Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 347 - 345

Chapter 347: Chapter 345

Are the fortunes saying that their marriage is a match made in heaven? Does this mean checking their astrological compatibility? Xiao’er was somewhat puzzled.

The royal astrologer, after listening to the Empress Dowager, gently nodded his head, "Please invite the First Prince and Miss Ruan up to the altar."

The First Prince and Ruan Weizhen walked to the front of the altar side by side.

On the ground of the altar, there was a circular design divided into two parts, each engraved with a dragon and a phoenix respectively.

The royal astrologer gestured for them to stand on the dragon and phoenix respectively.

Once the two were in position, the royal astrologer began his ritual. Monks dressed in yellow robes all around the Temple of Heaven held one palm in front of their chests. One hand quickly rotated the Buddhist beads, their lips muttering incantations.

The monk’s incantations, reflected by the echoes around the Temple of Heaven, spread far and wide in the vast plaza, as if reaching the heavens themselves.

In such an atmosphere, everyone unavoidably felt a sense of tension and anticipation.

Some even looked up at the sky, wondering if the legendary celestial phenomenon would appear.

After a good while, the royal astrologer scattered three coins on the table, which spun for several rounds before stopping.

As the last coin came to rest, a shadow suddenly appeared in the sky, blocking the sunlight. The sky gradually darkened.

"The celestial dog is eating the sun!"

"The celestial dog is eating the sun, quick, beat the drums to drive it away!"

"Quickly light the firecrackers to scare off the celestial dog!"

...

"Amitabha!" The monks at the Temple of Heaven simultaneously chanted.

They began to recite the sutras of Guanyin, rotating their Buddhist beads.

Guards began to beat the long drums, creating a deafening noise.

People in every corner of the streets let off firecrackers, their sound echoing through the air.

"Everyone, stop staring up at the sun. You’ll go blind," Xiao’er shouted, not caring about appearances.

Those who heard Xiao’er’s words dared not continue looking, though they couldn’t resist sneaking quick glances now and then.

Xiao’er also glanced up at the solar eclipse. This solar eclipse was too coincidental!

But it’s wonderful. Someone’s plan is going to be ruined.

The faces of the Emperor, Empress, and the Empress Dowager turned extremely ugly!

Especially the Empress Dowager. The First Prince had told her that he had met Master Yunfa, who told him he needed to marry a girl born in the Year of the Monkey, the Month of the Monkey, and the Day of the Monkey, and that would turn his misfortunes into blessings and bring him good luck.

It took the Empress Dowager a lot of effort just to find a suitable woman born under these conditions for the First Prince’s marriage arrangement!

And now heaven was causing such an ominous event, a sign of political turmoil!

If it wasn’t for her insistence on divination, such a calamitous sign wouldn’t have been invoked!

So how could she possibly be pleased!

Looking up at the sun, now nearly half obscured, the First Prince was sullen.

Was heaven going against him?

Such a good move, ruined just like that!

It was all the Empress Dowager’s fault, for unnecessarily causing trouble with this so-called divination of a match made in heaven.

The celestial dog eating the sun was an extremely bad omen! Drawing such an ominous sign onto himself was equivalent to adding yet another obstacle on his path to the throne!

Ruan Weizhen looked at the eclipse in the sky, unable to hide the joy in eyes.

She had no intention of marrying the First Prince to begin with. And now, with the appearance of this bad omen, she knew she wouldn’t have to get married!

"Are you happy about this?"

Lowering his head, the First Prince looked at the lady whose face was full of composure and serenity. He didn’t miss her fleeting look of gloating.

Ruan Weizhen quickly regained her composure when the First Prince looked at her, yet he was still able to notice.

She calmly shook her head: "No."

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, even if the First Prince wanted to get angry, he couldn’t. He just snorted coldly: "I hope not!"

Once again looking up at the sun, now gradually emerging from the shadow, his heart turned even colder.

After the sun returned to normal, the royal astrologer nonchalantly announced, "A bad omen. Forcing the union will shake the foundation of the state. Now, would the Sixth Prince and the Lady Rui’an please come up to the altar."

The First Prince, hearing these words, stormed off angrily with a flap of his sleeve.

Ruan Weizhen, not minding at all, politely saluted the royal astrologer before excusing herself.

The ladies and maidens underneath the altar gave her sympathetic looks.

Ruan Weizhen returned their glances with a calm expression, even giving a polite bow as she passed Xiao’er.

What a genuinely lovely girl, Xiao’er thought.

Shangguan Xuanyi and Xiao’er stood on the altar, at the place where the First Prince and Ruan Weizhen had stood.

The royal astrologer began the ritual, the monks started chanting...

Every single person below the altar anxiously glanced back and forth between the altar and the sky.

Every single person was hoping a celestial phenomenon would appear, whether the omen was good or bad would only be known to them.

At that moment, the royal astrologer scattered three copper coins onto the table surface again, and everybody’s hearts were lodged in their throats.

Some of the maidens even began chanting for another solar eclipse to occur.

Finally, the last coin came to a stop on the tabletop.

A beam of light traced over the dragon and phoenix shapes on the ground before quickly disappearing.

The wind rose, and the white clouds in the sky began to roll and unfurl, gradually forming the shapes of a dragon and a phoenix.

Golden rays of sunlight pierced through the cloud layer. The edges of the dragon and phoenix clouds were tinted with the vibrant colors of the rainbow, dazzling and glorious!

"The rainbow auspicious cloud! Resembling a dragon and a phoenix! An extremely auspicious sign!"

"How beautiful, is this the legendary auspicious cloud of the rainbow? It’s so beautiful!"

"I thought that only rainbows in the sky could display such diverse colors..."

Xiao’er was watching the rainbow cloud in the sky with mixed feelings.

This was just too coincidental!

First, it was the solar eclipse!

And then, the rainbow cloud appeared!

Being a student of natural science, she naturally knew that the rainbow cloud occurred due to the sunlight interacting with the water vapor in the clouds under suitable environmental conditions. The sunlight passing through the clouds, by the effects of refraction and reflection, would separate the solar spectrum, thus scattering a five- or seven-color light.

And the solar eclipse was also a natural phenomenon! Where was there any celestial dog daring to eat the sun? It’d probably have been roasted into ashes even before it got close to the sun!

But luckily Heaven was giving her face! These were rare occurrences, yet they appeared in the right sequence. If the rainbow cloud had appeared before the solar eclipse, she would probably have been angry enough to cough up blood, Xiao’er thought.

"The dragon and phoenix bringing prosperity, a match made in heaven." The astrologer’s voice echoed, lingering in everyone’s mind.

"Ha ha, good! A dragon and phoenix bring prosperity, a match made in heaven." The Emperor burst out laughing.

Having received this extremely auspicious sign, all his previous bad feelings regarding the previous omen had disappeared.

"How is this possible?" The Empress Dowager, looking at the celestial phenomenon of the dragon and phoenix in the sky, was full of disbelief.

The Empress Dowager was desperate to question heaven, asking if it got it wrong!

The First Prince looked up at the rainbow cloud in the sky, his emotions becoming icy cold.

He wished he could yell at Heaven, ask the gods why they were so unfair to him. He was clearly the Emperor’s eldest son, his mother of noble birth. So why wasn’t he the rightful heir!