Celestial being

After worshiping heaven and earth, the little emperor took hundreds of people, including civil and military officials, to the Sheji Altar to worship the common people and Sheji.

After the complicated etiquette, everyone went to the Ancestral Temple to pay homage to Liu's ancestors.

But this time, only the prince, emperor and grandson entered the Ancestral Temple together, while the rest were waiting outside.

After all the sacrificial rituals were completed, the civil and military officials followed the emperor's dragon chariot to the Tai'an Hall where the official succession ceremony was held.

Tai'an Palace is one of the most majestic palaces in the entire imperial city. Only major events related to national unity, such as the new emperor's enthronement, crown prince's appointment, queen's appointment, etc., will be held here.

Yuan Ming followed the young emperor to Tai'an Hall as a personal guard. As soon as he entered the main hall, he saw several maroon-colored Taishi chairs at the bottom of the emperor's exclusive dragon chair, with several people sitting on them.

Among them, sitting closest to the dragon chair is a tall man wearing a purple gold Taoist robe. He has an upright appearance, solemn features, a short beard on his face, his eyes are full of light, and he has a majestic demeanor that is not angry or authoritative. .

Next to it, sat an octogenarian old man who was also wearing a purple gold Taoist robe. He had a pale face and a rather immortal air. He was clearly none other than Taoist Priest Yuhu, the national master.

Next to him, there was an old woman with gray hair sitting, holding a dragon-headed walking stick, with a kind expression on her face.

There is a dignified woman beside the old woman, wearing a water-blue gauze skirt. She looks gentle and gentle, like a woman from a Jiangnan water town, with a natural soft charm.

Behind these people, there are several chairs with some people sitting on them.

Yuan Ming knew early on that in addition to civil servants, military generals, and relatives of the emperor, there would be people from Changchun Temple and other immortal cultivating sects in the Jin Kingdom coming to watch the ceremony.

It's just that they did not participate in the worship of heaven, earth, society, and ancestors. They only waited here to observe the formal ceremony of the succession ceremony.

After the little emperor returned, he walked into the main hall. The monks sitting in the hall stood up to salute one after another. The little emperor immediately slapped his head in return.

Among the hundreds of civil and military officials, except for the chief officials of the six ministries and the governors of the three provinces, as well as a few more powerful generals who stayed in the hall, the rest of the officials were all waiting outside the hall, arranged according to their rank.

As the personal bodyguard appointed by the young emperor, Yuan Ming made an exception and sat before the emperor with the chamberlain's father-in-law.

The civil and military officials knew about Yuan Ming's relationship with the young emperor, so they were not surprised by this. However, the monks sitting at the front couldn't help but cast doubtful glances at him.

Yuan Ming didn't feel any nervousness. He glanced calmly below and even looked at the monks one by one.

Among them, the middle-aged man in purple robe and short beard is the grandfather of the young emperor Liu Tianming. He established the foundation and passed the throne to the father of the young emperor more than fifty years ago. He went to Changchun to practice Buddhism.

After that, he never interfered in the state affairs of the Jin Dynasty, and never even returned to the capital.

Rumor has it that the little emperor's father was an ordinary person with no spiritual roots. He inherited the throne at a young age. After being the emperor for almost thirty years, he suddenly passed away and passed the throne to Liu Tianming.

When he passed away, Liu Tianming's grandfather had not returned, but this time he returned to the capital of Jin Dynasty for Liu Tianming's passing ceremony, which shows how much he values ​​his grandson.

The old woman sitting in the row next to him is the head matron of Bailuo Villa, the largest immortal cultivating family in the Jin Dynasty besides the royal family. Although she is not the person with the highest cultivation level in the Villa, she has always been the talker in charge of family affairs.

The gentle woman next to her is Luo Shuixianzi, the elder of Shuijing Palace whose strength is second only to Changchun Temple in Jin Dynasty. Sitting behind them are the elders of other sects.

When Yuan Ming was looking at the others, he clearly felt a gaze falling on him. It was a gaze with spiritual intent to detect fluctuations, and it came from the Taoist Priest Yuhu, the national master.

Although this gaze only lasted for a moment, Yuan Ming still caught it keenly.

After everyone returned to their places, the father-in-law, who was in charge of the internal servants, stepped forward, shook off the dust, and shouted at the top of his voice:

"The grand ceremony of passing the throne has officially begun, and the edict of passing the throne has been announced."

After he shouted, the chief priest from the Imperial Academy immediately held an ebony tray with a roll of yellow silk in his hands, and walked slowly towards the little emperor.

When he passed by a group of princes and grandsons, most of them lowered their heads and did not dare to look. Only a few dared to raise their eyes to secretly watch, their eyes full of envy.

Among them, the Eighth Prince's gaze was the most intense.

This is not something he can blame, because the young emperor Liu Tianming is still young after all, has not yet appointed a queen, and has not given birth to a son. Naturally, if he has to choose someone to inherit the throne, he can only choose from his uncles and brothers.

Among these people, no one can compare with him in terms of ability, popularity, and qualifications.

In addition, the prime minister of the Zhongshu Province had also expressed his displeasure with him in advance. The prime ministers of the Zhongshu Province and the Menxia Province all proposed that he should inherit the throne, and the six departments of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Husband also supported his ascension.

The most important thing is that he has received the tacit approval and support from Changchun Guan.

