Liang Jiugong called over a young eunuch to help Kangxi up from the ground and head to his resting place.
The Fourth Prince then knelt on the rain-praying platform in place of Emperor Kangxi and began to pray for rain.
The Prince of Heshuo and the others kneeling below felt an eyesore when they saw the Fourth Prince kneeling in Kangxi's place!
It was as if the Fourth Master had become the emperor, a feeling that made them all very uncomfortable.
The Fourth Prince knelt on the rain-praying platform for a long time, but the sky still showed no sign of rain.
The disaster victims kneeling on the periphery saw that it was a different person and began to discuss it.
"The emperor has gone to rest. The heavens still won't send rain; it must be the work of an evil star, that's why the heavens refuse to send rain!"
"Indeed, even the emperor is exhausted, and it still won't rain. What else could it be but the work of an ominous star!"
"How long are we supposed to kneel here? If we keep kneeling like this, we might just kneel until we die, and it won't do any good!"
"Who is kneeling on the rain-praying platform?" someone asked.
"It's the Emperor's Fourth Prince!" a voice suddenly appeared.
"Fourth Prince! I heard that his concubine is pregnant with twins, she's a jinx!"
"Come on, let's stand up together and eliminate the evil star first. Only in this way can we make the heavens send rain!" someone in the crowd suddenly shouted.
"But with the emperor's guards and government officials involved, we simply can't withstand them!"
"As long as we make enough noise to let the old emperor know about the evil star, he'll kill it!" someone else said.
Meanwhile, several furtive figures slipped out of the crowd of disaster victims and quietly ran towards the door.
They arrived at a corner tower at the entrance of the Temple of Heaven. As they walked through the tower, they saw several beautiful figures standing on it. One of them, a woman in white, was using a Westerner's monocular telescope to observe the movements on the Temple of Heaven.
"Master, your subordinate has discovered another force among those disaster victims, and they are not our people!" A bearded man dressed like a disaster victim said to the woman holding a monocular telescope.
"Oh? This is getting more and more interesting! Hehehe!" The woman's laughter was very charming.
"Master, we should hold back and see what they're up to first," the man said.
"Yes, Elder Luo, keep an eye on them and see what their intentions are. As long as we stir up trouble among these refugees at the right time, we can take advantage of the chaos and kill the Tartar emperor!" A strong murderous intent appeared on the woman's veiled face.
"Yes, then I will immediately issue orders to the brothers in each location, instructing them to stay in their positions and not to make any rash moves!" The bearded man clasped his hands in a fist salute to the woman.
"Go!" the woman shouted.
After the bearded man led several people down, the woman said to the other women standing to the side, "Keep an eye on the movements on the Prayer Platform!"
After saying that, she tossed the monocular telescope to the woman closest to her.
"Princess, I have found out about the Fourteenth Prince that you asked me to investigate. Shall I report to you now?" the woman in blue said to the woman in white.
"Speak!" the woman in white said, her beautiful eyes flashing with a gentle light.
"The Fourteenth Prince's primary wife is Princess Wanyan Jinzhi of the Jin Kingdom. To date, she and the Fourteenth Prince have not had any children," the woman in blue said.
"Tie her up!" the woman in white said.
“Princess, do you have any feelings for the Fourteenth…” the woman in blue asked, looking up at the woman in white.
"When did my affairs become your concern!" the woman in white said angrily, her almond-shaped eyes wide.
"This servant knows her mistake! Please, Your Highness, calm your anger!" the woman in blue quickly bowed her head and pleaded.
"Alright, go. Just carry out the tasks I assigned, and don't ask any more questions," said the woman in white.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince remained kneeling on the rain-praying platform, praying for rain. Among the officials kneeling below, some were beginning to succumb and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
"Kill the demon star! Kill the demon star!" The crowd began to stir, and some people ignored the guards' attempts to stop them and started to approach the Prayer Platform.
"What's wrong with them?" Third Master, standing beneath the rain-praying altar, turned to look at the group of disaster victims. They seemed to be shouting something.
"In my opinion, we should just send troops to suppress these rioters," Old Nine said, turning around.
"They seemed to be shouting about killing the 'demon star,' what 'demon star'?" Eighth Master asked.
“Have you not heard the rumor that a ‘demon star’ has descended upon the earth, causing this severe drought? If we don’t get rid of the ‘demon star,’ Heaven will not let us off the hook,” said Prince Heshuo.
The ministers behind them also began to discuss the rumor that had been circulating in the capital recently.
Emperor Kangxi, who was resting inside the house, also heard the cries of the disaster victims outside and said to Liang Jiugong, "Go out and see what they are arguing about?"
After Liang Jiugong left for a while, he returned and reported to Kangxi: "Your Majesty, those disaster victims are shouting 'evil star,' 'evil star,' saying that this drought is caused by the descent of an 'evil star,' and that the 'evil star' must be removed before the rain will come."
Emperor Kangxi frowned and muttered, "This is utter nonsense. Where did this 'demon star' come from!"
Liang Jiugong said, "This servant saw those people rushing this way, and the people in the yamen were doing their best to keep them away. But this servant saw that those people were like madmen, constantly demanding to kill the 'demon star'!"
Emperor Kangxi pondered for a moment and then said, "Summon Ji Changming here!"
"Your Majesty, this humble subject pays his respects!" Ji Changming said cautiously, bowing to Emperor Kangxi after following Liang Jiugong inside.
"Ji Changming, do you know your crime?" Kangxi said.
"Your Majesty, I am unaware! Please enlighten me!" Ji Changming immediately knelt down. He knew that he might lose his life at any moment.
"Why are those disaster victims outside calling it 'demon star'? Did you spread my words? Otherwise, how would they know?" Kangxi thought that the disaster victims had heard about the Wenwu Quxing (a star associated with literature and martial arts) and that's why they were saying those things.
"Your Majesty is wise. Your humble servant would never dare to easily reveal such secrets concerning the fate of our Great Qing. Your humble servant also does not know how those people could so casually spout such nonsense about a 'demon star.' Your humble servant wonders if someone is deliberately stirring up trouble among the disaster victims, trying to incite them to cause an uprising?" Ji Changming felt a cold sweat run down his back.
Kangxi's gaze shifted slightly, and he said to Liang Jiugong, "Let all the princes in. I have something to say."
The Fourth Prince knelt on the rain-praying platform and heard the disaster victims shouting "demon star" and "demon star." He didn't know why they suddenly uttered such words, but he heard the discussions of several princes below the platform.
At this moment, Liang Jiugong arrived and relayed Kangxi's orders to the princes. The princes, including the fourth prince, all followed Liang Jiugong down from the Prayer for Rain Terrace and headed towards the room where Kangxi was resting.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
