Chapter 754: Xingwang

The Emperor's imperial procession has arrived!

It was already late, and although lights flickered all around, the true main lamps had not yet been lit because the imperial carriage had not arrived, leaving things somewhat dim. Wei Sanniang saw a fire dragon winding its way from afar, illuminating the night.

Amidst the firelight was the grand imperial procession, person after person, flag after flag, with the bright yellow imperial carriage in the center, resembling a moving palace.

Before she could see clearly, someone nearby barked, "The Holy Carriage has arrived, and you two still haven't knelt? Are you courting death?!"

Wei Sanniang knelt down in a hurry; she was not trying to be unconventional, she simply hadn't reacted in time. After being reminded, she broke out in a cold sweat and dared not even raise her head.

Immediately after, she recalled that the person had cursed, "You two?"

Was there someone else besides her who had been scared silly?

She tilted her head slightly and saw a person who had just knelt down beside her. Compared to her own trembling, that person's attitude was relaxed and at ease. Although he was kneeling, one could not see a hint of submission in him; it was as if he were sitting on the ground. Wei Sanniang could even see a sneer hanging from the corner of his mouth.

The object of the sneer was, without a doubt, the scion of the imperial house inside the carriage. He actually showed contempt for the supreme existence.

A madman.

This person must be crazy; perhaps he was just a wild scholar who, drunk on wine, cursed the heavens, the earth, and the Emperor. She was so close to this madman, would there be any trouble?

Wei Sanniang was worried on one hand, but felt strange on the other: no matter how disdainful you are, aren't you still kneeling? If you have the ability, why not jump up and slap the Empress Dowager? Or is it that as long as one is disdainful in their heart, kneeling is as if one were not kneeling at all?

"The Empress Dowager has arrived!"

"Pay respects to the Empress Dowager, may the Empress Dowager live a thousand years!"

The Empress Dowager's carriage stopped in front of Jindinglou, and she stepped down from it. The big shots who had gone upstairs early had already come down to welcome her, lining up on both sides according to their status and kneeling in ritual. The commoners knelt one after another, eyes fixed on the ground, unable to see even a corner of the Empress Dowager's clothing, let alone know what this most noble woman in the world looked like—was she like a celestial being descended to earth?

They would be able to see her once the ceremony began. Wei Sanniang thought to herself that according to the usual rituals, both the Empress Dowager and the Emperor would speak to the commoners in front of the building; there was even a precedent of throwing silver and coins from the building for the commoners to scramble for and enjoy. Later, officials remonstrated, saying it was unseemly, so this amusement suspected of being insulting was cancelled, much to the regret of the Emperor and most of the commoners.

Since the Empress Dowager has arrived, the Emperor should be here too, right?

It is said that the Emperor is very young, not even twenty years old; he should be a handsome young man, surely no worse than the Prince.

The commoners were all waiting for the Emperor to get off his carriage. After all, in the hearts of the vast majority of the populace, the greatest person under heaven is the Emperor, the one and only. Although the Empress Dowager is very noble, she is only a "Royal Concubine/Consort," and compared to the Emperor, she lacks a bit of that sacred feeling.

Commoners like Wei Sanniang were looking forward to it in the dark, but the powerful figures in front of the building were filled with doubt and suspicion.

They already knew that the Emperor had not come.

The carriage that arrived this time was only the Empress Dowager's, and following behind her was not the Emperor's carriage, but a Prince's!

How absurd!

Except for a very small number of people who knew the inside story, most of the nobles were filled with doubt and suspicion: on such a public and customary occasion, it should clearly have been the Empress Dowager and the Emperor; what was the meaning of a Prince coming instead?

Where is the Emperor?

Where did the Emperor go?

Even if he had something to do and couldn't come, he should have notified everyone in advance. What was the meaning of not coming without a word? It would cause public outcry.

