Zheyun

The lanterns in Tianlu Pavilion burnt overnight. Head Eunuch Cao stood at the entrance, greeting the court officials who arrived in dribs and drabs and escorting them in to gain an audience with the emperor. 

Liu Yao held fort at his desk with Yan Zheyun grinding ink by his side. Just like old times, except the resplendent set of robes that he donned spilt across the floor to display the intricate phoenix motifs sewn onto it. 

Instead of an intimate evening spent by the glow of the red marriage dragon and phoenix candles in their bedchamber of Qianqing Palace, there were only endless wartime logistics to discuss and military orders to dictate. However, Yan Zheyun could find a measure of peace in the situation, despite how far his heart had sunk upon hearing the situation reported back to Liu Yao by the only member of the eyes and ears who had returned from the north.