This is the first time we've seen the "imperial guard" , which is basically the military arm of the imperial family that guards the borders of China. We learn that the imperial guard has six armies, including dragon chariot, imperial guard, national guard, black flag, blue hook, and scarlet flame. The dragon chariot army controls the border regions. The imperial guard also guards the other armies of the empire, including the national guard and the black flag armies. The envoy tells the clan leaders that he's already notified all the families to come to the clan gathering. The youthfeather family didn't show up, so the envoy checks to see if everyone's there. Everyone can see that the envoy has come to greet the clan. Everyone is surprised that the youthfeather clan hasn't shown up, but the envoy explains that it's because the family is arrogant. He says that some of the direct descendants of the family have been crippled by the "youthfeathers" and that the darkmoon clan doesn't want to interfere with them. This is unacceptable, says the envoy, because the northern palace has supported the northern family. So now the northern clan has to go and look down on the imperial guards.