Chapter 672

The twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month, the Day of the Kitchen God.

According to the rites of the Chen dynasty, on this day the emperor must personally go to the Nanjiao Yuanqiu Tan to offer sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, praying for blessings for the year.

Before dawn, the ceremonial guard was already ready.

Banners blocked the sun, armor stood in orderly rows.

From the main gate of Huangcheng to Nanjiao, ten li away, clean water was sprinkled on the streets and yellow earth laid on the road.

On both sides of the imperial way, the forbidden troops stood holding halberds, their eyes like hawks.

The common people were allowed early on to watch the ceremony in the designated area, heads gathered together, yet there was no clamor.

There was only a solemn silence.

At the exact chen hour, bells and drums sounded together.

Emperor Chen Zhong, wearing a black coronation robe with twelve symbolic patterns, stepped out of the palace gate and mounted the jade carriage.

The Retired Emperor Chen Hong rode in the following carriage.

Civil and military officials followed according to their ranks.

Chen Wen was not in formal court attire, wearing only a deep blue everyday robe, riding a horse alongside the jade carriage.

It seemed ordinary, but his position was precisely above the 'momentum eye' of the entire ceremonial procession.

The procession moved slowly forward.

Horse hooves struck the blue stone road, producing a neat, uniform crisp sound.

Chen Wen slightly closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the system.

【Shi Yong】 unfolded silently.

In his 'eyes,' at this moment Xijing was enveloped by a vast and orderly 'momentum.'

This 'momentum' originated from the myriad common people's anticipation of a peaceful era.

It originated from the officials' reverence for the imperial court.

It originated from the army's sternness and discipline.

Furthermore, it originated from the emperor's personal sacrifice to Heaven and Earth, representing the 'orthodoxy of the Mandate of Heaven.'

Thread by thread, they gathered into a flow, moving slowly and firmly toward the Nanjiao Yuanqiu as the procession advanced.

This is one manifestation of the nation's fortune.

Usually it disperses in all directions, nourishing all things.

Only at specific moments, due to specific rites, is it briefly gathered and manifested.

Today's Heavenly Sacrifice is precisely the best opportunity.

What Chen Wen needs to do is very simple.

It is also very difficult.

He needs to act at the moment when the Heavenly Sacrifice ceremony reaches its climax, when the thoughts of Heaven, Earth, humanity, and the gods converge, and the nation's fortune condenses and manifests.

Using himself as a medium, with the overflowing system as a guide.

Without disrupting the ceremony or alarming anyone.

From that gathered, vast national fortune, guide out a small portion.

Not plunder.

But 'borrowing.'

Like diverting a tiny trickle from a rushing river into a prepared pond.

This requires extremely fine control.

Too much could disturb the ritual, cause heavenly omens, and arouse suspicion.

Too little would fail to meet the required reserve.

The jade carriage arrived at Nanjiao.

The Yuanqiu Tan is three tiers high, round to symbolize Heaven, built entirely of white marble, glowing with a warm luster in the winter morning light.

Chen Zhong dismounted, and under the guidance of the ritual officials, he stepped onto the altar step by step.

The officials stood reverently beneath the altar.

Chen Wen dismounted from his horse and stood at the very front of the civil officials' ranks, his position subtly offset from the central axis.

He needed this angle.

The music began.

The 'Su He Zhang'.

Bells, chimes, and drums, solemn and grand.

Chen Zhong, following ancient rites, performed the initial offering, the secondary offering, and the final offering.

He laid out silk, presented wine cups, and recited the memorial text.

His voice was clear and resonant, echoing across the open field.

"... I, having received the Mandate of Heaven, govern all directions; relying on the spirits of our ancestors, the soldiers devote themselves, the people till diligently; this year the northern frontier has won victory, demonic vapors have temporarily receded, and the realm within the seas is roughly at peace..."

"... I respectfully offer jade and silk, purified sacrifices, grains and assorted foods, presenting them clearly; Heaven and Earth, thick and solid, truly shall behold them; I humbly pray that the Chen dynasty be blessed with favorable winds and rains, enduring longevity of the state; the frontiers forever secure, and all myriad people healthy and at peace..."

The memorial text finished being recited.

Chen Zhong bowed deeply.

The officials beneath the altar all bowed down together.

The common people likewise followed by kneeling and prostrating.

Between Heaven and Earth, it seemed only the fluttering banners and the solemn music remained.

Just at this moment.

Chen Wen moved.

He still kept his head slightly bowed.

Deep in his consciousness, the system operated at full capacity.

The overflowing Huang Guang of experience merged with his own Huang Yun, which he had wielded over the realm for over a hundred years.

