Chapter 464

Two hundred and sixty-one: Shaking the Imperial Court, Funeral Rites Arrive Again

Luoyang, Qinghua Ward.

Coinciding with the Winter Solstice, the street at the entrance of the Wei Wang Fu was bustling with activity.

Despite the snow filling the sky, the accumulated snow on the street had been trampled into mud by countless horse hooves, and the goose-feather snow turned into muddy water under the carriage wheels as soon as it landed, splashing all over the expensive silk decorating the carriages.

Carriages, some low-key and some high-profile, were parked on the street at the entrance of the Wei Wang Fu.

They even occupied the entrances of many other households.

Qinghua Ward was a famous ward for nobles in Luoyangcheng. The entire street consisted of households that were either wealthy or noble; those who bought residences on this street were either founding dukes, commandery princes, imperial sons-in-law, or a branch of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans.

Ordinary wealthy merchants and local powerful clans were not qualified to settle on this street.

But at this moment, the entire street was blocked into a mess by the heavy traffic in front of the Wei Wang Fu, yet not a single household sent servants out to complain.

For no other reason than the overwhelming power.

Because today was an important day for the Wei clan to offer sacrifices to their ancestors during the Winter Solstice.

The Winter Solstice, as the day with the shortest daylight and longest night of the year, was originally a custom in the Guanzhong region for the family to gather and eat dumplings.

The Great Zhou Imperial Court also had a routine holiday, totaling seven days around the New Year.

Apart from this, the biggest recent activity was the sacrifice to Heaven in the eastern suburbs, where Her Majesty the Empress personally led the civil and military officials to the Altar of Heaven outside the suburbs to hold a grand sacrificial ceremony, which would also be a few days after the New Year.

The people of Guanzhong did not have the custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors on a large scale on the Winter Solstice.

However, the Wei clan's ancestral home was in Bingzhou, which was considered to be in the Hedong Circuit, where the custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors on the Winter Solstice was popular.

Thus, the grandest activity in Luoyangcheng today was the massive ancestral sacrifice and family gathering of the Wei clan, which no one in Luoyang did not know about.

The reason it was called massive was because the ancestors of the Wei clan had already been moved into the Great Zhou Imperial Ancestral Temple by Her Majesty the Empress.

In the present day, with strong clan consciousness and patriarchal concepts, an individual's political status needed to be supported by the family's political status; raising the political status of the family and ancestors meant raising one's own.

As the Great Ancestor of the world, Empress Wei of the Great Zhou who changed the dynasty to Zhou and declared herself Emperor had to construct her own patriarchal status and establish the Seven Temples of the Great Zhou.

The status of the Wei clan's ancestors naturally rose with the tide, rivaling the Li clan.

Today's Winter Solstice ancestral sacrifice allowed the Wei clan to show off in Luoyangcheng.

Prince Wei Weisiji and Prince Liang Wei Sixing, who presided over the clan sacrifices on behalf of Empress Wei, also pulled out all the stops in terms of grandeur.

Especially Prince Wei Weisiji, who was considered the head of the Wei clan of this generation, a character like the patriarch of the family.

The usually stern and solemn Weisiji was walking along the long corridor with a smile on his face, heading toward the Wentiao Hall inside the Wang Fu.

He had just returned with his younger brother after presiding over the sacrifice at the Great Zhou Imperial Ancestral Temple, changed out of his black ritual robes in his room, and was now in black silk casual clothes, wearing expensive sable fur, smiling as he headed to the place where the clan members were dining.

There was a Wei clan banquet taking place there.

All the Wei clan members in Guanzhong had come, and even the collateral branches of the Wei clan from nearby circuits and not-too-distant roads had all rushed over.

Soon, he arrived at the Wentiao Hall.

This was a palace chamber possessing expensive and luxurious heating equipment such as floor heating. Apart from a few Wang Fu that had the financial and human resources to build them, only the imperial palace had them, because in this era, keeping warm in winter was a luxury.

Inside the Wentiao Hall, it was full of Wei clan members, and the atmosphere of chatting and reminiscing, which was already lively, became even more heated after the two heads of the family, Weisiji and Weisixing, appeared one after another.

Weisiji and Weisixing were surrounded by Wei clan members and female relatives as they walked toward the table at the very top.

At the same table were also some clan elders and local worthies brought from Bingzhou in the Hedong Circuit.

Weisiji offered a few kind and polite words, stood up to lead the toast, and all the Wei clan members, talented youths of the clan, wives, concubines, and female relatives followed suit to drink.

Beside him, Weisixing glanced at his elder brother's joyful expression, his own smile widened a bit, and he tilted his head to drink the warm wine.

Inside the Wentiao Hall, there were also some core guest advisors of the Wei clan, civil and military officials who relied on the Wang Fu, and meritorious nobles who were on good terms with the Wei clan, all of whom were members of the power group at the imperial court with the Wei clan as the core.

However, today's theme was the Winter Solstice ancestral sacrifice of the Wei clan, so these figures valued by the Prince of Wei and the Prince of Liang could only yield their positions slightly, sitting in the edge and back rows of the Wentiao Hall, sharing the joy with the clan relatives in front.

