usatvline Chapter 150: The Heavenly Dog Eats the Moon, the Witch Troubles the World
Chapter 150: The Heavenly Dog Eats the Moon, the Witch Troubles the World
The virtuous concubine was scolded, and the old prime minister and his group naturally wanted to help, but the affairs of the harem had nothing to do with the prince, and it would be considered as crossing the line for an outsider to interfere! They couldn't think of how to help for a while!
"I said in my early years that the officials of Daxia don't need to stick to red tape. Even if I didn't mention the ladies and servants, the imperial concubine shouldn't be so harsh! As the one in charge of the harem, you can't speak nonsense!"
The emperor reprimanded Concubine Xian, but he was staring at Liu who was still kneeling. It turned out that this widow was not simple at all!
How dare he use the words he said to establish his benevolent image! If he did not deal with the virtuous concubine, it would be tantamount to tacitly acknowledging that the concubine's rules were above the emperor's rules! This would undermine his prestige as an emperor!
"The Imperial Concubine, please return to the harem and reflect on your mistakes. The affairs of the palace will be temporarily handed over to the De Concubine."
The emperor made a calm decision. The Xian Guifei faction had been strong for many years, and it was time to suppress it. The De Fei was the mother of the seventh prince Chu Shijin. Chu Shijin had just left the palace and was too different from the others. He needed support, and he had no connection with Chu Shiyu, so he should not help Chu Shiyu's power.
Handing over the affairs of the palace means handing over the queen's seal! Concubine Xian panicked and knelt down to beg for mercy: "Your Majesty..."
"Thank you, Your Majesty! I will definitely live up to your expectations!" Defei, who had been sitting on the side with no sense of existence, immediately became radiant.
"Help the concubine in."
After the emperor gave the order, the maids of Concubine Xian spontaneously went to help their master. Concubine Xian could never have imagined that things would turn out like this! But she also knew that the emperor's decision was made and could not be changed, so she could only look at Liu with hatred...
Liu Rusi met Concubine Xian's eyes and smiled with an ambiguous meaning, which made Concubine Xian tremble with anger! She left with gnashing teeth!
This game went smoothly, but it was not beyond Liu Rusi's expectations. Judging from Chu Shiyu's experience and the blatant frame-up not long ago, Concubine Xian must have been smooth sailing and arrogant! It must be difficult for her to bear the provocation of such a "lowly" person, right?
What a pity, the emperor seems to want to suppress the eighth prince's mother's family bit by bit...
"Is it possible for Concubine De to preside over the female guests?" the emperor asked in a gentle voice.
"I will definitely take good care of it and share the worries for the emperor!"
It was her first mission, so Concubine De would not back down! Then she said to Liu Rusi kindly, "Madam Liu, please take a seat. The Taihu crabs will taste much less when they are cold."
Regardless of the fact that Concubine De was now standing on the opposite side of Concubine Xian, she needed to show her difference from Concubine Xian. Just because Liu had just made her mark, she caused Concubine Xian, who held great power in the harem, to lose her seal of empress in a confrontation! Concubine De did not dare to look down on her at all!
Liu Rusi stood up with the little girls and bowed to Concubine De with a gentle look. Although the bow was lighter than kneeling, everyone could feel that this bow was a more respectful attitude than kneeling just now.
Liu Rusi sat down, Fang Qiu went over to chat, Changning also wanted to go over, Taihua did not stop her, but ran over to join in the whispers, and the atmosphere in the women's seats became harmonious.
"Yu'er, what are you doing standing there? Come back, sit down and eat crabs."
The emperor awakened the figure who was staring at the beauty...
He had been so excited countless times, but this time it was unprecedented and lasted for a long time. However, he had to control himself, and tried his best to control himself...
Conflicted, I want to see her standing on the clouds, shining brightly and stunning the world! But I also want to hide her, for fear that she will be too dazzling and fall into danger...
But the end result is the same, you have to restrain the desire to hug the person in your arms at all costs.
The entrance to the outer field.
The noble man stood quietly in the breeze and bright moon, accompanied by two beauties who were so beautiful that they could shame the moon and flowers. However, the man naturally revealed a feeling of loneliness.
The defeated imperial concubine, surrounded by servants, appeared in his beautiful eyes with a chill in them, but his eyelids did not move, as if what passed by was just a gust of wind.
In a blink of an eye, only the man and the beauties were left in the passage. The man looked at the beauties beside him, and the coldness in his eyes turned into the usual gentleness, but with a bit of indescribable complexity. His thin hand stroked the delicate red lips.
"If you could talk, you would be like..."
The beauty couldn't hear anything, but her face turned red with shame.
Suddenly.
The bright moon in the sky seemed to understand people's intentions and pulled a piece of black cloth to slowly cover its bright face.
It was the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, when people admire the moon. Therefore, people noticed it when the full moon was just waning!
"Ah! The moon is eclipsed by the heavenly dog!"
At the moon-viewing banquet, men and women exclaimed in surprise and panic. Even some experienced and prudent ministers were horrified when they saw this wonder of heaven and earth!
The moon being eclipsed by the heavenly dog is always a very bad omen!
