The procession, adorned with gold and encrusted with jade, had claimed the attention of everyone since leaving the Imperial Palace. The pure white horses, not a spot of different hair on them, should have been galloping across grasslands. Yet now, they were harnessed with extremely luxurious, heavy saddles, embroidered so richly that they dazzled the eye, pulling carriages decked with blue canopies and golden threaded patterns, so bright it was hard to look away.
Twelve horses, four carriages, and thirty-two guards in uniform—black with golden edges of the Imperial Forest Guard—all exuded an overwhelming sense of nobility.
