The capital.

When the common people heard the emperor had fled in the night, they threw a great big celebration. That muddle-headed tyrant was finally gone.

But the officials civil and military were living in dread.

The emperor had run off, and they had no one to lead them. What were they supposed to do now?

Worst of all, Ning Chen already held Liangzhou. He'd be breaking into the capital any minute, wouldn't he?

A new sovereign brings his own ministers.

After the De Emperor took the throne, they'd bad-mouthed Ning Chen plenty to curry favor with him and hold on to their posts, their wealth and their comforts.

Once Ning Chen reached the capital, would he settle every score?

A good many officials were already packing up to run.

Just as they were panicking, a bombshell arrived... Ning Chen was heading straight for the capital with a hundred thousand men.

The news turned some of them weak at the knees on the spot.

The officials scurried around in private, trying to work out what to do.

Just then, a proclamation from the Emperor Emeritus reached the officials' residences.

The Emperor Emeritus was summoning them to the palace.

Suddenly the officials had something to steady them, and they hurried to the palace.

The Golden Hall.

The officials civil and military stood in their rows on either side.

To their surprise, Li Zhixing, Ji Mingchen and the others were there too.

They were supposed to be in the cells.

The Emperor Emeritus had ordered them released.

They'd been lucky. The news of Ning Chen taking Liangzhou had come so suddenly that the De Emperor forgot about them when he ran. Otherwise they'd have been bumped off long ago.

The ministers whispered among themselves, glancing up now and then at the dragon throne on the high dais.

"The Emperor Emeritus has arrived!"

A shrill, familiar voice rang out.

It was Eunuch Quan's.

The court fell silent at once.

Footsteps sounded, and the Xuan Emperor appeared—bathed, perfumed with incense, his crown set straight and his robes fresh.

The ministers hadn't seen the Xuan…