Chapter Thirty-Two: Bowing His Head in Worship

  After the noise subsided, the prince pulled Qin Lei over and introduced him one by one.

  The prince pointed at the two round faces that had just been joking and said to Qin Lei: "These two ordinary-looking rascals are your third and fourth brothers."

  Qin Lei wanted to salute the two of them, but was held back by one person on each side. The one on the left laughed and said, "No need to be polite to your own brothers."

  The one on the right smiled and said, "Fifth brother, my third brother and I are twins, the only difference is that I have a Buddha's mole between my eyebrows, he doesn't. It can be seen that I am much kinder than your third brother."

  Qin Lei took a look, and these two people were all wearing the attire of a king, with a crown on their heads. The one on the left wore a purple robe with five five-clawed golden dragons, four chapters on the garment and five chapters on the skirt. The one on the right also wore a blue robe with five five-clawed golden dragons, four chapters on the garment and five chapters on the skirt. Sure enough, the blue robe had one more mole between its eyebrows than the purple robe.

  Old Three, who had no mole, would certainly not suffer a loss in his mouth, and he chattered incessantly with Old Four.

  The crown prince smiled apologetically at Qin Lei and said, "These two people were strictly controlled by the emperor in the past. One day, when the emperor went on a campaign, these two became unmanageable, causing trouble day and night. When the emperor returns, I will definitely report their misbehavior to him."

  The two men who were entwined suddenly shouted to the sky: "Second brother, didn't we just get excited when we saw fifth brother? Don't do something so unscrupulous!" Round face showed a pitiful expression, innocently looking at the prince.

  The crown prince was so amused by the two people's lazy appearance that he couldn't help but smile wryly, turned his head and ignored them, pulling over the two little kids who were secretly laughing on the side and asked them to introduce themselves.

  A big-eyed and delicate child saluted Qin Lei and said: "Qin Tian has seen Fifth Brother, Fifth Brother is working hard."

  Qin Lei held out one hand and grasped his, smiling: "Sixth Brother needn't be so polite."

  Another little kid hugged Qin Lei's hand and said softly: "Fifth brother, I am Xiao Xiang."

  Qin Lei pinched his little face, this child was Qin Xiao who shared the same mother with him. He looked around eight or nine years old, sturdy and cute.

  Apart from the eldest prince who is leading troops outside, all of Qin Lei's brothers are in this place.

  After exchanging pleasantries with his brothers, the Crown Prince said: "The kings and ministers are still waiting on the other side, we can't be too unreasonable. Let's go. Fifth brother, Second Brother will entertain you tonight, don't agree to anyone else."

  Qin Lei smiled and said, "Obedience is better than respect."

  All six brothers got on Qin Lei's chariot and drove to the front of the Long Pavilion.

  The crowd in front of the Long Pavilion suddenly fell silent as they saw the Dragon Sons approaching.

  Qin Lei looked at the officials and nobles on the carriage, numbering in the thousands, standing there in a sea of black, with eyes full of dark silk robes and gold crowns and jade belts. Qin Lei was somewhat shocked.

  Lao San, who was standing beside him, saw the surprise in his eyes and whispered in his ear: "Except for those who followed the Emperor to conquer the East, all officials above the fifth rank in the entire imperial court, as well as nobles above the rank of baron, are almost all here."

  The crown prince turned his head and stared at Lao San in the same way, Lao San stuck out his tongue and closed his mouth, his eyes gazing at his nose, his nose gazing at his heart, and he began to daydream.

  Qin Lei finally understood why there were tens of thousands of troops in various uniforms guarding the surroundings. A strange thought floated to his mind: it turned out that what capitals lacked the least were high-ranking officials and nobles.

  "Dong", a low and muffled drumbeat broke Qin Lei's reverie.

  After the drumbeat, the sheng and se sounded, and the music began. Qin Lei didn't know what was being played, but he could also hear the solemnity in it.

  The youngest Qin Xiao and Qin Tian looked at Qin Lei with envy on their faces, making Qin Lei somewhat bewildered.

  The music reached a climax, nine bare-chested strong men simultaneously lifted a wooden beam and struck a two-meter-high bronze bell. The thick bell sound rose, instantly dominating the atmosphere in the field.

  A purple-robed, slender old official stepped forward and stood outside the ranks. He clasped his fists together in a salute to the princes' chariots and loudly said: "I respectfully welcome Your Five Highnesses." Then he bowed deeply from the waist down.

  Behind them, several thousand officials and nobles echoed in unison: "Welcome to the Fifth Palace." The sound was neat and loud, with an imposing momentum. Several thousand people also bowed down together.

  Then the tens of thousands of soldiers around shouted "Welcome to the Fifth Prince" for the third time. The tens of thousands of high-pitched and loud voices were emitted at the same frequency, shocking the ears and shaking the sky. It seemed to disperse a lot of clouds in the sky, revealing brilliant sunlight.

  Tens of thousands of soldiers either stood at attention or dismounted their horses and bowed down to the ground.

  The three cheers of welcome, one louder than the last. The three bows, each more shocking than the last. After the three welcomes and three bows, outside the entire Long Pavilion, tens of thousands of officials, nobles, and imperial guards were left standing not a single person, all bowing their heads to Qin Lei.

  The princes in the carriage also bowed their fists and paid homage to Qin Lei, including the Crown Prince.

  Qin Lei watched this scene, and he could no longer remain calm. He glanced at the prince, who smiled and nodded to him slightly.

  Qin Lei bowed his head and said in a trembling voice: "Everyone has killed the young master, please get up quickly."

  The crown prince stepped forward and helped Qin Lei up, his voice trembling with emotion: "Fifth brother, this is what you deserve. For sixteen years, the noble family of Tianyuan endured humiliation and hardship, but now that you've returned to the country, you should be worthy of the respect of the people."

  Lao San and Lao Si on both sides also nodded seriously, no longer with their previous playful expressions.

  The official in purple robes finally sang: "The ceremony is over." After a thunderous sound, everyone stood up again. They all quietly looked at Qin Lei.

  The crown prince stretched out his hand and made a gesture of invitation, saying to Qin Lei: "Fifth brother, please."

  Qin Lei yielded several times before finally getting off the carriage with the crown prince hand in hand. The other princes followed behind them.

  On the left side of the court were the noble and old officials, on the right side were the civil and military officials. A passageway about one zhang wide was cleared in the middle. The passageway was paved with yellow earth and sprinkled with clean water. Every ten or so zhang away there was a table, with eunuchs and palace maids standing on either side.

  Qin Lei and the Crown Prince arrived at the first case, where two yellow-clad palace maids came forward to greet them. After making a courtesy, they stretched out their slender wrists and picked up the duster on the case. One of the palace maids with curved eyebrows bowed again to Qin Lei and smiled: "Please step forward, Your Highness, we will dust for you."

  Qin Lei stepped forward, and two palace maids came over to dust him lightly with a feather duster, each brushing nine times on either side. The maid with the curved eyebrows smiled at Qin Lei and said, "The young master has had the traveling dust brushed away, please follow me to the next table."

  Qin Lei smiled at the crown prince beside him, and the crown prince nodded, holding his hand as they walked towards the next table.

  Next case, there were two more palace maids in green palace attire. After the ceremony, one of them with big eyes on the left smiled at Qin Lei and said: "Please change your shoes, Your Highness."

  －－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－PS－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

  I'm really sorry everyone, I was hungover yesterday and missed the update. I'll make up for it today.

  Please vote in support. Collecting support.