Jie Xingfu was a young lad who resided on a remote mountain near a small village. He and his mother were chased out of the village due to his unusual appearance. After his mother had passed away,he proceeded on living alone until the day he left for...
Late into the night, the entire imperial palace was dead silent as the day gave way to the night, giving an impression of desolate emptiness.
As contrast to this bleakness, the west lake which was the emperor's private quarter was brightly lightened up with beautiful lanterns. Near the lake stationed a pavilion specifically built to enjoy the view of the florescent moon reflecting on the surface of the calm lake.
Given how the purpose of this place was solely dedicated to the emperor it could be considered as sacred as the emperor bed chamber. The royal consorts who got the privilege to visit this place could be counted as the emperor's favorite women but unfortunately none had yet to receive such treatment. They could only longingly look at this place from afar.
However, the emperor himself seldom visited this place.
That's why the news that a lavish dinner was being held at the west lake was quickly spread throughout the entire palace like a wild fire, especially the inner court. The imperial concubines and consorts all sent out their attendants to inquire about this matter. Strange enough they found out that none of the concubines in the harem had been called out but instead the lucky person was Commander Ding.
No matter how one looked at it, this whole situation appeared to be rather odd. The fact that the emperor arranged a feast for a minister was not unusual. After all, Commander Ding had been faithfully serving the emperor like a loyal dog. As long as they had eyes anyone could see this fact. But did it have to be at west lake? Shouldn't this place be used for a romantic purpose such as enjoying the moonlight with beautiful women?
No one could speculate what the emperor was thinking and even if they were curious to dead they could only keep this matter to themselves if they still wanted their head to remain intact.
Unaware to this uproar, Ding Lun nervously made his way to the imperial palace. Today he wasn't wearing an armor but a normal attire. The inner robe was a dark color combined with a grey outer robe. The material of the cloth hung effortlessly on his body with a wide sash that made out of leather; however, it couldn't hide his lean figure and well-trained muscle. The design of his outfit was simple, not too shabby nor too stylish, very well suited with his solemn temperament. Overall, no one would have guess that he was the Commander Ding, whose name alone instilled fear and horror to many people.
However, as of right now the expression on his face was not good. In the morning court, a few ministers had proposed that the emperor removed the military power from his hand since Ding Lun hold twenty thousand armies under his command. They afraid that in the future he might pose a threat to the throne.
Since ancient time, what the rulers feared of was no other than their own ministers. When ministers hold power in their hands, they would want control the court through the emperor. But even before the ministers could accumulate enough power to satisfy their greed the rulers had their own way to pluck out this sore thumb.
One example of this would be Minister Wei who had recently been executed along with the nine generations of his family.
Did the emperor wanted to demote him? His suspicion was not without any conjecture. It had been almost a week since he had arrived in the Capital but he had not yet to receive any order to return back to the border. Instead the emperor summoned him to join a feast at the west lake.
Ding Lun was not afraid of being demoted but he did not want the emperor to suspect his loyalty. What he had been fighting for was not for Jin Sheng or the throne but for the emperor alone. If he could no longer served the emperor than he might as well kill himself to prove his adherence.
As he arrived at the west lake, Ding Lun immediately noticed the man standing alone at the pavilion with his back facing him. He was standing straight and gazing at the moon with his hands behind his back, seemingly unaware of Ding Lun's arrival.
There were no servants or guards around. Ding Lun immediately frowned. What if there was assassin?
As Ding Lun got closer, the man turned around to face him. He was still wearing his formal attire but the head piece had already been taken off which let his hair flowed loosely on his shoulder. This casual appearance did not lessen his dignified aura but it had soften his momentum quite to some extent.
Ding Lun drew in a deep breath an lowered his head. It might be his imagination but he just saw the emperor lightly smile at him.
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The closest image of the Ding Lun i had in my mind.
A/n:
Pretty boring right? This chapter had no dialog lmao. Well they are both so repressed and dense, so these two don't talk much.
Since they are not the main couple I'm too lazy to describe their appearance in detail. ( I hate myself for being such a lazy ass sometimes)
But if you're wanted to know how they look like just imagine Jing and Lu Cang from Hua Hua You Long ( It's a great novel with angst but if you're uncomfortable with rape or overly dominant gong don't read it. There i warn you). Wang Zhuang and Ding Lun were originally inspired by them.
When i write about Wang Zhuang i always had Jing's image in my mind. ( but I'm not going to make him into a bastard like Jing lmao)
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