Thinking about the prince's transformation, a slight warmth welled up in her heart. He had said that he would protect her and those who also needed protection.
He was fighting for her.
She raised her eyes to look at the top of the altar. The sunlight was so strong that she squinted slightly, but her lips couldn't help but curl up softly.
The deep, distant ritual music began to play in the distance. A long, majestic salutation from an official from the Ministry of Rites suddenly overwhelmed the music: "The Holy Emperor has arrived!"
In an instant, the entire altar area was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and all the figures knelt down in unison.
Only the nobles and virgins performed the ceremony, which was a little more gentle.
The imperial carriage stopped steadily under the altar, covered by a bright yellow curtain.
After a while, the emperor and Crown Prince Xinyi Daoyi stepped down from the imperial carriage one after another.
The emperor was dressed in a black robe with twelve chapters, and his whole body exuded deep majesty. He slowly swept his eyes over the crowd lying on the ground, then gently patted the prince on the shoulder. Then, supported by the eunuchs, he stepped onto the imperial platform of the altar.
At this moment, all eyes were focused on the person standing in front of the stone steps below.
Xinyi Daoyi was also wearing black clothes.
A seven-tasseled crown with a dark base and crimson tassels held down his dark hair, suppressing any tender feelings that might have surfaced. His face was as calm as water, the gentle, scholarly air of yesteryear gone, leaving only a sense of calm and aloofness, faintly visible between the flowing tassels and pearls.
The old Minister of Rites stepped forward, presented the rolled-up scroll of the sacrificial text in bright yellow jade with both hands, and said in an old voice, "Your Highness, the time has come. Please ascend the stage and address the Heaven!"
Xin Yidao's movements were smooth and steady, and her fingertips did not tremble at all when she took the jade shaft.
He turned around, his gaze calmly sweeping across the layers of kneeling officials in front of him, and looked at the stone steps leading to the top of the altar in front.
At the ninety-nineth level, the white marble was scorching hot from the sunlight.
He took a step forward, and the wide sleeves of his black robe created a slight airflow along the edge of the stone steps.
He took the first step. The guards in charge of the Qi family below glanced warily at the seats for the clan members below. There, the seat belonging to the Second Prince, Xin Yiwei, remained empty. His Majesty had personally decreed that today's heavenly prayer was a grand ceremony for the nation, and no one could excuse themselves on the grounds of "illness." Ultimately, Xin Yiwei dared not defy the Emperor's wishes and hurried forward, resigning himself to a position behind the imperial platform, watching from afar in the shadows.
His face was hidden in the darkness, stiff as iron.
Xinyi Dao walked up step by step. His eyes swept across the front. Several old cabinet ministers with white hair and beards were kneeling in the front row of civil officials. Their bodies trembled slightly, but they tried hard to maintain their posture.
From the group of royal family members further away, the sound of a young man slightly shifting the cushions under his knees could be faintly heard.
The altar towered high, and finally, I reached the top. A huge three-legged bronze tripod stood silently, the aroma of burning incense and candles so strong that it made my throat tighten.
He unrolled the scroll and began to recite the eulogy. His voice was not loud, but surprisingly penetrating:
With every word he uttered, the white air exhaled from his mouth quickly dissipated in the cold wind.
As the elaborate ceremony drew to a close, the official chanted in a long voice: "The ceremony is complete."
Xin Yidao took a deep breath and slowly rolled up the jade shaft. He turned around.
His eyes were no longer lowered in concentration, but raised, naturally sweeping towards the crowd lined up under the altar, a gesture of ending the ceremony.
However, as he looked back as if it were just a routine matter, his gaze suddenly stopped.
She wasn't among the most prominent members of the royal family, nor even among the princes. That figure was at the back, among a group of elegantly dressed women who stood bowing according to their rank.
The crimson brocade dress made her skin glow like snow, and the golden and emerald pearls in her hair sparkled. She tilted her head slightly upward, her gaze fixed intently in his direction.
The wind at the altar seemed to stop for a moment.
She squinted her eyes slightly, perhaps feeling uncomfortable with the sunlight on the platform, but the corners of her lips were curved.
It was not an elegant standard smile, but more like a brightness that bloomed from the relaxation and joy that came from the heart.
Xinyi Daoyi could clearly "see" her eyes, which naturally had a slightly upturned corner. When the sunlight happened to pass over her, the upturned corners of her eyes curved even more, causing a smile to permeate her entire eyes.
The heart was hit violently by something warm and turbulent, and it suddenly contracted and then beat fiercely again.
A few days ago, my father's words in the warm room of the Qinzheng Palace echoed clearly: "...I grant you this position and this responsibility. From now on, your body will serve the country and your heart will serve the people. Emotions are like arsenic to an emperor..."
Arsenic?
Xinyi Daoyi stood on a platform thousands of feet high. The surroundings were empty and the cold wind was blowing. His clothes were blown up by the wind. The loneliness was as deep as the sky.
However, at this moment, the smile that fell into his eyes in the dazzling sunlight was like a soft and warm breeze that was not afraid of the winter, suddenly breaking through the boundless cold.
Love is not arsenic.
He suddenly understood.
If this was arsenic, it was an antidote to the bitter cold and loneliness of the world. He was happy with it.
That smile caught his eyes and lit up his heart.
In the next year, or the year after, during the sacrifice to heaven, he stood here, and she, wearing an intricate and dazzling bright yellow robe and a crown with nine dragons and nine phoenixes, stood side by side with him on the high platform.
All the ministers bowed their heads and cheered loudly.
Yes. That's right.
He needed more power. This ascension to heaven was by no means the end.
He withdrew his gaze and slowly swept over the ministers who were standing up one after another below, and his expression returned to its cold and stern state.
The Minister of Rites raised his voice again, saying respectfully, "Your Highness, please return!"
Xin Yidao nodded, turned around, and walked down the ninety-nine white marble steps.
Every step on the cold stone steps was extremely solid and powerful.
All the officials bowed their heads to see him off respectfully. On the imperial platform, the emperor watched his eldest son's figure walking away from afar through the hanging pearl curtain. The emotions in his eyes were deep and dark, and it was difficult to guess.
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