The night had deepened, yet the Jinling Royal Palace blazed with light.
Though wary of taboos, the palace had only been rebuilt on a corner of the ruins of the old Da Xing Dynasty palace. But it was still a royal palace. The gilded pillars, glazed lamps, and shark-silk curtains in the banquet hall all flaunted the royal clan's sky-high wealth.
Just as Qiu Mingyuan had expected, King of Jinling sat high at the head of the table. Seated below him on either side were the people in charge of the Gusu Lu Family and the Qiantang Xie Family's affairs in Jinling—Third Master Lu and Fifth Master Xie.
Both men wore fine clothes and had an air of refined grace, but a trace of anxiety lurked deep in their eyes.
As for Li Yan, he merely played dumb while drinking and eating.
The dishes at the royal palace banquet were indeed exquisite. Though they carried the flavor of Jinling, their knife work, cooking, and presentation all exuded luxury.
Take the main dish known as "Jinling Auspiciousness," for example. It used Jinling's most famous salted duck as its base, selecting hundred-day-raised "Osmanthus Duck" from the shores of Taihu Lake. The duck was marinated in an aged Huadiao wine brine specially prepared with Huai salt, star anise, cinnamon, and other ingredients, then slowly smoked over pinewood, cypress branches, and osmanthus blossoms until the skin was a glossy golden red and the fragrance seeped from the bones.
When the duck was sliced, the pieces had to be "thin as cicada wings and shaped like peonies." They were arranged into the form of an auspicious qilin or a Cloud Pattern, then served with amber-colored candied osmanthus wine and tender ginger buds.
There was also "Jade Belt Qiongjiang Soup."
The tender meat of the plumpest