The next morning, at dawn,
The Guanfeng Square was already lined with carriages, and carriages for the meeting were still coming one after another. All the imperial guards in black armor were out in full force, wearing bright armor, patrolling on horseback and maintaining order.
Hundreds of torches were lit around the square and on the city walls, illuminating the area with blazing flames. On both sides of the main hall gate, there were colorful towers, each with thousands of colorful lights, three meters high, bathing the hall gate, the ninety-nine jade steps cascading down like water, and the guards holding halberds lined up in colorful lights, which was very beautiful.
In the middle of the square, facing the main hall, a fireworks tower was built, at least five to six meters high. One can imagine the power after it was ignited. It would illuminate the capital and be visible from far and near.
Zhou Yi walked slowly into Guanfeng Square. As a gangster, he never thought that a banquet could be so grand. He raised his head and looked around.
A man who looked like a handsome man, tall and straight, full of bookish air came up to him, grabbed his arm, and sighed, "How dare you come to this state banquet? Do you really think you are a state guest of the Great Zhou?"
Zhou Yi took a closer look and although this person had tried to cover up his appearance, his flamboyant demeanor clearly showed that he was none other than Young Master Xiaoyan.
Zhou Yi whispered, "Don't worry! Concubine Lei Ming and I have already reached an agreement. She won't report us! But why are you wearing such strange makeup?"
"Isn't this because Concubine Palei recognized the number of martial artists from my Huajian Sect? Tell Wu Zhao that I will disguise myself as the Scholar of the North Gate. Now please call me Scholar Duan!" Young Master Xiaoyan bowed and saluted like a scholar, then said with a curious look on his face: "Tell me quickly, how did you do it? You even convinced the fairy from Cihang Jingzhai?"
Zhou Yi smiled lightly and said mysteriously: "The hermit has his own ingenious plan, which cannot be told, cannot be told!"
"Tsk!" Young Master Xiaoyan curled his lips and said, "By the way, last night in the Jingnian Zen Temple, why did even the monk king Faming help us?"
"That's not Fa Ming!" Zhou Yi laughed, "How could Fa Ming show up when he's still seriously injured? It must be Tu Jiaojiao pretending to be him!"
Young Master Xiaoyan nodded and whispered, "I think so too!"
At this time, the square was filled with guests who had not yet entered the hall. They were chatting and laughing in groups of three or five, and the atmosphere was lively. However, Zhou Yi and the other person did not recognize anyone, so they had to keep walking and walked towards the hall side by side.
When the two were still about a hundred steps away from the jade steps of the palace, a carriage came rushing up. It must be the last guest to arrive before the emperor's arrival.
The carriage drove past and reached the jade steps. The curtains were gently opened, and a familiar figure slowly walked down from the carriage. It was Concubine Lei Ming!
Concubine Lei Ming stepped down from the carriage and went up to the palace surrounded by the crowd. Due to the obstructed vision, it was difficult to see clearly. One could only vaguely see that she was wearing a crown and clothes. She had a beautiful figure and walked in a graceful manner, which was fascinating.
"Oh! She is so stunningly beautiful!"
Zhou Yi gave Young Master Xiaoyan a displeased look and quickly followed him.
The two walked up the stone steps side by side. At this time, most of the guests had entered the hall. Suddenly, there were loud bangs from behind. Looking back, they saw the turret was lit, and flames and fireworks shot up into the sky, which was breathtaking.
Young Master Xiaoyan looked back at the sky and said, "It looks like Wu Zhao is here!"
The appearance of Guanfeng Hall is magnificent, but its true scale can only be understood when entering the hall. There are sixteen huge wooden pillars on each side supporting the hall beams, decorated with clouds and dragons, twenty-four windows on each side, and a semi-corridor next to the hall, connecting the Lichun Terrace, Yaozhang Pavilion and Jiuzhou Pavilion in the middle and back halls.
The seating arrangement for the state banquet follows ancient customs.
