Before and Behind the Hall

In the main hall of Anle Palace, Princess Dou, unsteady on her feet, withdrew. The Empress Dowager gave a brief instruction and then left, leaving the three dukes and nine ministers to take charge of everything.

Xu Chang glanced at the remaining bloodstains on the ground, touched his waistband, and hesitated for a moment before realizing he shouldn't have pulled it off and urinated on the spot like Zhang Xuezhou.

Zhuang Qingdi's eyes darted back and forth, constantly glancing behind the screen in the main hall.

The struggle between the Empress Dowager and Princess Dou was almost a one-sided contest.

But no one came out from behind the screen to stop it, nor did they help Master Dou. This made Zhuang Qingdi a little uneasy, as he couldn't tell whether the Law Treasure cloth that the other party had obtained was finished.

"It's been less than half a month. Even crafting an ordinary Law Treasure takes longer than that, not to mention the need to nurture Law Treasure before it can unleash its Law Treasure power. Damn it..."

The people of Xu Chang were filled with anxiety, while Zhuang Qingdi remained calm yet slightly apprehensive.

However, he had drafted an agreement in advance, knowing that even if the other party was not very good, they could still contribute 50% of their strength, which at least provided some protection, and he could barely maintain the status quo for the time being.

Zhuang Qingdi initiating the funeral at Anle Palace so early, as it was far from giving him sufficient time to prepare.

But since things have already come to this, he has no choice but to accept it, no matter how unwilling he is.

As long as he can survive the funeral, he can happily accept the fate of being stripped of his official rank.

"Brother Xu, the late Emperor left a decree that 'the mausoleum of Baling should be constructed entirely of earthenware, and should not be decorated with gold, silver, copper, or tin. No tomb should be built, in order to save resources and avoid troubling the people.' Can we use this decree to conduct the funeral?"

No one dared to intervene in the fighting in the main hall of the Weiyang Palace. The Empress Dowager, Princess Dou, the new emperor, and the empress all left together, with the Three Dukes leading the group.

It was clear that the body could not be kept in the main hall of Anle Palace indefinitely, so Prime Minister Xu Chang and Imperial Zhuang Qingdi had to take the lead in handling the funeral arrangements.

Without clear requirements, holding a grand funeral would be criticized as extravagant and wasteful, while holding a simple funeral would be criticized as disrespectful and unfilial.

This is something that can't be done well no matter what, not to mention the high probability of conflict.

After pondering for a few seconds, Zhuang Qingdi had no choice but to ask Xu Chang about the late emperor's edict.

"That's how it should be!"

Xu Chang nodded.

The power struggle within the Anle Palace was so direct and obvious that even a newcomer to officialdom could see it.

Regardless of any grudges that may remain between the Empress Dowager and Princess Dou, few of their group could withstand it.

Most of them are third or fourth-generation officials, and their apparent strength is not bad, but few of them can actually show their true abilities. Only Cheng Bushi, the Commandant of the Anle Palace Guard among the Nine Ministers, and others are genuine and can fight with real swords and spears.

Let alone forcibly suppressing them in the imperial court, there were very few people among them who could even stand against the Empress Dowager.

Everyone was willing to regroup and choose sides, but whether they could gain the Empress Dowager's favor was another matter entirely.

Knowing his fate, knowing how to gracefully withdraw became the important thing.

No matter how you arrange a funeral, it's bound to be a mess, so it's only natural to keep it simple.

Xu Chang readily agreed to Zhuang Qingdi's suggestion, and then looked at the crowd.

"What the Prime Minister says is absolutely right," said Marquis Qu Ni, Chen He, bowing respectfully.

"We will take the will as the standard, and no one can object to that," Marquis Fu Yan of Yangling agreed.

"The Empress Dowager arranged the same funeral for the late Emperor back then, so how could she possibly make things difficult for us?" Marquis Yingyin Guan Qiang said with an unfriendly expression.

I'll listen to everyone's opinions!

Cheng Bushi his hands in greeting, and being a conservative man, he thought there was nothing wrong with it.

Grand Master of the Palace, Gongsun He, nodded but did not offer any opinion, since it would be pointless for him to do so.

Everyone echoed in agreement, Zhuang Qingdi and Xu Chang couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The two pointed to the main gate of Anle Palace, and several old eunuchs who had calmed down stepped forward and opened the gate.

