Three days later, the Emperor of Nanling entered the Xijing Imperial Palace with ten personal guards. In addition to his own ten guards, Li Yan also escorted him with dozens of elite soldiers.
Inside the Xijing Imperial Palace, palace servants were busy preparing for the grand banquet that afternoon. The Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Department and the Minister of Rites stood on the magnificent Hall of Supreme Harmony, personally directing the palace servants in arranging the hall, demonstrating the extreme grandeur of the banquet.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony is located in the very center of the Imperial Palace. It is the most magnificent and splendid palace, surrounded by a group of palaces that served as rest areas for dignitaries and nobles during banquets.
The upcoming banquet is of the highest caliber, with emperors, princes, ministers, noble ladies, and consorts from four kingdoms all gathered here. This is the most watched place in the world.
The master of this imperial city is the ruler of this grand banquet, and everyone must submit to him. However, not everyone is willing, nor will everyone submit.
All officials of the fourth rank and above were required to attend this banquet with their families, and all those of high status within the palace were also expected to attend. Today, Emperor Jinghan did not wander off; he obediently stayed in the palace to prepare for the evening's banquet.
Emperor Jingyuan changed into his court attire: a bright yellow silk robe embroidered with auspicious dragon and phoenix patterns, symbolizing imperial nobility and majesty. The collar and cuffs were trimmed with delicate gold piping, which complemented the robe's bright yellow color, highlighting the emperor's noble bearing. A jade belt cinched his waist, with a large sapphire set in its center, surrounded by exquisite gold ornaments. He wore a jade crown, adorned with numerous pearls and gemstones, shimmering with dazzling light.
Emperor Jingcheng decreed that Prince Yuan, Emperor Jingyuan, along with important officials, should greet the emperors and envoys of various countries at Xuanwu Gate, the main gate of the palace, to demonstrate the grandeur and style of a great power.
The first to arrive was naturally the Emperor of Nanling. Emperor Jingyuan looked at the Emperor of Nanling, Gong Yuhan, who had dismounted from his brown horse. He looked like a weak scholar, but he was quite handsome. He wore a moon-white dragon robe and a simple crown with only a jade stick in his hair.
Everyone says that this emperor is rigid and inflexible, fond of poetry and literature, and indifferent to state affairs. Now it seems that this is indeed the case. He surrendered voluntarily in just three days, looking relaxed and showing no vigilance at entering enemy territory, as if these things were not important to him.
Li Yan stepped forward first, knelt on one knee, and clasped his hands in greeting: "Li Yan pays respects to Prince Yuan!"
"Greetings, Prince Yuan!" Dozens of elite soldiers bowed in greeting.
A bitter smile flashed across Gong Yuhan's face. As if thinking of something, he took the initiative to step forward and greet Di Jingyuan. Di Jingyuan clasped his hands together, placed his right hand on top of his left, and slowly bowed, saying, "Prince Yuan."
Di Jingyuan stood with one hand behind his back, his back straight, and nodded slightly in return. Then he reached out and took Gong Yuhan's hands, saying, "Your Majesty of Nanling, you are too polite. You must have had a long journey."
Gong Yuhan stood up, a gentle smile appearing on his face: "It's not too tiring. The Xijing Mountains and rivers are magnificent, and the people live in peace and contentment, which has provided me with a lot of inspiration for my poems."
Emperor Jingyuan smiled. It was hard to tell whether the Southern Emperor was being sincere or not.
Gong Yuhan felt uncomfortable being looked at by Prince Yuan. Although he had a gentle smile on his face, his deep eyes made him feel like he was living under someone else's roof.
Even though he was a monarch with no interest in politics, he still had some arrogance. He was so obsequious to a prince that his father would probably wake up from his mausoleum in anger if he knew.
Gong Yuhan sighed inwardly. He had grown up under the protection of his father and mother. His two brothers had also died in the struggles between the court and the harem. He also had a concubine's sister. He was forced into this role.
He hoped his father and mother, if they were watching from heaven, would understand him. He was truly not cut out to be an emperor; he only wanted to submit to the rule of Xijing and hope to live a few days of peace. Otherwise, even if he didn't submit to Xijing, his kingdom would still be destroyed.
Perhaps it's not Xijing, but Beixiang and Dongyang are also eyeing it covetously.
"General Li, you must be tired from your journey. Quickly take the soldiers inside to rest! Your brother will be very happy to see you return in triumph, and I am also very pleased." Di Jingyuan, unaware of Gong Yuhan's thoughts, helped General Li up and patted him on the shoulder.
"It is my honor to serve Your Majesty and Xijing. I shall take my leave now." General Li clasped his hands in a fist salute, then shouted to his men and led dozens of elite soldiers away.
Gong Yuhan, accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Rites, went to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. No sooner had he left than Emperor Yang Mingyue of Dongyang and Emperor Liu Xinqi of Beixiang appeared at the palace gate with their entourage.
As luck would have it, the two, who had not come together, met at the palace gate.
Since the failed operation that day, Liu Xinqi has felt utterly disgusted with Yang Mingyue; such an ally is better off without. Rather than relying on others, he prefers to strive for strength on his own, so Liu Xinqi has recently become much more restrained.
With Nanling now under Xijing's control, he needs to restrain his ambitions and conserve his strength.
The two of them stepped forward together to greet Di Jingyuan.
"Prince Yuan, how have you been?" Yang Mingyue's cheerful voice came first, carrying a somewhat unrestrained attitude. Those unaware of his ambition would only think he was a dissolute person.
Seeing his appearance, Liu Xinqi suppressed his urge to kill him and stepped forward to greet Prince Yuan with humility and politeness: "Prince Yuan."
Looking at the two of them, especially Liu Xinqi's disdainful look when he saw Yang Mingyue, Di Jingyuan slightly curled the corners of his mouth, feeling that everything was under control.
"Honorable guests, how have you been? Please come in!" Di Jingyuan nodded slightly and gestured with his left hand in invitation.
"Please, Prince Yuan!"
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