Ninety-nine golden bells tolled from the watchtowers of the Forbidden Imperial Palace.
The morning sky was clear, cold, and brilliant. High above the capital, crimson spirit-silk banners fluttered from ten thousand golden pillars surrounding the Supreme Harmony Plaza. The courtyard was so vast it could easily hold two hundred thousand guests.
Today was Immortal Emperor Ji Wudao’s Ten-Thousand-Year Longevity Birthday Banquet.
All across the plaza, luxurious banquet tables of polished rosewood were set with jade dishes, silver chopsticks, and chilled flasks of thousand-year nectar. The Patriarchs of the Ten Aristocratic Houses sat in the front rows, wearing robes woven from gold thread and celestial pearls. Vassal sect masters, provincial dukes, and foreign trade envoys sat according to their official rank, whispering among themselves in excited tones.
High on the northern terrace, elevated sixty feet above the plaza on a platform of white jade, sat the Nine-Dragon Imperial Throne.
Emperor Ji Wudao sat upon the throne, wearing heavy dragon robes that concealed his dark, pulsing aura. His jade crown shimmered with golden light, though his eyes were cold and restless. Behind him stood Grand Preceptor Sima Quan and Minister Qian Wansan, both wearing fresh court robes to hide their lingering bruises and embarrassment.
