Chapter 245 Succession Ceremony

After worshipping heaven and earth, the young emperor brought hundreds of civil and military officials to the altar of land and grain to worship the people and the land.

After the complicated etiquette, everyone went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple in a mighty manner to pay tribute to the ancestors of the Liu family.

However, this time only the princes and grandchildren entered the Imperial Ancestral Temple together, and the rest of the people waited 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.

The Tai'an Hall is one of the most magnificent palaces in the entire imperial city. Only major events related to the country's rule, such as the enthronement of the new emperor, the appointment of the crown prince, and the enthronement of the queen, will be held here.

Yuan Ming followed the young emperor to the Tai'an Hall as a personal guard. As soon as he entered the hall, he saw several red-colored Taishi chairs placed under the emperor's exclusive dragon chair, and several people were sitting on them.

In the position closest to the dragon throne, sat a tall man in a purple-gold Taoist robe. He had a handsome face, solemn features, a short beard on his face, and a divine light in his eyes. He had a majestic demeanor without anger.

Next to him, sat an octogenarian who was also wearing a purple-gold Taoist robe. His face was gaunt and he looked like an immortal. He was the national teacher, Taoist Master Yu Hu.

Next to him, sat an old woman with gray hair and a dragon-headed cane in her hand. She looked kind.

Next to the old woman, there was also a dignified woman wearing a water-blue gauze skirt. She looked gentle and graceful, like a woman from the water town of Jiangnan, with a natural and gentle aura.

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

Yuan Ming knew early on that in addition to civil officials and generals, royal relatives, and other immortal sects in Changchun Temple and the Great Jin Kingdom would come to watch the ceremony.

However, they did not participate in the respect for the heaven, earth, and ancestors, but only waited here to observe the formal ceremony of the succession ceremony.

After the little emperor returned, he walked into the hall. The monks sitting in the hall stood up to greet him, and the little emperor immediately bowed his head in return.

Among the civil and military officials, except for the six chief officials and the three provincial governors, as well as several generals with more power who stayed in the hall, the rest of the officials were outside the hall, waiting in line according to their ranks.

As the personal guard appointed by the little emperor, Yuan Ming stood below the emperor with the eunuchs.

The civil and military officials knew the relationship between Yuan Ming and the little emperor, and they were not surprised by this. However, the monks sitting in the front couldn't help but cast doubtful eyes on him.

Yuan Ming was not nervous at all. He looked 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 his foundation and passed the throne to the father of the young emperor more than 50 years ago, and went to Changchun Temple to practice.

After that, he never interfered in the politics of Dajin again, and even never returned to the capital.

It is rumored that the father of the young emperor was an ordinary person without spiritual roots. He inherited the throne at the age of twenty. After being the emperor for almost 30 years, he suddenly passed away and passed the throne to Liu Tianming.

When he died, Liu Tianming's grandfather did not return, but this time he returned to the capital of Dajin for Liu Tianming's succession ceremony, which shows how much he valued this grandson.

The old woman sitting in a row with him is the mistress of Bailuo Villa, the largest immortal cultivation family in Dajin except the royal family. Although she is not the person with the highest cultivation in the villa, she has always been the one who manages family affairs.

The gentle lady next to him was Luoshui Fairy, the elder of the Shuijing Palace, whose power in Dajin was second only to Changchun Temple. Sitting behind them were the elders of other sects.

When Yuan Ming looked at other people, he clearly felt a gaze falling on him. It was a gaze with divine thoughts that detected fluctuations, which came from the national teacher Yuhu Taoist.

Although this gaze was only for a moment, Yuan Ming still captured it keenly.

When everyone returned to their positions, the eunuch who led the eunuchs came forward, shook off the dust, and shouted at the top of his voice:

"The succession ceremony officially begins, and the edict of succession is requested."

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

When he passed by the princes and grandchildren, most people lowered their heads and dared not look at him. Only a few dared to look up and secretly watch, with envy in their eyes.

Among them, the eighth prince's eyes were the most ardent.

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

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

In addition, the prime minister of the Secretariat, Prime Minister Lou, has already communicated with him in advance. The prime ministers of the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel have all proposed that he inherit the throne. The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue among the six ministries also support him to take the throne.

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

So, if there is no accident, the Eighth Prince Xian Wang will be the new emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty.

The old chief priest came to the dragon throne with the edict in his hand, and the young emperor had already stood up, took the imperial seal, and solemnly stamped the edict with the imperial seal.

