Immortal-Inviting Tower was a spire-like building.
The first floor occupied the largest area.
The higher one went, the smaller the area became.
The topmost fourth floor was a small pavilion, as well as the most distinguished place of all.
Not even the emperor of Great Qi was qualified to go up there. It had been specially reserved for Chancellor Su, Su Jing, and the Academy's Third Gentleman.
The third floor housed members of the Nine Great Surnames and the imperial family, along with more than a dozen high-ranking court officials. In total, there were only a little over forty people.
These were the most powerful and distinguished people in Bianjing, even in all of Great Qi.
Xie Hong and Old Madam Xie were among them.
The Nine Great Surnames intermarried with one another and were all well acquainted.
They gathered in twos and threes, chatting among themselves.
Xie Hong raised his head and looked over. Amid the crowd, he noticed a middle-aged man dressed in a dragon robe of gold and jade, his chin covered in stubble. The man held a small cricket jar in his left hand, teasing the cricket inside with apparent leisure, utterly out of place among those around him.
Xie Hong narrowed his eyes slightly. This man was Great Qi's emperor, the nominal master of this realm, Chen Yan.
What a pity!
This Emperor Xianhe had been placed at the forefront by the Nine Great Surnames and treated as a puppet.
After the palace coup of Xianhe's third year, Emperor Chen Yan had immersed himself in mystical cultivation and pleasure. Day by day, court affairs deteriorated, and matters of state gradually fell into neglect.
To Chen Yan's right stood a dazzlingly beautiful and noble woman. She wore a phoenix crown and embroidered ceremonial robes, carrying herself