The atmosphere inside the Grand Hall of Supreme Harmony was nothing short of a living nightmare.
Normally, the morning assembly of the Imperial Court was a place of pristine dignity. The most brilliant, educated, and powerful men in the empire would stand in perfectly straight rows, holding their ivory tablets, debating the fate of the nation with elegant, flowery language.
Today, it looked like a triage center during a plague.
The civil officials of the Prime Minister's faction stood in their places, trembling like leaves in a winter storm. At least six elderly ministers were entirely missing, having called in sick due to "sudden heart palpitations" after hearing the news of the thirty-year-old Vanguard heir. Those who had forced themselves to attend looked completely hollowed out. They had dark, heavy bags under their eyes. Their pristine white robes looked slightly rumpled.
