Two Demon Suppression Guards had finally managed to pacify the commoners.
They walked to the stone lions in front of the ward gate and slumped down on the steps.
The young Demon Suppression Guard untied the water skin from his waist, took two large gulps, and handed it to Old Li. "Brother Li, don't you think those big shots are ridiculous? Can't they go train in the wild mountains outside the city? Why do they have to make such a ruckus in the middle of the night in Chang'an? They're just making life difficult for us."
Old Li took the water skin and glared at him irritably. "What the hell do you know, kid?"
He lowered his voice, acting mysterious. "I heard that the Grand Princess Your Highness returned to the capital this evening... Those big shots couldn't possibly be deducing some kind of lightning technique. This commotion is most likely caused by that ancestor of ours."
The Young Man shrank his neck in shock.
The Grand Princess Your Highness's reputation for ferocity was now thunderously famous among the lower ranks of the Demon Suppression Division.
"Alright, alright, stop asking around blindly."
Old Li stood up and patted the dust off his backside. "The job is done. Let's hurry back to the division to report. I'm in a rush to go home and sleep with my wife."
However.
Just as he finished speaking.
Boom!
A heaven-shaking explosion rolled over once again from the direction of the Imperial City.
The commoners, who had just lain back down and hadn't even warmed up their beds yet...
...felt their bed boards jolt violently, throwing them into mid-air.
It wasn't until they landed in a heap that they snapped out of their daze.
The ward market was in an uproar once again.
This time, even those who were usually bold couldn't sit still.
Doors were banged open, and countless commoners rushed onto the streets, disheveled.
"The Dragon is turning over! The Dragon is turning over!"
"Run to an open area!"
"No, wait, look at the Imperial City!"
Someone pointed toward the inner city and shouted in terror.
Above the Imperial City, dust and smoke soared into the sky, and a faint, lingering, earthy-yellow halo could be seen flickering in the night.
The two of them were shaken by the tremor and stumbled, falling flat on their backsides.
The two stared blankly at the smoke and dust rising from the Imperial City, completely ignoring the commoners gathering around them.
"Official Sir Li! What's going on now?!"
"Just a moment ago it was thunder in the sky, now why is the ground exploding too?"
"Did the big shots of the Demon Suppression Division suffer a Qi Deviation while training and blow up the Imperial City?!"
Facing the babble of the commoners.
The young Demon Suppression Guard turned pale and looked at Old Li. "Brother Li, this... how do we make this up?"
Old Li swallowed hard, his mind racing.
What on earth were these big shots doing in the middle of the night!
Seeing that the emotions of the surrounding commoners were becoming increasingly agitated, if he didn't give an explanation...
He gritted his teeth, sprang up from the ground, and roared at the top of his lungs.
"Fellow folks! Don't panic! Don't be in disorder!"
Old Li pointed at the smoke in the direction of the Imperial City and spouted nonsense with a straight face. "Your Majesty has issued a decree! Some of the great halls in the Imperial Palace have bad Feng Shui and need to be demolished and rebuilt!"
The commoners were stunned.
Someone immediately asked suspiciously, "Even so, how could it cause such a huge commotion..."
"What do you know!"
Old Li glared. "This is a palace matter! Can the methods of the palace be compared to yours? Do you know about the Martial Immortal? This is the Martial Immortal taking action! No hammers, no chisels; one move, and it's leveled!"
The young Demon Suppression Guard listened in stunned silence, then hurriedly chimed in, "Yes, yes, exactly! And to avoid delaying Your Majesty's handling of state affairs during the day, they specifically chose to work overtime at night!"
Although the commoners felt this reason sounded absurd.
But looking at the two Demon Suppression Guards' confident expressions, and thinking about the increasingly unfathomable methods of the Great Tang...
It seemed... not entirely unacceptable.
"Royal matters are just particular; demolishing a house is such a big production."
