Chapter 506: Skyfire, warning!
The next morning, all civil and military officials gathered in the Pilgrimage Hall.
Last night's thunderstorm had stopped, but a faint blue smoke was still rising from the cold palace, and a faint smell of burning could be smelled in the air.
Zhao Yunci was sitting on the dragon throne, listening to reports from various departments about yesterday's grand ceremony of enthronement, when suddenly a censor in the uniform of a sixth-rank official stepped out.
"Your Majesty, I have a memorial to report." The censor bowed.
"What's the matter?" Zhao Yunci asked lightly.
"I believe that the fire in the cold palace caused by lightning last night was a warning from heaven."
The censor spoke in a loud voice, "As the old saying goes, if the empress's virtue is not cultivated, Heaven will surely warn her. Your Majesty is born into the common people, and her virtue is lacking. I am afraid she is not fit to be a mother to the country."
As soon as the words fell, the whole court was in an uproar.
Zhao Yunci's face instantly turned gloomy, and he leaned forward slightly on the dragon throne.
"What did you say?"
The censor saw the emperor's anger, but he still continued, "Every word I said is true. The enthronement ceremony has just ended, and the cold palace has been struck by lightning. This is clearly the heavens' displeasure with the Empress's background."
"If the Empress' virtue is worthy of her position, how could she have caused such a celestial phenomenon?"
The Minister of Revenue immediately stepped forward to retort, "Nonsense! Summer thunderstorms are commonplace; how can they be connected to the enthronement ceremony?"
"That's right!" The Minister of Rites also stood up. "The Empress is of high moral character and integrity, and that's why she was canonized by His Majesty. You're calling a mere thunderstorm a warning from heaven. How ridiculous!"
The censor refused to give in: "You two gentlemen are wrong. The connection between heaven and man is a clear teaching from ancient times."
"The canonization took place yesterday, and there was thunder and fire at night. The timing is so coincidental, could it be a coincidence?"
"Furthermore, although the Empress was canonized, her origin is indeed..."
"Enough!" Zhao Yunci slammed the dragon table, causing the entire hall to fall silent.
"What's your turn to comment on my queen?" Zhao Yunci stood up, looking very majestic.
"How dare a mere sixth-rank censor criticize the Empress in the court? Are you tired of living?"
The censor was frightened by the emperor's anger, his face turned pale, but he still said with all his strength: "I am only thinking about the country. If the queen's virtue is not worthy of the position, I am afraid..."
"If you dare to say another word, I will drag you out and chop you into pieces!" Zhao Yunci's voice was as cold as ice.
"The Empress was personally appointed by me. I know her moral character very well. Why would I need a villain like you to judge her?"
"Let me tell you, the Empress is a person of high moral character and a kind heart. She is a thousand times better than a villain like you who only knows how to spread rumors and slander!"
All the civil and military officials in the court were frightened by the emperor's anger and lowered their heads.
The censor, realizing the situation was not good, quickly knelt down and begged for mercy: "I know I was wrong, Your Majesty, please calm down."
"Calm down?" Zhao Yunci sneered, "My queen has been insulted by you like this, and you just say calm down?"
"Come here, drag this man away and punish him with eighty strokes of the cane!"
"Your Majesty, please spare me! Your Majesty, please spare me!" The censor was dragged away by the guards, and his voice gradually faded away.
Zhao Yunci looked around at the entire court, civil and military officials, and said in a cold voice, "If anyone else has any objections to the Empress, please stand up and I will deal with them all!"
The whole hall was in complete silence, and no one dared to speak.
"Since no one says anything else, today's morning court session ends here." Zhao Yunci turned away.
After dismissing the court, Zhao Yunci returned to the imperial study, but the anger in her heart had not subsided.
At this moment, a young eunuch hurried in and knelt down to report: "Your Majesty, I have made an important discovery!"
"What's the matter?" Zhao Yunci asked without raising her head.
"Your Majesty, I went to the cold palace this morning to check the fire and found this in the ruins." The young eunuch held a broken pottery jar in his hands.
Zhao Yunci then raised her head and asked, "What is this?"
"Your Majesty, this is a jar of tung oil," the young eunuch said cautiously. "I smelled it, and it does smell like tung oil."
Zhao Yunci took the pottery jar and examined it carefully. "Are you saying that last night's fire wasn't caused by thunder?"
"That's right," the young eunuch nodded. "Tung oil is extremely flammable. If someone had spread tung oil in the cold palace beforehand and then set fire to it during a thunderstorm, it would have made it look like a lightning strike."
Zhao Yunci placed the pot heavily on the table, a cold light flashing in his eyes: "What a thunderbolt that strikes fire!"
"Your Majesty, I also found footprints at the scene. It seems that there is more than one person." The young eunuch continued to report.
Zhao Yunci said angrily, "I want to see who dares to play such a trick under my nose!"
Zhao Yunci sat alone in the imperial study, with a thousand thoughts in her mind.
First, someone took advantage of the situation in the court to slander the queen, and now it has been discovered that the fire in the cold palace was man-made.
These two events seem unrelated, but the timing is so coincidental that it is probably no accident.
"Someone come here." Zhao Yunci called.
"Your Majesty." The chief eunuch immediately appeared.
"Pass on my order to thoroughly investigate the background of the censor in the court to see if there is anyone behind him."
"Yes, I'll do it right away."
"Also, send someone to secretly protect the queen and don't let her come into any harm."
"I understand."
Inside the Chaofeng Palace, the morning light shines into the palace through the window lattices.
Su Wan was sitting on the phoenix throne in a phoenix robe and a light little phoenix crown on her head. Although it was not as luxurious as when she was crowned yesterday, it still showed the majesty of the queen.
This was her first time receiving greetings from concubines since she entered the palace as queen, so she couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
She took a deep breath and tried to look calm.
"I, your concubines, pay my respects to Her Majesty the Queen. May Her Majesty live a thousand years, a thousand years, and a thousand thousand years."
Following the eunuch's announcement, the concubines filed in and saluted in unison.
Su Wan looked at the beautifully dressed women in front of him and secretly reminded himself to stay calm.
"Sisters, please stand up." Su Wan said gently.
After the concubines stood up, they stood in two rows.
Su Wan glanced over and saw that some of them had pretty faces, while some of them had a hint of disdain in their eyes, and her heart couldn't help but tighten.
Su Wan tried to make her voice sound gentle and kind, "I'm new to the palace, and this is my first time meeting you sisters. I've prepared some small gifts."
As she spoke, she winked at the maids beside her, who immediately brought out the brocade boxes that had been prepared long ago, filled with all kinds of exquisite jewelry and silks.
"Sister Lin Fei." Su Wan first pointed at a concubine who looked more amiable. "This white jade hairpin suits your temperament very well."
Concubine Lin accepted the gift with a flattered expression on her face: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the gift."
Su Wan then distributed gifts to the other concubines in turn. Each one was carefully selected by her, striving to suit everyone's preferences.
Just as the atmosphere was gradually easing, a concubine standing on the right suddenly spoke.
"Your Majesty, the Queen is truly thoughtful, but..."
The concubine paused deliberately, waiting for everyone's attention to focus on her before continuing:
"But I heard that at the morning court this morning, an official said that last night's thunder and fire were a warning from heaven, implying that the Empress was unworthy of her position."
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