The noise reached Chu Shikun's ears, but the beauties in front of him still had eyes full of focused admiration. They could not hear anything, and only had him in their eyes, not the moon in the sky.
"Come in." Chu Shikun said gently.
The two beauties could not hear him, and just followed his footsteps as usual, entering the chaotic banquet hall.
Chu Shikun sat down and the beauties wanted to stand behind him. He stretched out his hands and pulled them to sit on his left and right. They were not surprised, but shyly obeyed their master's instructions.
The guests in the room did not question it, and most of them looked up to the sky.
Chu Shiyu on the opposite side had already looked past the veil and carefully observed the expression on the charming face over there, and then she felt relieved. She was just amazed and not afraid at all.
It seems that the Chu family is not very interested in the moon in the sky.
The fifth prince Chu Shihuan's eyes were dark. Concubine Xian had lost her power. Why did his father hand over the seal to Concubine De instead of his mother Concubine Shu...
The seventh prince Chu Shijin frowned slightly. He had no interest in the throne. His mother, Concubine De, did have some thoughts, but her original position was not so good that she had no power. He was happy and comfortable, but now he had to stand at the forefront of the storm...
The thirteen-year-old Ninth Prince was sitting at the female guest table. He crumpled the small piece of paper in his hand into a ball and threw it towards the table surrounded by girls while most of the attention was focused on the sky. However, his aim was not good and it landed at the feet of the maids behind him...
The emperor sat on a high platform, taking in everything below him, his wrinkled eyes twinkling...
After a moment of chaos, order was restored, and a minister knelt before the emperor and asked anxiously, "Your Majesty! Should we take precautions against this bad omen during the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
"Don't panic, my dear minister. During the morning court session three days ago, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory predicted that there would be a strange phenomenon in the near future, but they didn't explain what it was. This must be it."
The Imperial Observatory could be said to be a sinecure with no money, no power, and no benefits, and the director was only a fifth-rank official. The emperor looked towards the end of the party, but couldn't seem to see where anyone was.
Eunuch Xu, who was serving at the side, understood and immediately called out in a loud voice: "Send the director of the Imperial Observatory, Tang Zang, forward!"
The thin middle-aged man immediately stepped forward, his movements polite and respectful, he lifted up his robe and was about to kneel down...
"No need to be so polite, Supervisor. Just tell me the origin of the dog-eclipsed moon!" The emperor held out his hand for support and looked at the small piece of the moon covered with a worried look on his face.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Tang Zang stood firm and spoke directly: "Three days ago, I saw the majestic atmosphere of the harmony between heaven and earth. It should have been a prosperous trend, but there is a danger hidden between yin and yang!"
"It is hard to predict the secrets of the heavens. I only realized it when I saw the dog-eating-the-moon phenomenon..." Tang Zang hesitated and paused, as if he had something difficult to say...
"Just tell me, what caused the danger?" the emperor asked anxiously.
Tang Zang seemed to have calmed down, and said solemnly: "As we all know, the sun is the sun, the moon is the moon, and in the human world, it means a woman of high status... This time the sign is that the heavenly dog eats the moon, and the witch is causing chaos in the world!"
The whole place was in amazement! Soon, someone looked towards Liu, who was in the female guest seat! Liu had just defeated Concubine Xian, and then this incident of the dog eclipsing the moon happened. How could people not associate it with this?
Chu Shiyu's eyes fixed, fearing that Tang Zang had mentioned the matter of expressing his feelings last time, and seeing that he did not accept the solution, he intended to lead the incident of the Heavenly Dog eating the Moon to Liu Rusi!
The female guests not far away also heard it. Some of the women who had intended to approach and chat sat back. Chang Ning and Fang Qiu, who were already sitting on Liu Rusi's left and right, did not move. One frowned, the other worried...
Liu Rusi sighed inwardly, wondering if she had used metaphysics to bluff too many people and it had backfired. Why did these things always happen to her?
The emperor hesitantly withdrew his gaze from the female guest seat, as if he did not want to embarrass Liu easily, and solemnly asked Tang Zang: "Does the Supervisor know the specific matters? Can you explain it in detail?"
"Men are yang, women are yin, and the danger between yin and yang... is that if an unsuitable man and woman are involved, the person who can cause the strange phenomenon in the sky must not be an ordinary person... Most likely..."
Tang Zang swallowed and looked quietly towards the top of the right row, but everyone could see that he was looking at Prince Duan.
The people present had different expressions, but regardless of faction, most of them were hostile to the Liu family! After all, no matter how much they fought, they were all citizens of Daxia! And in Daxia, which was still in the feudal era, no one would ignore the omen of great misfortune!
Even those ministers who did not take sides, the Grand Tutor, had some thoughts of preferring injustice to indulgence towards Liu because of this strange phenomenon... After all, no one can afford to gamble with the fate of a country! Compared with it, a woman is insignificant!
The Prime Minister's faction, who had been aggrieved just now, immediately had a breakthrough! Originally, they were not allowed to comment on the affairs of the harem, but now that it was related to the omen of great misfortune, it was different! As a minister of Daxia, it was natural to worry about the fate of the country!
