Outside the walls of Sizhou, lanterns were hung and decorations draped, while the air filled with the deafening clamor of gongs, drums, and firecrackers.
Zeng Tai knew Jia Lingyun was coming and had arranged everything with grandiosity. He ordered all officials in Sizhou to immediately drop their work and assemble at the city gate to welcome the Prime Minister. A crimson silk carpet had been laid out, stretching twenty miles from the gate to the Wind-Greeting Pavilion outside the city.
Because Zeng Tai had forbidden any tardiness, the officials had gone without lunch, waiting instead at the city gates. Now, as dusk approached and the Prime Minister’s carriage remained nowhere to be seen, the officials began to whisper among themselves.
Chapter 447