Chapter 127 Sudden Change!
“Madam, Miss, please get off.”
The road to the altar was too narrow for the carriage to get through, so they had to walk to it.
The onlookers were blocked on both sides of the street. Su Muge looked up from afar and could vaguely see the altar.
There was a large open s.p.a.ce below the altar. All officials and their families stood by their ranks, so the Su family could only stand in the back.
“His Majesty is coming …” Hearing a sharp voice, everyone knelt.
Su Muge squatted down and looked up slightly; a bright yellow figure appeared in a distance.
Xia Hourui was wearing a golden dragon crown and a dragon robe which was more complicated than usual.
The imperial astronomer bowed forward. “Your Majesty, it will be the auspicious time after a quarter of an hour.”
Xia Hourui nodded and turned to step on the stone steps leading to the altar.
The altar was nearly thirty meters high with nearly one hundred stone steps. At the top of the altar was the divine bell. And the ceremony of heaven worship was to be held there.
Su Muge and others were still kneeling on the ground. Many people were wearing an awed face. But whether they were sincere or not was unknown.
She looked up and saw Xia Hourui walking up the stone steps. Suddenly, a cold wind blew, making her nose a bit stiff.
With the roaring cold wind, the golden sunlight couldn’t break through the clouds and the sky was still dark.
After Xia Hourui walked to the altar, a series of drumming sound of “bang” shook the ground.
“It’s the auspicious time. The ceremony begins …”
The priests ran out from behind the altar, waving the bells and ribbons in their hands and dancing a strange sacrifice dance.
Xia Hourui walked to the altar solemnly, took the incense handed by the imperial astronomer, and knelt on the futon.
“Thank heaven, please protect the Chu…” The imperial astronomer sang loudly, with the yellow symbol in his hand flying in the cold wind.
Su Muge was so cold that she breathed on her stiff fingers, and the water vapor she exhaled blurred her vision for a moment.
“Whir, whir…”
The cold wind was getting fiercer, making people almost unable to open their eyes.
“Up!”
After hearing a loud and sonorous voice, they heard a loud noise of dropping a heavy object the next moment.
“Boom!”
This time, the ground was really shaking!
“It’s the divine bell! The divine bell is broken! The divine bell is broken!”
Someone in the crowd screamed, breaking the silence.
“What? It was the sound of the divine bell falling down?”
“It’s true! The divine bell is broken!”
The divine bell fell straight in front of the open s.p.a.ce where they were kneeling. Those kneeling in the front could see the large fragments of the divine bell.
“The G.o.ds are punishing the Chu! The G.o.ds are angry and are to punish the Chu!”
Both the officials attending the ceremony and the common people watching from outside were shocked. The divine bell had been in the Chu for hundreds of years and had always been standing in the wind and rain. Now, however, it was broken while the Emperor was offering sacrifice to heaven and inviting G.o.d’s will!
With his grey beard trembling slightly, Xia Hourui stared at the remaining half of the divine bell in front of him with red eyes.
Just now, when he put the incense in his hand into the furnace, the divine bell moved suddenly, broke apart in front of his eyes, and dropped down the altar!
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, are you okay?” The imperial astronomer was too scared to speak clearly.
Xia Hourui came to his sense and stared at the imperial astronomer in a daze.
“Since ancient times, it has been the Emperor to offer sacrifice to heaven and there has never been a problem. Now, the G.o.ds are angry and the divine bell is broken. There must be a problem with the Emperor of the Chu.”
A loud and sonorous voice resounded in the crowd. Even Su Muge standing at the back could hear it clearly.
The Emperor had a problem … How dare he say so!?
It was to say that the present Emperor is not the real son of heaven!
“What? His Majesty is not the real son of heaven? Is this impossible?”
“Yeah, for so many years …”
“Who knows? He hasn’t offered sacrifice to heaven for so many years after all. The ringing divine bell this time is not to bring blessings to the Chu, but to punish the Chu for its fake Emperor. The ringing divine bell is warning us?”
The voices of discussion were getting louder, as well as the voices of questioning Xia Hourui.
n.o.body dared to say such words at ordinary times, but now they had witnessed the broken divine bell and were extraordinarily shocked.
“Your Majesty, what shall we do?”
Now the Divine bell had split in half; half of it was still hanging on the altar, and the other half had fallen down the altar and smashed into pieces.
If this mess was not cleared up, there would be endless troubles!
In the chaotic crowd, a black figure appeared slowly. He glanced at the top of the altar and took out a silver piccolo to blow gently.
“Buzz …” The sound was completely submerged in the noisy crowd.
Just as Xia Hourui wanted to go down the altar, he suddenly felt suffocated, covered his chest with his eyes widened, and fell down the stone steps stiffly!
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
“Ah!”
