Twenty miles away from the twenty women who were engulfed in heated discussions in the hall of the Tiantang House, in another hall that was dominated by bright red color, four people were also having serious discussions.
It was the Mingzhi Hall of the Imperial Palace, and the hall was used for routine administrative matters. It was divided into a front and a back section which was connected by a passage.
The rear consisted of five rooms which were the residences of the Emperor, while the front was used for administrative matters.
Five people were inside the spacious room where the Emperor usually gave interviews to his officials, and that room was called the Shanliang Room. A throne located in Shanliang Room, gliding with gold and engraved with dragons, stood on a platform flanked by six large pillars intertwined with gliding dragons.
Normally, the Emperor sat on the throne while dozens of officials stood on the right and left sides of the throne, but instead of those officials accompanying him today, there were currently only four people with the Emperor sitting mighty on the golden throne.
"So, how are the preparations for celebrating the Lantern Festival that will be held at Shengda Hall, Prime Minister Lan?" Dressed in his black dragon robes, the Emperor cast his eyes on the person standing to his right.
The black dragon robe was the Emperor's everyday attire when he went to court. Made of silk, it had dragons and other auspicious patterns embroidered on the black robes.
In the Si Long Empire, dragon robes were worn by members of the imperial family and high court officials for semi-formal events and official business, and it could be seen that four people besides the Emperor were also wearing dragon robes.
However, only Emperor Si Long could wear the black dragon robes, and other officials could only wear robes of the same color as their clans.
The one talking to the Emperor, the man called Prime Minister Lan, was wearing a blue dragon robe, while the person standing beside him was another man dressed in white. Standing across from the two people were two young men wearing blue dragon robes just like the Prime Minister.
"Preparations are almost complete, Your Majesty," Prime Minister Lan answered the Emperor's question politely.
The man's name was Lan Rong, and he was from the blue dragon clan. He was from the same clan as the Emperor, so it was no wonder that the man had become the Emperor's right-hand man all those years ago.
Dragons might be powerful creatures in the empire, but they were not immortal. Their physique was indeed stronger than humans, and they also rarely got sick unlike humans who could get sick from time to time, but dragons would still age like humans.
The Emperor was a 51-year-old dragon, while the Prime Minister was only two years younger than him.
Hearing the response from the Prime Minister, the Emperor nodded in satisfaction. Ever since he became the Emperor of Si Long four years ago, no one dared to call him by his name, but his real name was Lan Guiren.
All the blue dragons in Si Long had the surname Lan, and the Emperor was no exception. He was born as Lan, and even if no one dared to call him by his name now, the surname would still follow him until his death.
"Then, what about the performers who will be performing during the festival?" The Emperor suddenly took his eyes off the Prime Minister as he turned to one of the two young men wearing blue robes on his left side. "I heard that you have chosen Tiantang House to perform at the festival, and I also heard that you personally went to Chang City last night so that you could see how good the girls in Tiantang are. How is your report on your activities last night, Prince Lan Zihao?"
The young man who had just received the Emperor's question was Si Long's second prince, Lan Zihao. He was only twenty-five years old now, but his facial features looked very mature and handsome. With his tall and sturdy build, long and silky brown hair, fair skin, and also a pair of icy blue eyes, the people in the Imperial Palace agreed that he was the most handsome man in the palace.
His icy blue eyes weren't that special because all blue dragons had that eye color, but his gaze was somehow sharp and charming at the same time, and people would be instantly amazed when those pair of eyes looked at them directly.
"There was chaos in Tiantang last night, Your Majesty," Lan Zihao politely answered his father's question as he recalled the memories of last night in Tiantang.
He went to Tiantang without telling the boss beforehand, and he even disguised himself so that no one would know that he was the second Prince of Si Long. It was he who came up with the idea to invite Tiantang House to perform in the palace, and that was why he had personally come to Tiantang to observe the situation there.
Who would have thought there would be chaos there, and he even almost witnessed how a guy was about to sexually abuse a young girl there. However, he had only been a bystander during the incident, and he didn't even move an inch from his seat while witnessing the incident.
"Aiyah..." someone suddenly sighed loudly after hearing the Prince's answer, and all pairs of eyes in the room immediately turned to the person who dared to sigh in front of the Emperor.
It turned out to be Prime Minister Lan Rong, and the man gave the Emperor an apologetic look as he said, "My apologies, Your Majesty. I only felt helpless after hearing Prince Lan Zihao's report. I've always said that inviting Tiantang is not a good idea, and I know that those women in Tiantang are just a bunch of troublemakers. You should cancel your invitation to Tiantang, Your Majesty."