The continuous chanting of funeral dirges immediately filled the main hall of Anle Palace.

"Summon the Grand Astrologer to observe the celestial phenomena!"

"Summon the chief priest to divine the burial date by burning tortoise shells!"

"A five-tiered coffin was made, painted with the constellations of the Twenty-Eight Mansions, nine sets of bronze chimes were commissioned as funerary objects, and twelve plain silk robes were made!"

"The emperor shall wear mourning clothes for three years, but in accordance with the late emperor's edict to 'change the month by day,' the days shall be thirty-six!"

"The feudal lords shall wear mourning clothes for three months, and all officials shall wear mourning clothes for fifteen days; no one may disobey this order!"

The main hall doors opened, the mournful chanting gradually subsided, and many officials knelt down in unison.

Xu Chang and Zhuang Qingdi exchanged a glance, and then began to recite in unison.

They observed the celestial phenomena, determined the burial date, the funeral specifications, and the mourning days for everyone, constantly reciting numerous rules and regulations from their mouths.

Compared to Emperor Jing's 49-day mourning period, the Empress Dowager's mourning period was shortened to 15 days.

This period still seems long, but it is only twice as long as the seven-day mourning period for ordinary people. If the area is mountainous and the roads are steep, some officials may not even receive the news before the Empress Dowager is buried.

The funeral of the Empress Dowager was even simpler. All that was needed was to carry the appropriate items to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to complete the sacrificial ceremony, and then the coffin could be sent to the Baling Mausoleum where the Empress Dowager was buried.

Everything was as simple as it could be. All that was needed was to safely get through these fifteen days, then deliberately make a small mistake, and on the first morning court session after the funeral, instruct someone to impeach him, thus allowing him to step down according to the precedent set for dealing with Zhang Xuezhou. Everything would then proceed smoothly.

Xu Chang's face was pale, while Zhuang Qingdi's face was slightly flushed.

He surveyed the thousands of civil and military officials outside the main hall, his gaze constantly searching until he spotted Zhang Xuezhou, who was almost marginalized. At that moment, his heart calmed down considerably.

"Lord Xu, I will go and urge the Grand Astrologer Sima to discuss the celestial phenomena and try to choose a good day," Zhuang Qingdi said, bowing.

"Then I'll go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to wait for divination and see if there's an auspicious time for the burial!"

Xu Chang nodded and stepped out of the hall as well.

No great calamity will come today, and no madman will storm the palace now, facing thousands of civil and military officials in an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

For Xu Chang and Zhuang Qingdi, the real trouble would come a few days later.

After the two issued the order, the previously confused officials, both high and low, understood the procedure. Officials involved in the summons were to carry out their duties, while others were to wear mourning clothes for fifteen days. During this period, they were to participate in ceremonies at specific times and also to send off the deceased at the auspicious time of entering the mausoleum.

The timing of Xu Chang and Zhuang Qingdi leaving the palace involved a set time, and many people needed to wait here for a result.

The funeral for the Empress Dowager was extremely simple; everything happened so fast it couldn't have been faster.

However, for Xu Chang and others, the trouble they anticipated came much earlier than they had imagined.

In the rear hall of Anle Palace, Divine Lord Zhenyuan held two unfinished Law Treasure in his long sleeves, his expression a mixture of embarrassment and silence.

Opposite him, a Daoist Master in a green robe stood in mid-air, also gazing at this renowned but never-before-seen number one god of the Western Kunlun.

Give me the Nine Dragon Cauldron, and I'll leave!

Daojun pointed to the large cauldron placed in the back hall, which made Divine Lord Zhenyuan shake his head.

"This was one of the things I agreed to do for Fellow Daoist Dou; I can't give you the Nine Dragon Cauldron!"

Divine Lord Zhenyuan stared at Daojun, then looked at the other's feet standing in mid-air.

The Daoist Lord was dressed in a green robe, but he was barefoot, and even now he still stands in mid-air without touching the ground.

The opponent's completely ungrounded aerial maneuver put a lot of pressure on Divine Lord Zhenyuan, but Divine Lord Zhenyuan also felt that the Dao Lord in front of him seemed to be only moderately strong.

He felt that if he were to strike with his sleeve, he could very well kill this former number one god of Kunlun.