Jinghe Year Fifteen, Fourth Month, Twenty-Fifth Day.
At the third quarter of Yin Hour, dawn had yet to break.
Outside the Great Ming Gate, the officials had already assembled.
Purple, scarlet, blue, and green robes formed ordered ranks, court tablets like a forest, tasseled caps like clouds.
Palace lanterns lit the walls, shadows flickered, and an occasional murmur swiftly sank back into silence.
The morning bell began to toll, and the palace gates slowly opened.
Two lines of Golden Armored Guards stood with halberds in hand, stretching from the Vermilion Steps to the Hall of Heavenly Favor.
Banners snapped in the wind, and the ceremonial guard stood in imposing array.
The sun had just risen, spilling golden light over the roof tiles. The entire Palace City seemed plated in red gold, its dazzling splendor impossible to look upon directly.
The foreign envoys entered the Capital.
Khitan in the north, the Tanguts in the west, and the vassal states of Joseon, Annam, and Ryukyu had all dispatched envoys.
Before the Court of Diplomatic Reception, carriages and horses converged, camel bells mingling with carriage bells.
The Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites' Office of State Guests stood with several subordinate clerks, register in hand, waiting for the envoys from Various Foreign States to board their carriages.
Yelü Qi emerged first.
He wore formal robes with a fox-fur collar, his boots treading the blue stone.
Without a sideways glance, he walked straight toward his carriage.
Yeli Wangrong emerged next.
His robe had a round collar and narrow sleeves, and his three strands of long beard were neatly trimmed, giving him the bearing of a scholar.
His measured steps brought him to the carriages at precisely the same time as Yelü Qi.
The two stood shoulder to shoulder, yet neither looked at the