Chapter 19
Sixty-six trumpets sounded simultaneously in the imperial city, the four city gates opened, and the palace maids all dressed in white walked out of the palace in a mighty procession.
Suddenly, cries of grief and wailing spread like a mountain torrent throughout the Ming capital. Six large horses pulled the coffin, one each to the north, south, east, and west.
The people in the city spontaneously took to the streets and gathered at the entrances of the alleys. Some looked around curiously, but when they saw the coffin, they understood what was going on.
The cries, like ghostly howls, pierced the entire Ming capital. The city's citizens watched silently, their faces devoid of any trace of sadness.
Suddenly, there were several whip sounds. The palace maids wearing high crowns raised their whips on the crossbow. The people watching around woke up as if from a dream and knelt down in astonishment.
The four horse-drawn carriages prepared in advance were indeed of great use. On the west side, a man suddenly emerged from the crowd, holding a sharp sword and slashing at the funeral procession. He did not stop and was about to lift the coffin and stand up.
However, the farce was quickly stopped. A poisoned arrow fell from the sky from behind and pierced the traitor's chest. The sword fell to the ground, and the traitor died on the spot.
The people around could only bury their heads lower as they knelt on the ground. No one cared about the tragic death of the deceased.
The wailing mixed with crying was scattered by the wind along with the paper money, and it seemed as if snow was falling in the city of Mingjing.
The paper flowers fell into a house with solemn black tiles and a tightly closed gate.
The gates were heavily guarded inside and outside. In the deserted courtyard, there was a wooden chair with a person sitting on it.
His eyes were covered with silk, and there were two holes in his eye sockets, with his eyeballs missing.
Rongti sat on the wooden chair, wearing a gorgeous official robe.
The hem of his robe was empty, and there were no shoes. When Rongti moved by supporting himself on the chair, half of his amputated calf would be exposed from under his robe.
Outside, weeping continued, and paper flowers drifted into the house. Rong Ti looked up, but there was nothing before him. He raised his hand, and the wind, as if at his command, swept the paper flower past, landing squarely in his palm.
I rubbed it with my fingers and listened to the crying, and then I understood.
Rongti laughed, first curling up his lips, then making a sound, from a chuckle to a loud laugh, laughing until he coughed up blood, laughing until he went crazy.
The servant rushed over, slapped the paper flowers out of his hand, then lifted up his mutilated body and walked into the house.
"My Lord, it's time to keep watch. It's time to go back to the house."
Rong Ti was being dragged like an animal. The fortune teller emerged from another room in the mansion, glanced at him, and then looked at the compass in his hand. There were exactly seven points on the copper plate, forming a straight line pointing directly to the East Palace.
Rong Ti was granted the title of Marquis of Yongle. He was granted this mansion by the Emperor's grace, intending to die here, letting the light of the Seven Stars of Ziwei envelop the Imperial City at the end of his life.
·
The palace was completely different from the capital city of Ming.
The magnificent palaces and towers remain as they were, without a trace of decoration to embellish the sadness. The late emperor's death is nothing more than the withered flowers and plants in the garden, not worth mentioning.
Deep in the palace, Jia Yuan's body was placed in an ice coffin.
The hall was silent, with only one person standing beside the ice coffin, looking indifferent.
She was dressed in white, and her face was covered with pearls and jade, so that only a slight trace of her features could be seen.
She looked at the late king's remains, and stretched out a green jade hand, stroking the ice coffin. The next moment, the ice began to melt, dripping into water and falling on the corpse.
The emperor's palace was dark, the candlelight in the eternal lamp shed thousands of layers of wax. Silver light began to appear on the silk woven from silk.
The woman leaned over, removed the pearl and jade covering her face with one hand, and brought her head close to the corpse. Her fangs extended from her mouth, and she twisted her neck, lowered her head, and bit the corpse's left chest.
