Chu Ze sat cross-legged on a haystack, a thick cloak draped over his shoulders. Yet the dark and damp conditions of the Heavenly Prison made him shiver incessantly, and the sound of coughing echoed from time to time.
As he turned a page, his hand paused, looking towards the direction of approaching footsteps. A glimpse of imperial yellow entered his view.
The bright yellow quickly approached, and Chu Ze looked up to meet the gaze, adjusted his collar, and stood up to bow to Emperor Chu.
"Greetings, Emperor."
Without waiting for permission to rise, he straightened his body and calmly met his gaze.
More than twenty years have passed since he left the capital to govern a domain, and this was the first meeting between the two brothers.
Time flies; age quickly comes upon man.
Even the Emperor, often hailed as eternal, bore the marks of age around his eyes, yet his gaze held an awe-inspiring fierceness that few dared to meet directly.
