All Manner of Men in the Hall, Qiu Yan Receives the Decree

The Golden Hall was solemn and imposing.

After the decree had been announced, the hall appeared calm on the surface. Yet in such an enormous palace hall, even if someone spoke, it would not easily draw others' notice.

Moreover, having served at court for so long and entered the Golden Hall countless times, the officials had long mastered all manner of techniques. One of them was to converse aloud with only the slightest movement of their lips.

Ordinarily, this skill was naturally used to exchange information. Any memorials, trends, or developments could be passed along in this way, or they could coordinate their story before presenting a memorial.

Of course, there were times when it was simply used to exchange opinions, as it was now.

After Eunuch Wei left the palace, descended the steps, and conveyed the emperor's decree, officials began conversing among themselves—

"That Compiler Qiu has finally returned."

"Tell me, what sort of reward will he receive today? Will he leap several ranks in one go? With the merits he has earned, it is certainly possible."

"Qiu Yan will naturally receive no small reward, but not today. Today, he will likely only be given a title. The war on the Grasslands has not yet ended, and the slaves who helped Qiu Yan establish his merits have not returned. The matter of military merit must wait until the troops return to court, then it can all be granted together."

"This time, he caused no small commotion on the Grasslands. One could say that this war between the two nations was, to a great extent, set in motion by him!"

"Forget that. Do you still remember the grand spectacle when the Human Dao Canon entered the capital a few days ago?"

"How could we forget? We had thought it was