burial
The lights in Xiao Wan'er's room were on all day.
At daybreak, Xiao Wan'er put down her pen and paper, quickly dried the letter she had written, folded it, and placed it inside her official uniform. Before daybreak, she rushed to the Daming Palace.
In the Daming Palace, whether they participated in the coup yesterday or were hiding at home during the coup, as long as they were officials of high enough rank to attend court, they had all come to the Xuanzheng Hall, waiting for the winner of the coup.
Soon, the Emperor, Prince Xiang, Princess Taiping, and Prince Linzi arrived at the Xuanzheng Hall. Princess Taiping had clearly been crying, but she had composed herself before the court, appearing dignified and respectful. Prince Linzi was accompanied by Pei Yingguan, who had come directly to him after being driven out. He subsequently stayed at the Prince's residence, and would accompany him to court in the mornings.
After entering Xuanzheng Hall, Pei Yingguan walked into the group of ministers and stood beside Xiao Wan'er. Xiao Wan'er pretended not to see him.
After this unique court meeting began, the emperor immediately announced his abdication.
The emperor himself had no intention of abdicating, but now that things had come to this, he knew he had no choice. On the way to Xuanzheng Hall, Pei Yingguan watched him intently. Xiao Wan'er, the dynasty's only other Transcendent Realm cultivator, belonged to Princess Taiping's faction, and he feared that if he didn't abdicate, he would be deposed.
The throne had been thrown onto the Prince of Xiang's head, leaving him somewhat bewildered. Although he was nominally the one who led the coup, Prince Linzi and Princess Taiping, the credit was largely in name only; the two men themselves were primarily responsible. Now that the Emperor had directly abdicated the throne to him, he was momentarily unable to react.
Princess Taiping reacted quickly and pulled him to sit on the dragon throne. The ministers immediately shouted "Long live the emperor" and Prince Xiang became the new emperor.
Upon ascending the throne, the new emperor's first act was to reward his meritorious officials. Prince Linzi, who had played a vital role in the coup, was crowned Crown Prince, while Princess Taiping was given the title of "Princess of the Nation" and a fief of ten thousand households. The previous emperor, who had tactfully abdicated, was re-ennobled as Prince Wen.
The rewards for the remaining meritorious officials will be decided later, and the next thing to be discussed is the funeral specifications for those who were executed.
"Wei and Anle should be buried with commoner rites," an old minister suggested. "These two plotted to murder the late emperor, their crime is unforgivable. Burying them is already a great favor from Your Majesty."
Xiao Wan'er sneered.
She walked to the front of the officials, facing the old minister's angry gaze, and sneered disdainfully: "The old minister was clearly not present when the incident happened, but he knows everything about what happened. It's like telling a story."
"What's wrong with what I said?" The old minister blew his beard and glared, obviously angry.
"Old sir, it's fine to deceive others, but don't let yourself be fooled," Xiao Wan'er retorted. "Old sir, please think about this for yourself. Given the situation of the Wei mother and daughter, would the late emperor's death benefit them in the slightest? Could it be that in your opinion, the enemies that Your Majesty has spent so much effort to defeat are such fools?"
The old minister was about to retort, but the emperor stopped the argument.
"Okay, Wei will be buried with the first-rank ceremony, and Anle will be buried with the third-rank ceremony."
The emperor's words were like a magic needle that stabilized the sea, suppressing all the dissatisfaction of the ministers.
After talking about Empress Wei and Princess Anle, there was also the unjustly killed Shangguan Wan'er. Everyone present knew that she was murdered by the newly crowned Crown Prince Li Longji, but no one was willing to stand up for her.
"Those who participated in the rebellion should be buried casually. Why waste my father's time?" Li Longji obviously wanted to prove her guilt thoroughly.
Princess Taiping suppressed her anger and argued, "Your Highness, you are wrong. When Shangguan Zhaorong was trapped in the palace, she pleaded with me for help, and I sent Deputy Commander Xiao to her. How can someone who fought so hard to save herself be considered a rebel?"
Princess Taiping wanted to seek justice for Shangguan Wan'er, so Xiao Wan'er naturally would not stand idly by.
"Your Majesty, I possess a technique that, combined with a formation, can replay past events and reveal whether Shangguan Zhaorong was involved in the rebellion. This is a matter concerning her posthumous reputation, and I am willing to give it a try. If Shangguan Zhaorong is indeed an accomplice of the Wei family, I will resign and retire."
No matter what, she would never want her friend to leave with an undeserved infamy.
This was the perfect opportunity to eliminate her in the court, but the Crown Prince was strangely silent. Xiao Wan'er had expected him to follow up her words and ask her to use magic, but he actually retreated silently.
Everyone knew the result without her having to try.
"In that case, what do you think, my dear Lord Xiao?" the emperor asked Xiao Wan'er kindly.
Xiao Wan'er unexpectedly took advantage of the victory and continued to attack: "I believe that Zhaorong devoted all her energy to the Tang Dynasty during her lifetime, and was unjustly killed in the process of restoring order. She should be promoted to a higher rank and buried with the rites of a consort. Only then can her soul be comforted."
At this moment, within Xuanzheng Hall, everyone, whether those who were friendly with Xiao Wan'er or those who disliked her, were deeply shocked by her taking advantage of the situation. Having just argued that the Crown Prince had nothing to say, she actually dared to take advantage of the situation and actually make a request to the Emperor?
Being strong means not fearing death. If it were them, they really wouldn't dare to do such a risky thing.
The emperor was silent for a moment, then issued an order: "She shall be buried according to the rites of the first rank, and posthumously named Consort Xian, with the posthumous title of Huiwen. She need not be buried in Dingling."
