The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#407 - Smoky

When Lintian Prefecture was established as the capital, it followed a typical three-layered city plan, consisting of the outer city, the imperial city, and the innermost palace city.

The outer city was naturally where the common people and officials lived their daily lives, with markets, entertainment venues, wine shops, and various production-oriented facilities.

Passing through the Vermilion Bird Gate along the widest Imperial Street in the center of the city led to the Imperial City, a place ordinary people could not set foot in.

This area mainly consisted of royal gardens and various internal and external agencies.

As the name suggests, the internal agencies were mainly responsible for the daily life of the palace residents, including the Six Bureaus, various divisions, and the Four Directions Hall, while the external agencies handled matters related to the court and imperial tours.

As the carriage moved along, Lu Jing lifted the gauze curtain of the window, curiously observing the courtyards and pavilions along the way.

Cheng Guan, who was in the same carriage as him, smiled slightly and said, "What do you think? Have you ever seen such majesty before?"

However, to his surprise, Lu Jing nodded and casually said, "I have. I went to the Forbidden City with my parents when I was a kid."

Cheng Guan was taken aback, not knowing where the Forbidden City that Lu Jing mentioned was, but this was the imperial city of the Chen Dynasty, the place where the dragon's aura had resided for more than three hundred years, the center of power in the Nine Provinces, with an extraordinary atmosphere.

Everyone who stepped into this place for the first time couldn't help but feel a sense of awe, even cultivators were no exception. Therefore, Cheng Guan doubted that there would be a second place like this in the world, and only felt that Lu Jing was just a young man being quick-tongued, so he didn't take it to heart.

After the carriage traveled for another distance, it finally arrived in front of the Zhengde Tower.

Facing them were five large gates, each as tall as four people, with golden nails and vermilion paint, matched with the surrounding red bricks, and glazed tiles on the eaves shimmering with golden light under the sunlight.

Seeing this scene finally made Lu Jing feel a sense of "The gates of heaven open the palace, and the nations pay homage to the crown."

Cheng Guan then said, "The palace city is ahead."

As he said this, the carriage gradually stopped. In front of the gate tower, there were vermilion barriers blocking the way. In addition, Lu Jing also saw many guards at the gate and palace walls.

One of them, a burly man with a horse face, wearing armor and practicing both internal and external skills, cupped his fist towards the people in the carriage and said, "Are you the esteemed experts from the Department of Celestial Observation?"

Hearing this, Cheng Guan got off the carriage and bowed, "General Fang, are you well? That's right, we are here to attend tonight's banquet by imperial decree."

General Fang then looked up at Lu Jing and the others who got off the carriage. Perhaps because he knew that these people were all experts invited by the emperor, his attitude was still quite polite, but he still said.

"Have you brought any sharp weapons with you? Please disarm yourselves before entering the palace and hand them over to us for safekeeping. Don't worry, we will definitely return them to you when you come out of this gate."

However, before Lu Jing could say anything, a sharp voice had already sounded from the top of the wall, "The emperor has said that the esteemed experts from the Department of Celestial Observation do not need to disarm before entering the palace."

General Fang obviously felt that this was inappropriate, and his face was full of surprise. He wanted to argue, but he heard the eunuch on the wall continue.

"The emperor also said, if Fang Ying, that stubborn mule, wants to object, tell him that these people possess supernatural powers, which are beyond the imagination of ordinary people like you. If they really want to kill the emperor, they don't need any weapons at all."

It was not yet night, but the sound of silk and bamboo instruments had already begun in the Chuigong Hall.

After Lu Jing and the others entered the hall, they also saw dancers dancing gracefully. In addition, there was also a group of strangely dressed people, shaking their heads and immersed in the superb dancing skills of the dancers.

These people were obviously not dignitaries in the traditional sense. Among them were monks, Taoists, and some foreigners with red hair and blue eyes, black teeth and white faces, and even some who were simply naked and had no refinement at all.

The originally solemn Chuigong Hall also became smoky because of their presence.

Lu Jing and the others looked at each other and realized that they were not the only guests tonight.

As the eight of them walked into the hall, they immediately attracted many gazes, most of which were filled with varying degrees of hostility.

It was as if the hyenas who had just hunted were guarding their food.

In fact, even before Lu Jing and the others entered the hall, the hostility between these people was already very obvious. Some people didn't know if they had any previous grudges, but if they weren't currently in the imperial palace, they probably couldn't help but fight.

Cheng Guan frowned slightly. This Director Cheng obviously didn't want to associate with this rabble.

But tonight was an invitation from the emperor, and they couldn't possibly turn around and leave at this moment, so they could only hold their noses and take their seats.

But what they didn't expect was that the palace maids led them into the hall and then retreated directly, without any intention of taking them to their seats.

Cheng Guan frowned even deeper. He reached out and called over the palace maid who had just greeted them and asked, "Where do we sit?"

The palace maid had obviously not seen such a scene before. Being with such a group of strange-looking people, her spirit had been in a state of high tension. When Cheng Guan, with a straight face, asked her this question, she was almost frightened to tears, stammering.

"I... I don't know. The emperor didn't say how to arrange the seats, just, just said..."

"Just said what?"

"Said that everyone who came tonight was an expert, so there was no need to pay attention to worldly rules."

Cheng Guan was almost amused by the anger, "Where did the emperor find these treasures? Does he want them to perform acrobatics in the palace?"

The palace maid didn't dare to answer, and could only lower her head, seeming a little at a loss.

Cheng Guan also knew that he had said a bit too much. He had no intention of embarrassing such a little girl, waved his hand, and let the palace maid leave.

Then, he scanned the hall and saw that there were still a few empty seats in the center of the hall. Without discussing it with Lu Jing and the others, he first straightened his clothes and walked towards there.