Divination

During the quarrel between the two sides, the emperor suspended his morning court session.

The imperial court was still functioning normally, but the only people who had daily contact with the emperor were a few prime ministers and chancellors from the Secretariat, Chancellery, and Palace Affairs Department.

The ministers were anxious, but after all, it was they who caused the emperor to suspend the morning court, so they could only worry and dared not say anything.

So someone found the only person who did not take a stand and told the truth that day, Xiao Wan'er.

"Could the county lady ask His Majesty to resume the morning court session?"

At this time, the ministers from the prince's faction who asked her for help no longer cared that she was a woman and belonged to Princess Taiping's faction.

But Xiao Wan'er did not agree.

"Your Majesty is a wise and enlightened ruler. He will not delay government affairs. When the time comes, he will resume the morning court session."

The minister returned empty-handed and was already displeased before he even left the Shenlong Guard office.

Xiao Wan'er was too lazy to pay attention to him.

A few days later, Xiao Wan'er received an imperial edict summoning her to the palace. When she entered the Xuanzheng Hall, led by the eunuch delivering the decree, several people were already inside. Officials from both Princess Taiping's and the Crown Prince's factions were present, including Princess Taiping herself. Only the Crown Prince was absent.

The emperor sat in his usual seat of honor, a look of fatigue on his face. Seeing that everyone in the hall was almost of higher rank than her position as Deputy Commander of the Divine Dragon Guard, she bowed and went straight to the back of the group, intending to slip through without saying a word.

Then, she heard the emperor announce a piece of news that shocked everyone present.

"I wish to abdicate the throne to the Crown Prince."

The decision was so sudden that the ministers in the hall had no time to react immediately. They could only kneel on the ground, some shouting "Your Majesty is wise" and some begging "Your Majesty to reconsider."

"My dear ministers, there is no need to say more. I have made up my mind to pass the throne to a virtuous person to avoid disaster."

So calling these people here is actually just a notification.

After the announcement, everyone was asked to leave, except Princess Taiping, who remained in Xuanzheng Hall and refused to leave. Xiao Wan'er, relying on her status as a county lady recorded in the family tree, also stayed.

The Emperor wasn't surprised to see Princess Taiping refused to leave. He simply spoke to her earnestly, "Taiping, please don't say anything more. When your third brother was on the throne, treacherous villains were wreaking havoc, and Heaven warned him many times. I advised him then to appoint a virtuous son as emperor to avert disaster, but he not only refused to listen, he was extremely displeased, and I was deeply terrified. You know what ultimately happened to him. Now it's my turn to be warned by Heaven. How could I persuade him to abdicate while I myself remain indifferent?"

This actually made a lot of sense, and Princess Taiping didn't know how else to persuade him. But since her life and property were at stake, she couldn't just give up like that!

The emperor saw through Princess Taiping's thoughts and continued, "I know that you and the Crown Prince are dissatisfied with each other and have been fighting openly and secretly, and there is even a tendency to resort to violence."

Having said this, he paused and glanced at Xiao Wan'er, who immediately lowered her head.

"Sanlang is my most virtuous son, and you are my only sister. I do not want to lose either of you. The ministers under your command are also the backbone of the Tang Dynasty. If any of you die, it will be a loss for the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, I also want to put an end to your fighting by abdicating. After I abdicate, I will entrust all my old ministers to you. With them around, I believe Sanlang will not harm the life of a Grand Princess."

The emperor made thorough arrangements, even including Xiao Wan'er's future.

"Hejing, it was my fault for allowing the Crown Prince to interfere in the affairs of Biyun Temple. I know you do not wish to have any further disputes with Pei Yingguan. Before I abdicate, I will posthumously confer the title of Crown Prince on Prince Yong, promote you to Princess, and grant you the additional title of Kangle. This way, the Crown Prince and the court officials will no longer embarrass you."

It must be said that the emperor's arrangements were indeed clear and precise. Unfortunately, Xiao Wan'er's focus was not on this.

"Your Majesty, I dare to ask, what if the disaster corresponding to this comet is the Crown Prince?"

The emperor's expression was indeed very unhappy. Before he could lose his temper, Xiao Wan'er immediately added her own speculation.

"Your Majesty, do you remember that when the late emperor first ascended the throne, he asked my master to divine the future of the Tang Dynasty? After that, my master aged rapidly and passed away not long after."

"I remember this incident. Immortal Master Liuyun didn't give any divination results at that time." The emperor fell into reminiscence, and his anger dissipated. "I remember that Immortal Master Liuyun met with you, Kang Le, before he passed away. Could it be that he was the one who divined the results?"

