Shen Lingyun always trusted her intuition. When she learned that Xiao Jingcheng had encountered trouble before, she also had a nightmare. In the dream, he was tied up in a place with no sunlight and reached out his hand to her for help.
Later, news indeed spread from outside the palace that Xiao Jingcheng had been attacked in Ningzhou and was missing.
Perhaps it was because of the mother - child bond. As a mother, she had this kind of premonition.
Now, she had a similar dream again. How could this not worry her?
Without a second thought, Shen Lingyun got back into the sedan chair and immediately ordered the palace servants to head for the imperial study. However, Xiao Tianchi clearly didn't go to the imperial study, so naturally Shen Lingyun came up empty - handed. When she arrived at the imperial study and saw the room was pitch - black, she knew she had been deceived.
She hurriedly returned to the Zichen Palace and interrogated the guard just now. Under compulsion, the guard had no choice but to tell the truth: "Captain Xu rushed back to the palace to seek an audience with Your Majesty. After Your Majesty met Captain Xu, he set off for the Imperial Observatory."
The Imperial Observatory?!
Shen Lingyun couldn't help taking a sharp breath.
The Imperial Observatory was responsible for observing celestial phenomena and calculating solar terms to help the common people deal with various disasters brought about by the changes of the four seasons. The scene in the nightmare kept reappearing in Shen Lingyun's mind. Her face was pale, and she could hardly stand steadily.
Ziyan stepped forward to support her and asked worriedly, "Madam, are you okay?"
Shen Lingyun shook her head. Ziyan asked again, "Do you still want to go to the Imperial Observatory to look for Your Majesty?"
Shen Lingyun took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then opened them again. "No need. Let's go back to the Jiaofang Palace for now."
She came to look for Xiao Tianchi just to gain some peace of mind.
However, natural disasters were heartless. Whether it was a flood or a drought, it was mostly the common people who relied on the weather for a living that suffered.
She remembered that tomorrow was the Ceremony of Offering Sacrifices to Heaven after Xiao Tianchi ascended the throne.
If something really happened to the Great Sheng, Xiao Tianchi, as the king, would be even more troubled than her. At this time, she didn't want to cause more trouble for him.
If he had her in his heart and respected her enough, he would surely come to her in person with the answer she wanted.
...
Inside the Imperial Observatory, Xiao Tianchi and Lu Kui, the supervisor of the Imperial Observatory, were standing in front of the armillary sphere.
The armillary sphere, which occupied most of the room, was spinning rapidly in front of them, making a humming sound. Lu Kui presented the booklet in his hand to Xiao Tianchi and said,
"The Imperial Observatory has observatories set up in various places to observe the weather. This is the observation report sent back from Cangzhou a few days ago. According to the report, the sky in Cangzhou was cloudless for those days and the temperature was extremely hot. Even if it rained, it would only last for half a day."
"Rather than worrying about heavy rain causing floods, I'm more worried about a drought. Anyway, there shouldn't be such a celestial phenomenon of continuous heavy rain and rising and raging rivers."
The booklet was clearly recorded. Xiao Tianchi even found the name of Dongli Town in it. For several consecutive days, there were remarks like "sunny", "partly cloudy", "possible drought" and so on.
Closing the booklet, Xiao Tianchi said with a half - smile, "What if the strange celestial phenomenon means that Heaven is dissatisfied with my rebellion and fratricide, so it has sent down a punishment from Heaven to warn the common people that I'm unworthy of the throne?"
In an instant, everyone in the Imperial Observatory knelt on the ground.
Lu Kui looked terrified. "Your Majesty, why would you say such a thing? Before Your Majesty ascended the throne, Mars was in turmoil, the greedy wolf star invaded the imperial palace, and the Purple Star was dim, indicating the signs of a dying country!"
"After Your Majesty ascended the throne, the Purple Star became clear and the imperial star shone brightly. Your Majesty is truly the one ordained by Heaven!"
Ordained by Heaven? Xiao Tianchi gave a soft laugh. Unfortunately, some people didn't think so.
"Alright, get up. I didn't come here to make things difficult for you."
"However..."
