"To the esteemed Prince Boh."
Mo, along with everyone else present, rose to his feet, lifted the wineglass in front of him, and downed the "Lover's Drunk"—the beverage Prince Boh had favored most before his passing. It was widely known that since his wife's premature death, the good-for-nothing prince had taken to drinking nothing but this shoddy wine, elegant only in name.
After emptying their glasses of the sour and astringent liquid, everyone sat back down at the emperor's gesture, their expressions and demeanors completely changed from just a few minutes prior. The air was now permeated with a suffocating silence that made even breathing seem laborious.
