Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 346 - 344 (Happy Dragon Boat Festival)

Chapter 346: Chapter 344 (Happy Dragon Boat Festival)

The 19th of June was the birthday of Guanyin.

At the same time, the national priest and the Imperial Observatory, after meticulous selection, also chose this day to conduct the royal Sacrifice to Heaven Ceremony.

It was a very grand and significant event.

The Empress Dowager issued a decree to Xiao’er, instructing her to participate in the ceremony as the future consort of the Sixth Prince.

Although Shangguan Xuanyi did not know what the purpose of the Empress Dowager’s decree was, participation in the ceremony as the future consort of the Sixth Prince meant that, on the day of the Sacrifice to Heaven Ceremony, that girl would be standing next to him.

Shangguan Xuanyi was very pleased with this.

In addition, the Empress Dowager had already selected a consort for the First Prince.

She was Ruan Weizhen, the eldest daughter of the Shuntian Mansion’s Fu Yin. She, too, would be attending the ceremony in the role of the future consort of the First Prince.

Although the Shuntian Mansion’s official position was not high, and he did not even qualify to participate in this ceremony, and even in many matters, he had a hard time making the final decision, the Shuntian Mansion’s Fu Yin could directly meet with the Emperor.

The Shuntian Mansion was in charge of the security and political affairs of the Imperial City, and also had direct connections with the six departments and the Imperial Study.

That is to say, if the official sitting in the Shuntian Mansion’s Fu Yin position could gain the Emperor’s trust and had enough courage, he had the ability to influence and even overturn the decisions of the other government offices through the Emperor.

Only the position of the Shuntian Mansion’s Fu Yin had the power, within their job, to interfere in the affairs of other departments without overstepping.

Moreover, the security of the Imperial City was quite important at certain special moments!

The daughter of the Shuntian Mansion’s Fu Yin marrying the First Prince was absolutely a case of climbing high.

And for the First Prince to marry beneath his status also sends a message to the Emperor and the world that he is content! After all, as the eldest royal grandson, he is worthy of a woman of any high status.

It is unknown whether choosing the daughter of the Shuntian Mansion’s Fu Yin as the consort of the First Prince was the First Prince’s own idea or if the Empress Dowager selected her herself, in any case, the choice was good, excellent, and brilliant.

Three days prior to the Sacrifice to Heaven Ceremony, all participants must fast and bathe to show their piety!

Aunt Rong carefully informed Xiao’er of everything a Prince’s consort was supposed to do, as well as things she needed to pay attention to.

Xiao’er was incredulous in her heart. It’s just a ceremony to worship the gods, she wondered why they made it so grand, there was so much kneeling and praying, so much fasting and abstaining from drinking, she spent the whole day doubting whether many of the wives and ladies could bear it.

Xiao’er decided to stitch some thick kneepads for herself, to spare them.

Aunt Rong watched her mistress tie kneepads onto her knees, the corners of her mouth twitched.

Xiao’er gave her a bright smile.

Aunt Rong shook her head, well, anyway, no one could see it.

The Sacrifice to Heaven ceremony was held at the Imperial Temple of Heaven.

The Temple of Heaven was somewhat similar to the modern Temple of Heaven in the Forbidden City, but not completely the same.

But one thing was the same, and that was that it was equally towering, solemn and sacred.

The ancient chants arose, long and distant...

Groups of people entered the venue in order of their ranks.

The sound of bells and drums, one after another, shook the hearts of the people.

The national priest performed rituals on the altar, ahem, pretending to be a ghost.

The altar was filled with all sorts of sacrificial offerings.

The Emperor, leading the ministers, waited for the divine light to descend.

As the sun rose, the dawn rays stretched far and wide. One beam of light shot towards the top of the hall. The pearl on the top of the hall received the light and emitted a layer of golden light, instantly enveloping the entire building, then, like a flash, it was gone.

Xiao’er doubted her own eyes.

This world was full of fantasy. Xiao’er used all the physics knowledge she had learned to apply left and right, front and back, but still couldn’t guess what had happened.

Could it be that the national priest wasn’t just pretending to be a ghost just now? Xiao’er wondered.

"The gods have been invited, all the gods share the stove, all the gods share the cup, the ceremony begins, please the Emperor give the sacrificial words!" The solemn voice of the national priest rang out.

"For the Minze dynasty, in the 13th year of the emperor’s reign, in June..."

The Emperor’s deep and majestic voice sounded, reflecting back from the echo wall and merging with the original sound. The sound was like a loud bell, long and lingering, like a divine oracle.

Under such a solemn and sacred atmosphere, everyone’s heart unconsciously became sanctified.

Under the direction of the ceremony officials, everyone performed their worship movements. After an unknown number of bows and prostrations, the ceremony was finally completed.

If it didn’t end soon, Xiao’er felt that she would definitely be sun-dried.

Shangguan Xuanyi glanced at Xiao’er’s red face, hinting her with his eyes that it would soon be over.

Xiao’er subtly nodded her head, she really felt like she was going to die from the heat!

She saw that the future consort of the First Prince kneeling in front was also looking shaky.

Ah, what a good man the Fu Yin of the Shuntian Mansion is! Why does his daughter have to marry the First Prince? It was like a fresh flower inserted into a cow dung. Xiao’er’s mind began to wander off.

The national priest was about to send the gods away when the voice of the Empress Dowager echoed: "National priest, the princes have just settled their betrothals. Please draw a hexagram for them to consult the gods, to see if they are a couple made in heaven. As princes, they carry the burden of the future glory of the Minze dynasty, so choosing a wife must be carefully considered! If they are a match made in heaven, that is naturally good. If not, for the eternal prosperity of our dynasty, we would have to..."

The Empress Dowager did not finish her sentence, but everyone who heard it knew what she meant.

"Mother, this is probably not appropriate! The talk of a match made in heaven is just a legend. To determine the fate of two people based on this is too frivolous."

"Marriage is predestined by heaven, what’s so frivolous about it? It’s just right that while the gods are all here, let’s see if the gods agree with them getting married. If they don’t agree, wouldn’t that mean there would just be one more mismatched couple?"

The Emperor was "..."

The ministers below looked at each other, what was the Empress Dowager trying to stir up?

They looked at the future consorts of the princes in front of them, and some people understood. Ruan Weizhen was chosen by the Empress Dowager as the consort of the First Prince, the Empress Dowager naturally would not be dissatisfied.

So this talk of a match made in heaven is probably aimed at the Princess of Rui’an County.

The Empress Dowager really went to great lengths to cancel the engagement, they mused!

If the gods do not agree with them being a match made in heaven, the Emperor can’t go against the will of heaven, can he!

In the Minze Dynasty, there was such a legend: all princes and royal grandsons, under the witness of the gods at the Sacrifice to Heaven Ceremony, if they calculated their marriage with their betrothed, if they were a match made in heaven, they would receive the blessings of ten thousand gods and a good omen from the heavens would descend, and vice versa.

But this is just a legend after all, no princes or royal grandsons had ever tried it, after all, if a prince can’t find a woman who is a match made in heaven with him, does that mean he doesn’t need to get married?

The Emperor fully understood the Empress Dowager’s intention to disrupt the wedding between Yi’er and Princess of Rui’an County. However, the reason she gave was too hard to accept and too hard to refuse!

The Emperor made up his mind that as long as there aren’t any disaster omens from heaven, he will firmly support these two to the end!

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