A clarion call of trumpets sounded from the horsemen that galloped towards the capital, announcing the Emperor's arrival. Bells rang out from the walls and towers of Jiang'An in response, spreading the news that their sovereign and his army had returned to the great city. Night had fallen, the gates had already been barred to any further travellers desiring entry. But at the sight of Young Dragon's personal guard, they were thrown open once more.

Jiang'An had been the seat of imperial power and the home of the emperor for years untold, stretching back into the times of the ancient dynasties, before the Zhou had risen to the power and bent the central plains under their dominion. It was a city of over a million inhabitants, a bustling metropolis of unparalleled size. The Imperial Palace at its centre was the heart of the sprawling bureaucracy that stretched throughout the provinces and protectorates, and it was in itself a monument to the power and splendour of the Empire in its vast size and opulence.

There was nowhere on this earth that Zhou Xiaolong despised more.

The streets weren't busy this late in the evening, and what few crowds that could be found were quickly cleared from the central avenue that lead to the palace. Few cheers went up from the citizens that saw their Emperor ride by. Most simply watched silently, or muttered something to their companions, some turned their faces away in disgust or spat at the ground by their feet. Even in the capital there was little love for Bastard Tyrant.

Before long the city itself was behind them, and they were crossing the great moat that surrounded the red stained walls of the Imperial Palace. The five gates of the Gateway of Divine Might were already open, their carved and painted exteriors studded with rows upon rows of gilded nails. Word of their arrival had proceeded them through the city, as they streamed through the open gateways into the great outer court, a pair of officials were hurriedly making their way across from the inner palaces to meet them.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Your humble servants did not expected you back so -err- soon."

Xiaolong reined his horse up before them. He vaguely recognised them, one of them was a junior minister from the Court of Ceremonies, the other held some position within the Imperial Stud. These men were of little importance to him, they normally went beneath his notice. He hadn't bothered to learn their names.

"Well it seems your expectations were incorrect. Where's Wen Tao, or Secretary Zhen?" 

"The Grand Chancellor is currently at his residence outside the Palace, The Grand Secretary was indisposed, but has been summoned. This humbled servant must apologise, the riders Your Majesty sent lead us to believe you would make camp up river and return to the city next mornin-" Xiaolong cut him off before he could finish the end of his sentence. A flicker of annoyance at the blatant rudeness and disrespect almost emerged on the face of the official.

"The army is encamped up river, I decided to make haste and ride ahead of the main column. I trust this causes no issues?" The pointed question at the end was more than enough to remind him exactly who he was dealing with here, the current Emperor had few qualms about disposing of ministers that displeased him, so he once again schooled his face to show nothing more than look of humble obeisance.

"O-of course not, Your Majesty. It is only that we wished we could receive your glorious presence more appropriately. There was to be a grand reception, followed by a feast! If Your Majesty recalls the instructions you sent regarding the arrangements you wished to make for the Imperial Household, the noble ladies have been gathered and are await-"

"Ah yes!" He cut the official off again. "Here, take this." With a leap, the Emperor vaulted off of his horse and passed the reins to one of the officials, specifically the junior minister from the Court of Ceremonies, who  automatically took it before looking up at the horse with in of mild bafflement.

"You." He turned to the official from the Imperial Stud, who visibly paled at being addressed directly. "Take me to see my brides."

"B-b-but, Your Majesty, should we not wait for th-" He gestured helpless at both his fellow minister and the horse he was now holding.

"Now." He didn't even raise his voice, didn't even particularly change from his relaxed demeanour. But there was  just enough of an edge to that single word to make this particular lowly official's skin crawl. He had been at the palace for some time, long enough to have heard plenty of stories about what happened if you displeased The Young Dragon. Long enough to have seen it happen a few times for himself.

"Of course! This way!"

Commander Hu and few of his guards fell in beside him as he marched across the courtyard towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and the Inner Court and Palaces beyond it. The Commander was chuckling to himself.

"You mixed them up on purpose didn't you?" He asked with a wry smile. Hu was the Commander of the Emperor's Personal Guard. Xiaolong had known him since he was sixteen, a green junior officer with the Northern Frontier Army. Hu had been a common solider under his command, they had come a long way together since then. He was one of the few people that the Emperor trusted absolutely.

"I encourage my ministers to take on a wide array of duties." He replied sardonically, a hint of a smile of his own creeping up onto his otherwise stern visage. It was one of the few perks of returning to the Imperial Palace, putting the fear of the Gods back into the sycophants and schemers that swarmed the place, unendingly courteous to your face, undoubtably plotting behind your back. He preferred to do away with such pretence.

They passed into the Inner Palaces, the personal residences of the Emperor, his family and his harem. The Emperor and the Empress shared two expansive palaces linked by a central hallway, while numerous other courtyards and palaces sprawled to the east and west. Some were set aside for designated purposes, such as residence of the Crown Prince, while others were distributed according to the Emperor's whim and favour.

The Palace of Surpassing Beauty was different, it was a vast edifice set aside for the lower ranked members of the Imperial Harem. While favoured consorts and concubines might be given their own residences, certain unchaste and lecherous Emperors of the past had desired more women than could easily be accommodated in the palaces they had to dispose of. They built this as their solution.

Around its numerous interconnected courtyards, the Palace of Surpassing Beauty could accommodate hundreds of women. While not quite quite as luxurious as other residences, it could not be matched in terms of the volume of individual bedrooms it boasted. This was where the official had brought Xiaolong to.

"Y-your Majesty insisted all applicants be accommodated to the same level, regardless of prior rank or status."

"Perfect."

It was one of the things he had thought of later on that night after Hu had first suggested this scheme. Every faction at court was trying to foist an Empress of their choosing onto him, he would both mollify them all by giving their candidates the opportunity to do so, whilst simultaneously eliminating them through tests and trails of his own design. Once he swept all the favoured candidates of the big political players from the board, his key advisers would beg him to reconsider naming an Empress and he would be free of their continuous pestering.

This was his first test. Let's see how the daughters of the great noble families reacted to being treated the same as the common beauties he had told his provincial governors to round up and send to the Palace. 

He strode towards the door, the eunuchs standing to attention there preparing to draw them back for him, when the official who had guided him here made a half choked gasp of shock and surprise.

"B-but, Your Majesty, the hour is late, you are armoured and dusty from the road. Besides, many of the noble ladies might... already... be... sleeping?"

The look the Emperor affixed this lowly official with was capable of freezing a man's blood solid in his veins. Whatever courage this man had once possessed, withered and died beneath the glare of those black and terrible eyes.

"Then wake them."

This was the second test.