Xiao Tianchi said, "The Imperial Observatory should make preparations as soon as possible. Tomorrow is the Ceremony of Offering Sacrifices to Heaven. It's time for you to show your abilities."
After leaving the Imperial Observatory and returning to the Zichen Palace, Xiao Tianchi learned that Shen Lingyun had come.
"Truly a mother - child bond." Xiao Tianchi sighed softly and immediately ordered his men to go to the Jiaofang Palace.
When Xiao Tianchi walked into the Jiaofang Palace, Shen Lingyun was sitting neatly dressed on a chair. As soon as Xiao Tianchi saw her appearance, he knew she was waiting for him.
Sighing, Xiao Tianchi knew he couldn't hide it from her. He said directly, "Lingji, something has happened in Dongli Town."
After Shen Lingyun returned from the Zichen Palace, she had been sitting here waiting.
She and Xiao Tianchi knew each other well. She knew that the guard lied to her that Xiao Tianchi had gone to the imperial study because Xiao Tianchi had given the order.
He didn't want her to know that something had happened outside, and this matter might also be related to Xiao Jingcheng. He was afraid that she would be sad and overthink.
But when Xiao Tianchi returned to the Zichen Palace and learned that she had been there, he would surely come to find her.
Sure enough, she waited for him.
This showed that Xiao Tianchi truly had her in his heart.
In this regard, Xiao Tianchi was indeed much better than Xiao Tianye.
Now, when she really heard the answer from Xiao Tianchi's mouth, Shen Lingyun's heart tightened immediately.
She clenched her fists and stood up from the chair. "What on earth has happened that has you so on edge that you went to the Imperial Observatory in the middle of the night?"
Xiao Tianchi told her about the continuous heavy rain and the flood in Cangzhou, but he didn't mention the letter Xu Qian had sent to Dongli Town.
The color drained from Shen Lingyun's face, and it became as pale as paper.
Xiao Tianchi's words really confirmed the nightmare she had just had.
Grief instantly overwhelmed Shen Lingyun's heart. If it weren't for Biwu supporting her, she would have hardly been able to stand.
"Then... how about Cheng'er?"
Remembering the content of the secret letter from Dongli Town, Xiao Tianchi said meaningfully,
"Lingji, sometimes, no news is the best news. They used a fake corpse to confuse the public, which means that the Crown Prince is not in immediate danger for now. This natural disaster may not necessarily affect him. Lingji, why don't you just wait patiently?"
Shen Lingyun forced a bitter smile.
Now that she was under house arrest in the palace, what else could she do but wait patiently?
She even couldn't help thinking that whether all this was a piece of news deliberately released by Xiao Tianchi to control her.
But she knew in her heart that this was impossible.
It had not been easy for Xiao Tianchi to get to where he was. He hadn't even consolidated his throne yet, and the Ceremony of Offering Sacrifices to Heaven would be held tomorrow. How could he possibly ruin his own reputation at this time?
Presumably, this matter was also beyond his expectation. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to the Imperial Observatory.
Seeing that her emotions had stabilized a bit, Xiao Tianchi softened his voice.
"Tomorrow is the Ceremony of Offering Sacrifices to Heaven. Perhaps this natural disaster is aimed at me. For your safety, Lingji, don't leave the palace. Ziyan and Zixi will take good care of you."
He raised his hand, intending to put it on the woman's thin shoulder, but then he forcibly restrained himself.
"Lingji, only by taking good care of yourself can you wait for a turning point."
After saying that, he turned around and was about to leave when Shen Lingyun suddenly called out to him.
"Xiao Tianchi."
Xiao Tianchi stopped in his tracks but didn't turn back.
Shen Lingyun tried hard to calm her emotions. She said hoarsely, "After the Ceremony of Offering Sacrifices to Heaven, I want to meet the Jiedushi of Hexi and the head of the Shen family in Hexi."
There wasn't a single word of concern in her sentence, but Xiao Tianchi understood what she meant.
She believed that he could safely get through the Ceremony of Offering Sacrifices to Heaven.
Warmth filled Xiao Tianchi's heart. "I'll make the arrangements. Lingji, just wait for the news."