The blood drop broke through the skin and quickly slid into her mouth like a snake. The scarlet tip of her tongue probed into her chest cavity, rolled up the dead body's heart and swallowed it into her stomach.
The woman stood up and gently rubbed her fingers on the ice coffin. The blood flowed again in columns and turned into solid ice.
The woman walked out of the hall, dragging her skirt.
The pearl and jade curtain opened for a moment as she walked, revealing the corner of her mouth.
She is smiling.
Joyful and depressed.
·
"Your Majesty, the Right Prime Minister has arrived." The guard reported softly in front of the curtain.
"Send him in."
"yes."
The young right prime minister walked into the hall.
He bowed towards the curtain, then knelt down and shouted, "Long live the Empress, long live her!"
"rise."
"I obey your order." The right prime minister stood up, but did not look directly behind the curtain.
With a smile on his rosy face, he closed his eyes and waited for instructions.
"Do you know why I summoned you today?"
The Right Prime Minister bowed and said, "I am ignorant and slow-witted. I hope Your Majesty will understand."
"The previous emperor has passed away, and the country cannot be without a ruler for a single day. The matter of a new emperor can be put on the agenda. Do you have any candidates?"
The smile on the Right Prime Minister's face widened a little. He closed his eyes and replied, "In my humble opinion, it would be best if Your Majesty were to become the Lord and rule the world."
"Ridiculous! Put away those thoughts." The curtain was blown open by the shocking sound, revealing the bamboo curtain inside. The bamboo curtain did not move at all, completely covering the woman.
The Right Prime Minister knelt again, his face devoid of fear. His voice was filled with flattery as he added, "Your Majesty, please calm down. This is merely my humble opinion. Regarding the selection of the new emperor, there are still a few candidates. Your Majesty, please calm down... Please don't let me get hurt because of you."
He knelt and crawled to the curtain smoothly, like a dog.
The guard at the side said, "Why don't you speak quickly, Right Prime Minister? You are arguing like this, are you expecting to be stabbed?" The tall guard pretended to grasp the scabbard of a sword, stared at him viciously, and kicked him.
The Right Prime Minister clutched his side in pain, but nothing happened. He crouched low, still smiling ingratiatingly, and said, "Yes, yes, yes, in my humble opinion, the new emperor can be chosen from among the princes, the son of the Left Prime Minister, and... my son."
"You bastard! What are you talking about?" The guard drew his sword and put it on the right prime minister's neck.
The Right Prime Minister then raised his head, opened his eyes, and looked towards the curtain with a fearless look. With a playful smile, he asked, "What do you think, Madam?"
After a moment of silence, a female voice rang out from behind the curtain: "How old is your youngest son this year?"
"My Queen, I just celebrated my third birthday."
"General." The woman called Wu Wei.
"I am here."
"Send an order to the Tianxing Bureau to calculate the nearest auspicious time to support the new emperor to ascend the throne."
"Right Prime Minister, let the child enter the palace immediately. From now on, he will bear the royal name and will no longer enter your house."
"Your Majesty, I obey your command." Wu Wei and You Xiang saluted at the same time and withdrew one after another.
·
"ah!"
A painful howl came from a side room of the Hong Kong Coliseum.
The midwife took out a baby covered in blood from under the toiling Ji Zi.
As the baby cried, the midwife patted the baby with even greater joy, completely ignoring Ji Zi who was lying on the bed and had just experienced a near-death experience.
The sound of gongs and drums rang out in the Hong Kong Coliseum during the day. The midwife washed her hands to clean the blood from the baby's body. She opened the door and stood beside the black flag waiting for the gong and drum team to arrive.
After a while, the sound of gongs and drums came closer.
Everyone in the team was wearing black clothes and masks. The one wearing the green-faced, fang-toothed mask was in the middle of the team, rushing towards the Wuwen Road Flag.
The surrounding shops and houses all had their windows closed and curtains drawn.
Ignore the noise.
The sound of gongs and drums stopped abruptly in front of the black-patterned flag.
