Chapter 1260 Jian Ruocheng's Choice
A loud and long bell sounded in front. Because the Chong'en Pagoda was surrounded by high walls, the bell sounded and echoed continuously, giving people an extremely shocking feeling.
As soon as he heard the bell, even Xiao Xinping, who was originally chattering, became quiet.
Because the child was too heavy, Ran Xiaoyu reached out and held the princess in her arms. Fortunately, the princess was very attached to her. As soon as she was in her arms, she called "Yu Yu" twice and then hugged her neck tightly.
At this time, a row of monks walked out of the Famen Hall in front.
It was exactly the monks they had seen before, the monks who were welcoming them at the door, led by Monk Shikong. They were dressed solemnly, holding wooden fish in their hands, and walked slowly forward while looking at them and reciting the Sutra of the Great Kindness of Parents.
Seeing this scene, everyone around fell silent.
Even Princess Shinpei, who was still a little noisy, opened her eyes wide and looked at them when she saw this scene.
Ran Xiaoyu leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Did you hear that, Princess? They are reciting the sutra about repaying the kindness of parents."
“…”
"Your parents' kindness to you is as great as Mount Tai, especially the Imperial Concubine, who suffered a lot to give birth to you."
“…”
"When you grow up, you must be filial to your mother."
"oh……"
I don’t know if he understood it, but Xinping still nodded seriously.
Nan Yan couldn't help but smile.
To be honest, she gave birth to the child without her consent, letting her experience the separation of life and death in this world. She has no right to ask her to be filial.
She only hopes that the child can live a happy and peaceful life.
After a while, the monks had reached the bottom of the platform. However, they did not continue to go up. Instead, they divided into two columns and walked to both sides of the platform. A circle of cushions were placed around the bottom of the platform, with one every three or five steps. The monks stopped in front of their respective cushions.
Until the two teams met behind the platform.
All the monks stood beside their cushions and finished reciting the scriptures. At this time, the sound of drums came from the distance.
They all sat cross-legged and chanted "Amitabha" together.
The first part of the ceremony is over.
Next, it should be the second part of today’s ceremony.
That is to say——
Just as I was thinking about it, a second long bell sound came from afar. This time the bell sounded even louder than before, and echoed for a long time in the high walls on all sides.
After the bell stopped ringing, the entire Chong'en Tower was completely silent.
There was a sound of footsteps.
Everyone seemed to realize something. They all held their breath and looked towards the direction where the footsteps came from. Nan Yan suddenly became a little nervous and couldn't help but stand up from her seat.
What she saw was a dark cloud under the sunlight, slowly moving towards her.
When they walked onto the avenue in the center, the dark cloud slowly split into four columns and dispersed to all directions. Although the team was scattered, the marching speed was still uniform. Although it was known that it was not an army, it gave people a feeling of strictness and austerity.
Those are the students of Zhujian Academy.
They were wearing gray and white long gowns, which looked like a dark cloud under the sunlight. Their sleeves fluttered in the wind as they walked, giving people a sense of lofty posture.
They walked along the four avenues around them and began to walk towards the platform.
Nan Yan's gaze was the same as before, and she immediately found the figure in the middle that she was most familiar with. He was tall and straight, and he was walking up the stairs along the avenue in the middle.
It’s Jian Ruocheng.
In the sun, everyone was tanned and sweating profusely, but he was different. His face was extremely pale, as if he was in a world of ice and snow. Even just looking at him, Nan Yan felt a chill that went through her bones.
So cold!
She subconsciously reached out and hugged her arms.
Ran Xiaoyu, who was standing by, sensed something was wrong with her and whispered, "My Lady, what's wrong?"
“…”
Nan Yan was speechless.
Until now, the ceremony was still going smoothly, and there was no other expression on Jian Ruocheng's face, but for some reason, she felt an indescribable palpitation.
She suddenly said, "Xiaoyu."
"yes."
"If—I mean if, something happens later, you must protect Princess Xinping well."
“……!”
Ran Xiaoyu looked at her with wide eyes.
Under the scorching sun, a drop of sweat slid down Nan Yan's forehead.
But it was cold sweat.
Ran Xiaoyu frowned and glanced around - compared to the relatively "pampered" Nan Yan, she had a more instinctive will to fight and was much more sensitive to danger than her. But now, at least in this Da Ci'en Temple, she could not feel any danger, but Nan Yan said so.
She was silent for a moment, then whispered, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Princess Xinping will be fine."
“…”
"You can't either!"
Nan Yan looked up at her.
At this moment, the students had already climbed up the platform from the steps on all four sides. Like the monks just now, they also stood around the platform, but there were no cushions beside them. Instead, they stood upright with their hands clasped together in a salute posture, facing all directions.
Jian Ruocheng stood in the center, in front of the Chong'en Tower.
The master of ceremonies shouted, "Recite the sacrificial words!"
Upon hearing these words, Jian Ruocheng's eyes, which had been frozen, suddenly flashed with light, as if the ice was trembling at this moment and was about to break.
Nan Yan's breathing became even tighter.
Her heart almost jumped into her throat.
A small figure walked out from the side. It was the little monk Mingxin who had not been seen for several days. He was holding a tray in his hand, and on the tray was a page of light yellow document.
That is - a sacrificial speech.
Jian Ruocheng will recite these sacrificial words in front of all the spectators at today's ceremony, and the students standing around the platform will repeat each sentence he recites, spreading out in all directions.
In this way, although the Da Ci'en Temple was so large and there were thousands of people coming to watch the ceremony, everyone could hear the emperor's sacrificial speech.
And the person who recites is the key.
Every word he reads will be clearly heard by everyone.
Jian Ruocheng lowered his head and looked at the page of document. He seemed to take a deep breath, then slowly picked it up and held it in his palm.
At this moment, the entire Da Ci'en Temple was filled with silence.
Nan Yan stood where she was, looking up at Jian Ruocheng who was the center of everyone's attention at this moment. She felt cold sweat constantly oozing out of her palms, almost soaking her entire palms.
"Second Master Jian..."
She murmured.
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