First Emperor's Grand Hall
The Qin Imperial Palace, also known as the Afang Palace, was rebuilt by the Qin Imperial Palace Shi Huang after he ascended the Qin Shi Huang. Qin Shi Huang received envoys and dignitaries from various states, held grand state banquets to celebrate the emperor's birthday, and made decisions on important state affairs with his ministers in the Afang Palace.
The Afang Palace is uniquely built, with magnificent palaces of all kinds, a building every five steps and a pavilion every ten steps; winding corridors and soaring eaves, each embracing the terrain, interlocking and vying for prominence. The towering city walls and the royal palace halls complement each other.
The Afang Palace contained numerous detached palaces and villas, each with a different architectural style. They brought together the architectural styles of five different kingdoms within the Afang Palace, standing majestically and towering high, vividly demonstrating the magnificent and awe-inspiring momentum of Qin Shi Huang in conquering four kingdoms and unifying the Azure Dragon Continent.
Within the Afang Palace, there is a hall called the First Emperor's Grand Hall, which is the main palace of the Afang Palace. The area in front of the hall is extremely spacious, measuring 500 paces from east to west and 50 zhang from north to south. It can seat 10,000 people and can also support a 5-zhang flag. A covered walkway surrounds the hall, leading directly from the hall to the three cities of Tianpeng Star, Tianrui Star, and Tiansong Star.
The palace has a towering dome, which is magnificent and supported by ninety-nine large pillars. Ninety-nine bright pearls float inside the palace, illuminating the entire First Emperor's Grand Hall.
Above the main hall, there are ninety-nine dragon-shaped steps. At the top of the steps, a dark red table stands horizontally, and a solemn-faced old man kneels beside it.
The old man wore a crown with a black outer layer and a crown robe. Underneath, he wore a plain gauze inner layer and a red silk pleated inner layer. He wore a leather belt with jade ornaments, and a plain outer belt with a red inner layer. The belt was surrounded by green on both sides, with red brocade on the top and green brocade on the bottom. His appearance was noble and solemn, and he exuded Emperor's Aura. His brows were dignified and his eyes were as deep as the sea.
He is the current ruler of the Qin State, Qin Shi Huang, who has the ambition to unify the Azure Dragon Continent.
"Jing Xing."
Below the main hall, Jing Xing and Qin Ziying stood in the center. Upon hearing this, they stepped forward, cupped their hands, and replied, "Your Majesty, we are here."
"What brings you here today?" Qin Shi Huang asked in a deep voice, his face expressionless.
Jing Xing bowed respectfully and replied, "I have come to pray for Rain Dance."
Qin Shi Huang remained silent, only glancing at Jing Xing with his eyes.
Jing Xing understood and said again, "This humble subject is absolutely certain that the Rain Dance will succeed this time, and I hope Your Majesty can give me another chance."
"Your Majesty!" At this moment, an elderly man dressed in black robes slowly walked to the center and bowed to Qin Shi Huang, saying, "Jing Xing has broken his promise to Your Majesty and to the people of Great Qin. This old minister believes that it is better not to grant him this opportunity, lest it only become a laughing stock."
Jing Xing watched the old man in fine clothes walk away, a flash of hatred crossing his eyes. He lowered his head even further and said, "Your Majesty, I, your humble servant, am willing to stake my life on this: if the Rain Dance is not brought, I will gladly accept the punishment of being torn apart by chariots."
After Jing Xing uttered these words, the hall fell silent, and the richly dressed old man said no more.
Above, Qin Shi Huang remained silent for a moment before finally speaking, "Three days later, Rain Dance at the Heavenly Machine Platform; if successful, you will be reinstated; if unsuccessful, you will be punished by being torn apart by a dragon-horse chariot."
"Thank you Your Majesty." Jing Xing felt relieved and knelt down.
"All of you, step back," Qin Shi Huang said in a deep voice, then rose and left.
"Respectfully seeing off Your Majesty!" Everyone bowed their heads in farewell.
After Qin Shi Huang left, everyone straightened up.
Qin Ziying turned to look at Jing Xing, a smile on his face, and said, "Ziying would like to congratulate Pavilion Master Jing on the success of his Rain Dance."
Jing Xing clasped his hands in response, his tone neither warm nor cold, and said, "Thank you for your kind words, young master."
After saying that, Jing Xing turned to leave. Everyone here had a grudge against him, so it was best to leave as soon as possible.
"Pavilion Master Jing." Unfortunately, he was stopped by someone.
Jing Xing had no choice but to stop and turn to the elderly man in fine clothes, asking, "What brings you here, Your Excellency, Prime Minister?"
The elderly man in fine clothes was none other than Di Heyu, the Prime Minister of the Qin State.
