In ancient times, seating was divided into shared seats and individual seats. Providing an individual seat was a mark of greater respect.
At court assemblies during the Eastern Han, the officials sat together, but Emperor Guangwu specially decreed that three senior officials-the Chancellor, the Censor-in-Chief, and the Commandant of the Capital-should each have a separate seat. Thus, in the capital, they were known as the "Three Exclusive Seats," a sign of their exalted standing.
Now Northern Wei had seated the Southern Qi envoy together with the Goryeo envoy. This was clearly intended to belittle Southern Qi.
Liu Cheng snorted. "The northern barbarians are running wild, and Goryeo has no idea how high heaven is or how deep the earth runs."
Yu Qianlou speculated, "Perhaps this is retaliation for the last time Li Biao visited our court, when neither the chief envoy nor his deputy was allowed into the audience hall."
Yan Youcheng raised two fingers and slashed them forcefully through the air several times:
"Wasn't Li Biao barred from the hall because his family was lowly, and there was a distinction between nobles and commoners? If the northern court had sent someone from a genuine great gentry clan, what reason would there have been to deny him entry?"
Xie Xinghan considered this intently, then said thoughtfully, "The northern barbarians are reaping three gains with one stroke: first, undermining our court's legitimacy; second, winning over Goryeo; and third, sowing discord between our court and Goryeo."
Yan Youcheng's indignation would not subside, and his voice rose:
"Our great Southern Qi has been far too generous to these barbarians! Whenever Wei sent envoys in past years, when did our court fail to honor them with lavish courtesy? When accommodating their envoys, we never ranked them alongside those from the petty states! Even though