On the Lantern Festival, an auspicious day chosen by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, the Empress Dowager's body was placed in her coffin.

His Majesty and the Empress waited outside, while the abbot and monks of Huguo Temple chanted sutras in the main hall for the funeral.

Cheng'en Gong and Wei Shuyun stood on either side of the coffin, while Hua Zisheng led the eunuchs to perform the coffin-laying ceremony for the Empress Dowager.

The Duke of Chengen wept bitterly, filling the coffin with gold and silver objects for the Empress Dowager, and placing jade lotus flowers on top of her bones, with jade lotus leaves under her feet.

It symbolizes that every step you take is like a lotus blooming.

The Duke of Cheng'en looked at His Majesty and asked, "Isn't it time for you to get a haircut?"

When the coffin is sealed and nails are driven in, His Majesty needs to cut off a lock of his hair and wrap it around the nail.

His Majesty did not cut his hair, and said calmly, "The Empress Dowager's life was not easy. She made immortal contributions to the Great Cause. I am not in a hurry to close her coffin. In case General Jiangxia returns, he can still see the Empress Dowager's remains."

Wei Anyuan was the military governor of the northwest border region and held the official title of General of Jiangxia.

The Duke of Cheng'en was very satisfied and casually remarked, "The Empress Dowager and His Majesty are a loving mother and a filial son, a truly touching story."

His Majesty was furious, but he didn't show it on his face.

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau indicated that January 22nd was an auspicious day, and the Empress Dowager could be placed in her coffin for burial.

On the 21st, after finishing his meeting in the court, His Majesty summoned the Duke of Cheng'en, the Empress, the Crown Prince, and others: "Tomorrow is the auspicious day for the Empress Dowager's coffin to be sealed, as chosen by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. Do you have any items to put in the coffin?"

The Empress Dowager is the glory of the Wei clan, a mountain that has always weighed on His Majesty's head. As long as the Empress Dowager is not buried, His Majesty must treat her with reverence.

But the person is already dead, and it's been more than 20 days since the 29th of the twelfth lunar month. All the trouble that could be caused has already been done.

The Duke of Chengen was over seventy years old, and the Empress was fifty; both were elderly. After more than twenty days of this ordeal, they were already exhausted.

"Let's close the coffin. I have nothing more to add."

The proper etiquette was observed without exception, and the money was spent like water these days. His family couldn't find any fault with them.

His Majesty was also somewhat tired, rubbing his head.

The next day, before dawn, the Minister of Rites, the Vice Minister, and others followed Hua Zisheng into the funeral hall.

The Empress Dowager's face was covered with a jade mask, and she was covered with five or six brocade quilts.

Hua Zisheng led his men to re-inventory and inspect the contents of the Empress Dowager's coffin, and found nothing amiss.

Following procedure, the Ministry of Rites ordered the coffin to be closed.

Emperor Hui held a small tuft of hair in his hand and gave it to Hua Zisheng, who then wrapped it around the coffin nails and closed the coffin!

The pallbearers responsible for carrying the coffin began to demonstrate their skills with the pallbearers.

For some reason, the pallbearers suddenly became suspicious of the Empress Dowager's coffin.

The next day, after court, the Empress came to His Majesty's study to request an audience.

"What brings you here, Your Majesty?"

"Your Majesty, my brother has sent a pair of jade ruyi scepters from the border to the Empress Dowager, intending to place them in her coffin. I would like to have someone open the coffin lid and put them in."

Emperor Hui then knew that the Wei clan must have overheard something.

Why put a jade ruyi in there? Are you planning to open the coffin and perform an autopsy?

He slammed down the memorial in his hand and said angrily, "Empress, although the Empress Dowager is from the Wei family, she is now the Empress Dowager of the Great Qian Dynasty, and is no longer a member of the Wei family. The Wei family has no right to open the Empress Dowager's coffin."

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I have not slighted the Empress Dowager, nor would I dare to. It is only my brother's intentions that are clear to heaven and earth..."

"Then tell him to ask God! How can a coffin be opened so easily? It will affect Daqian's fortune, do you understand?"

The Empress and His Majesty parted on bad terms, and the Empress was banished to the Central Palace, where she was furious.

Annoyed by her father's meddling and tendency to believe everything he hears, she thought, "How could the Empress Dowager's remains not in the coffin, which she had been keeping an eye on?"

However, my father was always shrewd and calculating; he would never question something he wasn't sure about.

That means there is a very high probability that the Empress Dowager's body was replaced in the coffin.

But His Majesty does not agree to open the coffin!

His Majesty disagreed with opening the coffin, and the Duke of Cheng'en, piecing together the information he had heard, became even more suspicious.

However, His Majesty is not an ordinary nephew/son-in-law; this uncle/father-in-law is dependent on His Majesty's whims.

There is only one way to force His Majesty to open the coffin: the officials must request and the high monks must propose that not opening the coffin will affect the fate of the nation.

The Minister of Rites was a royalist, but the Vice Minister was his man.

The Vice Minister of Rites secretly suggested that the Crown Prince consult the Imperial Observatory. The Imperial Observatory proposed that the coffin be resealed, claiming that there had been changes in the celestial phenomena...

The Duke of Cheng'en and the Vice Minister of Rites did not choose to talk in the Imperial Palace. Even in the most secluded corner of the Imperial Palace, there were bound to be a few secret guards squatting there.

The two agreed to meet at a teahouse owned by the Duke of Chengen.

During the Empress Dowager's funeral, restaurants, brothels, and pleasure boats all closed, but teahouses remained open.

After making their plan, the two hurried back to find the people from the Imperial Observatory.

Not far from where I walked, I heard a loud "crack," followed by a clap of thunder and a downpour.

That rain wasn't a light drizzle like spring rain; it was a real downpour.

"I thought it would snow because the sky was overcast, but I didn't expect it to rain so heavily."

Even if the Duke of Cheng'en and the Vice Minister of Rites had carriages, they would still need to take shelter from the rain under the canopy for a while.

Spring rain is not only cold, but also accompanied by thunder, which can easily startle horses.

Because no one had brought a raincoat, many passersby rushed into the lay Buddhist shelter to seek shelter from the rain.

Who in Kyoto doesn't recognize the carriage of the Duke of Cheng'en? When they saw him drive his carriage in to take shelter from the rain, everyone spontaneously made way for him, crowding into a corner a few steps away.

The lay Buddhist shelter was built by Buddhist lay Buddhists in Kyoto who donated money to build a rain shelter that can provide shelter from rain and snow.

The shed wasn't big, and when a gust of wind blew, the people nearby got soaked to the bone.

A little girl came running quickly from the road, carrying a cloth bag slung across her shoulder and holding a broken wooden board on her head. She ran quickly to the shed.

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