Jingyan was beginning to learn that certain things no longer surprised him.
When the servant who opened the front doors was pushed away and a rush of twenty-odd ironclad soldiers spilled in, Jingyan took a sip of water and waited for an explanation. At ten minutes after he woke up, the sun hadn 't even left the horizon and Jingyan only had time to pull on a set of padded silk robes.
After the soldiers took their place in two perfect lines along the path in his courtyard, Xia Jiang stepped through the entrance. He wore the formal blue robes of an official, but a black cape swirled around him majestically. Again, six soldiers with iron masks marched behind him and Jingyan sardonically wondered why the earth didn 't shake with each step Xia
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As they began walking, Xia Jiang said, "Verbal."
"You meant nonexistent," said Jingyan. Underneath his detached movements, his thoughts were racing and his mind refused to stop jumping from worse case scenarios to worst case scenarios.
Xia Jiang didn 't answer.
Jingyan placed one foot in front of another, mindless movements as he once again walked toward the stone and iron fortress outside the dragon-guarded palace gates. Each time his steps hesitated, one of the elite militant soldiers would walk a little closer and Jingyan picked up his pace. His Medallion of Passage, store in a pocket inside his cloak, was a heavy weight that brushed against the side of his leg every then and now as he walked.
There were more troop movements within and around the palace, no doubt a result of Prince Sicong 's murder. The number of soldiers that guarded the palace entrance was almost tripled and large groups patrolled the streets around the wall. The atmosphere was somber, as if a war had already been declared.
The entire walk felt like a funeral
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Then, Xia Jiang tightened his grip, crushing his hand with a steel-like ferocity. Xia Jiang said, "I am sure you can say that was Imperial Secretariat Fan 's idea."
That was ridiculous.
"Zhanying doesn 't even know Fan Dou and he never acts without my order!" Jingyan 's voice rose uncontrollably as his mind ricocheted between going blank and hashing out the situation detail by detail. Assassinating a powerful stranger was the last thing Zhanying would attempt to do, especially without his explicit order. It was clearly a lie, a story spun from someone’s conspiracy.
His heart pounded at an increasingly rapid rate and there was a roaring noise in his ears. He saw Zhanying last night, when Zhanying chided him for sneaking out with Su Zhe and relayed Shen Zhui 's information. He stared at Xia Jiang, "Zhanying can 't be dead."
"Zhanying is dead," said Xia Jiang. More pressure was applied to his wrist as the Xia Jiang twisted downward. "And you will say that Imperial Secretariat Fan