Chapter 677: Conditions Are Just Like This

In the morning, after the first crow of the rooster, the Slaves, having tidied up and dressed in clean clothes, tied a strip of red cloth around their waists and went to lift the sedan chair, heading toward Zhi's home.

Bai Yulong was also dressed in fine robes, riding a white ox with a red cloth tied to its horns, walking at the front of the procession; along the way, Soldiers cleared the path, and musicians, with small Drums tied to their waists, played and beat them.

That an ox would gore someone wearing red is a rumor at best; bullfighters use red cloth to provoke bulls, but it is not as if one will be gored just by wearing red or holding red cloth—if that were the case, the ox would be too shallow. Baifeng knew this clearly, and that red cloth would have no effect on the ox, which is why he dared to let people boldly tie red cloth to the ox's horns.

He also did not let Yulong ride a horse, mainly because Yulong was busy with work and had not had much opportunity to practice riding, and horses were not yet as docile as oxen; in such a scene with so many people, and with the road being so noisy, there was no guarantee the horse wouldn't be startled. Baifeng did not want his son to have an accident on this great day, nor did he want the onlookers to get hurt.

Oxen are both docile and look imposing when ridden, especially that white ox; in the entire herd, one could hardly find many white oxen, and the people of Huaxia now seemed to subconsciously believe that everything white belonged exclusively to the Royal Family. The first ox was white, the dogs were also white, and even the horses—Baifeng had been left with a white horse.

Since that was the case, Baifeng could only accept it; it was not a problem anyway. Was there not the Five Virtues Theory in history? The Qin Dynasty was Water Virtue, so the entire style was black. Although he was not Gold Virtue now, using white as the representative of the Royal Family was not impossible.

There was one more point, which was that the horses needed to be kept as secret as possible. Although Changle had already said that Zhishou had seen the horses, the news had not yet spread. There were not a few people from the Xuanyuan Tribe currently in Huaxia, so more importance should be placed on the blockade of information.

These people had already been invited as guests. Although Zhishou was the teacher of the musical troupe, his status was different after all, so he had been invited into Baifeng's home as one of the most honored guests, just like the Nobles.

As for the others, they could only stay in the outer courtyard. Although they were all guests, there was a distinction in status and position; one could even say they were students of Huaxia, and their status was lower. Even if they had not been invited, it would have been perfectly justifiable.

Baifeng promised a high price to the musicians brought from the Xuanyuan Tribe to play for this grand event today. The musicians, having received an unexpected windfall, naturally accepted with great joy. Even if Baifeng had not given them anything and just let them perform, they would have found it hard to refuse; after all, Huaxia was currently providing them with housing and food, and when the weather turned cold, each person was given a warm robe of high quality and exquisite craftsmanship, which greatly delighted the musicians who had originally been unwilling to come to Huaxia, thinking it might be poor and shabby and would not treat them well.

In the Xuanyuan Tribe, apart from the high-level officials, ordinary people had no idea what the situation in Huaxia was like. No one told them, nor would they tell them; after all, the gap between the two sides was still somewhat large, and it might shake people's hearts.

What Xuanyuan feared even more was that the people he sent to Huaxia would not want to return and would be kept by Huaxia. What he could rely on was that treaty; if Baifeng really wanted to keep them, given the gap in conditions between the two sides, the possibility of the Xuanyuan Tribe people staying was truly too high. If he were an ordinary person, he would truly be willing to stay in Huaxia.

They already knew clearly what music to play, and having practiced for a long time, they could guarantee there would be no major mistakes; as for minor mistakes, they could not guarantee.

A portion of the musical troupe was already sitting steadily outside the courtyard of Baifeng's home, waiting for the wedding procession to return so they could begin playing. They did not need to play for long; they would just repeat those few pieces over and over. They were needed to play at certain specific segments, and the rest of the time they would sit and rest, and they would also get to eat a feast.

For that feast alone, they were willing to play for Baifeng for an entire day; after all, who didn't know that the best food in Huaxia was at Baifeng's house? And on such a big day, the ingredients used were certainly the best, and the meat was likely unlimited.

Baifeng naturally would not let them down; cold dishes, hot dishes, soups, and everything else were all there, and it was done in the style of a grand banquet, not chaotic like an ordinary household.

To ensure the guests did not go hungry, anyone who came could have a bowl of "soup-dish"—that was what Baifeng called it. It was a soup-dish made by boiling tofu, vermicelli (made from soybean starch), meat chunks, and other vegetables together. For several days in advance, the cooks in Baifeng's house, along with the cooks' apprentices and their apprentices, had all come to help.

Ingredients were brought in cartload after cartload, and huge wooden barrels were piled with pre-cut ingredients. Tents were set up outside the courtyard, stoves were built, and the cooks began boiling from the morning.

Once cooked, it was poured into barrels and then ladled out bowl by bowl, letting the servers bring the food to the seated guests. Baifeng had originally thought about whether to let the children of the Nobles serve the dishes, as this would give them a chance to show their faces in front of their elders and display themselves, but after thinking carefully, it was too troublesome to coordinate and there were too many issues to pay attention to, so he simply let the Soldiers do it.

A group of Soldiers was transferred from the military camp with clear divisions of labor, and they were told to carry the wooden trays and serve the food bowl by bowl. Why not use Slaves? It was because there were not enough Slaves, and manpower was a bit tight.

The number of Slaves in Baifeng's house was not large, and they had to be kept to serve the Nobles and assist the bride and groom. Slaves who were not skilled or clever enough had to go help the cooks, washing pots and bowls.

A few trusted aides also had to keep an eye on things next to the cooks, and a few Soldiers from the Phylum of the Gate were also watching everywhere. Although Baifeng was the one whose word was law in Huaxia and who was revered by ten thousand people, Baifeng knew he could not be loved by everyone, so every procedure had to be strictly controlled to ensure not a single problem occurred.

The wedding Baifeng prepared could be said to be unprecedented, but in Baifeng's view, it was only at the level of a wealthy Landlord. If this grand event could be recorded, then people of later generations might look at it and say the King of ancient times was very frugal, as the Crown Prince's wedding only cost so much, and there were not even many Slaves in the house.

Baifeng also wanted to hold it grandly, but the conditions were just like this; he was also strictly limited.