Chapter 677: Showing Off to One's Face

Liu Zheng began to feel nervous.

At this time, although autumn had already arrived, the "autumn tiger" heat was still somewhat fearsome.

They waited outside the city for two full hours.

The King of Wei was already losing patience: "This stinking old man from Jinzhou, is he getting too big for his boots?"

After all, he himself was once the number one Feudatory King in the world, with strong troops and sturdy horses. He never expected that upon coming to Jinyang, he would be made to wait for two hours. As he spoke, he prepared to walk inside.

The King of Yong, that good-natured man, hurriedly urged him: "Oh, King of Wei, King of Wei, don't, don't, don't, let's wait a little longer, just a little longer, this Jinzhou has many rules..."

"Pah!"

The King of Wei was furious.

Many rules?

His own Qingzhou was the true land of etiquette! There were even more rules there, but he had never seen anyone make people wait outside the city for two hours!

It was excessive!

Truly excessive!

Just at this moment.

Suddenly, the city gates opened, and a burst of gongs and drums filled the air.

The noise at the Jinyang city gate instantly attracted everyone's attention.

When the people looked, they were instantly stunned.

Good heavens...

What kind of scene was this?

They saw the great gates slowly opening, and that wasn't all; as the gates opened, a group of people rushed out—a group of people, which was fine—but who could have imagined that these people were all holding rolls of carpet, and as they ran out, they laid the carpet out all the way along...

That's right.

You didn't see wrong.

The carpet, alternating between bright red and gold, looked incomparably magnificent at first glance.

Not only that.

As the carpet was laid out along the road.

On both sides of the road, some young boys and girls ran out, each carrying a flower basket; these boys and girls were all wearing the same clothes. Then, following the carpet as it was laid out... these flower children also stood in position.

This wasn't even the half of it.

There was a drum and music troupe.

There was an etiquette troupe.

These people were standing by in full battle array.

Liu Zheng was dumbfounded.

The King of Yong was also dumbfounded.

The King of Wei was likewise dumbfounded.

Everyone was staring in shock.

And then.

Only then did a group of people walk out from Jinyang City. The person in the lead was a round-faced, big-eared middle-aged man in brocade robes, followed by the civil and military officials of Jinyang.

The King of Jin!

As soon as this procession came out, the drum and music troupe began.

For a time, the sound of gongs and drums was deafening.

The honor guard began, dancing gracefully to the various ceremonial music; they held large fans, staves, and all sorts of things, weaving back and forth... in any case, Liu Zheng couldn't understand it. But this formation was something he had only ever seen in television dramas from his past life... this feeling was even more grand than Xie Tianyao's Birthday Ceremony.

The flower children began to scatter flowers.

And they were all top-grade champagne-gold Peonies!

For a moment, at the entire Jinyang entrance, petals flew, and the scene was incomparably romantic.

The key was that this wasn't all; as these petals were scattered, there were people behind them using several pipes to blow... which allowed those petals to fly a little higher.

Liu Zheng was dumbfounded once again.

The masses cheered and jumped for joy.

"King of Jin, King of Jin!"

The scene was so lively, it was simply overwhelming, like a mountain collapsing and a sea roaring.

Liu Zheng couldn't help but exchange a glance with the King of Yong, both of them smiling bitterly.

So they spent these two hours just fussing over these things?

Indeed...

A grand formation!

Magnificent!

Just this one display alone must have cost quite a bit of silver, right?

The King of Jin was that round-faced, big-eared man in brocade robes, looking several times fatter than the recent King of Yong.

He walked slowly, his face full of smiles.

The footsteps of these people followed the rhythm of the ceremonial music. One step, one pause; three steps, one pause; five steps, one pause—it was very particular.

When he reached the moat, he cupped his hands: "Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar!"

Liu Zheng was completely bewildered.

How was one supposed to respond to this?

The King of Yong also shook his head slightly.

The King of Wei laughed heartily, cupped his hands, and said, "I am acting under orders, and in this urgent situation, I had to take the expedient path through Jinyang. I apologize for the intrusion, I apologize!"

Only then did the King of Jin open his arms and walk over with a loud laugh: "You bring honor to my humble dwelling, you bring honor to my humble dwelling!"

The ceremonial music began again.

This time, the tone of the music was clearly much more exuberant.

A welcoming melody!

Liu Zheng's face darkened.

Good heavens, how is this like underworld jargon, exchanging secret codes?

Again, they stopped every few steps, stopped every few steps.

This pace was just like performing in a play.

Finally.

The King of Jin and his entourage arrived before Liu Zheng and the others.

The King of Jin then returned to normal and laughed, "King of Yong, I trust you have been well since we last met!"

The King of Yong also hurriedly returned the greeting: "Royal Brother, I trust you have been well!"

"And this, must be the worthy nephew Liu?"

The King of Jin squinted his eyes and looked toward Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng hurriedly bowed and saluted: "Liu Zheng, greets the King of Jin!"

"Good, good, good! The younger generation is truly formidable, truly formidable! Come, let us enter the city together!"

Because Liu Dahao had already been enfeoffed as a King of a Different Surname, the address of "worthy nephew" was perfectly appropriate.

Liu Zheng had just let out a sigh of relief and was about to walk forward when he was fiercely pulled back by the King of Yong.

Almost forgot...

Sure enough.

The order of walking was also very particular.

Here, the King of Wei held the most senior status. He was considered the leader of the guests in this group. Therefore, the host would deliberately lag half a step behind. The King of Yong would lag half a step behind the King of Jin, and those without royal titles like Liu Zheng and Tie Mucheng would lag another step behind the King of Yong... If a mistake were made, the King of Jin would likely change his expression.

The ceremonial music started up again.

Flower petals were still being thrown incessantly.

Liu Zheng felt such heartache...

After a display like this, just how much money did these flowers cost?

"King of Wei, you have had a tiring journey. I have prepared some light wine and simple fare; I hope the King of Wei will deign to grace us with your presence!"

The King of Jin said with a chuckle.

The King of Wei repeatedly said he dared not, he dared not.

Good heavens...

The group walked onto the carpet laid out; it was actually the most valuable Persian carpet, with fine texture and a high price!

They slowly entered the city.

Jinyang was a city with thousands of years of history, equally magnificent and vast, and even the moat was incredibly wide. The garrison soldiers stood perfectly straight.

Classy!

As Liu Zheng walked in all the way, only these two words came to mind!

Classy!

Walking through the city gate, he discovered that the carpet under their feet was actually laid out all the way through!

Good heavens, they carpeted an entire city!

What kind of grand gesture is this?

Still two words.

Classy!

Two more words.

Extravagant!

Throughout the streets of the entire city, there were lanterns and decorations everywhere, and every household hung red lanterns.

Not only that.

Only after entering the city did he discover that the air in Jinyang was thick with the smell of alcohol.

Liu Zheng was surprised once again.

The King of Jin seemed to see the confusion of the few, and laughed, "It just so happens to be the Emperor's Christmas, so naturally the people of Jinyang are celebrating together. I gave every household five cases of... what was it called, right, your stuff! I must say, it's quite good to drink, but could you get me some in bulk? Those glass bottles are really too sharp!" Baiyujing

Huh?

Upon hearing this, Liu Zheng, the King of Yong, and the King of Wei almost fell flat on their faces.

My goodness!

You bought alcohol, and you bought it directly in bottles?

And it was Baiyujing!

Not only that...

Five cases per household?

A nouveau riche!

So much money!

Liu Zheng had been thinking all the way about how he could show off...

He hadn't expected this.

They had only just entered the city, and already Prince Jin had shown off right in their faces!

This...

How was he supposed to carry out his work?