Chapter 724: Chapter 518: Court Rivalry
At this mont, under the unlit sky, on the main street leading to the Dragon Court, carriages erged from all directions in single file, drawn by various Exotic Beasts and extraordinary horses, racing along the long street. In the distance, the magnificent silhouette of the Dragon Court lood faintly in the night mist, with the ridgepole of Jinluan Hall piercing the sky, accompanied by the relentless tolling of bells.
The court assembly was about to begin!
At 5:45 AM, with the morning fog yet to disperse, the rhythm of the drum from the Imperial City’s corner tower pierced the deep palace gates of the Dragon Court.
One by one, powerful and majestic Warriors, with bulging veins on their arms, struck the imnse court drum with force.
“Dong”
“Dong”
“Dong”
Beyond the layers of palace gates and across a vast square, at the end of the square, a grand hall paved with golden glazed tiles towered up to the sky, as if standing amidst a sea of clouds.
Below, the Han Baiyu Steps connecting Heaven and Earth resembled a Heavenly Ladder, numbering 365 steps. The Imperial Guards, armored and holding golden maces and axes, stood on either side of the steps like statues, solemn and dignified. The peacock feather fans and the Coiled Dragon Banners of the ceremonial procession fluttered in the wind.
At Jinluan Hall, the sound of the drum from the corner tower startled the birds resting on the ridgepole, sending them fluttering across the plaque with the inscription “Establishing Stability and Peace,” the gilded characters exuding a majestic and solemn aura under the faint light of the horizon, forbidding one to gaze directly.
“Silence Whip—”
With a long shout from the officials of the Honglu Temple, the Silence Whip, a yard long, struck heavily on the ground, producing three crisp sounds that rolled across the square like thunder.
At this mont, two long lines of dragons were ford on the square, even extending beyond the distant arched gate. Nurous civil servants and military generals stood solemnly in accordance with the ancestral custom of military east and civil west,
Daqian was founded by the military, making the status of military generals slightly higher than that of civil servants. This was true both locally and in the Court, as dictated by the ancestral system.
On the west side, each civil servant, with their official robes embroidered with birds of different ranks, held a white jade hu ban against their chest. The celestial crane on the First-Grade Official’s robe was vividly embroidered, followed by the Second-Grade Golden Chicken resembling a Phoenix, and then Third-Grade Peacock in order, with the official robe colors prized for red and purple…
On the east side, military generals, so in Armor and so in official robes, lowered their gaze, with the Five-clawed Python Robe being the most prestigious, and Qilin following…
Among them, the officials of the Ministry of Rites held gilded ceremony manuals, while Hanlin Scholars carried vermilion critique morials, and the musicians of the Music Bureau stood with heads bowed under the bronze bell rack…
At this ti, a ray of golden sun broke through the eastern horizon, its golden light illuminating the gilded imperial roof, projecting dazzling golden light that pierced through the sea of clouds, like the opening of Chaos in Heaven and Earth.
A high-pitched voice sang through the air above the square.
“Your Majesty—has—arrived—”
As this call subsided, the sound of a dragon’s roar reverberated, and a magnificent golden light erged from the sea of clouds. Then, a grand carriage drawn by nine golden dragons rushed straight to the resplendent Jinluan Hall, with a corner of the mysterious dragon robe faintly visible, exuding the majesty of the Emperor1.
As the carriage entered Jinluan Hall, the civil and military officials below the square knelt in unison, their official hats and beam crowns bowing like dark wheat waves, the hu ban tapping the ground in rhythmic unison: “Long live our Emperor, long live, long live forever!”
The sound resounded through the skies.
By this ti, the court assembly officially comnced, with musicians from the Music Bureau beginning to strike the bell, and amidst the sound of the grand bell, civil and military officials stepped forward, crossing the Han Baiyu Steps, ascending the Heavenly Ladder to Jinluan Hall, creating a grand spectacle.
In the anti, officials from the Ministry of Rites began to present morials, their voices rising and falling, as they read aloud: “May Your Majesty reign under the favor of the great heavens, upholding the holy virtues of Universe…”
Amidst the resounding morial readings, the officials entered the solemn and majestic Jinluan Hall, lining up like a formation of geese. On the high platform of the hall, Emperor Wu sat majestically in the seat of supre honor, with light radiating from behind him, his crown overshadowing his face, too imposing to et his gaze, akin to a Heavenly Emperor.
Inside the hall, civil and military officials stood solemnly, with their hands lowered and eyes averted.
At this mont, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites loudly announced: “By the order of the Emperor of Daqian, the Minister of Communication steps forward to present!”
A veteran official dressed in a crimson robe stepped forward with a cough, advancing slowly, and after three kneelings and nine kowtows, he unfolded a morial.
This person was indeed one of the six who had just gone to the Pri Minister’s Mansion.
“Minister Zhao Tianming respectfully reports to Your Majesty”
“The Ministry of Communication received a total of eighty-three internal and external morials today, forty-three concerning the Six Ministries, the Imperial Censorate… herewith presented for Your Majesty’s perusal!”
As he spoke, soone behind offered a pile of morials, and then, below the high platform, an elderly eunuch by the side of the Emperor stepped forward to receive them.
At this mont, a voice suddenly erged among the officials.
“Your Majesty, I have a matter to report!”
A civil servant in the third row stepped out, wearing a crimson official robe and sporting a graying beard.
As this person stepped out, nurous gazes followed, many with expressions of intrigue.
It was known that this Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites had received a secret order to go to Shu, returning last night, accompanied by the Colonel from Shu!
News from the Court spread quickly, and many officials already knew that the Colonel had arrived in the capital yesterday!
So turned their gaze, so rely furrowed their brows and remained subdued, while others, perhaps privy to certain information, displayed a slight interest.
“I wish to report, Mr. Zhao of the Ministry of Communication may have overlooked a morial, yesterday during the ti of辰, concerning Shu’s…”
Xu Liang held the white jade board, clutching it to his chest, bowing as he reported.
Just then, an irritated voice suddenly interrupted Xu Liang’s report.
“Xu Shaoqing!”
“The morials received by the Ministry of Communication are managed by the Six Departnts of the Imperial Secretariat, that’s the sum total, how could there be any omission? Lord Xu, it’s been a long ti since you’ve been in court, are you accusing my subordinate of a mistake today? Such an accusation I cannot bear.” A young official in the fourth row with a mustache jumped out, serving as a Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, an auxiliary body to the Ministry of Communication. Within his authority, if a morial is found to violate protocol or contain error, he may reject it to ensure compliance before submission to the Ministry of Communication.
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