"Divine Ancestor!"
After Ju Zi pushed him into the Ancestral Shrine, Xu Tianran seemed to become a completely different person in an instant. He was no longer the lofty crown prince who plotted strategies and manipulated hearts, but a zealot standing before the god he worshipped.
Dragging his two crippled legs, he struggled down from his wheelchair and crawled forward across the floor using only his hands.
Heavens...
At the sight, Ju Zi, who already dared not raise her head, felt her legs give way. She dropped straight to her knees, pressing her forehead against the icy floor.
She closed her eyes, focusing inward with her gaze lowered, not daring to steal so much as a glimpse.
Neither Xu Tianran's fanatical posture nor the Divine Ancestor, whose form she did not know, was something she could casually look upon.
In fact, given the choice, she would never have entered this shrine.
The more one knew, the sooner one died.
What if the Divine Ancestor took a dislike to me...
Ju Zi's bowed, delicate body suddenly trembled almost imperceptibly.
As she struggled to empty her mind,
within the sandalwood-wreathed Ancestral Shrine, only two sensations remained to her: the solemn scent of burning incense filling her nostrils, and Xu Tianran's fervent voice ringing incessantly in her ears.
"Divine Ancestor, Tianran is incompetent. I failed to find the vessel you require!"
Where Ju Zi could not see, Xu Tianran likewise pressed his forehead firmly against the floor.
"I personally examined every newborn member of the imperial family this year. Not one could bear your great will and power!"
Having spoken, Xu Tianran remained kneeling with his head bowed and said nothing more.
For a time, nothing could be heard within the Sun Moon Imperial Family's Ancestral Shrine save two restrained breaths.
"...No matter."