NOVEL NEXT Chapter 247: Setting Out
Chapter 247
"Your Majesty, the sacrificial ceremony at the Nanjiao Tian Shrine is ready," announced the Grand Chancellor.
"When shall we departure, Your Majesty?"
The Grand Chancellor stepped forward to ask.
The sacrificial ritual was essential before the ascension of a new monarch. Only after seeking divine blessings could one truly become an emperor.
Two weeks ago, Pei Weiqi had issued a decree to prepare for the ritual at the Nanjiao Tian Shrine. The shrine was not that far from the Imperial City. A day's journey would suffice.
However, since the ceremony was typically held in the morning, it was a common practice for the Emperor and ministers to spend a night at the shrine.
"We leave tomorrow."
The following day, Pei Weiqi led the officials to the Nanjiao Tian Shrine.
They reached by the afternoon and the area around the shrine was already encapsulated by guards, forbidding public entries.
The hunting grounds of the royal family were right next to the Nanjiao Tian Shrine. Upon arrival, Zhou Qichen immediately went hunting on horseback with his adopted son, Datree.
Other officials who were decent archers joined them, trying to outshine each other.
Harmony among officials was a rare sight, beautifully staged amidst nature.
As Pei Weiqi gazed upon the scene, a touch of nostalgia flashed her gaze.
Her father had loved to bring her hunting here.
Her horsemanship and archery had been personally taught by her father within these very lands.
And now, as she had become an empress, she no longer had the liberty of her choices.
Looking down, there was a huge stack of petitions waiting for her approval.
She was just a few petitions down when she heard a commotion outside. Immediately, she sent out a palace maid to investigate.
The palace maid quickly returned.
"Your Majesty, the hunting officials have returned," she breathlessly reported.
"They are talking about something strange that happened today."
"All around the hunting grounds, they found several dead animals."
Pei Weiqi knitted her brows. The bizarre incident didn’t seem that simple.
"Dead animals?" she echoed, "Go and find out exactly what happened."
Usually, when they came to Nanjiao Tian Shrine, everyone enjoyed the fresh game meat.
However, this afternoon, they found mysteriously dead animals throughout the hunting grounds. Dispirited at such a dampening sight, the officials retreated early without hunting.
Naturally, there was no game meat for dinner.
During the evening, low whispers of discussions among the officials circulated, speculating about the dead animals.
"Such an incident has never occurred. What if it's a punishment from heaven?" one minister suggested.
"Right, the sight of those scattered carcasses is quite perturbing. If not a disaster, how else can we justify it?"
"And the root cause is that the ruler doesn't have divine approval."
"What's even more troubling is the timing. Mass animal deaths occurring precisely during the sacrificial ceremony undoubtedly seems like a warning."
After dinner, rumors of divine warning and a woman not being fit for the throne spread among the officials.
Of course, these rumors inevitably reached Pei Weiqi's ears.
Zhou Qichen clenched his fists, ready to find out who started these rumors.
But Pei Weiqi stopped him.
"Stay composed, Qichen."
"If someone is playing tricks, why not play along and expose the mischief-maker?"
Seeing the calm expression on Pei Weiqi's face, Zhou Qichen slowly relaxed his fist, asking expectantly:
"Your Majesty, do you have a plan?"
Pei Weiqi, looking at the direction outside the camp, chuckled.
“They’ve made such a big show of it, they’re definitely going to act tonight.”
“Later, you lead Ge Qing and the special team to stake out together. Anyone who appears in the woods, grab them immediately.”
Zhou Qichen nodded solemnly, “Okay, I’ll take them to the woods to stake out right away.”
“Ah!!! Look, what is that?”
Suddenly, someone outside shouted.
Pei Weiqi had finally finished approving all the memorials and stood up, stretching lazily.
Hearing the noisy sounds outside, he went out to see for himself.
He saw several clusters of blue flames drifting in the nearby woods, and in a moment, even more blue flames flared up.
“It’s ghost fire.”
“Look, the ghost fires are increasing, it’s densely packed and terrifying.”
“This has never happened before, could it be…”
Pei Weiqi sneered, “I think someone is playing tricks.”
Pei Weiqi glanced at the Shadow Gate expert who had been following and protecting him closely.
Unlike Pei Changying, having such a high-level Shadow Gate expert personally protect him was essential, regardless of whether it exposed the Shadow Gate to public view.
After all, his own life was the most important.
The Shadow Gate expert understood and leaped into the woods with light-footed agility, returning to Pei Weiqi’s side shortly after.
“No one.”
The Shadow Gate expert reported.
Seeing that even the Shadow Gate expert couldn’t find the person secretly causing mischief, the ministers concluded that these must indeed be real ghost fires.
After all, in the whole world, who could match the light-footed skills of a Shadow Gate expert?
“Could it really be a disaster sent from heaven, even the spirits disagree with a woman ruling over the realm?”
“Empress, do not defy the heavens, the consequences are not something we mortals can endure. In the end, it will be the common people who suffer.”
“Empress, since even the heavens do not permit it, please consider the common people and choose a new emperor.”
The ministers, who had already been opposed to Pei Weiqi’s ascension, now seemed to have ample reason to force her to abdicate.
As if her not abdicating would cause the common people to suffer.
And those ministers who had already been won over by Pei Weiqi, having already offended a large part of the court, had no choice but to cling tightly to Pei Weiqi.
As the ministers pressured the empress, several stood out.
“It’s just ghost fire, have none of you ever seen it before? Stop spouting nonsense here about endangering the common people. With your mouths, you’d be better suited as charlatans in the streets.”
“The Empress is the chosen one of heaven, with the unanimous support of the masses, even future generations are helping the Empress, this is a good proof.”
“The Empress has the mandate of heaven, the right conditions, and the support of the people, why shouldn’t she be the emperor? I think the real reason you don’t want the Empress to rule is because you’ve been scheming to stop her, huh, I even think, today’s ghost fire was arranged by someone here.”
“What... what did you say…”
Just as the two factions were once again arguing heatedly.
Another disturbance arose in the woods.
Suddenly, many figures appeared hanging in the air among the dense trees.
“That, that…”
A minister inadvertently noticed this scene, his hand trembling as he pointed at the woods, yet too frightened to utter a complete sentence.
As everyone looked towards the densely packed figures in the woods, they felt a chill run through them, their hair standing on end.
Someone thudded to the ground with a loud bang, while others, terrified, turned pale and their legs went weak.
The scene was eerily bizarre, and a thought arose in everyone's mind—could it really be...
Suddenly, another strange occurrence—
A beam of light shot through, illuminating the entire forest.
Ah, it turned out to be dawn.
Everyone felt as though they had escaped from the jaws of death, but then, a moment later, they realized something.
Wait, wasn't it the middle of the night?
How could it suddenly become daylight!!!
Thinking this, everyone suddenly became even more frightened.
"So it was just a paper man, quite realistically made."
"Using tricks to play ghost, not a bad move."