The Heavenly Emperor rose to power when he was fifty-eight years old. Before he knew it, he had already sat on the Dragon Throne for thirty years.
Despite having the power over every single creature across nine layers of heaven, the Heavenly Emperor often claimed to his sons that his seat was "the most coveted, but also the loneliest seat in the realm".
In exactly one week, the Heavenly Emperor was going to be eighty-eight years old. In joyful anticipation of the greatest birthday celebration of the century, the Golden Dragon Palace distributed ten thousand sacks of rice, flour, and salt each and also a thousand jugs of wine to each of the nine palaces.
To express their love and admiration for the reigning emperor, the Golden Dragon City decided to decorate the entire city with Fuxi Palace’s lucky red and golden colors. It also held a birthday festival in honor of the Heavenly Emperor.
The birthday festival lasted for seven days and seven nights.
Throughout the festival period, various street performers from nine palaces were ready to entertain the visitors with all kinds of performances.
During the days, there were the skinny but strong buskers who could split boulders bigger than them into pieces, but also delicate beauties who danced fearlessly atop of bed of glass shards and nails.
During the nights, actors and actresses took the stage to enact flattering stories of the past, such as the rise of the dragon clan to the Dragon Throne or the heroic tale from the Heavenly Emperor’s youth.
Whether it was day or night, the visitors needed not to worry about lack of food. Beauties with gentle bearings and sweet voices were scattered throughout the city to offer various delectable dishes and street snacks from all nine palaces to the delighted visitors.
Mingyu and Qingyun had only been to the Golden Dragon Palace a couple of times when they accompanied their master for work. In light of the ongoing celebration, Xie Jianyu decided to pamper the two beta maids and explore the Golden Dragon City together for an entire day.
In order to hide their real identities, they deliberately dressed like common folks.
When he was done, Xie Jianyu admired himself in the mirror. A simple bluish-grey robe instead of his usual ostentatious golden robe, a blue hair ribbon instead of a dragon-shaped golden crown, and a painted paper fan instead of his spiritual weapon.
Hurried footsteps that led into his chamber told him that the maids were approaching.
"Your Majesty, you look so handsome!!!" Mingyu squealed happily as soon as she caught sight of Xie Jianyu.
"Your Majesty, you look like an average scholar who is about to take the civil examination!"
Xie Jianyu beamed at the two maids in return.
"You two look very beautiful as well."
"Hehehe, do we not look like those young ladies from a good house?"
While Xie Jianyu took off all items that remotely indicated his high status, the two maids were dressed to the nines.
Mingyu twirled around to show off her yellow dress with a green sash and wide, overflowing sleeves. To complement her looks, she even had a scented sachet of perfume tied to her waist.
Qingyun was dressed in a colorful long robe that dragged behind her. The sash that was tied under her chest was tied together into a huge red ribbon. Her long hair was tied in complicated braids that were secured together with flower hairpins.
Additionally, each maid had a rattan basket dangling from their arms.
"What are those baskets for?" Xie Jianyu asked.
"For the market purchases!" Mingyu answered enthusiastically.
"Your Majesty, do you want one too???" Qingyun asked.
Xie Jianyu shook his head in response. Fuxi Palace’s storage and kitchen were practically overflowing with extraordinary items, materials, and food. Why would he want to buy anything?
"No need. And pay attention not to call me ’Your Majesty’ outside. We don’t want to attract unwanted attention."
"Yes, Master!!!" they both shouted in unison.
When they were about to leave, a small bird came out flying from Xie Jianyu’s private chamber and squealed loudly.
"Squeeeee...!!!"
Caihong landed on Xie Jianyu’s shoulder and clawed into his clothes stubbornly.
"Caihong, do you want to come with us as well?" Xie Jianyu asked.
"Squeeee!!! Squeeee!!!"
The bird happily swayed left and right to indicate his willingness. Xie Jianyu gently rubbed its tiny head.
"Let’s go," Xie Jianyu walked out with Caihong perching on his shoulder.
And so, the group of one master, two servants, and one colorful bird climbed into a cloud carriage and set off for the Golden Dragon City.
It was inconvenient to explore the city while being locked inside, so they opted to climb off the carriage when they arrived at the city gate.
The two maids could not stop ooh-ing and aah-ing from the second they stepped foot into the city.
There were too many things to see but they only had one pair of eyes, hands, and feet each!
"Master, look! That lantern is shaped like a rabbit!" Mingyu cried out with a high-pitched voice.
"En."
Xie Jianyu moved to follow Mingyu to the lantern stand, but at the next moment, his hand was grasped by Qingyun.
"Master, look! Oh, those pinwheels are so pretty!!!"
"..."
Xie Jianyu paid one purchase after another while the two maids gathered all kinds of toys and snacks into their baskets. Judging from their happy giggles, no one would expect Xie Jianyu to be their master. If anything, he looked like their older, doting brother.
Even after eating from one stall to another, the maids’ stomachs kept rumbling at the sight of more delicacies. Because, who could pick between the fragrant candied haws from Old Bai’s stall and the freshly steamed buns from Auntie Hong’s carriage?
Or the savory lamb skewers from Sister Wei’s grill station and the silky tofu with ginger soup from Brother Fan’s shop?
"Master! You need to try this!"
Mingyu pressed a stick of candied haws into Xie Jianyu’s hand before she left to stuff her mouth full with a milk pastry. The caramel layer around the hawthorn berries sparkled in an appetizing way, very appealing to those who had a sweet tooth.
Xie Jianyu gave the treat a small bite. The sweet and sour berry was so tender that it practically melted inside his mouth.
Xie Jianyu took off a piece from the stick and held it in front of Caihong.
"Give it a try, it is very delicious," he said.
Caihong greedily pecked on the sweets.
At a stall not far away, Qingyun tossed out a sharp cry.