Li Zhu's Audience Hall - Zhaoge

[bain_nick]

"Of Course." Min replied, handing her knives over.
"Both Xia Xi and Xia Gongzhu are awaiting me, so please, lead the way."

[Xiang Zhuang]

"Of Course." Min replied, handing her knives over.
"Both Xia Xi and Xia Gongzhu are awaiting me, so please, lead the way."

Assuming no further weaponry was spotted on the lady, the attendant led her into the audience hall. They journeyed through a long, wide hall, that seemed littered with guards and aides doing this and that. It culminated into a large room in the center of the building. There, the attendant led the lady a short ways in, past a couple of guards, and before the Prefect himself, who was sitting behind a large desk upon a dais toward the rear of the room. Next to him was his daughter, who looked bored ((I'm getting lazy with the descriptions)). A guard stood by each side door.

The attendant gave the lady a bow, then the Prefect and the Lieutenant General. He said, "Prefect Xia, announcing the lady Xiao-Niao Min."

Xia Xi smiled warmly. "Welcome to Zhaoge, maiden. I am the Prefect Xia, and here with me is my little Gongzhu." The adjective there seemed a bit silly, for his daughter was actually buffer than he was fairly noticeably. "How was your journey? Would you like some refreshment?"

[bain_nick]

Min smiled at the young Gongzhu.
"My lady." She bowed.

"Prefect Xia, my jorney has been enjoyable so far, having travelled to many different places as of late. Although it is obviouse to me that it is about time to end my travel's and find a place to settle down." Min spoke, whilst remembering the sad things she had seen across the land.

[RuffRydeR]

Min smiled at the young Gongzhu.
"My lady." She bowed.

"Prefect Xia, my jorney has been enjoyable so far, having travelled to many different places as of late. Although it is obviouse to me that it is about time to end my travel's and find a place to settle down." Min spoke, whilst remembering the sad things she had seen across the land.

"Oh, pshaw! Don't worry about settling down. You can still travel afterwards."

Liangyu giggled, then smiled back,

"I do thank you for coming so quickly after I wrote. Still, I imagine your business really is more with my father than myself. After all, my strength lies in the heat of battle. I'd guess that's not your field, milady?"

[osiris]

Jing nodded. It seemed that this man knew not to say anything foolish. He also seemed a tad upset the Jing had asked a question with little tact. hen thought on this for a short moment before resuming his questioning. "Are there any substantial rivals of your force, ones that menace you." He paused then said in a more inviting tone, "If you want, you can ask me a question of my lord."

[bain_nick]

"No Gongzhu, I leave that to Hong Ling. My expertise lies more in the fields of administration and the like. I, dislike violence myself. I have seen enough of it on my travels for my lifetime." Min would reply, an air of sadness appearing over her face.

[Li Dao Wen]

A tall, lithely built man entered the city of Zhaoge one fine afternoon, carrying a parcel in his left hand. His face was smiling, as if without any sign of discord was in his heart. Though weary from walking, he shrugged it off. He was there on business. Friendly business. And it was something to be eager of surely.

Xian Long Rui arrived in Zhaoge some days after he had delivered his last letter to the Lord of the city. He has had the honor of being sent a letter twice, and thus had no qualms about going there in a hurry. With every step of his his heart beat with something unusual. Could this city be his new permanent home? No one knows, but he was there to find out.

Addressing the guards and rolling down the two scrolls which were given him by the nobles of the palace, he smiled at them and said,

"I am Xian Long Rui of Xu, here on the summons of the Lord of Yin and the Princess Xia. Please take me to either or both of them."

On his back was slung his halberd, which he immediately took up and handed over to a guard.

[ann]

Outside the city a small convoy bearing the colors of the King of Chu were spotted approaching. When they arrived a young man dismounted and approached a guard. Two attendants followed him with a small chest.

The man bowed slightly and said, in a somewhat nervous voice, "I am Pan Dao and I have come to deliver something to Prefect Xia."

[Xiang Zhuang]

osiris

"Well, not really," he replied. "Politics are difficult when you possess the territory in-between an Emperor and two Kings, but aside from that, things are fairly good." He gave a bit of a goofy smile, as he had managed to condense an incredibly-complicated situation down to a few words. "At least, at this point, none of them want to attack me. That might change."

He shifted himself on his seat, then tilted his head slightly to the side, as if he were evaluating the visitor. "With your visit and your line of questioning, it really begs an answer to really why you are here. There's very little that the provinces of Yan and Yin have in common, and very little we could do with one another, unless your master desires to expand outside of his province, or unless you think I might expand northward. Or, perhaps, the King of Zhao is what you are really concerned about, since with his expansion into Changshan he now borders you like he borders me. The King of Zhao hasn't made any secret of his desire to expand, either, so I imagine this might be seen as a threat to you."

<hr>
bain_nick

"Violence is an ugly thing." He looked down when he said it, either to reflect on what he had just said, or, perhaps, to conceal a smile. He returned to the conversation after a moment's pause, though, and gave the visitor a slow nod. "You said you have traveled this land, then. What sort of things did you see, outside of violence? I seem to believe that others such as myself have perhaps written to you as well. If you feel comfortable, I'd love to hear about them. I sit here as a Prefect, and hear rumors of this or that, but hearing your account of these other various regional lords would be beneficial, both as an outsider's perspective and as a way of understanding your own beliefs a bit more. But it's a question that I understand might feel like a betrayal of confidence in some sense, so if you do not want to discuss it, I understand."