Xia Hourui rolled down the stone steps quickly. Xia Houkun, who was standing in the front, rushed up with a frown to catch him. His movements seemed to be fast; but when he caught Xia Hourui, Xia Hourui had covered at least half of the stone steps. His forehead was broken and his face was b.l.o.o.d.y, which looked very scary.
“Imperial doctors! Where are the imperial doctors? Come out immediately!” Xia Houkun yelled out on the platform with Xia Hourui in his arms.
“Let the imperial guards open the way and send His Majesty back to the palace!”
“Yes.”
Xia Hourui’s falling made the people below the altar boiling.
“Who was the man falling off the altar just now?”
“It’s His Majesty! I have seen it. A man in a dragon robe fell from the altar!”
Seeing the chaos in front of her, Su Muge frowned.
“Mother, let’s go home.”
“What? Now?” Zhao was still in a daze after being pulled by Su Muge.
“Yes, it’s too chaotic here. Sister Meihua, go to find our carriage. We’ll go back to Su Mansion through a shortcut.”
The way back to Su Mansion was exactly in the opposite direction to the Imperial Palace. Now the road must be empty.
“Mumu, your father and grandmother are still…”
“Mother, rest a.s.sured. My father will protect my grandmother.”
Su Muge held Zhao up, and Zhao could only follow her quickly.
“He’s not the real son of heaven! He’s not the real son of heaven! The G.o.ds are punishing the fake Emperor.”
“Yes, the real son of heaven won’t make the divine bell broken. Nor will he fall off the altar.”
The shouts in the crowd were getting louder and louder, and Su Muge and Zhao were moving faster and faster.
“Kill the fake Emperor and find the real one!”
Dingxi w.a.n.g looked at Xia Hourui surrounded by the crowd with his dim eyes.
“Since he’s not the real Emperor, why should we keep him?”
King Dingxi slowly pulled out the sword from his waist and moved towards Xia Hourui step by step.
Xia Houkun had discovered King Dingxi when he was approaching, but he took no action.
“Hurry up! Where are the imperial doctors? Come on!”
King Dingxi raised the corner of his lips coldly. “Go to h.e.l.l, Xia Hourui!”
“Ah!”
“There’s an a.s.sa.s.sin! Protect His Majesty!”
The imperial guards were all beheaded by King Dingxi. And the screams alarmed the imperial guards guarding the periphery.
But there were so many people gathering that they couldn’t get through.
In the crowd, a group of veiled men rushed out and fought with the imperial guards.
“Ah! Murder! Murder!”
“Run! …”
The panicked people wanted to run away, making the situation even more chaotic.
Seeing so many people lying in the pool of blood, Su Lun was terrified. He looked around and ran away, ignoring Old Lady Su who was still behind him.
“Lun’er, wait for me!” Old Lady Su was not a delicate lady who had lived in the boudoir since childhood. At this time, she was no slower than Su Lun. But Haitang beside her was too frightened to stand up.
When King Dingxi was about to stab Xia Hourui with his sword, Xia Houkun stepped forward and blocked his sword with his arm.
“Uncle, what are you doing?!”
King Dingxi looked at him sarcastically with a smile. “What am I doing? Of course, I’m doing what you have always wanted to do.”
Xia Houkun shrank his pupils. “Uncle, you’d better put your sword down. There are so many imperial guards in the capital. If you hurt my father, you can’t escape.”
King Dingxi sneered out loud. “If I can’t escape, you will be the most benefited. Of course, I won’t do such a stupid thing to help you gain the throne!”
“You!”
King Dingxi waved his sword towards Xia Houkun’s vital parts.
“d.a.m.n it!”
Due to his injured arms, Xia Houkun was shackled and had nearly been stabbed on his vital parts for several times.
“Hurry up, protect His Majesty!”
King Dingxi kicked Xia Houkun away and aimed his sword at Xia Hourui again.
“Xia Hourui, I’ve had enough for so many years. Now, go to h.e.l.l!”
King Dingxi raised his sword and stabbed toward Xia Hourui’s heart.
However, just as his sword was about to pierce into Xia Hourui’s heart, King Dingxi felt a strong internal force attacking him and he had to step aside to dodge.
A black and slender figure stepped forward and stopped in front of Xia Hourui.
King Dingxi looked at the person in front of him with his eyes narrowed dangerously. “Xia Houmo, you are back just in time!”
With bright red blood dripping down his cold sword, Xia Houmo looked at King Dingxi coldly.
“You are unforgivable with intent to a.s.sa.s.sinate His Majesty!”
“Okay, let’s see if the sword in your hand is more powerful than mine!”
King Dingxi jumped up and stabbed the sword in his hand towards Xia Houmo’s vital parts.
Xia Houmo turned around to evade his attack, and the two men started their fight. Their moves were so fast that n.o.body could see their figures clearly
Xia Houkun watched the two fly away. Then he looked at Xia Hourui, who was still lying on the ground with a gloomy face, and gradually clenched his b.l.o.o.d.y hands tightly!