Just as the Great Huan Dynasty held its Enfeoffment Ceremony, its imperial might rolling across the land as the whole nation celebrated, quite a few dark hands were also moving behind the scenes.
Zhuge Manor in Yangdu County, Langya Commandery, was the secluded ancestral home of the well-regarded Zhuge Clan.
A large force of martial artists under Lan Ge, the Great Huan Dynasty's Southern Pacifying King, who oversaw affairs of the martial world, descended upon Zhuge Manor. Numerous elite Dark Huan Guards secretly followed behind them, converging on the manor from every direction. Alarmed and anxious, the entire Zhuge Clan came out to receive them.
"We pay our respects to the Huan Emperor! May your reign endure for a thousand autumns and ten thousand years, your might shaking past and present!"
After the customary greetings and pleasantries, Lan Fenghuang, acting as the representative of Lan Ge, the Great Huan Dynasty's Southern Pacifying King, immediately produced an imperial decree. The several hundred members of the Zhuge Clan before her were stunned and horrified, but had no choice but to prostrate themselves and cry out their respects.
However, since the Zhuge Clan was not a subordinate lineage of the Great Huan Dynasty, they were not obliged to follow its prescribed etiquette. Their observances leaned more toward the customs of the martial world.
Lan Fenghuang, with her breathtaking beauty and petite yet voluptuous figure, did not mind. She swiftly unfurled the imperial decree and channeled her energy into a ringing proclamation:
"By Heaven's mandate and imperial decree, our emperor declares:
Zhuge Gui is refined and courteous, possessed of both virtue and talent, filled with fervent devotion, and renowned throughout the world... He is hereby invested as Loyal Martial Marquis, granted the Lord Marquis Fruition Rank, and bestowed a gold seal with a blue