Chapter 1109: Two Banquets
Tianfu Palace arranged a fairly large welcoming banquet. Although no wealthy merchants or other outsiders were invited, almost all the prominent figures of both the Daoist Order and the imperial administration in Lion City attended, except for the Grand Protector.
Before attending, Qi Xuansu washed up briefly. Since he had no suitable hechang to change into, he simply dressed in plain attire.
Due to the earlier assassination incident, the atmosphere of the banquet was far from cheerful. Even so, many took turns offering toasts to Qi Xuansu. He did not decline anyone.
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At the same time, elsewhere in the city, another group of people was also drinking.
These people were not qualified to attend the banquet at Tianfu Palace. They were not members of the Daoist Order. But that did not mean they lacked influence, for Lion City was a city of merchants.
They were the prominent magnates of Lion City, merchants whose businesses had reached a scale where involvement in political affairs became inevitable. At their level, they had no choice but to monitor shifts in the political landscape, whether they wished it or not.
Some of them lived reclusively as true power brokers behind the scenes, while others stood in the spotlight as public celebrities.
Their gathering together was certainly not for drinking alone.
The merchants used an individual dining arrangement, an ancient ceremonial style of dining where each person had a table to themselves. They sat on the east and west sides, while the central main seat facing south remained empty, replaced by a shimmering water screen.
A younger merchant rose to his feet and pointed toward the water screen. The image on it shifted, revealing the side profile of a man—Qi Xuansu.
It was clearly an image recorded during Qi Xuansu’s previous visit to Lion City. No one dared stand directly before him to capture a portrait, so they only managed to get a side angle.