Moreover, Jing Xing had an inextricable grudge against this prime minister.
Jing Xing's sister died at the hands of Di Heyu's son, and Jing Xing killed Di Heyu's son in order to avenge her.
If he hadn't been so incompetent, Di Heyu would have died at his hands too.
As for Di Heyu, he only had one son, and after Jing Xing killed him, he was essentially childless; one can imagine his hatred for Jing Xing, and he would basically seize any opportunity to kill Jing Xing.
Therefore, their relationship is beyond repair in this lifetime, and only the death of one of them can put an end to this feud.
"Master Jing is truly blessed with good fortune..." Di Heyu strolled forward, a kind smile on his face, and said.
Their expressions and words were completely opposite, but strangely, no one thought there was anything wrong with it; because the entire Qin State, including Qin Shi Huang, knew about the feud between the two.
The two even went so far as to Revenge against each other. For example, Jing Xing was chased and killed last night. Anyone who heard the news could be 100% certain that it was Prime Minister Di Heyu who did it.
Seeing that the two were about to start again, Qin Ziying was not in a hurry to leave, but stood aside and watched with great interest.
Jing Xing smiled slightly, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I'm truly sorry to disappoint the Prime Minister, but I'm still alive."
Before today, Jing Xing was a commoner. Even if the Prime Minister knew he was being killed, Qin Shi Huang wouldn't have intervened. But after today, he was protected by an invisible layer of security. Before the Rain Dance ended, Di Heyu would certainly not attempt to assassinate him again. If the Rain Dance succeeded, Di Heyu would be even less likely to attempt to assassinate him as he did last night. This is how status determines one's power in power struggles, and it is also why Jing Xing hoped to be reinstated to his original position.
Prime Minister Di Heyu shook his head and said meaningfully, "He won't live much longer..."
Jing Xing chuckled, his deep eyes fixed on Di Heyu, and said, "Prime Minister, you have no chance."
"Is that so?" Di Heyu met Jing Xing's gaze without fear.
An unusual aura began to emanate from the air, and the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy began to stir restlessly. A breeze arose within the main hall, causing the long robes to flutter loudly.
But the gust of wind subsided immediately, and the two knew where they were.
"Farewell!" Jing Xing said, turning and walking out of the First Emperor's Hall.
Prime Minister Di Heyu's kind smile gradually turned gloomy as he watched Jing Xing's retreating figure.
"Prime Minister Di, it seems Jing Xing has succeeded in Rain Dance this time," Qin Ziying, who had been standing to the side, said leisurely.
"Oh? Young Master also believes that Jing Xing can successfully Rain Dance?" Di Heyu's gloomy expression vanished instantly, replaced by a hint of curiosity as he asked.
Qin Ziying smiled slightly and said, "It's not that I think it, it's that I saw it with my own eyes."
"What do you mean?" Di Heyu asked, looking puzzled.
"It rained in Qin State territory last night, is the Prime Minister aware of that?" Qin Ziying asked.
Di Heyu nodded. How could he not know about such a big event as rain? It's just that this rain came and went quickly, and it was far from enough to relieve the drought.
Suddenly, Di Heyu paused, looked at Qin Ziying's smiling face, and asked, "Does the young master mean that the rain last night was caused by Jing Xing?"
Qin Ziying shook his head mysteriously and said, "Whether he summoned it or not is unclear, but he did receive help from a master and gained the ability to pray for Rain Dance. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to the Afang Palace today to ask Father Emperor to open an altar for Rain Dance."
Upon hearing this, Di Heyu nodded thoughtfully. Jing Xing's behavior today was indeed unusual. The first time Qin Shi Huang asked Jing Xing to pray for Rain Dance, he made all sorts of excuses and was finally forced to open the altar to Rain Dance. This time, however, he took the initiative to ask to open the altar to Rain Dance, even risking his own life. He would never do this if he was not confident.
But what exactly did he go through to undergo such a dramatic transformation overnight? And who is this so-called master?
Seeing that Di Heyu remained silent, Qin Ziying knew he was speculating about Jing Xing's affairs, and couldn't help but remind him, "That expert opened a small shop in a corner of a street called Chang'an in Tianzhu City, called 'Mysterious Bookstore Branch Two'."
Upon hearing this, Di Heyu glanced at Qin Ziying with a meaningful look.
Upon seeing this, Qin Ziying laughed and said, "I just happened to be passing by and offered a friendly reminder. I had no other intentions. Prime Minister, please don't overthink it. Farewell!"
Having said that, Qin Ziying turned and left.
Di Heyu stood quietly in the First Emperor's Grand Hall, watching Qin Ziying's departing figure, lost in thought.