"Your Majesty, that's right." Xiao Wan'er replied respectfully.

There was a result, but no one said what it meant, and the emperor reacted quickly.

"But it's ominous? Kang Le, I allow you to make this public."

"Yes, Your Majesty." With the Emperor's words in mind, Xiao Wan'er no longer had to worry. "My master's divination predicts that over the next thirty years, the Tang Dynasty will prosper under the assistance of officials selected by Empress Wu Zetian. However, this prosperity will eventually decline. Within a few years, the Tang Dynasty will be plunged into civil strife and enter an irreversible decline. My master has deduced countless times, attempting to change the outcome, but to no avail. Before his death, he entrusted this matter to me with resentment."

The emperor's hands trembled slightly.

He raised his finger, tremblingly pointing at Xiao Wan'er, and asked in a vague voice, "The emperor your master predicted would cause the Tang Dynasty to decline..."

"It's the Crown Prince," Xiao Wan'er replied coldly, not giving the Emperor any time to catch his breath. "In Master's divination, he deposed the Empress without cause, murdered three sons in one day, framed his favorite concubine, and forced his son's daughter-in-law into marriage, thus preventing him from having any children. He favored treacherous ministers and eunuchs, indulged in pleasure, neglected state affairs, and even neglected to guard against the military commanders on the border, ultimately leading to the civil strife that engulfed much of the Tang Dynasty. Even now, to protect himself, he forced the death of the concubine he had snatched from his son. Even after being forced to abdicate, he still launched a coup to regain the throne, but fortunately, it failed."

Seeing that the emperor was already a little confused, Xiao Wan'er delivered the final blow.

"Your Majesty, can such an emperor, who is worse than an animal as a husband and father, and a foolish ruler, truly be called wise?"

The emperor almost fainted.

Xiao Wan'er was not feeling well either. The secret was completely revealed by her. She was bleeding from her mouth and nose, had a splitting headache, and could not even stand steadily.

"Your Majesty, how about this," she suggested, "Ten days from now, Your Majesty, have me perform another divination before the entire court. I can use my secret method to reveal what I have seen to everyone."

"As you say."

The emperor agreed in a daze, and Xiao Wan'er was supported by palace servants and sent back home under the admiring eyes of Princess Taiping.

Ten days later, the emperor met with his ministers in Hanyuan Hall.

The prince and his entourage had received the news in advance and were waiting expectantly for the emperor to issue an abdication decree. However, what they received was an imperial edict that "posthumously conferred the title of Prince Zhanghuai on Prince Yong, promoted the titles of General of the Left Jinwu Guard, Governor of Youzhou, and Protector-General of Shanyu on Prince Bin, and promoted the title of Princess Hejing to Princess Kangle."

Before he could recover from the sudden change, he saw Xiao Wan'er step forward and report the divination results of Liuyun before his death, which she had already told the emperor once, in front of all the court officials. Afterwards, she applied to have divination in front of all the civil and military officials in the Hanyuan Hall.

The prince wanted to tear Xiao Wan'er apart, but in front of the emperor, he didn't even dare to show his dissatisfaction and could only make tentative suggestions.

"Your Highness is deeply concerned about the country and the people, and I admire you deeply. However, I am afraid that you alone are not capable of performing this divination. I ask Elder Li to assist you and ask for your father's approval."

The emperor could see what he was thinking, but he thought it was not a bad thing to have someone to supervise him, so he approved his request.

The old man with white hair and beard who was half a step away from returning to the truth soon arrived at the Hanyuan Palace. Xiao Wan'er recognized him at the first time. He was the powerful man who appeared in the East Palace that day.

After listening to the prince's account of what happened, Mr. Li unceremoniously poured all his pressure on Xiao Wan'er.

"How are you going to let everyone see your divination?" Every word he uttered hit Xiao Wan'er's temples like a hammer.

Xiao Wan'er endured the headache, mobilized her spiritual energy, and took out the formation plate that she had prepared in advance - it was also a formation plate of the Half-Step Return to Truth level, made by the second-generation abbot of Biyun Temple, and had always been treasured by Biyun Temple.

Apparently, during those ten days, Xiao Wan'er, enduring the backlash of leaking the Heavenly Secret, ran back to the sect, took the formation plate, and then rushed back as fast as she could. Pei Yingguan was completely unaware of this.

