set for her?
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