The road home always seemed long, and often, encounters with obstacles would occur.
When the Queen and her entourage arrived at the inn 14 miles north of Chang'an, they were stopped again. This time, they were not stopped by eunuchs or troops but were stopped by more than ten white-haired ministers.
The elderly ministers knelt in front of the Empress' carriage and handed up a decree on behalf of His Majesty, and the Governor asking the Empress not to enter the city for the time being and to live in the other palace in the western hills.
Watching the scene before them, Ning Que could not help but admire Li Yu. In recent years, many senior officials had died of illness, and he had no idea where she found so many elderly ministers, who while highly respected, were so old; they were practically rotting wood. Among the ministers kneeling on the ground, he even saw the former teachers of the Sixth Prince.