So what if I traveled through time? I'll continue to roll in another place

Seeing that Teng Daisheng had already escorted the stone tablet of the Fengshan ceremony at Zixiao Mountain to the capital, the sacrificial ceremony supervised by the Yiguo Mansion and undertaken by the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Observatory was about to begin.

The sacrifice ceremony was still scheduled to be held at the Circular Mound. Last year, an assassin broke into the winter solstice ceremony, and then this year, the prime minister was assassinated. Although there were no major casualties in both assassinations, it still made people panic.

During this ceremony of offering sacrifice to the heaven, Song Pu specially ordered the Central Military Governor's Office, the Yiguogong Mansion and the Fengtian Mansion to maintain the safety of the Circular Mound. Xiao Yueshan heard about this arrangement from the Xiao family and felt that Song Pu's move of letting the cat guard the fish was really brilliant.

The Central Military Commander's Office and the Duke of Yiguo's Office were all from the Gao family. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Chu Changning was the biggest unstable factor in the court. It would be good if nothing went wrong with the sacrifice. If something went wrong, it would be the responsibility of the Grand Princess, and she could be punished for this reason.

This sacrifice is different from the winter solstice sacrifice prescribed by the ancestral system. It is mainly for confessing one's sins and praying for good weather and good harvests. Therefore, it is an extremely solemn and serious activity. On the one hand, it is necessary to express apology to the gods and ancestors through various rituals, and on the other hand, it is necessary to pray for forgiveness and protection.

As officials in Beijing, Xiao Zheng and Zhou Yao naturally had to attend. The Imperial Astronomical Observatory divined a good day, and the court officials gathered at the Circular Mound in the eastern suburbs early in the morning to pay homage.

The ritual was very lengthy. Before it officially began, there was a long dance. Zhou Yao felt that it could not even be called dance. The instruments used were a lot of drums, cymbals, gongs, bells and other untuned percussion instruments, which made the music seem to have no melody and made people's heads buzz. The dance was also a group of people wearing different masks and robes decorated with colorful feathers running and dancing on the altar.

Among the group of people wearing feathers, a woman wearing a red feather cloak and a gorgeous bird skirt was lifted up high. The dress was decorated with the most beautiful feathers from birds. It was a different color in the sun and in the shadow, shining brightly and dazzlingly.

The woman was Yin Ya.

As the music reached its climax, Yin Ya was let down by the group of dancers and she began to dance gracefully.

Yin Hua's dancing was graceful and agile, like a phoenix spreading its wings and flying high, with the most primitive power and mystery. Everyone present was shocked by the scene before their eyes, holding their breath and admiring it devoutly.

The music performance is very long, and after the performance the sacrificial ceremony officially begins.

Yin Ya led a group of waiters dressed in sacrificial attire to present the offerings of imperial wine, three animals and six domestic animals one by one. After burning incense and praying, the ritual officer organized the royal family and ministers to perform the three kneeling and nine kowtows ceremony according to the established procedures.

According to the procedure, the emperor was required to issue an edict of guilt for the disaster, and since the emperor was young, the prime minister Song Pu still did it. After offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, the royal family and civil and military officials headed by Chu Yuanming followed the orders of the ritual officer to worship.

As the priestess of this ceremony, Yin Ya was responsible for divination and interpretation, and also cut the ribbon and consecrated the newly engraved Zixiao Mountain Fengshan Stele.

The divination of the Zhao Dynasty was different from the common methods of tortoise shells, yarrow, coins, etc. It used bird divination.

The priests carried up a huge golden cage with a colorful pheasant in it. Yin Ya knelt down and kowtowed three times to the golden cage. After reciting a spell, she opened the cage.

The pheasant seemed to understand. It slowly walked out of the cage and pecked a few times at the white cloth that had been laid out.

Yin Ya carefully observed the pattern on the white cloth, her face becoming serious. Then she picked up the golden knife that the priest was holding and gutted the pheasant on the altar.

The pheasant's mournful cries echoed throughout the Circular Mound. Everyone watched her movements nervously, waiting for her interpretation.

Chu Changning frowned as she looked at the blood on the altar. Although she felt a little regretful as the chief priest, she was really reluctant to kill the pheasant herself.