Realizing that his trusted subordinates had a weak control over his sect, the prince gave Pei Yingguan a fierce look. Pei Yingguan was terrified and lowered his head in fear.

Facing such an array, even if Old Li wanted to throw dirty water on it, he couldn't. He could only snort coldly and walk aside.

He would certainly not assist Xiao Wan'er as the prince had previously petitioned, and Xiao Wan'er did not dare to let him assist her.

Xiao Wan'er placed the array disk on the ground, then used her spiritual energy to condense pure water. She bit her finger and dripped blood into the clear water. Then, with the array disk as the center, she densely drew a huge auxiliary array. Elder Li, who was standing nearby, knew at a glance that this array was absolutely extraordinary.

"Your Majesty, I have already set up the formation and can perform divination at any time."

After Xiao Wan'er reported, the emperor spoke.

"In that case, let's get started."

"I obey your command," Xiao Wan'er said, taking out the divination grass she had prepared long ago and sitting cross-legged on the formation board. Her fingers flew continuously, forming one magic formula after another. The civil and military officials unconsciously held their breath, watching her hand movements.

After a full moment, Xiao Wan'er finally stopped her hand gestures and forced out a mouthful of blood, spitting it onto the divination grass. She held the divination grass in both hands, closed her eyes, and muttered something rapidly. Then, a scene suddenly appeared behind her.

From the emperor down to the officials, everyone stared intently at the screen. The image projected onto the screen began with the crown prince's accession to the throne. In the first half, the Tang Dynasty was indeed prosperous, and the ministers selected by the empress were dedicated and dedicated. During this golden age, he performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai. However, Xiao Wan'er's stories about the empress being deposed without cause, the murder of three sons in one day and the blame placed on a favored concubine, and the forced seizure of his son's daughter-in-law as a concubine all came true.

Everyone in Hanyuan Hall knew that Xiao Wan'er hadn't lied. The courtiers' expressions varied: some frowned, some looked uncertain, and some even displayed murderous intent. But most simply watched quietly. Elder Li, observing the divination, was already filled with murderous intent, waiting only for the Crown Prince's command to strike at Xiao Wan'er.

"Your Highness, this magic is real. We must not let her predict the future to the end!" He hurriedly sent a message to the prince, and the prince also gave him a gesture, asking him to seize the opportunity.

The scene continued to change until the imperial concubine's father was promoted repeatedly, and the treacherous minister stepped on the virtuous minister to ascend to the position of prime minister, and more and more people changed their faces.

It was not until An Lushan began to appear frequently in the scene that Old Li suddenly attacked, using all his strength to condense a spell and attack Xiao Wan'er in the formation.

The divination was immediately interrupted, Xiao Wan'er fell to the ground, unconscious, and Old Li's face was as pale as gold paper, and blood was flowing from all seven orifices.

"How dare you!" Seeing his divination being suddenly interrupted, the emperor angrily scolded Li Lao, "By acting this way, can I understand that everything Kang Le said is true?"

"Senior Sister!"

Liu Mingyin, horrified, rushed to Xiao Wan'er's side and fed her a handful of healing pills. Using his own spiritual energy to help her absorb the entire pill, he finally managed to force her eyes open. Having relaxed a little, Liu Mingyin glared at the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince ignored her. With a single glance, a minister stepped forward to speak.

"Your Majesty, the future is a mystery, far too complex to be determined by a single divination. The interruption of Princess Kangle's divination is also Heaven's will, as it does not wish the Tang Dynasty to be influenced by such illusory divination. Your Majesty, please make a decision as soon as possible."

"I ask Your Majesty to make a decision as soon as possible."

In Hanyuan Hall, half of the civil and military officials knelt down. The emperor only then realized the immense power his good son had amassed. Some of the remaining ministers hesitated, looked left and right, and after a moment's deliberation, they followed suit and knelt.

The emperor was furious, but he knew full well that he was no match for the crown prince. So he simply issued an imperial decree expelling all the descendants of the Longxi Li family and the Li Tang royal family from the Shenlong Guard and hurried away.

Xiao Wan'er was supported by Liu Mingyin as she walked out of Hanyuan Hall and ran into the prince who was waiting for her.

"Princess Kangle, I admit that you are indeed a loyal and upright person, and your divination is indeed correct," he said, boasting like a victorious rooster. "Unfortunately, you don't understand court officials. For all officials, preventing women from holding power is far more important than maintaining the stability of the country."

He lowered his head and looked at Xiao Wan'er: "You and Aunt Taiping are destined to fail."