The silence that followed was loud.
Man got his royal aura farmed by a bald young man in his tattered, ash-dusted robe with sleeves so uneven it looked personally butchered for "mobility."
But at least the emperor didn't walk away empty-handed.
Empress Shen Qianrou walked up to him with a soft smile, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and wrapped him in a long, warm hug.
The crowd melted a little.
Some even clapped.
Ji Yunzhi, on the other hand, stared at them from across the room. Face twitching. Brows low. Eyes narrowing.
Not from disgust.
But something worse.
Yearning.
He looked away immediately.
'Ridiculous.' he thought.
But in the very depths of his heart, the tiniest whisper echoed -
'…must be nice.'
The little romantic drama faded like mist, replaced once again by the thrill of the game.
Then came one of the hardest matches to predict.
A showdown that had everyone leaning forward, snacks half-forgotten in their hands.