But in other words, being brought to such a clan gathering by the two princes was in itself a kind of closeness as one of their own. Indeed, many people looked honored, but there were also a few who remained expressionless.

Overall, the group of Wei clan retainers felt slightly relieved today seeing Weisiji's rare joyful smile.

This Prince of Wei had been wearing a coarse hemp white garment inside his black python robe for the past few days, with a white cloth headband on his head to show mourning.

It was said that His Highness the Prince of Wei was mourning his deceased youngest son, Wei Shaoxuan. Not long ago, the third son Wei Shaoqi had gone to the Jiang Nan Circuit, and definite news had come from there that the youngest son Wei Shaoxuan, who had gone to travel in the Jiang Nan Circuit with his master last year, had gone missing and been killed...

During this period, retainers and clan members could feel the Prince of Wei's terrible mood; he was stern-faced all day long, and no one dared to touch the tiger's whiskers.

It was said that on the day this Prince learned the news, he was so angry that he stabbed to death a maid in the residence who was clumsy while serving him, though these were all rumors within the residence, and it was unknown whether they were true or false.

It was only in the last few days that this Prince's mood seemed slightly better.

The second thing was the news sent back by the third young master Wei Shaoqi from Jiangzhou. According to the letter, the Buddha head had already arrived in Xunyang and was about to be joined with the Great Buddha of Xingzi Ward—counting the days, the Great Buddha should have been completed a few days ago.

It might also be because of the Winter Solstice sacrificial activities, where the Wei clan showed off, vaguely displaying the style of the number one aristocratic clan of the dynasty, suppressing the long-silent Li clan and the old-fashioned Five Surnames and Seven Clans.

Weisiji's smile today was much more frequent.

With Weisiji, the head of the clan, in a good mood, the retainers and clan members below naturally followed suit in celebration.

During the banquet, the Prince of Liang smiled and opened his mouth:

"Lin Cheng was still a bit slow. If it had been a few days earlier, nephew Shaoqi should have been able to return to the capital by the Winter Solstice. According to the letter from a few days ago, the Buddha head has already arrived in Jiangzhou City, and now the statue should be completed. Nephew Shaoqi is moving to return with little Seven." His tone was slightly reproachful.

But the retainers and clan members who understood the meaning dared not blame him, and they all praised him one after another.

Weisiji smiled and waved his hand:

"Eh, younger brother, you are wrong. Lin Cheng has already done quite well. Younger brother, you are just too strict. If I had such a good son-in-law, I wouldn't be willing to be so strict, hahaha."

"Not at all, not at all." The Prince of Liang modestly waved his hand, and the atmosphere among the crowd became lively.

A short while later, after eating and drinking their fill, Weisiji led the clan members out to the Wei clan ancestral hall inside the Wang Fu to conduct an indoor sacrifice.

Not many people went to the outdoor sacrifice at the Imperial Ancestral Temple earlier, only important figures of the clan. Now that all the clan members were present, they would usually supplement it with an indoor sacrifice, conducted at home, which would also include rituals such as offering sacrifices and bowing in respect.

Inside the family ancestral hall, after the sacrifice was completed, before leaving, Weisiji stopped in front of a new spirit tablet, on which was vaguely written "Spirit Tablet of Wei Shaoxuan."

The entire crowd saw this Prince of Wei walk over and stand for a while beside the spirit tablet, seemingly whispering a few words.

Weisixing, who was closest, vaguely heard a sentence: "Xuan'er, wait. Your father and your elder brother will definitely avenge you. The Xin Dingjian you brought out of Dragon City won't be able to run away either. Lin Cheng promised that once the Great Buddha is built, there will be a way to find that Xin Dingjian..."

A short while later, Weisiji turned around and walked out the door with a normal expression. He smiled at the crowd, gestured with his hands, and moved to the front hall.

Everyone was saying celebratory words, and Weisiji exchanged a glance with Weisixing, their eyes filled with smiles.

Just at this moment, a hurried figure ran over from not far away, standing behind the crowd and looking around, gesturing to Weisiji, who was surrounded by the crowd. Weisixing and other interested people glanced at him, vaguely remembering that he was a trusted personal guard of the Prince of Wei.

Weisiji also saw him and immediately frowned: "What's wrong? Hurried and flustered, what kind of decorum is this?"

"It's going to rain."

Weisiji also noticed the gazes of the people around him and subconsciously indicated: "What is the matter? Speak directly. Younger brother is not an outsider, and the lords here are not either."

The trusted personal guard hesitated for a moment, then poured it all out like beans from a bamboo tube:

"Your Highness, urgent news has come from Jiangzhou. Rebels have attacked the Great Buddha of Xingzi Ward. The newly erected Great Buddha has collapsed. The Right Envoy for Supervision Lin Cheng, Jiangzhou Cishi Wang Lengran, and... and the third young master have all been killed, beheaded on the spot by the rebels... The situation in Xunyang City is currently in chaos, the rebels have fled, and as of the time this news was sent out, Deputy Supervisor Song and Lady Official Rong, who were supervising the Great Buddha, have sealed off Xunyang City and simultaneously gone to invite Ouyang Lianghan out to stabilize the situation..."