After a long time, Yin Ya stood up holding what she had taken out of the pheasant's stomach, saluted to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, there is millet in the bird's stomach, which means a good harvest without disasters. This hexagram shows that although the country will face disasters, as long as the monarch and his subjects are united and the people are united, they will be able to overcome the difficulties."

Chu Yuanming and Song Pu looked at each other and nodded.

Suddenly a strong wind interrupted the ceremony, and the white cloth stained with blood on the altar was blown over. The things taken out of the pheasant's stomach were scattered all over the ground. The ministers and messengers who were nearby took a curious look and found that these were not grains but sand!

But offering sacrifices and praying for blessings is a big event, and those who saw it did not dare to say anything. They could only pretend nothing happened and try their best to keep their heads down and stand still.

Song Pu was standing at the front, so of course he saw it clearly.

The purpose of presiding over this sacrifice ceremony is to appease people's hearts, and they have modified the sacrificial rituals.

The birds used for divination were originally to be recruited from all directions and selected randomly, but this time they were directly taken from the birds raised by the Bird Bureau. He also made special arrangements to feed the pheasants with grains before the ceremony, but for some reason they were replaced!

He subconsciously thought that it was Chu Changning who did it. As the old saying goes: If there is a stone in a bird's belly, there will be a disaster. It would be very embarrassing whether to clarify it or not.

On the altar, Yin Ya calmly ordered people to clean up the mess, as if she was not affected by this at all.

She said loudly: "Heaven blesses the Zhao Dynasty. This is a good omen! The rice is as fine as sand, the millet is as big as stone, the wind is gentle and the cart is full of good ears of corn. This means that our Da Zhao territory is vast and the harvest is abundant every year."

Seeing this, Song Pu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and was quite impressed by Yin Ya's witty response.

Chu Changning would not miss this rare opportunity. The sacrifice ceremony was undertaken by her husband's family, Duke Yiguo Mansion, and she did not want to ruin her own stage. But now that Tianyou is helping me, how could she let her emperor nephew and his good uncle Song Pu escape so easily?

"Wait a minute, there is a stone in the belly of a bird, there will be a disaster, the government is immoral, and God will punish it. How can a small priest explain it at will and fool the world?" She walked out of the queue and said seriously.

"What are you talking about, Princess?" Song Pu stepped forward and looked directly at Chu Changning.

"It has been less than two years since the new emperor ascended the throne and the prime minister has been assisting in the administration, and now natural disasters continue to occur. Isn't this a warning from heaven?" Chu Changning responded sharply.

First there was the flood, then the earthquake. The civil unrest in Pingyi Prefecture had not yet been completely quelled. Chu Changning's words shook everyone's hearts. The emperor was young and unable to directly govern the government. Was the vast country really entrusted to the wrong person?

"The celestial phenomena are unpredictable. Princess, please don't talk nonsense, disturb the people's hearts and curry favor with the emperor!" Song Pu responded righteously.

"It's not that I want to slander the emperor. Prime Minister, please don't put the emperor in front of you in everything to justify your own incompetence." Chu Changning refused to give in. "The emperor is young and has not yet taken power. What crime has he committed? Prime Minister, just now it was clear that there was sand in the bird's stomach. Princess Yaohua tried to cover it up, causing a strong wind. Isn't this also a warning from heaven? Prime Minister, please don't try to deceive Your Majesty and the world. Your top priority is to reflect on your mistakes, rectify the government, and thank God for his will."

Chu Changning came here today to target Song Pu. Although she was not targeting the emperor, Song Pu was the emperor's greatest helper. If Song Pu fell, it would be hard to say whether the young emperor Chu Zhaoxing could sit firmly on the throne.

There was no one in the court who could offer any advice.

Song Pu glanced at the ministers below the stage, hoping that someone would come out to help him out.

After a long time, the Minister of Rites Huo Qian stepped forward and offered a delaying tactic: "Your Majesty, the bird divination today is not clear. How about fasting for three days to show your sincerity and then do the divination again?"

Song Pu finally saw a life-saving straw, and hurriedly reported to the emperor, who approved Huo Qian's request and ordered another divination to be conducted three days later.