Xiao Wan'er and Princess Taiping had no objection to this. After all, Shangguan Wan'er had only participated in government affairs under the title of Zhaorong during her lifetime, and was not a true concubine of the late emperor. It was natural that she should not be buried in Dingling. Taizong posthumously conferred the title of Xianfei upon talented women, and now Shangguan Wan'er was also posthumously conferred the title of Xianfei, following precedent.
"Your Majesty, I thank you very much." Princess Taiping was sincerely grateful to the emperor that her best friend had a good reputation after death.
After the court session, Xiao Wan'er was about to leave the palace when a figure blocked her way.
This person is the prince.
"Deputy Commander Xiao is really lucky. He avoided all the dangers along the way." When no one was around, the prince no longer concealed his hostility towards Xiao Wan'er.
Xiao Wan'er was equally unyielding: "I was unable to die in the coup as the Crown Prince wished, and I have disappointed His Royal Highness."
"Since you know that you have disappointed me, I wonder if Deputy Commander Xiao can fulfill my wish?" The prince laughed softly, his voice as cold as a poisonous snake.
"Then I'm afraid I'll continue to disappoint Your Highness," Xiao Wan'er said, not afraid to show her most infuriating side to her enemies. "I have important matters to attend to. Farewell."
She walked very quickly, leaving the prince standing there, secretly clenching his fists.
After leaving the Daming Palace, Xiao Wan'er went straight to the caravan in the city, found the caravan heading to Shu, and asked them to deliver the letter to the villa where the sect competition was previously held.
"It's no problem to give more money, but I'll just have to send it as quickly as possible."
Naturally, the caravan wouldn't refuse such a generous offer. So, Xiao Wan'er happily gave the money, and the caravan was also happy to receive it.
As the burials of Empress Wei and Princess Anle proceeded, the rewards for the meritorious officials and the promotions and demotions of other court officials were finalized. Within the Divine Dragon Guard, Pei Yingguan was promoted to Commander, while Xiao Wan'er continued as Deputy Commander. The imperial edict no longer had the words "Biyun Monk" before Pei Yingguan's name.
The Dragon Guards suffered heavy losses in this coup, and filling the vacancies within the ranks will take time. Currently, apart from a few teams that are regularly dispatched abroad, the remaining ten teams are more or less understaffed. This will take time.
When the burial of Empress Wei and Princess Anle was coming to an end, Xiao Wan'er received a letter from Princess Taiping.
"Shangguan Huiwen will be buried in Duhongyuan, Daomao Township, Xianyang County, Yongzhou. Would Deputy Commander Xiao be willing to go there as my envoy?"
Xiao Wan'er was naturally willing.
So on the day of departure, Princess Taiping sent a carriage to take Xiao Wan'er to pay her respects.
As soon as Xiao Wan'er was ready in the carriage, the maid sent by Princess Taiping presented her with silver and money.
"This is the money the princess gave me, a total of five hundred pieces of silk. Please keep it, Master Xiao."
Xiao Wan'er took it carefully. Together with the money she had brought with her, the total amount was seven hundred rolls of silk.
"How is your princess doing lately?" Sitting in the carriage, Xiao Wan'er had nothing to do, so she greeted the maid.
The maid pursed her lips and replied in a low voice, "Your Excellency, the princess is deeply saddened and in poor health."
Xiao Wan'er sighed: "Go back and tell your princess that only when she is healthy can she have the energy to avenge Sister Shangguan."
"I will tell the princess." The maid nodded in agreement.
The topic ended and there was silence all the way.
When they arrived at the place, Xiao Wan'er jumped out of the car without waiting for the maid to lift the curtain.
This place is about fifty miles away from Chang'an City. It is not the tomb of the Shangguan clan, but the family cemetery of Princess Taiping. Her first son-in-law Xue Shao is also buried here.
There were not many burial objects for Shangguan Wan'er, but the tombstone was purchased by someone sent by the emperor himself, and the epitaph was written by someone commissioned by Princess Taiping.
The epitaph, titled "Epitaph of the Late Virtuous Consort Shangguan of the Tang Dynasty," is a square bluestone tablet measuring 25 inches long, 25 inches wide, and just over 5 inches thick. It is inscribed with a checkered pattern and inscribed in 32 lines of regular script, totaling 982 characters. It contains information about her life, experiences, cause of death, and burial place. The epitaph is incredibly elegant, presumably written by a renowned contemporary calligrapher.
The last sixteen characters of the epitaph were written by Princess Taiping herself, now neatly and accurately engraved on the tombstone: "The Xiang River breaks, the Wanwei Mountain collapses. Pearls sink and break, jade shatters like a fortress. I gaze at the pines and trees, I listen quietly to the grave. May the pepper blossoms sing a thousand years of praise."
Everyone knew that Shangguan Wan'er was killed by the prince's conspiracy. Even though she was posthumously awarded the first rank and her tomb was buried with extremely high standards, there were still not many people who came to pay their respects.
After the mourners left one after another, Xiao Wan'er sat upright in front of Shangguan Wan'er's tomb, bit her finger, condensed pure water with her spiritual energy, dissolved her blood into the water, and directly drew a formation.
"Master Xiao!" Princess Taiping's maid was shocked and ran over quickly. "Master Xiao, this is the tomb of Concubine Shangguan Xian. You must not disturb the deceased's rest!"
"It's alright," Xiao Wan'er said calmly, "Sister Shangguan is truly still alive. She would be delighted to see this."
After saying that, she took out the divination grass and started to tell fortunes directly in front of Shangguan Wan'er's grave.
After a while, she opened her eyes.
"Liu Youqiu, huh? You're such a devoted Duke Xu. I'll remember you."
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