The ceremonial band was placed on both sides of the palace gate, and the front and back rows of seats were set up on the left and right, with two people at each seat, more than 200 seats. Looking at the densely packed seats, Zhou Yi's scalp suddenly tingled, and suddenly he heard someone singing loudly: "The state guest of the Great Zhou, Mr. Wang Zhelong, has arrived!"
Zhou Yi was shocked. Young Master Xiaoyan leaned over to Zhou Yi's ear and whispered, "Only those who are first-rank officials or above, or those who have been granted titles of king or duke, are qualified to have the song sung."
When people heard Zhou Yi's pseudonym being sung, the hall suddenly became quiet. High and low officials, beautiful ladies and celebrities all looked at him. Zhou Yi immediately became the target of everyone's criticism and cried for help in embarrassment.
Young Master Xiaoyan chuckled and said, "There's always a first time for everything. Do your best! Haha!" Young Master Xiaoyan patted him on the shoulder, apologized, and went to find a seat as if he was familiar with the situation.
While Zhou Yi was standing there at a loss as to what to do, a graceful figure in white suddenly stood up and slowly walked towards him from a distance.
Concubine Lei Mingfei walked up to Zhou Yi and said with a smile: "You look so useless. Come to your seat next to me!" After that, she pulled Zhou Yi towards his seat.
This caused an uproar in the audience. What was Lei Mingfei's identity? She was the contemporary saint of Cihang Jingzhai! Although she had just entered the martial arts world, her beauty was definitely not inferior to the martial arts world's number one beauty Ming Suxin. Her Cihang Sword Canon was even more extraordinary and hard to beat!
There were probably at least 8,000 men in the entire Divine Capital who were in love with Concubine Lei Ming, and now she was so close to this Wang Zhe who appeared out of nowhere? How could this not attract people's attention
At this time, drums and music were blaring, and bells and drums were ringing. Everyone knelt down to welcome the emperor. Zhou Yi, who was kneeling on the ground, couldn't help but secretly look around.
Wu Zhao wore a dragon crown and dragon robe, and with one hand on the arm of the fat eunuch who was leading the way, she entered the hall with great grace.
A sturdy and strong man was two steps behind to show his superiority. This guy was wearing an exotic hat and suit, shining with gold from head to toe, and he also had an extraordinary demeanor.
Behind the two of them were two rows of people. After Wu Zhao came Crown Prince Li Dan, Princess Taiping, Wu Sansi and other royal family members. Wu Chongye and Li Hao were the youngest in seniority and were at the end.
Behind Hengkong Muye was the Tibetan envoys dressed in their best clothes. Hengkong Muye was accompanied by a monk in a yellow robe, who was less than fifty years old. His face was full of vigor and aura, and he must be the world-famous Great Wheel King. Zhou Yi was shocked when he looked at the Tibetan envoys behind them.
Tubo Changshengguo, Dajin Ouyangfeng, Dongying Xue Qingcheng, Goryeo Jinxiu. The few people who had a secret meeting in the alley that day were all among them!
"Stand up!"
Wu Zhao and Hengkong Muye each took the chair. The former officially announced the start of the state banquet, and hundreds of palace maids filed in from the side doors on both sides of the chair, pouring wine and serving hot meat dishes to everyone.
Zhou Yi sat upright, frequently looking at Young Master Xiaoyan and several members of the Tubo delegation who were gathered among the North Gate scholars, all of whom looked flustered and uneasy.
At this time, Dugu Feng, who had not seen Zhou Yi for a long time, took advantage of the crowd watching the singing and dancing and raised her glass to salute Zhou Yi from afar. Zhou Yi raised his glass in return, and at Dugu Feng's gesture, they drank the wine in the glass. Then Dugu Feng slowly put down the glass, with a gleam of light in her eyes, which was meaningful.
"How come you still know Dugu Feng?" Concubine Lei Ming poured Zhou Yi a glass of wine and whispered in a low voice.
"Hehe!" Zhou Yi smiled and covered up, "We've met a few times, and we get along well!" (To be continued)