Since arriving at the White Horse Temple, the Empress Dowager had been feeling unwell, often experiencing chest tightness and shortness of breath, and also had trouble sleeping at night.
The imperial physicians were summoned several times, but they couldn't find anything wrong.
It was probably because of the long journey and the shock of the Princess's affair, coupled with his worries about the prayer ceremony, that he became overly anxious and unwell.
"I'm fine, it's just a few coughs. The prayer ceremony is important, so please make sure nothing goes wrong."
The Empress Dowager's face showed worry again. "I don't know why, but my eyelids have been twitching non-stop these past two days, and my heart... well, it twitches along with them."
The prayer ceremony is held every year, and the Empress Dowager is always in this state of anxiety every year.
Their empress came from a humble background, and even though she held such a high position, she always seemed petty and timid when faced with important matters.
This is why they always relied on Song Ting and Zhang Bingzhi in everything. As a result, the inner palace and the outer court lived in peace.
Song Ting said some nice things to comfort her, and just as they were talking, Zhang Bingzhi arrived.
Upon seeing Song Ting, Grand Secretary Zhang squinted and said with a half-smile, "I still think the Commander is not in the temple."
Song Tingchao nodded to him without explaining.
The Empress Dowager, oblivious to the undercurrents between the two, said happily, "The Grand Secretary has also arrived. With my two beloved ministers here, I feel much more at ease."
"This is my first time organizing such a grand ceremony, and I rely entirely on the Commander for many things," Zhang Bingzhi said with a smile.
His gaze fell on Song Ting: "But since the Commander is here, the ceremony will certainly not go wrong, don't you think, Lord Song?"
This places all the blame on Song Ting. If the ceremony goes smoothly, that's fine, but if any mistakes occur, then it will become Song Ting's problem.
Song Ting couldn't find a satisfactory answer, whether it was yes or no. So he simply remained silent.
Just then, a young novice monk came and knocked on the door. The young monk bowed respectfully to the people inside the room.
"Amitabha, esteemed guests, the abbot has made all the preparations. The prayer ceremony will begin in a quarter of an hour. If you are ready, please follow me."
The ceremony was held in the main hall and presided over by Abbot Kongji. The first step was for the Empress Dowager to offer incense to the golden Buddha statue in the hall on behalf of the Emperor.
The Dayan people believed in Buddhism, and among them, the Buddha was the most revered. The Buddha statue in the main hall of the White Horse Temple is the Buddha.
Amidst the chanting of forty-nine monks, the Empress Dowager accepted three sticks of sandalwood incense from Kongji Fangchang, clasped her hands together, and knelt before the solemn Buddha statue.
As the Empress Dowager knelt down, everyone behind her followed suit.
At the forefront were Song Ting and Zhang Bingzhi, who stood guard on either side of the Empress Dowager.
Behind them were the imperial concubines, kneeling in three rows according to their rank. Following the concubines were the accompanying civil and military officials, three on each side, representing the civil and military officials of the Dayan Dynasty.
Logically, the next in line after the concubines should be Princess Chu Mingshu. She also came with the imperial carriage on this trip, but after the Weiyang Palace, no one else ever saw her again.
She was even absent from today's grand ceremony. Rumors had been circulating for some time that Chu Mingshu had been murdered, and while people were initially skeptical, they were now somewhat inclined to believe it.
"Namo Amitabha Buddha... Namo Amitabha Buddha... Namo Amitabha Buddha..."
The chanting of sutras accompanied the sound of wooden fish drums, and incense smoke filled the main hall. The Buddha statue was majestic and dignified. The Empress Dowager slowly kowtowed to the Buddha statue, and everyone else followed suit and prostrated themselves on the ground.
According to custom, the Empress Dowager had to kowtow three times, then kneel in front of the Buddha statue, where Master Kongji would sprinkle talisman water to bestow blessings, signifying peace and stability for the country.
"Namo Amitabha Buddha... Namo Amitabha Buddha..."
The Empress Dowager kowtowed for the second time. At the same time, a bright red hem of her robe fluttered down at the entrance of the main hall. No one noticed that a new person had appeared outside the door—
Chu Huaixu, wearing his silver mask, leaned lazily against the door frame, coldly observing the crowd inside the hall.
First, there were the civil and military officials closest to the door, all familiar faces to him, appearing in his dreams every night, and he would recognize them even if they turned to ashes.
Then there are the concubines. The current emperor was still young when he ascended the throne, so the harem remained empty until the beginning of the year when the Ministry of Rites began to arrange the emperor's marriage.
But the emperor seemed dissatisfied with his concubines, and no good news had come out for so long.
Only the beloved daughter of the head of the Hanlin Academy won the Empress Dowager's favor, making her the most likely among all the concubines to take over the Phoenix Seal.
Chu Huaixu also recognized a few faces among them, but he wasn't quite sure; he only vaguely felt that they resembled each other.
After all, he had only seen portraits of a few people, and so many years had passed, so there were bound to be differences between them and the real people.
At that time, the late emperor had been ill for a long time and knew that his time was coming to an end. Suddenly, he became concerned about his marriage and ordered the Ministry of Rites to select a suitable noblewoman for him.
As soon as the news was released, three thresholds of the Ministry of Rites were worn out by the crowds.
Everyone knows that Chu Huaixu is the emperor's darling and the apple of his eye. If they could get married into this family, they would be laughing in their dreams.
It is said that the portraits received by the Ministry of Rites were stacked up to be taller than a person. After careful selection by several officials, ten noble ladies were chosen to be presented to the late emperor.
One day, the late emperor summoned him to the palace to look at the portraits sent by the Ministry of Rites and asked him to choose one he liked.
But at that time, all he cared about was the little dog he had taken home. He casually flipped through the portraits and then whine to the late emperor that he didn't like any of them.
The late emperor was somewhat reluctant, but he couldn't resist Chu Huaixu's persistent pleading, and in the end, he couldn't bear to force him, so the matter was eventually dropped.
Who would have thought that, after all the twists and turns, these people would all become the young emperor's concubines.
Looking back now, they were lucky they didn't follow him; otherwise, they would probably be skeletons by now, unable to rest in peace even in death.
Further ahead are Song Ting and Zhang Bingzhi.
"Namo Amitabha Buddha... Namo Amitabha Buddha... Namo Amitabha Buddha..."
He had a blood feud with both of these people. He lived on like a lonely ghost in this world, hoping that one day he could kill his enemies and avenge the entire Duan Prince's family.
Of all the people he hated, Song Ting was the one he hated even more than Zhang Bingzhi.
He couldn't accept Song Ting's betrayal; he had once liked this person so much.
I like it so much.
...
"Namo Amitabha Buddha... Namo..."
The Empress Dowager kowtowed three times.
Chu Huaixu raised his eyes and looked at the Buddha statue in the center of the main hall.
It is said that Buddha saves all sentient beings, but if Buddha is truly divine, Chu Huaixu would like to ask him whether someone as sinful as him deserves to be saved by Him.
The chanting continued, while the Empress Dowager had finished her kowtow and was about to stand up.
Chu Huaixu glanced one last time at the people in the hall, then turned away, preparing to leave.
However, at almost the same moment, the Empress Dowager suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and abruptly fell forward!
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