The trusted guard hadn't even finished speaking.

The cup in Weisiji's hand fell to the ground, and the entire hall fell into silence. A series of dramatic expressions looked over, and Weisiji also stared straight at him, asking word for word:

"What did you say?"

The trusted guard wanted to speak, but in the next second, he was strongly stopped by the Prince of Liang's gaze.

Weisiji stood stiffly in place, first looking left and right, as if doubting whether he had gone deaf, then kicked the cup at his feet and stumbled forward a step, grabbing the trusted personal guard by the collar and asking with a low roar:

"Say it again, louder. What collapsed? What happened to the third young master?"

"Your Highness..."

Before the guard could finish speaking, the entire hall suddenly became chaotic. The Prince of Liang, whose expression was uncertain, was startled and hurriedly stepped forward to support a certain figure.

"Elder brother!"

"Eh... Your Highness, Your Highness!"

"Quick, call the imperial physician!"

The entire hall, which had been silent, suddenly exploded. The panicked crowd surrounded them like a tide...

Not long after, the Wei clan banquet, which had been grandly held, was quietly canceled. One Wei clan member after another left the Wei Wang Fu with uneasy expressions, and some rumors began to spread from the tense Wang Fu.

The street in Qinghua Ward, which had originally been bustling with traffic, was suddenly emptied.

Goose-feather snow covered the street once again...

At the same time, in a neighboring ward, inside a Prime Minister's residence, another gathering was also taking place in the study.

However, the atmosphere in the study was also somewhat special.

Master Di, Shen Xisheng, and other ministers of the Pro-Li faction were all present. However, at this moment, after browsing a certain secret letter, they were looking at Xie Xun, who had just woken up and rushed over with a confused expression, with strange eyes.

"Master, Brother Shen, everyone, why are you all looking at me like this?"

It wasn't until that fresh secret letter was handed to him.

Xie Xun frowned and examined it. A moment later, his expression changed slightly, and he asked in shock: "This... who did this? Is Lianghan currently handling the situation over there? Wait, why are you all looking at me like this? Could it be that you suspect..."

"What suspicion? What kind of word is that." Shen Xisheng asked with a strange tone: "However, is it... the Xunyang Wang Fu? Is it Lianghan's handiwork?"

A middle-aged scholar representing the Prince of Xiang's residence asked with a serious expression and a respectful tone:

"His Highness the Prince of Xiang is also very curious about this and wants to ask, is it the scheme of your high disciple, that Mr. Tanlang? The Xunyang Wang Fu... has Tripod Swords?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Xun immediately restrained his expression, took a deep breath, quickly picked up a cup of tea in front of him and drank it all, put down the teacup, and said nonchalantly:

"I don't know. It should have nothing to do with them. Lianghan is quite honest. Last time, this master even went to visit him. Look, the Xunyang Wang family and Lianghan were drinking at a poetry gathering that day..."

Seeing that he knew nothing, everyone looked at each other. Some people looked at Master Di with suspicion, and someone asked:

"Master, what should we do now? Was this matter really done by those rebels?"

The fat old man put down a poem manuscript titled "On Chrysanthemums" in his hand, having been somewhat lost in thought just now. Now that he had come back to his senses, he carefully folded it while shaking his head and saying:

"Who did it is not important. Now we don't need the truth. Previously, we suggested that the Prince in Xunyang City should not move for the time being, observe the changes, avoid the sharpness of the Wei clan, and wait for the outcome of our side... Now looking at it, plans cannot keep up with changes. The deciding factor is likely in Jiangzhou. Eh, it can be considered the luck of the Xunyang Prince and Ouyang Lianghan, though whether this luck is good or bad is hard to say, but we must help."

This old Prime Minister sighed, stood up, and went to change into his washed-white official uniform.

Xie Xun, Shen Xisheng, and the others nodded one after another and retreated with either joy or seriousness. The middle-aged strategist representing the Prince of Xiang's residence did not change his expression. After leaving the door, he chased after the others and began to inquire about Ouyang Rong's affairs, listening very carefully.

The sudden news from Jiangzhou spread throughout the imperial court in Luoyang. Originally, in this era, it was normal for a few people to die in distant prefectures and counties, and people often died in large numbers in border wars, not to mention Jiangzhou, which was currently considered to be on the southwestern front line.

But this time, the people who died were key officials presiding over the Great Buddha of Donglin: a Qi refiner who had received an imperial order from the Directorate of Astronomy, an Jiangzhou Cishi, and even a Prince's direct son, not to mention the collapsed Buddha statue... it was the first such case so far.

In Luoyangcheng, on the Winter Solstice where every household was originally dining, hurried figures detached from family banquets rushed into the palace. The festive atmosphere originally present in the palace disappeared, and the palace maids holding lamps all lowered their heads and walked past a certain stern hall with small steps...

(End of chapter)