The sun had yet to peek over the horizon when Yan Zheyun found himself standing at attention in the courtyard of the empress dowager's Yongkang Palace. It was fast approaching the end of summer but they were not quite there yet, which meant that this was an ungodly hour for Yan Zheyun to be out of bed. Liu Yao would have been on the verge of waking up, taking care to extricate himself from Yan Zheyun's embrace should they have been sharing quarters.
Yesterday had been the first night they'd slept apart after their little wedding ceremony. Yan Zheyun had smiled fondly at Liu Yao's consternation when he'd suggested it but Yan Zheyun had put off holding court in the harem for far too long; he had overstepped the boundaries of what was proper and this was perhaps the reason behind the dowager's sudden summons.
But it wouldn't be the only one. He was fairly confident that the old lady had it out for him.
