Plop!
A plump and crystal - clear raindrop fell precisely and crisply onto the white marble railing in front of Emperor Suren, splashing a tiny water flower.
Immediately afterwards, the second drop, the third drop...
The torrential rain came crashing down like the Milky Way pouring backwards, washing the altar and all the gloom and humiliation left by the farce just now with unbridled abandon!
"It's raining! It's really raining!"
"Heaven has shown its divine power!"
The ecstasy of surviving a disaster appeared on the faces of every courtier and disciple. This heavy rain washed away the fear of the divine punishment from heaven. They raised their heads and let the cold rain hit their faces, feeling the truly spiritual sweet rain summoned by supernatural powers!
The elegant music played again, and the dancing girls from the music workshop fluttered in, singing and dancing in the rain. This unexpected rain instead pushed the grand ceremony into a more magnificent and real carnival.
Amid the jubilant atmosphere, Ren Daoyuan walked up to the imperial throne. He bowed deeply to Emperor Suren, whose expression had already softened and whose eyes even showed a trace of relief, and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. Heaven blesses the Great Xia, and the sweet rain has finally come."
……
The highly - anticipated grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven came to an end. Thanks to Ren Daoyuan's remedy, Liu Ruyan's life was saved, but she still couldn't escape punishment.
Liu Ruyan was demoted to the Crime Servant Department in the palace, responsible for the most menial and filthy tasks such as scrubbing the chamber pots and handling the palace's filth. She was not allowed to leave until she died.
As soon as this imperial edict was announced, Liu Ruyan immediately collapsed and fell to the ground. Her father couldn't help sighing, and her mother even fainted from crying!
Although Liu Jinyan was extremely anxious, there was nothing he could do. The current punishment was already an act of grace from the emperor, and there was absolutely no possibility of pleading for mercy again!
All the disciples couldn't help sighing with emotion. Liu Ruyan was so glorious a few days ago, admired by all the people, but now she had become a criminal. It was truly like going from paradise to hell in an instant!
After the grand ceremony, Shen Cuiyu was supposed to return to the inn with the others, but suddenly an imperial edict came. The queen actually summoned Shen Cuiyu to the palace.
Shen Cuiyu was puzzled. The Shen family had never had any connection with the queen's lineage. Why did the queen suddenly summon her to the palace?
Shen Cuiyu didn't show her doubts on her face. She bid farewell to the eunuch who came to deliver the edict and then turned to look for Ren Daoyuan.
Unexpectedly, just as she took a few steps, she saw Ren Daoyuan walking slowly over, looking as normal as ever. "The queen has also summoned me to the palace. Come on, go with me."
……
In the Fengyi Palace, the incense was curling, but the atmosphere was not relaxed.
Different from the solemn appearance on the altar just now, the queen was sitting upright on the throne at this moment, with delicate makeup and a just - right warm smile on her face.
She first cast her eyes on Shen Cuiyu and said in a gentle tone as if chatting casually, "You are the daughter of Shen Zanghai? You've grown so beautiful... Don't be afraid. I summoned you here because I heard that you were also one of the candidates for the grand ceremony's priest... It's a pity. If you had been the one to perform the sacrifice this time, perhaps many troubles could have been avoided..."
Shen Cuiyu kept her eyes on her nose and her nose on her heart, always wearing a proper smile on her face, only saying that the queen was overpraising her.
The queen smiled and then changed the subject, "I heard... you and Yu'er got along very well in the academy?"
Shen Cuiyu's heart sank slightly. After the queen had said so many ambiguous words, she finally revealed her real purpose at this moment.
Pei Yu had concealed his identity and entered the Wansxiang Academy before. It was not until this grand ceremony that his identity was truly revealed. Judging from the queen's appearance, it seemed that she had just found out about this?
However, Shen Cuiyu remained neither overbearing nor humble on the surface and replied politely, "Your Majesty, the young prince is approachable. In the academy, he treats all his classmates equally. I, too, am deeply grateful for his care."
She subtly attributed their "good relationship" to "treating classmates equally", which not only answered the question but also neatly cleared herself of any possibility of special closeness.
The queen's eyes darkened slightly. She smiled and didn't delve deeper. Instead, she turned to look at Ren Daoyuan. Her tone was still gentle, but there was a hint of undeniable concern in it.
"Dean Ren, the Wansxiang Academy has produced many talents and made great contributions to cultivating the pillars of the Great Xia. However... Yu'er is a prince after all, different from ordinary students... What I mean is that I hope he can learn more about the ways of sages to govern the world. This matter of metaphysics is ultimately illusory. Delving too deeply into it may not be beneficial to his future."
She gently played with the teacup, slowing down her voice, but every word carried great weight. "The grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven is over. Yu'er must have missed a lot of his academy lessons. How about... letting him drop out of school? What do you think, Dean?"
Hearing this, Ren Daoyuan appropriately showed a bit of surprise on his face. He clasped his hands and said, "I understand what you said, Your Majesty. His Highness is of noble birth and should indeed focus on governing the country and pacifying the world. However... during his time in the academy, His Highness was diligent and studious, got along well with his classmates, and didn't act special because of his identity. He is deeply respected by teachers and students. If he suddenly drops out of school, it may attract criticism and make people think that His Highness... or the royal family is dissatisfied with the metaphysical sect in the world. Moreover, the path of cultivation can also cultivate one's moral character and clarify one's mind, which may not be without benefits for the prince."
When Shen Cuiyu heard the words "deeply respected by teachers and students", she couldn't help but curl the corner of her mouth imperceptibly. She thought that if Xu Qingfeng and the others heard this, they would surely go crazy...
But have to admit, Ren Daoyuan's words were really ingenious.
If Ren Daoyuan had mentioned Pei Yu's own will, it would have been clearly disregarding the queen's will and would surely have angered her. But at this moment, he only made a detour from the angles of "the reputation of the royal family" and "it also has benefits", presenting an attitude of completely considering the royal family and His Highness.
Ren Daoyuan slightly turned his head. The moment he met Shen Cuiyu's eyes, the latter also appropriately showed a bit of regret and softly echoed, "The dean is right. When the young prince was in the academy, he often said that there are the ultimate principles of the universe in metaphysics. Reading it together with historical and classical books complements each other..."
The two sang in harmony. One started from the general principle and name, and the other corroborated from personal feelings, but the meaning they expressed was almost the same - We completely didn't understand that you, Your Majesty, want His Highness to stay away from metaphysical matters. We just think it's good for His Highness to stay in the academy.
The queen looked at the two people below with "sincere" and "stupid" expressions, whose words were reasonable but completely deviated from her goal. The fingers holding the teacup tightened slightly. Her elegant smile remained unchanged, but a faint coldness flashed through her eyes.
"Oh? Really... It seems that I've over - thought it." She slowly put down the teacup, and her voice showed no sign of joy or anger. "Since both the dean and Miss Shen think so, then this matter... will be discussed later."
At this moment, the atmosphere in the palace seemed more stagnant than the smoke of the incense.
……
After all the matters related to the grand ceremony were completed, the teachers and students of the academy were about to return to Chaoyao Mountain.
When they reached outside the palace, they happened to see Liu Ruyan being escorted into the palace in a parade.
The news that the fake female immortal had failed to pray for rain during the grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven quickly spread throughout the capital, arousing the people's spurn!
Previously, in order to build momentum for herself, Liu Ruyan had put a batch of her small portraits in the embroidery workshop. As soon as they were launched, they were snapped up. Now that the truth had come to light, these portraits, which were once in high demand but now had no market value, were discarded like worthless things. The common people thought they were inauspicious. Many people burned or cut them, and some even threw them into the swill...