Chapter 359 – Ancestor veneration ceremony (2)
Steward Qian came over with newly made clothes. He was all smiles as he looked at Ji Man and said, “Teacher Ji, this is a gift from the marquis. There were only two bolts of this satin fabric in the estate this year. One bolt was used for the marquis, and other bolt was used for you. Please have a look.”
Stunned, Ji Man turned her head to the side to look at the item in his hands and took it from him. “Thank you for your trouble, Steward Qian.”
This extravagant silvery brocade satin robe was definitely worthy of being worn by a noble. She didn’t know what Ning Yuxuan was thinking to have a mere teacher wear something so expensive.
After silently ridiculing him, Ji Man still changed into the robe and took a hard look of herself in the blurry mirror.
It looked pretty good.
—
In this time period, the ancestor veneration ceremony was a superstitious activity to prove that the Heavens had chosen the emperor. The new emperor had only recently ascended the throne, and the people’s hearts were unsteady. It was only natural to depend on using the Heavens to get everyone to surrender and pay allegiance to the new emperor. Ning Yuxuan had already put everything into place. A mechanism had been installed on the altar so that it would appear as if the new emperor was emitting a golden light on the day of the ceremony. He had also hired craftsmen to build a mysterious giant golden dragon-shaped kite. When the time came, the kite would be released into the sky.
Everything was in place. On the day of the ancestor veneration ceremony, after Ning Yuxuan had washed up and put on his clothes, he left to go to the Temple of Heaven. As soon as he walked out of the estate, Ji Man followed right after him.
They were a bit far from the Temple of Heaven, but in order to show respect for the imperial ancestors, they had to walk there instead of taking a carriage. The streets were crowded with the commonfolk that were walking in the same direction. Ji Man looked at that faraway person, who was wearing court attire, and sneakily followed after him.
She had already thought of a plan for the simple task. When they were near Quyi Pavilion, she would just appear in front of him and pull him into the pavilion.
Wu Yong silently appeared in the crowd and quietly asked her, “Are you ready?”
Ji Man nodded and curiously asked, “I just need to bring him to Quyi Pavilion, right?”
Wu Yong nodded. “His Highness is already there waiting.”
His Highness? Ji Man stumbled and almost fell down.
Didn’t Zhangjun Prince return to his fiefdom already? Why was he still in the capital? Why was he waiting in Quyi Pavilion?
Wu Yong supported Ji Man with one hand and patted her shoulder. “I’ll leave you to this.”
“Okay…” Ji Man suddenly had an inkling of what was going on. Zhangjun Prince was in Quyi Pavilion. If Marquis Moyu was brought over there before the ancestor veneration ceremony…
Could it be that Zhangjun Prince wanted to incite disharmony between Marquis Moyu and the new emperor? If the new emperor found out that Marquis Moyu had secretly met with Zhangjun Prince in Quyi Pavilion, would he still continue to have absolute trust in Ning Yuxuan?
To gain this trust, Ning Yuxuan had opened the capital’s gate, wiped out Nie Clan, and divorced her.
Ji Man furrowed her brow. As she took one step after another, she didn’t notice that the person up ahead had turned around to look at her.
Ning Yuxuan was walking very slowly. The person following him was too lacking in ability and being too conspicuous. She hadn’t even disguised her appearance or tried to avert her gaze as she followed him this entire way. What she was plotting now?
A person that looked like an ordinary citizen nonchalantly brushed past him and said into his ear, “Marquis, there’s been a change in Quyi Pavilion. Everything else has been arranged properly, but there’re someone that can’t be seen in the pavilion.”
Marquis Moyu nodded and continued walking forward.
Just as the day broke, the shadow of Quyi Pavilion could be seen. Ji Man felt an indescribable feeling. A moment of inattention combined with someone pushing her from behind made Ji Man’s legs feel wobbly. She ended up falling to her knees.
At some unknown point, the person that had been walking in the front had come back and stopped in front of her. He stretched his hand out to pull her up and lightly said, “You should pay attention to the road when you’re walking.
Ji Man raised her head up in surprise. Ning Yuxuan was slightly smiling. He looked especially handsome underneath the sunlight.
“Are you hurt?”
She suddenly had the feeling of being played with. Had he known that she was following him this entire time and was just pretending to not notice? Ji Man remained half-kneeling on the ground. In a somewhat annoyed tone, she retorted, “I’m fine.”
“Do you want me to help you walk to that nearby Quyi Pavilion so you can sit down?” He asked.
Startled by this question, she looked at his court attire and saw parts of the silvery robe peaking out from beneath. She lowered her head even more and looked at her own attire. She pursed her lips and hesitated for a while before quietly saying, “No need.”
Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrows.
“I’m not hurt. I can continue walking. There’s no need to go there to sit.” Ji Man stood up and started walking forward.
“You don’t want to go rest?” Marquis Moyu was slightly surprised.
“En.” Ji Man lowered her eyes and chuckled. “It’ll be better to go there earlier to watch the ancestor veneration ceremony.”
Something faintly thawed in his eyes. Ning Yuxuan resumed walking. He passed Ji Man and walked over to join the formation of civil and military officials.
Quyi Pavilion was very quiet. Not many people had come over here to take a break. Wu Yong was standing in front of the pavilion. As he watched Ji Man’s distant figure from the back, he shook his head.
—
The improvised special effects in ancient times weren’t bad. When the empress pushed the new emperor, who was in his wheelchair, up to the altar, a golden light suddenly appeared around them and shocked the audience.
“Long live the emperor!” Grand Tutor Peng took the lead and knelt down. The people behind him also knelt down.
After the new emperor recited the ceremonial words, a golden dragon suddenly flew over the crowd. The common people cried out in alarm, and someone shouted, “His Majesty is a true descendent of dragons. Therefore, a real dragon has come down from the Heavens.”
Hearing this loud proclamation, the ignorant masses knelt down. As Ji Man followed the crowd in kneeling down, she thought; these people were so easy to deceive.
