The Beginning of the Ancestral Rite

The ancestral rite at the Imperial Mausoleum had always been a grand event for the royal family.

And all the civil and military officials of the court, from the former court to the inner palace, knew that this ancestral rite at the Imperial Mausoleum would be anything but ordinary.

The fate of the throne, the future of Great Xia,

the stability of the Nine Provinces—all would be decided today!

Early in the morning, when the sky had only just begun to brighten.

Outside the palace gates, all the royal clansmen and civil and military officials stood in orderly ranks. Among the royal clansmen, Prince Qin and Prince Xiang stood at the forefront.

Prince Qi had been imprisoned for treason, so naturally he did not appear.

The court officials, meanwhile, were led by the ministers of the Grand Secretariat.

Golden Guard soldiers clad in golden armor and armed with sharp weapons stood arrayed around them, protecting everyone's safety.

Shen Yi and the others followed Xiang Yeyu, Li Xiaotian, and the other elite agents of the Eastern Depot, responsible for secretly shadowing the procession and eliminating any potential risks.

With all preparations complete, the sun climbed high.

The palace gates rumbled with a deep roar,

then slowly opened.

A magnificent dragon carriage, resplendent in gold and jade, with golden dragons coiling around it, rolled over the blue bricks and emerged slowly from the passageway.

Countless palace maids and eunuchs arranged the ceremonial guard before and behind it, displaying the solemn majesty of the Son of Heaven's procession.

Yet some were puzzled. With all the royal clansmen gathered here, Princess Qingcheng, who was rumored to be inheriting the throne, was nowhere to be seen.

It was truly strange.

But with the greater tide before them, even if something was amiss, no one wished