Although shocked in their hearts, most of the nobles and officials still bowed respectfully: "We subjects pay respects to the Empress Dowager." No one present dared to be the one to stir up trouble; they all respected the Empress Dowager's authority. The powerful figures of Jingcheng had long been trained into submission by the State Preceptor, and the feudal lords who had entered the capital had just been trained into submission by the State Preceptor.

Therefore, seeing such a strange scene, the place fell into a sudden silence.

The Empress Dowager scanned the kneeling crowd. Knowing full well that they were each harboring their own ulterior motives and had at least ten thousand schemes in their hearts, she remained calm and composed. Instead, she was all smiles, as kind as the Holy Mother of Yaochi, though she felt a bit nervous inside: today was a critical moment, and no mistakes could be allowed.

She took a breath in secret and did not say "all officials rise" as she usually did; instead, she said, "Come down, Xingwang."

Xingwang?

Just as a question mark rose in everyone's hearts, a boy of twelve or thirteen stepped down from the Empress Dowager's carriage. This boy was dressed in magnificent princely attire, his face slightly pale, looking even thinner and weaker than the average boy of his age.

This was none other than the current Emperor's third brother, and his youngest brother, Xingwang Yuan Shengyu.

This Xingwang was born of a humble mother. When the late Emperor passed away, he was only one year old. He had been raised in the deep palace and had not even gone out to study. It was only after the Emperor took personal charge of the government that he was enfeoffed as a Prince. Because he was young, he had not yet been assigned a residence, and he was never seen on any occasion; he was practically a transparent person. Appearing before everyone all of a sudden, if not for the Empress Dowager calling his title, those who could recognize him would likely not even number a handful.

So what was the meaning of the Empress Dowager suddenly bringing Xingwang to such an occasion, and even arriving in the same carriage as her?

Only then did the Empress Dowager allow everyone to rise. She did not go upstairs, but instead took hold of Xingwang—this action made the boy very nervous, his face turning even paler, yet he dared not refuse: "The Emperor was originally going to come today, but he was accidentally taken ill. I only told him to rest at ease, and the Empress is also taking care of him in the palace. Yet he still kept this fireworks display in mind, kept the custom of enjoying the festivities with the people in mind, and would not let the ten thousand people be disappointed. Therefore, he sent Xingwang to attend in his stead. Xingwang naturally has his own carriage, but I thought, for such a short distance, why should the two of us bother with two carriages? It is just right to chat about family matters in one carriage, so we came together."

The two of us?

Nonsense!

More than one person in front of the building had this thought flash through their minds: since when did the Empress Dowager and Xingwang become "the two of us"?

Although in terms of ritual, Xingwang was also the Empress Dowager's child, the Empress Dowager had never shown the slightest intention of acknowledging this son. Everyone had basically never seen Xingwang, but they had all seen how the Emperor's other brother, Si Wang, feared the Empress Dowager like a tiger. It was conceivable that this Empress Dowager, who had once presided over the court, could absolutely not be called a kind mother to a non-biological prince. Even now, Xingwang's performance clearly showed he was terrified of the Empress Dowager; he probably didn't want to ride in the same carriage as her at all, and was merely forced to.

Therefore, the Empress Dowager's talk of "the two of us" and "chatting about family matters" was truly laughable.

But while her words were laughable, the stance she displayed was not laughable at all.

Those who could secure a position in front of this building certainly did not lack political sensitivity. Thinking carefully about the stance the Empress Dowager displayed, then thinking about the martial law and chaos of the past few days, as well as the "Emperor's illness" mentioned by the Empress Dowager, and putting it all together, it was chilling.

Who hasn't read history books?

"This subject petitions the Empress Dowager—"

Just as the Empress Dowager was about to take Xingwang's hand to ascend the building, a voice suddenly came.

Wang Fei was standing in the ranks, his heart hanging in suspense the whole time. Hearing someone step forward, his heart pounded wildly. Looking to the side, it was actually Shou Wang.