<hr>
Li Dao Wen

((Apologies if this is long for an AH introduction; I got an idea in my head and went with it.))

Xian Long Rui is met at the gates by the attendant, who bowed to him after he announced himself. "Ah, I believe I recall your name," he said as he took the scrolls. He looked over one briefly, and said, "Yes, yes, you are the man the Prefect informed me of. Well, it seems you understand our guard protocol well without even being told! I believe the Prefect and his daughter are currently taking petitions from some of the peasantry and merchants at the moment. He's told me to interrupt him if anybody of merit were to arrive, though, and you fit that bill. Please, follow me."

Assuming the guards found no other weapon on Xian Long Rui other than the one they had received, and assuming he follows, Xian Long Rui was lead into the hallway of the audience hall. There, they passed by a few aides and guards, and then a short line of people who seemed as if they were waiting for the Prefect. The attendant bypassed all of them, waving Xian Long Rui along, until they were at the gate of the main audience chambers in the center.

As they arrived, Xia Xi was sitting behind a large desk at the rear of the room, up on a dais, with his daughter. A few random guards were around, and a couple of aides. In the center of the room was an old merchant who was bowing. "If you think that this will benefit the city," said Zhenfeng, who was in the middle of speaking to the peasant when they arrived, "then I think we should go ahead with it. I'll have District Manager Diao see to the removal and relocation of the stables near your business as to create another road from the northern sector of the city to the center. I think that will remove the congestion problems you mentioned, as well as, uh, keeping the livestock there from ruining the scents of your perfumes."

The merchant seemed overjoyed, and begin to thank the Prefect profusely, but Xia Xi would have none of it. "No, none of that," he said. "What I'm doing is best for the city. I'm not doing you a favor. Now go and return to your stand. I will have my aides issue the orders later in the day." The merchant seemed to want to try and thank him for his decision again, but instead, with one final mention of thanks for the meeting, he got up and left the building, passing by the attendant. Seeing this, the attendant moved forward, again hopefully being followed by Xian Long Rui, and stopped a short ways into the room. There, he motioned for the visitor to stay, and then he turned to the Prefect. After a bow to Xia Xi and Xia Liangyu, he said, "Prefect Xia, I bring to you now an invited guest, Xian Long Rui." He gave the visitor a small nod, and then moved off to the side slightly.

Zhenfeng seemed pleased at the visitor's arrival. "Welcome to Zhaoge, Xian Long Rui," he said, then he let out a yawn and stretched his arms up in the air. "I was getting a bit bored of these petitions, anyway, so your arrival is a pleasant diversion in more ways than one." He gave a goofy crooked smile. "But I am happy you have come. I hope your journey was a pleasant one."

<hr>
ann

((This sounds like you are at the city gates. I'm going to pick up the RP there. If it wasn't, uh, I'm sorry, but it shouldn't be a big deal anyway.))

The guards were a little nervous seeing the colors of another kingdom on the horizon, but were comforted to see so few come forward. One came forward and said, "I believe the Prefect is expecting a visitor from Chu, if that's where you're from. Let me send a runner to the hall to confirm."

Assuming Pan Dao was comfortable waiting for a few minutes, the runner went and came fairly fast, as he was literally running, and said to the guard, "The Prefect is ready to meet with this man, or accept what he has; whichever he is here to do."

The guard nodded to him and then turned back to Pan Dao. "Let us accompany you through the city to the audience hall. Zhaoge is still a divided city in some aspects, so it's good we can ensure there's no trouble." Assuming that's cool, the two guards at the gate call for replacements and then proceed to lead the Chu procession into the city and to the audience hall. There, an attendant greets them and replaces the guards in leading Pan Dao into the hall. They travel down a short but wide hallway, which was surprisingly empty, except for a few guards at attention. It appeared as if Xia Xi had ordered his men to act a bit more professional in the face of an imperial envoy.

They shortly arrived at the audience chambers. There, Xia Xi stood, alone, behind a large desk upon a dais at the rear of the room. A scribe and an attendant were nearby, and a couple of guards stood on either side of the main entrance. Another guard stood at either side entrance. Upon their arrival, Xia Xi moved from his position behind the desk and strolled around, down the nearby stairs, and gave the envoy a small bow. The attendant said, "Prefect Xia, here is Pan Dao." He realized that the visitor hadn't actually said he was from Chu, but that everyone had just assumed.

Xia Xi didn't seem to notice the hesitation. He said, "Thank you for coming. Can I provide you with any refreshment?"

[ann]

Pan Dao followed the guards quite willingly. His escort followed at a distance but remained behind outside the building. The two attendants with the chest continued lugging it between them, shuffling along with heads down behind Pan Dao.

When they entered the Prefect's Audience Hall, Pan Dao bowed low and said, "Prefect Xia, I am Pan Dao an Envoy from the King of Chu. I do not need any refreshment, but I thank you heartily for the offer. My escort and I camped not far from your gates and made an early start after breaking our fast."

He glanced at the attendants and then went on, "Prefect, I am to deliver to you the contents of this chest." He motioned for the attendants to lower the chest and said, "If you will permit me to make the presentation?"