Before Yipinju Restaurant

By the hour of the Snake, the palace guards and servants in the residence had begun moving in an orderly fashion. They set out the ceremonial retinue, prepared the appropriate carriages and horses, then surrounded the three masters of the royal residence as they slowly made their way toward Yipinju Restaurant in Heyin County.

Along the way, the drizzling rain had already cleared. The dark clouds scattered across the sky, and warm sunlight pierced through them to shine upon the earth.

As a result, there were many more hurried pedestrians on the road, including some martial artists who clearly possessed martial skills and carried blades or swords on their backs.

Yet whether ordinary citizens or martial artists, when faced with such a grand royal procession, they all shared the same thought: they moved aside to avoid it, their expressions filled with either envy, awe, or resentment.

Seated within the luxurious carriage scented with a faint fragrance, Duàn Yì lifted a corner of the curtain. His gaze drifted, and his heart was tranquil.

Seeing this scene, he could not help but sigh with emotion. This was the majesty and domineering might of the royal residence.

After roughly half an hour, the royal party arrived at Yipinju Restaurant.

It was a tavern located in a quiet district at the heart of the city. It stood five stories high; even if it did not stand head and shoulders above the rest, such a building was still exceedingly rare in this small county town.

From the outside, it boasted upturned eaves and ornate brackets, magnificent and resplendent. Above its vermilion gates hung a plaque upon which the three characters Yipinju Restaurant had been written in gold paint, an overwhelming air of grandeur rushing forth.

"So this is Yipinju Restaurant. It looks fairly decent. I