The man wearing a green-faced, fang-toothed mask walked out of the group and took the baby from the midwife's arms.
She pinched the baby's cheek, then waved her hands and started dancing in a twisted manner. The sound of gongs and drums suddenly started again, and everyone danced in circles around the green-faced man.
Someone handed the green-faced ghost a wooden bowl, and someone brought a rooster with its wings bound. The bowl of water was spilled all over the baby, and the rooster's blood dotted the baby's forehead.
The child who was crying in panic suddenly became quiet.
Become well-behaved, don't cry or make a fuss.
The baby was placed on a wooden board and then bound. The binders ignored the infant and twisted the ropes until they turned purple, cutting into the delicate skin.
The overwhelming sound of gongs and drums never stopped. The green-faced ghost took down the flag and waved to the team to leave.
She approached the wooden cart and, in front of the pale-faced baby, muttered, "Fresh bones and blood, bless our Hong Kong Coliseum to remain standing...Flesh and blood of the Hong Kong Coliseum, we offer this sacrifice to you, hoping for your blessing."
The team circled the entire Hong Kong Coliseum from the black flag on the road, and finally went deeper into the area.
When night falls and the lights come on, the Hong Kong Coliseum becomes lively again, and the team that has been resting in the dark is ready to go again.
The door of the Red Hall in Mingjing City opened, and countless guests poured in and into the mouth of the Red Hall.
Going forward, the Jizi Pavilion, decorated with lights and filled with fragrance, is like the stomach, covering and swallowing everything.
Later, the sound of gongs and drums of the team started again, but the sounds did not spread from the dark alley under the red light. It was the transition of blood vessels, flowing towards the ventricle.
The withered courtyard arrived, and the flames in the red lanterns flickered, drawing the team into the courtyard like breathing and closing the porch.
The courtyard was filled with piles of bones, and a chilling wind blew. As the team entered, all the bones began to vibrate with excitement. Atop the bones stood a small temple.
It looked like a land temple, with incense sticks burning and a statue of a deity enshrined in a small shrine.
He has no head or face, and wears a robe that is as red as blood.
His little hands hold a small clay house. On the stone tablet in front of the temple, there are words written by the owner himself:
Clay Buddha Statue at the Hong Kong Coliseum
The bonfire made of bones was doused with kerosene, and the baby's body was hung on a high wooden frame.
The green-faced, fang-toothed man threw an oil lamp into the bonfire. Instantly, the bones began to crackle, and the flames climbed up the wooden frame in the bonfire, quickly burning the baby's corpse.
The team faced the bonfire, worshiped among the bones, and danced.
The pieces of meat burned into the fire as the wooden frame broke. A cold wind rose from the shrine in the temple, carrying flames with it, and swept everything in it into the small temple.
At the end of the prayer, a kneeling figure in the team straightened up.
She took off her mask, revealing a tearful face.
Qiu Niang looked at the small temple on top of the pile of bones with gritted teeth.
My whole body was shaking and I couldn't stop vomiting.
The shrine happily ate its offerings, just like Qiu Niang's former child.
The Hong Kong Coliseum nurtured Him with the flesh and blood of its people.
And He protects the Hong Kong Coliseum from any disaster.
There is no next generation at the Hong Kong Coliseum; the next generation has long since died. Life and death are inevitable.
The owner had clearly promised her that her cat would live, but it only lived for an extra ten years.
Qiu Niang put on a mask, knelt down heavily, and hit her head on the ground.
Her nails clenched, digging into her flesh. Trembling and shuddering, every inch of Qiu Niang's skin was shaking.
This Hong Kong Coliseum has long been alive.
He eats people, and no one can escape.
·
Nian Qing came through the wall, and his fox ears and tail appeared at the same time.
In the unlit room, the red-leafed flower on the small table moved, its petals retracted into buds, and Nian Qing's nails lengthened, turning into sharp claws.
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