章 118: A Suitable Distraction

The lanterns on the corridor of Qianqing Palace were fully lit by the time they returned from the banquet, warm light spilling out from the open doors to chase away the deep blue of night. Not for the first time, Yan Zheyun was taken aback by how comfortable living here had become. Coming back to Qianqing Palace was starting to feel more and more like coming home after a long day at work, a mindset that was both satisfying and worrying to him. On one hand, he craved this sense of belonging; for so long, he had felt like a drifting boat lost out at sea and now he finally had somewhere to anchor himself.

クリエイターの想い
Queeniecat

(1) Smoke as a means of perfuming attire: a traditional practice that has been recorded as far back as the Song Dynasty, where an incense holder (called a ‘basket’) was placed over a pan of hot water. The vaporised water would interact with the incense smoke and permeate the clothes hanging over the set-up.

(2) Washed ears to listen respectfully: an idiom is actually a polite subtle request for someone to speak, sort of like “I’m all ears”.

(3) The whole secret lies in confusing he enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent: a quote from Sun Tzu’s Art of War.

A/N: Thank you very much for reading and for the lovely comments, gifts, and reviews! <3 Our Yan Zheyun is slowly but surely becoming more and more involved in the politics of the court. (((: Is this against the rules? Yes. Does he care? Actually, yes. Let's see whether he manages to toe the line...