"Bearer of the imperial tally, Grand General Who Conquers the West, entitled to establish a headquarters with honors equal to the Three Excellencies, Colonel Protector of the Southern Tribes, commander of all military affairs in the six provinces of Jingzhou, Sizhou, Yongzhou, Yizhou, Liang, and Ningzhou, Inspector of Jingzhou, Duke of Linhe Commandery, commander of the Jiangling garrison, chief assessor of Jingzhou and Yuzhou—Duke Huan's procession approaches! Unaffiliated persons, withdraw! All others, take your places according to office and rank..."
"Enough, enough." Only after the man ahead had finished calling did a man of about forty ascend the tower. Tall and imposing, he still wore a high cap and broad sash, and had even draped an enormous Shu brocade cloak over his brocade robes. Yet he kept waving his hands at the head of the stairs. "We aren't at my official residence today, much less conducting official business. I simply happened to think of this tower. When it was built, since it stood to the west, we painted it vermilion. That way, when sunset clouds appeared in the evening, viewed from the city, they would seem to perch atop the tower, just as a phoenix perches in a parasol tree..."
Here he paused and surveyed the packed upper floor before stroking his beard and continuing, "I came today precisely to view the sunset clouds, only to find all of you gathered here. Doesn't that fulfill the phrase 'perching clouds'? In my opinion, this West-Viewing Tower ought to be renamed Qixia Tower-the Tower of Perching Clouds. What do you all think?"
Though no one knew what madness had seized him this time, they had known one another for years and were more or less accustomed to it. Even if they were not, when the foremost power-holder at court and master of