Chapter 405 This is because the ancestors disagreed!
The next morning.
The new emperor's enthronement ceremony was held, and Shen Ruzhi, dressed in a dragon robe, went to the royal temple to prepare for ancestral worship.
The eunuch shouted that the ancestral worship ceremony was about to begin.
Shen Ruzhi took the incense stick and was about to light it when it suddenly broke in the middle.
The group looked at each other in bewilderment.
One of the senior officials said, "This is because our ancestors did not agree."
"Shut up!" Empress Dowager Lin Qingshuang, dressed in her imperial robes, had a cold look in her eyes. "Drag this treacherous minister who is spouting nonsense and disturbing people's minds away!"
The old minister stepped forward and knelt in the center, saying, "Your Majesty, even if you kill me, you cannot silence the public's opinions."
“This ancestral worship is not going well; it’s obvious that the ancestors don’t agree.”
“Lord Liu, it’s possible that the incense sticks got damp and broke,” the princess said. “This has happened before when we were worshipping our ancestors.”
"There's no need to make a big deal out of this. We should use this time to investigate who prepared the incense."
“My aunt and mother are right, Lord Liu, you are worrying too much,” Tuoba Wenjing said calmly.
This is just a small appetizer; the real show is yet to come.
The eunuch next to her changed the incense for Chen Ruzhi again, and changed it three times in a row, but it broke all three times.
Shen Ruzhi turned her head and coldly looked at the eunuch beside her, "If this incense breaks again, I will use your head to offer as a sacrifice to our ancestors."
The eunuch trembled with fright, letting go of the incense stick he was holding and replacing it with another one.
Chen Ruzhi took the incense, lit it, and knelt in worship...
The incense did not burn out again.
Shen Ruzhi stood up, turned to look at Tuoba Wenjing, and said in a cold voice, "I am determined to sit on this throne."
"If you have any other tricks up your sleeve, feel free to use them."
"However, I also have something to tell you." Shen Ruzhi's voice turned even colder. "The first thing I did upon ascending the throne was to cut off your head as a sacrifice to Ah Hai."
Tuoba Wenjing smiled dismissively, "It seems Yu Hai is quite important to you."
"Actually, I didn't want to kill him. I just wanted him to hand over the blueprints for making the giant wooden bird, but he refused no matter what I said."
“I will have the most skilled physician in Western Xia dismember him piece by piece, but he will not die.”
"He only died after we finally pulled out his heart..." Tuoba Wenjing's smile widened.
The wide sleeves of the dragon robe contained Shen Ruzhi's hands, which were clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and bright red blood dripped from her fingernails onto the dragon robe.
His scarlet eyes were like those of a god who had fallen into demonic ways.
Jiang Wan Ning, disguised as a palace maid, gently tugged at Chen Ru Zhi's dragon robe.
If Shen Ruzhi were to deal with Tuoba Wenjing at this moment, she would surely fall into Tuoba Wenjing's trap.
The new emperor goes mad and kills his own brother during his coronation ceremony...
Shen Ruzhi regained her senses, her fingers loosening slightly. "Cherish your time to be arrogant now."
He turned and left.
The sacrificial ceremony to Heaven was the most important and the last event. Shen Ruzhi arrived at the Zhaixing Tower, the highest pavilion in the Western Xia imperial city.
Just as he knelt down, the plaque outside the pavilion began to collapse, nearly killing the minister kneeling on the ground.
"Even Heaven wouldn't allow this!" Lord Liu continued to shout.
The ministers could no longer sit still and began to try to dissuade him.
"Although our Western Xia Kingdom has a precedent of women ascending the throne and becoming empress, it is only an isolated case."
Lord Liu said, "There is nothing wrong with a woman ascending the throne, but the princess grew up in Dongling."
“The princess’s heart is always with Dongling, not with the people of our Western Xia.”
"It must be because of this that Heaven does not agree, and our ancestors do not agree."
"This sacrificial ceremony cannot continue. If it continues, the Star-Picking Tower will surely collapse."
"At that time, our Western Xia will surely face a great calamity!"
After Lord Liu finished speaking, the other senior officials who had been persuaded by Tuoba Wenjing also began to echo his sentiments.
Almost everyone knelt down, pleading, "Please, Princess, abdicate! Please, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, choose another person for the throne."
Empress Dowager Lin Qingshuang stepped forward and came to Lord Liu. "You've asked me to make the decision, but I'd like to ask, who is Lord Liu's preferred candidate?"
Lord Liu leaned back, swallowed hard, and said tremblingly, "The eldest prince and the second prince have already taken up their fiefs."
"The eldest prince suffers from a hidden illness, and the second prince's mind is not on the court. Only our Third Prince, the God of War of Western Xia, can secure this throne."
"You are the Empress Dowager; you must consider the entire Western Xia!"
As Lord Liu spoke, he kowtowed hard to the ground, and the other ministers followed suit.
"Please, Your Majesty, consider the well-being of Western Xia and its countless people."
"The princess should abdicate, and the Third Prince should be made Crown Prince. The memorial ceremony can be held another day..."
"......"
Everyone in the entire palace was repeating these words aloud.
Empress Dowager Lin Qingshuang pointed at Tuoba Wenjing's nose, "Is this all your scheme?"
"If you want to sit on this throne, you should strive for it openly and honestly. Doing these things is what makes you a man."
Tuoba Wenjing stepped forward and stopped pretending.
He was surrounded by his own people, so there was no need for him to pretend anymore.
"Mother, you told me to fight for it openly and fairly? I did fight for it, didn't you see? But what was the result in the end?"
"I've been fighting for Western Xia since I was thirteen. I have at least ninety or a hundred sword wounds on my body. I've escaped death countless times. How can I be less important than a glutton in your and Father's eyes?"
Tuoba Wenjing pointed to the Star-Picking Tower, "Just because she was abandoned when she was a child? Is Father feeling guilty?"
“But this is the throne, not just any merchant’s throne.”
"Mother, have you ever thought about the people of this world, your subjects? Even if the throne were given to her, could she govern them well?"
Just as Lin Qingshuang was about to speak, Shen Ruzhi's cold voice came from behind her, "Why can't I govern well?"
Everyone looked over. One could not leave the Star-Picking Tower until the sacrificial ceremony was completed; leaving meant one did not wish to ascend the throne and become emperor.
Shen Ruzhi slowly stepped forward, her bright yellow dragon robe stained with blood, her hands and face covered in blood.
"You!" Tuoba Wenjing exclaimed in shock, "What have you done?"
"What did I do? Your Majesty will find out soon enough."
"Now, let's talk about why I can't sit on this throne."
Shen Ruzhi calmly said, "I have a very good relationship with Dongling. After I ascend the throne, the two countries can be guaranteed a hundred years of peace and no more wars. There will be no marriage alliances or tributes."
"You're saying I don't understand anything?"
"Besides fighting wars and wanting to expand your territory, have you ever thought about the miserable lives that war brings to the people?"
"Because of your constant warfare, how many people have been displaced?"
"And who said I only know how to eat?" Shen Ruzhi said.
Suddenly, several men in black appeared behind them, dragging several corpses forward.
When Tuoba Wenjing saw the corpse clearly, his heart skipped a beat, "You..."
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