Then, the chief priest held the edict in his hand and read it as steadily and loudly as possible:

"The Emperor Fengtian Chengyun proclaims: Our dynasty inherits the martyrs, responds to the will of heaven and follows the people. Since I ascended the throne, I have respected heaven and followed the ancestors, strictly abided by the principles and moral principles, and put the people first in everything and the people first in everything. I wanted to realize my ambitions, but I couldn't refuse the fate of the immortal. For the long-term plan of the country, I will now pass the throne to my brother, Prince Qing Liu Tianze. Announce it to the world and let everyone know."

The virtuous king, who was ready to take a few steps forward to inherit the throne, froze when he heard the three words "Liu Tianze". He was stunned on the spot.

It was not Liu Guangxuan, but Liu Tianze. It was not the virtuous king, but the Prince Qing.

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

The Prince Qing was the fourth brother of the little emperor Liu Tianming. Originally, only Prime Minister Luo of the Shangshu Province was interested in him. No one expected that the heir to the throne would be him.

After a moment of stagnation, the virtuous king suddenly became distorted, and he rushed out without any etiquette.

"Wrong, wrong, it must be a mistake, how could it be King Qing? It's me, it should be me!" The virtuous king changed his previous dignity and solemnity, waved his hands and shouted loudly.

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

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

However, the little emperor just looked at the virtuous king going crazy with a calm face, without any reaction.

"Your Majesty..." At this time, Prime Minister Lou couldn't help it and 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 national event, and it cannot be played with. We have discussed this matter with Your Majesty before, and we decided on a suitable candidate at that time. Why did it change suddenly?" Prime Minister Lou did not mention who the original candidate was, but just asked.

Everyone looked at the little emperor, even the imperial teacher Yu Hu Daoist Master and Liu Tianming's grandfather, who were not in charge of worldly affairs, cast inquiring eyes.

The little emperor seemed to be waiting for someone to ask questions when he heard this, and immediately stood up and said:

"Eighth uncle, you have been involved in state affairs for several years. I know all about forming cliques and engaging in corruption and perverting the law. These are nothing. But you instructed others to kill my envoys of the Great Jin Dynasty halfway, which is unforgivable."

His tone was flat, but his voice was like thunder, exploding in the court.

When the virtuous king heard this, his face suddenly changed, his eyes turned away, and he glanced at Yuan Ming.

Seeing his reaction, everyone with a discerning eye knew that the little emperor was talking about the incident a few years ago when Yuan Ming was assassinated and disappeared during his mission to southern Xinjiang.

"I want to ask the eighth uncle, what did Yuan Ming do to make you so resentful that you ordered the deputy envoy Lin Junsheng to kill him on the way I sent him to the mission?" The little emperor asked sternly.

This old matter, which many people kept secret, was finally revealed at the most inappropriate occasion.

"Was it done by the virtuous king?" Someone among the court officials exclaimed.

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

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

"Your Majesty, I am innocent." The virtuous king looked around and immediately knelt on the ground and shouted.

"Unjust, tell me, where did I wrong you?" The little emperor sneered and asked.

"Your Majesty, I really don't know about the matter of instructing Lin Junsheng to kill Yuan Ming. Besides, I have no reason to harm Yuan Ming." The virtuous king bowed his head and defended himself.

The little emperor ignored him and shouted, "Bring Lin Junsheng up."

As soon as the voice fell, two soldiers escorted Lin Junsheng to the hall.

Lin Junsheng was disheveled at the moment, and looked flustered, but there was an imperceptible calmness in his eyes.

When he knelt on the ground, the little emperor spoke again:

"Lin Junsheng, let me ask you, who instructed you to murder Yuan Ming on the way to the southern border as an envoy?"

"Your Majesty, this is really hard for me to answer. Yuan Ming and I have been playmates since childhood, so how could I murder him? On the way to the envoy, it was Yuan Ming himself who fell into the water because he was attracted by the beautiful scenery of the waterfall. It was an accident, not my fault. After that, I also posted notices along the way to find people. Please understand, Your Majesty." Lin Junsheng replied immediately after hearing this.

His set of rhetoric was a long-prepared draft. There were no other witnesses around at the time, and he did not believe that the emperor could have solid evidence to prove that he was the murderer.

Hearing this, the little emperor raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh? So you mean I wronged you?"