Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 623 The Feast of a Hundred Virtues
As the emperor was about to enter the city, a soldier stood every three steps outside the city that day, with red flags waving in front, behind, up, and down. The people stood outside the wall of soldiers, craning their necks in anticipation.

At 3:45 AM, the brocade banners on the city wall were the first to be bathed in golden light. Three hundred guards, each wielding a halberd with intricate patterns, stood in two rows before the city gate, their steps echoing the morning bell. Suddenly, a thunderous drumbeat came from five miles away, and the twenty-four drums on the city tower responded, startling the bronze bells on the eaves into a tinkling, chaotic sound.

Leading the procession were thirty-six elite riders from the Willow Camp, their black armor reflecting the shimmering purple glow of the morning sun. Crimson bamboo staffs carried seven layers of five-colored flags, their cloud-and-dragon embroidered edges fluttering in the wind. Close behind were the band of musicians from the Imperial Music Bureau, carrying pale yellow banners; the harmonious sounds of sheng, xiao, and bili dispelled the lingering echoes of the street drums. A seven-jeweled chariot rolled along the sandy imperial road, its golden curtains billowing with the fragrance of aloeswood.

At this moment, the sun pierced through the clouds, its gleaming armor sparkling with countless silver stars. Two rows of halberd-wielding warriors stood in formation, their axes and halberds crossed to the rhythm of a military band. Six generals of the Thousand Bull Guards held aloft a nine-dragon canopy, its light shimmering with each step. Peacock feathers trembled gently in the morning breeze.

Wei Changsheng, adorned in a double-patterned cloud and crane design, attended the event in full regalia, the gold belt buckle at his waist jingling as his jade carriage swayed. High-ranking officials from Guangnan Prefecture followed closely behind, their fish-shaped tallies clashing against their swords.

Suddenly, all was silent. The people prostrated themselves, their headscarves forming a black wave. At that moment, the golden bells at the four corners of the jade carriage rang in unison, and the twelve-symbol imperial robes were faintly visible behind the beaded curtain. Palace maids holding fans, their golden hairpins swaying gently, shielded the emperor from the last rays of dawn. Merchants on both sides of the street stared wide-eyed, their hands clenching their goods so tightly they jingled, and even the camel bells couldn't drown out their gasps of astonishment.

"What a grand display! This must be the emperor."

Someone gasped in surprise, and someone nearby immediately whispered a reminder: "Shut up, don't startle the Holy Cross."

Just before entering the city, the emperor's carriage stopped, and then Emperor Jingtai stepped down, took off his imperial robes and put on an elegant red long gown. He turned around with a smile and said, "Today I am here, so there is no need for kneeling. Today is to congratulate you all on your achievements."

After saying this, he actually bowed to the soldiers and civilians outside the city. There were nearly 30,000 soldiers and civilians outside. The moment Emperor Jingtai bowed, the emotional value exploded. Many people burst into tears. The shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" were like a mountain roaring and a tidal wave. It was as if you came from Dandong to exchange for my snow-white clothes and my desire to eat Cantonese food.

Emperor Jingtai bowed again, which was met with even more enthusiastic cheers. He was actually getting a little carried away, thinking to himself that Xia Daosheng's method was effective. If it were anyone else, they would have to exert a lot of effort to achieve the same effect, but here, all he had to do was get out of the carriage and bow his head.

In Xia Daosheng's words, "What's so shameful about you bowing your head to the country and the people?" Although his style of speaking deserved his death twenty-eight times over, the principle was the same: it's shameful for an emperor to bow his head to anyone but to the people.

Upon entering the city, the philanthropists inscribed on the stone tablet were already waiting there. Emperor Jingtai approached them and engaged in friendly conversation, inviting these wealthy people, who were dressed in their finest attire, to a banquet.

Because they had done their homework in advance, Emperor Jingtai could clearly call out the names of the top three ranked brothers. At this moment, the brothers on the list were truly moved to tears.

Emperor Jingtai warmly grasped their hands and repeatedly expressed his gratitude, while they expressed their willingness to serve His Majesty with their lives.

Now some people might ask, wasn't Emperor Jingtai afraid of being assassinated by enemy countries for appearing in this place so openly?
That's obviously not a problem, because although the place looks chaotic, the area closest to Emperor Jingtai is actually filled with members of the secret service. Moreover, there are no evil spirits like those in martial arts novels here, so getting close would be extremely difficult.

Of course, if a troll were to sneak up and spray him with water, Emperor Jingtai would basically be finished.

