The two spoke in private for several hours. Host and guest alike were pleased, and the atmosphere was fairly harmonious.
Qing Chen quietly saw Ding Buxing off, then sat alone in the pavilion for a long time.
"We've reached a preliminary understanding, at least. That's good. The Divine Capital is simply too important. Aside from the Iron Household, I need another force to pass information to me, or serve as a helping arm."
Another three months later, outside Qiong Prefecture City, at the Ten-Li Pavilion.
Dawn was just breaking, and the thin mist had yet to disperse.
Both sides of the official road were packed with a dark mass of people.
At Qing Chen's request, nearly every Qiongzhou official of Subordinate Seventh Rank and above had arrived. They stood solemnly in order of rank, silent as crows and sparrows gone still.
At that moment, every gaze was focused on the figures at the very front of the mid-grade treasure ship before the pavilion.
Li Wenbi still wore his censor's official robes, his face lean and refined. Only the former warmth between his brows had now been replaced by aloofness.
He stood with his hands behind his back, looking straight ahead without glancing at those beside him.
Ding Buxing stood in attendance to one side with lowered brows, dressed in python robes and a jade belt. His face was pale and beardless, his eyes lowered toward the ground, his aura concealed and his presence barely noticeable.
Directly opposite them-
Qing Chen hovered alone in the air.
Today, he wore neither his marquis's robes nor his provincial governor's robes, only ordinary training clothes, with his hair simply secured in a crown.
Behind him, the Guanyin Tower Master, Qing Xuansu, Yan Ming, Jin Tongtian, and the other central figures of Qiongzhou stood