Therefore, if nothing unexpected happens, the Eighth Prince Xian Wang is the confirmed new emperor of the Jin Dynasty.

I saw the old grand priest holding the imperial edict in front of the dragon chair. The young emperor had also stood up, fetched the imperial seal, solemnly stamped it on the imperial edict, and stamped the imperial seal.

Afterwards, the high priest held the edict in his hand and read it out in as smooth and loud a voice as possible:

"The Emperor Chengyun of Heaven has issued an edict: Our dynasty inherits the martyrs and obeys Heaven and people. Since I ascended the throne, I have respected Heaven and Father, abide by the principles and principles, put the people first in everything I do, and put the people first in all actions. I originally wanted to display my grand ambitions, However, the immortal fate is hard to deny. It is a long-term plan for the country. Now it is passed down to my brother Liu Tianze, the King of Qing. I will announce it to the world and the Xian envoys will hear about it."

The wise king, who was already ready to take a few steps forward to inherit the throne, froze when he heard the three words "Liu Tianze", as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Not Liu Guangxuan, but Liu Tianze, not the Xian King, but the Qing King.

Not only King Xian was stunned, but all the civil and military officials in the hall, including King Qing himself, were also stunned.

Prince Qing was the fourth brother of the young emperor Liu Tianming, and originally only Prime Minister Luo of Shangshu Province belonged to him. No one thought that the heir to the throne would be him.

After the wise king was stunned for a moment, his expression suddenly became distorted, and he rushed out regardless of etiquette.

"Wrong, wrong, there must be a mistake. How could it be King Qing? It's me, it should be me!" The Xian King changed his previous majesty and solemnity, waved his hands, and shouted loudly.

Everyone was shocked when they saw this, but for a while no one dared to speak.

They all looked at the little emperor carefully, wanting to see his reaction.

However, the little emperor just watched the wise king going crazy with a calm expression, without any reaction.

"Your Majesty..." At this time, Prime Minister Lou couldn't help but stood up.

His "Your Majesty" made everyone look at him.

"Do you have something to say?" the little emperor chuckled and asked.

"Your Majesty, the ownership of the throne is related to the country. It is a major matter of the country and cannot be trivial. We have discussed this matter with Your Majesty before and decided on a suitable candidate. Why the sudden change?" Prime Minister Lou did not mention who the original candidate was. , just asked.

Everyone looked at the little emperor one after another. Even the Imperial Master Yuhu Taoist Priest and Liu Tianming's grandfather, who did not care about worldly affairs, cast inquiring glances.

When the little emperor heard this, he seemed to be waiting for someone to ask questions. He immediately stood up and said:

"Uncle Eight Emperors, in the past few years that you have been involved in state affairs, you have formed cliques for personal gain, committed corruption and perverted the law. I know that these are nothing. But you ordered others to intercept and kill my envoy from the Jin Dynasty on the way. This is an unforgivable crime. "

His tone was calm, but his words were like rolling thunder, exploding above the court.

When the wise king heard this, his expression suddenly changed, his eyes turned and he glanced at Yuan Ming.

Seeing his reaction, anyone with a discerning eye already knew that what the little emperor was talking about was about Yuan Ming's assassination and disappearance a few years ago when he went on a mission to southern Xinjiang.

"I would like to ask Uncle Eighth Emperor, what did Yuan Ming do to make you hold such a grudge that you wanted to instruct his deputy, Lin Junsheng, to kill him on my way to send him as an envoy?" the little emperor asked sternly.

This old incident that many people kept secret was finally revealed at what seemed the most inopportune time.

"Did King Xian do it?" Someone among the courtiers exclaimed.

"Why did he do this?" Some people were even more puzzled.

The expressions of the civil servants in the court changed drastically and they kept whispering. Although the generals were silent, they all looked at General Yuan involuntarily. At this moment, his face was ashen, but he remained calm.

"Your Majesty, I have been wronged." The wise king looked around, immediately fell to his knees and shouted.

"It's unfair. Tell me, how did I wrong you?" the little emperor asked with a sneer.

"Your Majesty, I really have no knowledge of what you said about instigating Lin Junsheng to kill Yuan Ming. Besides, I have no reason to kill Yuan Ming at all." The wise king lowered his head to the ground and defended.

The little emperor ignored him at all and shouted: "Bring Lin Junsheng up."

As soon as he finished speaking, two soldiers escorted Lin Junsheng to the main hall.

Lin Junsheng was disheveled at the moment and seemed to be in a panic, but there was an imperceptible calmness in his eyes.

After he fell to his knees, the little emperor spoke again:

"Lin Junsheng, let me ask you, who instigated you to murder Yuan Ming on your way to southern Xinjiang?"

"Your Majesty, I really have no answer for this. Yuan Ming and I have been playmates since childhood. How could we try to murder him? On the way to the mission, Yuan Ming fell into the water because he was greedy for the beautiful scenery of the waterfall. It was all an accident. , it was not my fault, and since then I have made announcements along the way to find the person, and I would like to ask your Majesty for your warning." Lin Junsheng heard this and immediately replied.

His story had been drafted a long time ago. There were no other witnesses around, and he did not believe that the emperor could have concrete evidence to prove that he was the murderer.

When the little emperor heard this, he raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh? Then you are saying that I have wronged you?"