In the height of summer, only the mountains in the north remained a place of respite. In the shade of the tall, verdant trees was the imperial villa (1), rising grandly from the edge of the mountains like an immortal abode.
It was rare for Liu Yao to agree to the temporary relocation, or so Yan Zheyun had heard. The heat that swept across the capital like a wave might have been intolerable to the officials and concubines decked out in their long fine robes. But ironically, to the emperor, it was merely something to weather through, the imperial villa a costly extravagance that his spendthrift father had indulged too much in. Yan Zheyun could see why; the move took time and even more money. It wasn't the same as just booking a family trip on some airline and hotel websites. Moving the emperor meant moving the court and the inner palace at the same time, with a long list of who to bring, whose servants to bring, and which belongings everyone would need to drag along.