The banquet was originally planned to be held indoors, but Xia Lin suddenly suggested that an open-air banquet would have a better atmosphere and would also show Emperor Jingtai’s willingness to share the joy with the people.

But this put Emperor Jingtai in a difficult position. You see, the temperature and humidity in Guangnan are high. Emperor Jingtai was wearing a long robe with a layer of soft armor underneath. The sweltering sun was like an oven, and he soon found even his underwear soaked with sweat.

Xia Lin was outside at the moment, sitting by the well eating watermelon and listening to the noise outside. Jin Lian was standing next to him.

"My lord, why don't you attend the banquet?"

"You're still too ambitious," Xia Lin laughed. "You need to know what face and substance are. If you're going to be substance, then be substance. Don't think about showing off. Do you know why so many generals and commanders have been wiped out throughout history? Some of them wanted to save face while also saving substance, and others couldn't stay in their position anymore. Some things shouldn't be in the limelight. A country can have one emperor or no emperor, but it absolutely cannot have two emperors."

Jinlian nodded, standing there and smiling at Xia Lin. Although Xia Lin was wearing modified shorts and coarse clothes, and even wrapped his head in a headscarf like the locals, in Jinlian's eyes he was the most perfect person in the world, without exception, and he was pleasing to the eye no matter how you looked at him.

Thinking back on all the people she had met along the way, only Emperor Jingtai and Xia Lin had never treated her like an inferior or a toy, but only Xia Lin had ever respected her without her having to fawn over him. As someone who had emerged from the depths of despair, she was exceptionally sensitive to the gazes of others. From the very first moment she saw him, he had treated her like an ordinary person, without surprise, joy, disdain, or contempt, without lust or greed.

"Speaking of which, you still can't have a child?"

After Xia Lin asked that question, Jin Lian bit her lip, turned her head and smiled, but the smile was very meaningful.

“That doesn’t make sense either. Tuoba Jing can have children.” Xia Lin stroked his chin and started to think. “My two kids have been unable to conceive, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

Jinlian suppressed her laughter, tilting her head back and holding it in for a long time before she could finally smile. After catching her breath, she said, "Perhaps it's fate. If it's not there, it's not there. I won't force it."

"No, what are you laughing at? What I said made you so happy?"

Jinlian quickly shook her head and said, "No, I've just been secretly taking pills."

Xia Lin was taken aback: "What? You don't want to have a child?"

"Hmm." Jinlian turned her head and smiled helplessly: "Lord Xia, I... well, the harem is complicated and chaotic. If someone like me were to give birth to a prince, it would be a disaster for the family. You know, although His Majesty calls me his beloved concubine, I can neither become a Noble Consort nor an Empress. Moreover, even if I were to give birth to a child, it would not be a legitimate offspring. This would not be a good thing for anyone."

Xia Lin thought about it and agreed. A beautiful woman like Jinlian would never have thoughts like "a mother's status depends on her son."

Oh well, everyone has their own fate.

"Lord Xia," Jinlian leaned against a willow tree, looking at Xia Lin, "tell me, what will become of someone like me in the future?"

"future?"

Looking up at Jinlian, I could see a sense of despair and nonchalance in her eyes. She must have thought about her ultimate fate. One day, Emperor Jingtai would tire of her, and when that day came, her fate as an ordinary concubine with no official title and a poor background seemed pretty obvious.

Perhaps Emperor Jingtai, out of some lingering affection, would allow her to die peacefully, but what if Emperor Jingtai were to die? How would his son treat Jinlian?
Xia Lin shook her head: "I don't care about your harem affairs. You should take care of yourself."

Jinlian nodded: "Thanks to Lord Xia's protection, I am doing alright now. My life was given to me by Lord Xia."

"From now on, when you refer to yourself, drop the words 'lowly' and 'concubine.' We're all just pitiful people struggling to survive. You're in the palace, and I'm outside the walls."

"Lord Xia..." Jinlian suddenly felt a bellyful of grievances about to burst out.

Just then, a commotion arose from behind the wall, with laughter echoing the Emperor Jingtai's words, "Gentlemen, please drink heartily," interrupting what she was about to say.

"Sir." At this moment, a secret agent from the underworld approached: "It seems there are assassins. They've been spotted by our men. Would you like to go and take a look?"

Xia Lin stood up, turned around and draped the soft armor that was placed beside her over Jinlian's shoulders: "Put it on yourself, and be careful."

(End of this chapter)