The Great Qi Emperor was testing his children here, while the officials of the Rites had already made all the necessary preparations.
Then Jiang Rumo, the Great Qi State Chancellor, rose from the high platform on the right and said, "I request permission to report to the Son of Heaven: the appointed hour has arrived."
The few people waiting to be tested in the plaza began quietly regulating their breathing.
The Great Qi Emperor looked down at the young people, then said to Jiang Rumo, "There's no need to rush, State Chancellor. One person hasn't arrived yet."
He turned his head and asked, "Where is he?"
Han Ling bent forward slightly and replied in a low voice, "The Imperial Edict Official should have reached the academy by now."
The Qi Emperor wasn't about to get angry over this. He had only made the decision at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, so there was no way he could summon the man here immediately. Delivering an imperial edict took time; no one could simply barge through the gates in a hurry.
Even Han Ling himself couldn't do that.
Without an explicit imperial order, the people at Jixia Academy wouldn't even pay him any heed. They'd beat the stuffing out of him.
The Emperor turned back to the State Chancellor. "We'll wait a little longer."
By now, everyone knew who His Majesty was waiting for.
Who else but Chongxuan Zun, the man who had outshone every one of his peers, could make the Son of Heaven say "wait" at a time like this?
This was practically... an immense honor!
The current Great Qi Emperor always gave generously, whether rewarding or punishing. He was the very picture of a great ruler.
Jiang Rumo looked like a slightly plump old man, with kind eyes and brows.