Chapter Twenty: The Third Prince

The Imperial Palace was like a city within a city.  The walls and the main gate, concave and magnificent, stood high above the surrounding districts.  The Palace Guard patrolled the walls and watched the gates, protecting the Imperial family with absolute loyalty.  Inside were several palaces which housed the Emperor, the Empress, the concubines, princes and princesses, servants, and eunuchs.  In the center of everything was a man-made lake, and in the center of the lake was the grand palace, where the emperor would sit in his throne room, meet with his ministers, attend the high court, hold grand banquets, and entertain foreign dignitaries.  The lake was crossed by curving bridges and floating gazebos, and the grounds were covered with the famous eternally blossoming trees, so that the courtyards were always awash in pink and white blossoms, even in winter.