Shou Wang looked spirited, in even better condition than when he had broken into the Dao Palace earlier. He stepped forward and said, "The Sovereign Father's dragon body is unwell; how could the ten thousand people be anything but terrified and uneasy? How could they have the heart to indulge in pleasure? It would be better to suspend this fireworks display, stop the variety shows, and change it to praying for the Emperor's well-being."

The Empress Dowager waved her hand and said, "The Imperial Uncle takes it too seriously. Although the Emperor is ill, he still cares for the people's happiness and specifically ordered not to disturb the people's Lantern Festival celebrations on his account. He instructed Xingwang to attend on behalf of the Son of Heaven; this is the decree. Whatever the Emperor did in the past, Xingwang shall do the same today. Say no more, light the lamps immediately."

Having said this, she took hold of Xingwang's hand and ascended the building.

Since the Empress Dowager insisted on following the procedure, the imperial relatives and officials naturally had to follow the procedure as well, lining up to go upstairs together.

At this moment, all the lanterns downstairs were lit. There were round lanterns, colored lanterns, lotus lanterns, dice lanterns, revolving lanterns, Long-Life lanterns, Peace lanterns... all kinds of lights were colorful and brilliant, like fire trees and silver flowers, piled together like a mountain of gold and silver. Beside them, the grand opera began, gongs and drums thundered, strings and flutes played melodiously, and the celebration kicked off. The commoners finally waited for the excitement and cheered without exception.

The commoners downstairs were filled with joy, but the atmosphere upstairs was surging with undercurrents.

The Empress Dowager took her seat. The position reserved for the Emperor was naturally left empty, but a separate seat was left for Xingwang, positioned on the other side of the dragon throne, only slightly lower than the Empress Dowager, and still above the other princes.

If one were to be particular, this position should have been the Crown Prince's.

It was very quiet upstairs for a moment; fortunately, it was lively enough downstairs, and the various noisy sounds coming up were able to mask it a little.

The Empress Dowager finally smiled and said, "Today is the Lantern Festival, truly very lively, and quite a few people have come. All imperial relatives and officials at court, this is common, but I have not seen the feudal lords from the various outer provinces. Why not come over and meet them? Xingwang and I would also like to get to know them."

Everyone heard this and frowned: for the Empress Dowager to want to get to know the outer provincial lords was already overstepping her bounds. But considering she was the former Empress who had once ruled from behind the curtain, and had only returned power for a year—and although the Emperor had married and taken personal charge, he often took the initiative to consult the Empress Dowager's opinions—it was not impossible to gloss over. But what was the meaning of letting Xingwang get to know the outer feudal lords? Xingwang was a prince of the deep palace; was he someone they could get to know?

Things were getting more and more suspicious.

Most people were already burning with anxiety inside, while another portion was also anxious, but the direction of their anxiety was different. For instance, Wang Fei had matters on his mind; ever since the beginning, he had been sweating profusely, and the old Prince Chun beside him glared at him, signaling him to stay calm and not look so unpresentable.

Among the assembled officials here, some were also about to take action. In truth, having the feudal lords of the realm enter the capital to pay respects to the Emperor at the Lantern Festival, and then having the Emperor proceed according to the plan to resolve the difficulties posed by the outer fiefs, had all been discussed and agreed upon by the Shangshutai; if the lords hesitated, the court officials were supposed to cooperate and urge them on, and there was a procedure for this, but the only problem was that the Emperor had not come, so should this procedure still be followed?

Of course, the Empress Dowager did not launch a surprise attack on everyone; she also had helpers in the outer court, those officials who had been gradually marginalized after the Emperor began his personal rule, but who were now once again relied upon by her, and naturally, they knew the inside story; at this moment, the Shangshu Puye stepped forward and said, "Lords, pay respects to the Empress Dowager and the Prince of Xing!"

The various lords were still quite obedient, stepping forward in the order that had been set long ago.

Without waiting for them to come forward one by one, the Empress Dowager suddenly said, "I see that Junhui has not come? Why is the Gaoyuan Marquis not to be seen?"