Chapter 572
Chapter 572
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 572
>Chapter Title: Ascension to the Throne
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> “Present the tablet~~ Prostrate~~ Offer sacrifice to Heaven~~ Rise~~”
> Inside the grand and majestic Temple of Heaven in the imperial palace of Great Liang’s capital, Shangjing, it was as if the altar had some kind of amplifying effect, carrying the voice of the aged eunuch chanting the decree far into the distance.
> The civil and military officials below the altar raised their ivory tablets in both hands and knelt toward the east alongside Gao Zhijian. Drums at the four corners of the altar sounded three rhythmic beats under the drummers’ strikes.
> Li Huowang stood far away on a rooftop with Li Sui, silently watching Gao Zhijian in the distance, his face hidden behind the tassels of his imperial crown.
> “Dad, how much longer do we have to stand here? I’m hungry.” Li Sui had no concept of what was happening around him. His most basic needs were always his top priority.
> “Soon, soon.”
> “Present the tablet~~ Prostrate~~ Offer sacrifice to Earth~~ Rise~~”
> The eunuchs’ shrill, effeminate voices rose high, linking one after another, echoing across the entire plaza.
> The civil and military officials below the altar once more raised their ivory tablets and knelt north alongside Gao Zhijian.
> “Present the tablet~~ Prostrate~~ Offer sacrifice to the altars of soil and grain~~ Rise~~”
> Watching Gao Zhijian methodically follow the procedures under the eunuchs’ guidance, Li Huowang felt a swirl of complex emotions, an indescribable sensation in his heart.
> That was his brother, with whom he had faced life and death. He was now ascending the throne to become emperor.
> No matter what had come before, after today, the two of them could probably never go back to how things were.
> Ji Lin had been twisted into that ghostly state by this place—who knew how much it would change the honest Gao Zhijian? Li Huowang only hoped he could hold onto his true self and not become the kind of person he himself would despise.
> As these thoughts ran through his mind, he suddenly saw Gao Zhijian in the distance descend from the heavenly altar, surrounded by eunuchs.
> Li Huowang walked over to the National Advisor, who had been following along the whole way, and asked: “National Advisor, what’s this? Is the coronation over?”
> “Not so fast! After sacrificing to heaven, earth, and the altars of soil and grain, he still has to pay respects at the ancestral temple.” The National Advisor’s voice was cold as he spoke.
> “Erjiu, I won’t hold the previous matter against you, but you must understand—the dragon vein concerns the foundation of the nation, and all such matters are of utmost importance. If anything goes wrong, as long as you’re still alive in this world, it will only bring you harm, no good.”
> “Oh.” Li Huowang nodded and followed Gao Zhijian toward the ancestral temple. They’d come this far at such a critical juncture—it was best to keep a close eye.
> Though for such an important ritual, both the National Advisor and the Bureau of Astronomy would surely have people watching, until the matter was settled, he couldn’t fully trust any of them. This was about his brother, after all.
> The procession invisibly trailing Gao Zhijian from afar finally arrived at the entrance to the imperial ancestral temple.
> The civil and military officials and palace maids all stopped outside. Only a few aged eunuchs led Gao Zhijian inside.
> Li Huowang followed them in this time too, encountering no real obstruction just like last time. But he sensed many more unknown gazes upon him.
> “Child, are you the new emperor of Great Liang? What is your family name?” A voice carrying an echo drifted out from the nine-dragon coffin.
> “Gao.”
> “How tragic, how tragic. In the end, our Ji lineage comes to an end. Heh heh heh...” The voice of the previous emperor laughed sadly and heroically.
> From his reaction, someone had evidently explained things to him beforehand.
> Under the eunuchs’ guidance, Gao Zhijian personally offered tribute to the dragon vein, lit three sticks of incense, and began the ritual of three bows and nine kowtows.
> Just as Gao Zhijian finished his final kowtow, the National Advisor swiftly stepped forward, pulled a jade-green jade slip from his robes, and unfurled it before Gao Zhijian toward the dragon vein coffin.
> This jade slip was extraordinarily peculiar. Though its exterior was jade, the pages inside that recorded the text were as soft and light as tofu.
> These soft pages fluttered up nimbly like phoenix tails, or swam leisurely like a true dragon covered in scales. Dense golden ancient script flickered in and out amid the turning pages.
> “By the mandate of Heaven! The emperor decrees! The late emperor has passed suddenly, returning to the five elements. By the favor of the imperial heavens and the vast blessings of the ancestral saints, in accordance with the late emperor’s final edict and the order of succession, he enters to serve the ancestral temple...”
> As the National Advisor of Great Liang began proclaiming the contents of the jade slip, bursts of dragon roars gradually surged from deep within the coffin. The dragon roars mingled with the National Advisor’s words, turning into resounding dragon cries.
> A powerful aura crashed over them, pressing down so heavily that everyone present could scarcely breathe. Only by prostrating fully on the ground did it ease somewhat.
> Just as Li Huowang gritted his teeth and pulled Li Sui behind him, something he could sense but not see suddenly erupted from the coffin and directly enveloped the kneeling Gao Zhijian.
> Gao Zhijian’s skin cracked open like scales of a dragon, one piece after another, as blood sprayed out, thoroughly soaking his robes.
> “Zhijian! You alright?!” Li Huowang had barely lifted his right foot when two aged eunuchs clutching golden whisks instantly knelt before him.
> “Realized One, do not panic. His Majesty is now bearing the entire nation’s destiny. There must be no mishaps.”
> Though they knelt, the numbing sensation at Li Huowang’s neck warned him that taking even one more step forward might mean separation of head from body.
> Seeing it was just part of the normal procedure, Li Huowang suppressed his worry and stood silently to the side with Li Sui.
> Gradually, Gao Zhijian’s body began to transform. He slowly took on the same form as the emperors in the coffins—dragon claws, dragon whiskers, dragon horns.
> Suddenly, as Gao Zhijian thrust his dragon claw forcefully into the air, everything halted in an instant. That immense pressure vanished without a trace.
> At this moment, Li Huowang had a strange feeling. Though Gao Zhijian was still far from the dragon vein, he gave off a sense of complete unity with it.
> No one needed to explain—Li Huowang knew the coronation was complete. Gao Zhijian had now taken up Great Liang’s destiny and become its true emperor in name and fact.
> Seeing this, Li Huowang stroked the hilt of the spine sword at his back and murmured melancholily in his heart: “Brother Zhuge, did you see? Your Great Qi is saved.”
> Li Huowang recalled that little girl whose voice had cried itself hoarse. With this, she should be able to survive too, right?
> Meanwhile, the monk seemed even more excited than Li Huowang. “Daoist, you’ve done a great deed! A tremendous good deed! You’ve saved so many people—you could become a bodhisattva in the Western Paradise after you die!”
> “...” In truth, Li Huowang didn’t object to the matter itself. He just minded that Zhuge Yuan had deceived him.
> “...To bring about proper governance, one must innovate upon the old. All affairs shall follow the ancient rites, in reverence to the late emperor’s will. Though my virtue is meager, I rely upon wise kin to jointly forge this new era...” Huangfu Tianguang was still there, holding the jade slip and reciting words Li Huowang could scarcely understand.
> But none of that mattered now. With the most crucial step done, the rest was surely just formality.
> Glancing once more at Gao Zhijian’s back, Li Huowang led Li Sui toward the exit. “Sui Sui, let’s go.”
> ———————