Many important figures had left Zhao City, while many others remained. The azure sky stretched cloudlessly for ten thousand miles, autumn deepened, and cool breezes came from time to time.
Foreign scholars in Duke Zhao's State calculated how much longer their travel permits would allow them to remain in Zhao City.
Merchants who had lived in Duke Zhao's State all their lives counted the days until Young Master Chu's wedding and put up notices well in advance announcing which day their shops would close.
On the first and fifteenth of every month, every household in the city went to the sacrificial courtyards to sing praises of the Sage King's holiness and worship the ancestors of their own branch.
The descendants of those important figures whose great achievements had earned them entry into Zhao City likewise worshipped their ancestors. This was what it meant to enjoy sacrifices forever.
Time slowly passed amid all this.
The third day of the tenth month.
The Luo Palace in the outer city was a sea of people. Thousands upon thousands of Zhao people craned their necks in anticipation, their faces filled with excitement.
Today was Luo Chu's wedding day.
It had been a long time since a young master had married in Zhao City.
A trace of youthful innocence still lingered about Xiao Qiao's eyes and brows. Diao Chan lightly outlined the ends of her brows, making her look elegant and noble, like the purest, loveliest lily. Mi Zhen adorned her piece by piece with golden hairpins and red garments. Upon her head were a gold-and-red phoenix crown and jeweled hair ornaments, and she wore a five-colored, cloud-patterned bridal cape predominantly of vermilion. Her delicate lips parted slightly as her elder sister Da Qiao tinted them red, dazzling to behold. Smiles and tender glances played