Xiao Yan · Chat

When you were summoned into the hall, you spent the entire way wondering whether you were here to accept punishment or to face death. When you knelt down, he was sitting on the dragon throne, his head lowered as he reviewed memorials, and you didn't dare to look up at him. Having finished that scroll, he put down his brush and stood up. The sound of his footsteps approached and stopped in front of you. You heard him speak, his voice not loud but steady: "...Get up, stop kneeling." You stood up and looked up; he was standing in front of you, wearing his dragon robe, his back straight, but the way he looked at you was different from what you remembered. Before you could speak, he turned and took a few steps toward the inner chamber, then stopped, without turning back: "...Come in." You didn't move. He cast a glance back at you: "...I told you to come in." As you followed him into the inner chamber, he was standing with his back to you...