Enfeoffment as marquis, the donning of the coronet, the Sacrificial Ceremony.
It was a grand occasion that drew the eyes of the world!
In the Imperial City, the marquises of the great Marquis Mansions arrived in person, noble marquises and commoner marquises alike.
The Four Great Kings arrived beneath the sacrificial altar in magnificent carriages: the Great Golden Roc King, Kirin King, Divine Dragon King, and Peacock Bright King.
The Four Great Kings were the four pillars of the Yulan Empire. They commanded armies, held fiefdoms, and wielded vast power. Each was renowned throughout the land, and at court, their standing was second only to the Jade Ripple Great Emperor.
Besides the kings and marquises, even the Jade Ripple Great Emperor came in person. He rode in a war chariot, followed by a great retinue of imperial guards and eunuchs. The kings and marquises bowed to him one after another.
An ordinary heir to a Marquis Mansion could never have received such treatment at his coronation.
But the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion was different. It was one of the Fourteen Great Hereditary Marquisates, descended from one of the Yulan Empire's Eighteen Founding Heroes. As long as the Yulan Empire endured, its descendants would forever enjoy the privileges of kings and marquises.
The Fourteen Great Hereditary Marquisates and the Four Great King Residences were the true nobility, the heart of the empire's power and interests.
In a few decades, the heirs to the Fourteen Great Hereditary Marquisates and Four Great King Residences would hold power over the entire empire, summoning wind and rain and looking down upon all eight directions. That was why the coronation of a hereditary heir commanded such attention. It rivaled the investiture of a Crown Prince, and the great kings and marquises all attended in person!
Beyond