The Imperial Palace banquet was more complex than Li Ang had imagined. A group of scholars who had passed the final examination first took the palace carriages, entered through the Vermilion Bird Gate, passed along Chengtian Gate Street, dismounted from the carriages inside Chengtian Gate, and then walked on foot through the Taiji Gate, the Left Yanming Gate, the Vermilion Gate, and the Liangyi Gate, finally arriving in front of Liangyi Hall, where they lined up to wait.
The scale of the Imperial Palace was truly immense. As Li Ang stood amidst other scholars in the chilly wind, he looked around, his gaze wandering in awe at the palatial buildings adorned with carved beams and painted rafters. Standing in the vast, desolate square in front of the hall and gazing at distant towers aglow with lights, an absurd feeling belatedly rose in his heart.
Just a few months ago, he had been distraught over his family's bankruptcy and the debt of one hundred strings of coins.
