The time drew near, and the guests had all gathered.
The Yan Clan's main hall was packed inside and out. Cups clinked, and laughter filled the air.
Maids and servants weaved through the crowd carrying trays laden with exquisite pastries and wine.
Red candles burned brightly, illuminating the entire hall as though it were daylight. Everyone's faces were flushed red, as if they had all drunk quite a bit.
A pair of newlyweds were about to bow to Heaven and Earth before the high hall.
To the left of the Yan Clan estate, in the garden, stood a nine-story tower.
The tower rose thirty-six zhang high, appearing especially imposing amid such wind and snow.
Though it was called the garden tower, it stood in the garden's northeastern corner. Its foundation was built from massive blocks of bluestone, the gaps filled with glutinous rice mortar and composite earth. Despite a century of wind and frost, it remained as sturdy as ever.
The tower had octagonal eaves that swept upward, with copper bells hanging from every floor. Whenever the wind blew, they rang in a chorus of clear, melodious chimes that drifted beyond the garden like faint celestial music.
The cold wind grew fiercer.
Snowflakes fluttered down from the lead-gray sky, thick and dense, as if someone high above had overturned an entire sack of goose feathers.
Half the tower was shrouded in the snowstorm. The upper four stories had completely vanished from sight, leaving only a vague, dark shadow.
And the occasional cold glint reflected from the copper bells as they swung wildly in the wind.
The top of the tower was utterly invisible.
Just like at Heavenly Fragrance Tower, someone lay atop the tower's upturned eaves.
Black robes embroidered with tiny flowers and trimmed in gold snapped loudly in the