At noon, all the officials arrived at the altar at the Meridian Gate, and all the common people had already stood below the altar, surrounding it completely.
The sky was dark, with heavy black clouds overhead, making the entire sky gloomy and unclear.
Until the Empress Dowager appeared.
The Empress Dowager wore a bright yellow phoenix robe and a phoenix crown. Her thin lips were slightly pursed, and she looked extremely majestic.
Behind her was a sedan chair, on which sat the unconscious emperor.
The emperor's eyes were closed, his face was pale, and he had become extremely thin, looking as if he had lost consciousness.
As the sacred Buddhist chants resounded, the Empress Dowager, leading Emperor Guangqi's entourage, slowly appeared from the Meridian Gate and walked to the altar.
The people, whose resentment was boiling over, were seeing the Empress Dowager in such a majestic and noble manner for the first time, and their originally uneasy hearts were somewhat calmed down at this moment.
The huge crowd knelt down and bowed to the emperor and empress dowager.
"Your humble servant pays respects to Your Majesty and Empress Dowager..."
The Empress Dowager stood at the highest point of the altar and told everyone to rise and dispense with formalities.
The officials and common people all stood up, forming a vast, bustling crowd.
But at that very moment, He Jingyan, who was standing at the very front of the assembled officials, stubbornly remained kneeling and refused to stand up.
He addressed the Empress Dowager, saying, "The five-day period has passed, and His Highness the Crown Prince has fled out of fear of punishment and has not yet shown himself."
"My wife, Song Xizhi, is a high-ranking official, a princess of a great county, and the guardian of the dragon vein of a great county. Yet she has suffered such a cruel fate at the hands of Your Highness. I beg Your Majesty to depose the Crown Prince and give my wife an explanation!"
Upon hearing this, the people surrounding the altar also knelt down, their eyes filled with pleading and hatred as they looked at the Empress Dowager.
"Lord Song was a descendant of a great dragon, yet he died tragically. We beg the Empress Dowager to depose the Crown Prince and give the people of the world an explanation!"
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