The king remained a supremely powerful figure, living in a large ornate wooden palace, surrounded by thousands of slaves, concubines, officials and advisers. Chou Ta-Kuan reported that there were more than 5,000 slave girls and concubines living in the royal palace, and that the king had five principal wives. He gave two audiences a day, events which any of his subjects could attend.
The king presided over many colorful festivals, dances, fireworks displays and pageants held in the Royal Plaza in front of the Royal Palace. These events would be watched by the royal court from the [P 055 / Terrace of Elephants] which formed one side of the Royal Plaza.
Chou Ta-Kuan's description of the king's procession give us a good idea of the incredible pomp and ceremony which surrounded the monarch, even in a rapidly declining kingdom. A dazzling parade of slave girls, musicians, palace maidens (the king's female bodyguard), princes, ministers, courtiers on horses and elephants, and the king's concubines adorned with jewelry lying on litters shielded from the sun by red parasols, passed through the city. Finally the king arrived, standing on the back of an elephant and carrying the sword of state.