"Alright, alright, let's disperse. They're on a deadline, let's go back and continue sleeping..."
Watching the commoners grumbling and yawning as they walked back into their courtyards.
The two of them leaned against the ward wall, as if all the strength had been drained from their bodies, and slid down to the base of the wall.
"Brother Li, you're really something."
The Young Man gave a thumbs up, looking full of admiration. "You managed to smooth that over."
Old Li tilted his head back, life-weary, looking at the starry sky, wanting to cry but having no tears.
"I just hope that little ancestor doesn't try anything else. If it happens again... even if I wear my lips out, I won't be able to make up another excuse."
Beside the ruins of the Imperial City.
Jiang Yuechu suddenly sneezed.
She rubbed her nose and glanced at her Emperor brother, who was still berating the Minister of Works.
She said helplessly, "Imperial Brother..."
"Lonely Moon, don't take it to heart."
Her Emperor brother turned his head, looking at the expressionless Jiang Yuechu, his tone full of consolation.
"This Golden Jade Palace was built quite a few years ago. I always felt the beams and pillars weren't sturdy enough and had been planning to find a day to demolish and rebuild it. Who would have thought, today was a coincidence. With a shake of wind and thunder, it was sensible enough to collapse first as a courtesy..."
"..."
Jiang Yuechu was slightly speechless and turned her head away uncomfortably.
The Minister of Works, who had just finished getting scolded, wanted to cry but had no tears.
Since you knew the Golden Jade Palace had been built for so many years, what does that have to do with me...
And...
He secretly glanced at Jiang Yuechu, who was standing with her hands behind her back.
Just take a look yourself.
A commotion like this.
What kind of house could withstand it?
But he also understood that Your Majesty dragging him over in the middle of the night to berate him wasn't really because he blamed him.
It was nothing more than putting on a show to appease the Grand Princess Your Highness.
Thinking of this.
"This Old Minister is guilty!"
The Minister of Works fell to his knees with a thud, tears streaming down his face. "This Golden Jade Palace has stood for years, and it is indeed my negligence in maintenance that has disturbed Your Highness the Princess. I deserve to die for my crimes!"
Jiang Yuechu said irritably, "Alright, alright, get up. It was my own fault..."
Seeing that Jiang Yuechu really wasn't upset, her Emperor brother breathed a sigh of relief. Then, as if remembering something, he slapped his thigh and roared at the Minister. "Stop wailing there! I remember... that Princess Zhaoyue's Residence, is it about to be completed?"
The Old Minister hurriedly kowtowed and replied, "Answering Your Majesty, answering Your Highness, just as Your Majesty said, the Princess Zhaoyue's Residence was completely finished yesterday at noon. I had intended to report back to Your Majesty during the morning court today..."
At this point, the Old Minister seemed to remember something and immediately added, "The regulations for that residence are all based on the highest specifications... Even with greater wind and thunder, it would certainly not easily suffer the kind of mishap that occurred today. The furnishings inside are all made of high-quality agarwood; it is warm in winter and cool in summer, very quiet and elegant."
Jiang Yuechu was slightly taken aback.
The Princess's Residence.
She remembered that when she had first reunited with her family, her Emperor brother had specifically issued a decree to start construction to compensate her for her years of wandering outside.
At the time, she didn't care about these material possessions... and had forgotten about it in the blink of an eye.
She hadn't expected that this residence had been under construction until now.
Upon hearing this, her Emperor brother turned from worry to joy and looked at Jiang Yuechu with a beaming smile. "Lonely Moon, look, this is heaven's will... If the old doesn't go, the new won't come. This broken Golden Jade Palace has collapsed, so let it be. Tomorrow, Imperial Brother will accompany you to move into the new residence to take a look."
"..."
Hearing this.
Jiang Yuechu had intended to politely decline, as she was very busy and had no time to care about these things...
But looking at her Emperor brother's excited expression, she swallowed the words of refusal back down.
"Alright."