It turned into an extremely faint, almost imperceptible 'lead line'.

It lightly 'attached' to the vast national fortune that had manifested and condensed above the Yuanqiu Tan due to the people's worship and the emperor's reverence.

The sensation was like touching a warm, slowly rotating Jin Yun Hai.

Vast, heavy, carrying a mighty power that shakes the mind and spirit.

Chen Wen's heart was like still water.

The lead line trembled slightly.

He began to carefully 'lead'.

It was not a violent tearing.

Instead, following the rhythm of the national fortune's own flow, he drew out a thin trickle at the edge of its surging torrent toward heaven.

The trickle flowed along the invisible 'lead line', slowly toward Chen Wen.

More precisely, it flowed toward a special 'reserve space' within the system that was linked to his consciousness.

The process was silent and soundless.

On the altar, Chen Zhong had already poured the sacrificial wine onto the burnt wood.

The flames erupted skyward, and the blue smoke rose straight to the heavens.

The music reached its climax.

The countless people below held their breath.

No one saw that, around the blue smoke shooting straight to the heavens, the air showed an extremely fine, water‑like distortion.

No one sensed that an intangible yet weight‑like‑a‑thousand‑jin force was quietly altering a thread of flow.

Only Chen Wen.

He could clearly 'see' that golden trickle flowing into the reserve space.

The speed was steady, the amount precise.

It was enough to support the 'major undertaking' in his plan.

Yet it did not cause any observable decline in the manifest national fortune on the altar.

The firelight illuminated Chen Zhong's youthful and solemn face.

It also lit Chen Wen's calm, waveless eyes below the altar.

He gradually stopped leading.

The lead line quietly retracted.

The trickle merging into the national fortune's main flow naturally broke off, leaving no trace.

The whole process took only a little over ten breaths.

The most crucial part of the heaven‑offering rite was just completed.

The music shifted to the 'Shu He Zhang', slightly livelier than before.

Chen Zhong performed the salute again, stepping down the altar step by step.

The officials rose.

The people also gradually rose, speaking in low voices, the atmosphere easing slightly.

It seemed that the solemn, breath‑taking moment just now was merely a fragment of the ordinary sacrifice.

Chen Wen gently exhaled a mouthful of turbid air.

The inner garment on his back was already slightly damp with cold sweat.

Success.

Within the reserve space, the guided trickle of national fortune quietly swirled, exuding a warm yet powerful aura.

This was the most crucial step of the plan.

With it, the subsequent matters could proceed.

The procession began its return.

As Chen Zhong mounted the jade carriage, his gaze seemed to unintentionally sweep over Chen Wen's position.

The gazes of the grandfather and grandson briefly met in the air.

Chen Zhong barely nodded.

Chen Wen slightly returned the nod.

The carriage set off.

On the return route, the cheers of the onlooking people were noticeably louder.

The heaven‑offering had gone smoothly; to them it foretold favorable weather and a good omen for the coming year.

The civil and military officials in the troop also relaxed a bit.

Only Chen Wen remained exceptionally calm amidst the growing clamor around him.

He silently sensed the national fortune within the reserve space.

Enough.

But it also needed to be carefully budgeted.

Before the year's end, he still needed to finalize the list, confirm the site, and check every detail.

There could be no mistake at all.

Your Majesty

Zhang Cheng had ridden up at some point, his voice kept low.

Everything is going smoothly.

Hmm. Chen Wen stared ahead.

Wang Ru's side: the site has been checked repeatedly three times, ensuring no trouble.

Zhao Lao Nian's outpost: the first batch has safely arrived at the designated position and is being set up.

Qian Gui……the Huai Xi side seems to have a breakthrough; at the latest we will have more definite news tomorrow.

Reports came in one after another, concise and to the point.

Chen Wen listened quietly.

Tell Qian Gui: as soon as it's confirmed, report to me immediately.

Understood.

Zhang Cheng accepted the order and fell back half a horse's length.

Chen Wen lifted his head.

Winter sunlight filtered through the clouds, falling on the majestic walls of the imperial city.

The blue smoke from the heaven‑offering ritual had long since dissipated.

But a more secret, more important 'ritual' is now counting down.

The carriage drove into the palace gate.

The heavy vermilion doors slowly closed behind us, shutting out the clamor of the market streets.

Inside the palace lies another world.

Solemn and profound, it bears the dynasty's most core operations and its heaviest secrets.

Chen Wen dismounted and walked toward his own sleeping quarters.

He needed to rest a moment.

The pull of just a dozen or so breaths had consumed his mind and spirit far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

But his steps were steady.

Because the vision of the future in his mind.

Had become ever clearer.