353 Coronation (1/2)
_Gaia 2nd year 2nd month 21st day, 1st day of the Lunar New Year._
The bustling New Year's Eve night had come to an end. A new year was about to arrive.
The thin, morning fog drifted up and down under the blow of the north wind, which created a dream-like scene. Shanhai City had slept for a night, and a thin veil of fog covered the city. The fog made the city look like a paradise.
The commerce street looked like a road in heaven under the fog’s engulfment.
As the birds chirped, Shanhai City started to awaken.
As the city doors opened, the merchants that spent the night outside started to form up and enter. There were some commoners among the merchants. They had rushed here to spend the New Year.
The middle Commerce street and the one at its side woke up the earliest.
The assistants in the store riled up their spirits. Under the leadership of their employers and bosses, they opened up the doors of their shops. Then, they swept the floor, arranged the items, and got ready to welcome the first batch of customers.
From the first day of the Lunar New Year till the Lantern Festival, Shanhai City would hold a Mazu Temple temple fair for half a month. Numerous believers had once again come from across Quanzhou to join in.
Not only that, numerous civilians from the various Houses in Lianzhou Basin had all rushed over to either visit friends and family or purchase various goods.
The Mazu Temple temple fair was not limited to the worship of Mazu. Instead, it was a huge annual gathering of commoners in the Lianzhou Prefecture. It was a time for them to have fun together.
The middle commerce streets that ran along the inner city river had become the most bustling street in the city.
The peddling noises of the sellers, the greetings from familiar people, the kids playing around, and the women chatting. Together, they formed up the picture of a bustling street.
Shanhai City had slowly become a place similar to a huge city.
Worshipping activities had totally taken up Ouyang Shuo’s plans in the morning.
Early in the morning, Zisu had helped him wear the lord dress that the Imperial Court handed to him. Then, he waited for his coronation.
As one said, one's clothing affected one's aura.
After he wore the coronation dress, Ouyang Shuo's entire atmosphere changed. Instantly, he emitted the aura of a lord. The effects of the Dragon Phoenix Jade Pendant and the Qilin Golden Seal, as well as the emperor prestige from the Yellow Emperor Internal Cultivation Technique added to his presence.
Ouyang Shuo's prestige had slowly climbed as a result of a change in his aura. This was the aura of an overlord. It was not something that one could neglect.
The prestige of a lord made one terrified.
Everywhere he went, all the people in the Lord's Manor would bow their heads and worship him.
If one said that previously, the fear and respect the people held for Ouyang Shuo was because of Gaia; then now, it came from their own hearts. They truly respected their lord.
In Shanhai City, Ouyang Shuo needed to personally attend the sacrificial ceremonies in the Yellow Emperor Temple, the Confucius Temple, the Martial Temple, and the Mazu Temple. The Shanhai House would attend to the other temples like the Chenghuang Temple and the Earth Temple.
As the main location of worship, the Yellow Emperor Temple stood as the core of the sacrificial ceremony. Ouyang Shuo had specially invited the respectable Jiang Shang to lead the proceedings and help offer wine.
All the officials and generals in the territory attended the sacrificial ceremony.
Early in the morning, all of them gathered outside in the square before the Yellow Emperor Temple.
The officials were on the left, while the generals were on the right.
At 8 AM, Ouyang Shuo punctually appeared.
The Guards, who traveled alongside him, shouted, “The lord arrives!”
”Greetings, lord!”
All of a sudden, all of them knelt on the ground.
Ouyang Shuo proceeded forward through the path in the middle.
When he reached the temporary high platform, Ouyang Shuo slowly turned around and faced all of them, “Please rise!”
”Thank you, my lord!”
All of them stood up. When they saw Ouyang Shuo, their eyes narrowed.
Dressed in the coronation wear, he looked awe-inspiring, as he displayed might.
Fan Zhongyan felt emotional, as he stood below. He was here from the start and had witnessed the lord grow. A year had passed. Now, the once rookie teen had become a real Lianzhou Lord.
In his heart, there was only happiness.
All of them naturally wanted to see a more mature and powerful lord.
Even Jiang Shang, who stood at the side, felt emotions fill him when he looked at Ouyang Shuo. The growth of this lord was far faster than he had expected.
Jiang Shang asked himself whether or not he was the one growing older.
Zhao Kuo similarly had a complicated expression. He had accepted the mission from the lord, and he would become the deputy director of Military Affairs, as well as the Secretary of the War Division.
He held an even higher position than the director of the Combat Logistics Department, Zhu Hongliang.
For the future, Zhao Kuo felt confident.
_Father, watch me. Your son will become famous and show a change in Shanhai City._
In his heart, Zhao Kuo had such thoughts.
Just at this moment, a system notification sounded out in Ouyang Shuo's ear.
”System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi. After going through so much, you have finally developed the aura of a lord. Because of this, loyalty of all residents and talents increased by 10%.”
Ouyang Shuo looked at all the officials and generals below him; his heart was very calm.
He wished for this to be a brand new start.
A really grand sacrificial ceremony followed.
It lasted for the entire morning. When it ended, it was already noon.
After a break, in the afternoon, Ouyang Shuo planned to meet two waves of important guests.
The first wave was the tribal chiefs of the various mountain barbarian tribes.
There were a total of twenty four mountain barbarian tribes that lived within the Lianzhou Territory, a total of seventy eight thousand. All of them were scattered around, and they formed up an important component of the Lianzhou Territory commoners.
As the New Year had just passed, the tribal chiefs all bought gifts to see the lord.
They arranged for the meeting to take place at the main hall. The administration director Fan Zhongyan was also present.