"The one who can influence the heaven and earth must be a descendant of the royal family, and the prince who has been involved in a relationship with a woman recently is only... Prince Duan." Someone pointed out the person involved first.
"Just now the warden said, 'The heavenly dog eats the moon, and the evil woman causes chaos in the world'! We can get a glimpse of the clues from what happened not long ago!"
The old prime minister said passionately: "Forgive me for speaking frankly! The virtuous concubine has been in charge of the harem for many years without any problems, but now that Liu has appeared, she has caused chaos in the harem! She is truly a demon woman who will bring disaster to the country!"
Liu Rusi sighed silently. What she was most worried about was being labeled as a scourge to the country, but it finally happened. It seems that Murphy's Law also applies in this world...
Chu Shiyu snorted coldly and said, "They say that old people become more cunning. The Prime Minister is really good at avoiding the important issues. Just now, Concubine Xian spoke incoherently, and everyone here heard it! Does the Prime Minister think that it is wrong for the emperor to punish her to reflect on her mistakes behind closed doors?"
The old prime minister naturally knew that his daughter's words and actions were inappropriate, but now there was an opportunity, and it could not be stopped by Prince Duan's words!
"Your Majesty has always been fair, and this punishment is wise!"
The Prime Minister first praised her, and then said in a stern voice: "But before this, the virtuous imperial concubine had always behaved properly and generously, but she lost her sense of propriety when she met Liu today!"
"It is rumored that Liu can bewitch people. I originally thought it was nonsense, but considering various events and the signs of this witch causing chaos, it is clear that the rumors are not groundless!"
This kind of ghost theory is the most difficult to refute... Chu Shiyu frowned, he knew that he was being bewitched by Qin Lie, not bewitched, but saying it out would only make things worse! At the same time, he secretly cursed Tang Zang for meddling in other people's business!
The truth that he was influenced by the dead will definitely hinder his fight for the throne. Tang Zang seems to have decided on him, so he concealed the truth... But Chu Shiyu was so angry that his teeth itched! He is not even a monarch yet, and someone wants to clear his side!
At this time, little Qin Hao stood up with a serious face.
"Before you blame my mother, let me first ask you one thing: how can you prove that this lunar eclipse is a bad omen? Why is it related to humans? And what basis do you have to say that my mother is a witch?!"
Chu Shiyu on the side relaxed his expression a little. He could just take the mother and son back directly. Even if these ministers all held the same opinion, as long as his father did not want to turn against him, no one could hurt them!
But beyond the body... he didn't want her to be labeled a witch, but it was not appropriate for him to speak up about this matter. After all, in the eyes of the ministers, he was a bewitched person, and it would be difficult for his words to have any effect... But Qin Hao was different. He could speak freely because of his age and status.
"Heh...you young boy, you'd better talk less in front of others, so as not to make people laugh!" The old prime minister looked down on him with contempt.
But this name is indeed correct. "Yellow-mouthed children" refers to children under ten years old. It is even polite to use it to refer to the five-year-old Qin Hao.
Qin Hao was not angry about this, but said seriously: "First, I am young, but I have ambitions beyond age! Second, you are slandering my mother! As a son, it is only natural for me to stand up and speak!"
After hearing this, many ministers, especially the scholars who had previously criticized Prince Duan for violating etiquette, changed their expressions. Both of the child's words were right, especially the second point. It was absolutely natural for a child to protect his mother!
People are like this. When part of what you said is confirmed to be the truth, you will naturally consider whether other things you said might also be correct... This is why some people, when they cannot win a debate, will throw mud at others, in order to reduce the credibility of what they say.
But there is no point in throwing mud at a 15-year-old child. At most, you can question his ignorance.
The Prime Minister avoided Qin Hao's two words and continued with disdain: "You are young and ignorant, so I will tell you this truth! The moon being eaten by a heavenly dog has been a sign of great misfortune since ancient times! You also heard what the Supervisor said just now, the one who best fits the title of a witch is your mother Liu!"
"Has it been right since ancient times?! In ancient times, human sacrifice was prevalent. At that time, people believed that heaven or gods needed to be supported by human lives. Do you think this has been the case since ancient times and is right?" Qin Hao argued. After the incident with the Great River God, he made a special effort to learn about the history related to sacrifice.
But the old prime minister was not someone that could be easily fooled by Qin Hao! He rebuked: "Now it is clear that human sacrifice is against the harmony of nature! But this does not prove that the eclipse of the moon by the heavenly dog is not a bad omen!"
Qin Hao was also calm and continued, "But it can be proved that it is not right since ancient times! In other words, whether the eclipse of the moon by the heavenly dog is a sign is uncertain!"
"You are using strong words to make sense!"
“The truth is not afraid of debate!”
Qin Hao then said: "First of all, I want to prove that the eclipse of the moon is just a natural phenomenon! It is just a normal rising and setting of the sun and the moon! It is no different from the usual waxing and waning of the moon!"
Qin Hao felt a little nervous after he finished speaking. His mother didn't let him tell these things to others... But if his mother was judged to be a witch, her life might be in danger, and he couldn't just sit there and watch!