Chapter 53: The Whole Country Celebrates the Tibetan Turmoil

The next day, when Wu Yi followed Li Gu to leave the inner courtyard and go to the outer courtyard to meet other disciples, when he walked out of the inner courtyard, the outer courtyard was a completely different world, with lights and decorations everywhere, ribbons flying, and objects with the meaning of happiness and longevity everywhere.

The monks who really stepped into the door of cultivation in the capital Taoist temple all practiced in the inner courtyard, and those in the outer courtyard were ordinary registered disciples who did not get the true method and had not comprehended the sense of qi. There was a big difference between the capital Taoist temple and the Taoist temples in other regions, that is, this Taoist temple was built in a densely populated area, unlike other Taoist temples that were far away from the city and secluded and sparsely populated. For example, the back mountain of the Liucheng Yiqi Taoist Temple where Wu Yi was located was even more rampant with beasts and poisonous insects.

However, this capital Taoist temple often had pilgrims, including many royal relatives. Even the emperor had to hold a major event of offering sacrifices to heaven and conferring the empress and establishing the heir, and people from the capital Taoist temple had to come forward to hold it, in order to reflect the influence of the Yiqi sect on the country and consolidate the status of the state religion. Compared to other Taoist temples, the requirements in this regard are not as strict as those in the capital. They just come forward to solve some problems that cannot be solved in the mortal world and involve the extraordinary.

But the Taoist temple is a place outside the world after all. For example, the inner courtyard has not changed even for the emperor's birthday. The outer courtyard often receives pilgrims and naturally has to be well decorated. Even if many disciples come and stay, they are just not allowed to stay. They are still allowed to come to burn incense.

Seeing Ge Yunyi and other disciples again, Wu Yi turned a blind eye to the envy in their eyes and walked into their team calmly. At this time, all of them gathered outside the main hall of the outer courtyard, Lingchen Hall. There was a large open space here that could accommodate thousands of people. Dayu has thirty-six counties and more than a hundred Taoist temples. This time, more than two thousand disciples came, filling the entire open space.

Each temple has its own position, and even the Taoist robes are all in a uniform blue-white color, with a sense of elegance and transcendence. Although they are not as neat and orderly as the mortal army, and they seem to be sparse, they do not walk around randomly. The leaders of the Taoist temples, such as Li Gu, stand at the front of each Taoist temple and have the responsibility to enforce discipline.

Next to the copper-plated and gold-plated gate of Lingchen Hall, Bai Yu, the master of the Capital Taoist Temple, wears a Five Mountains crown, a purple-bottomed and gold-painted Bagua Taoist robe, and holds a whisk, looking like a Taoist master.

"My fellow Taoists, since Emperor Gengshi ascended the throne, he has worked day and night to revive the government, and the sea and rivers have been peaceful and the world has been settled. Today is the birthday of the king, and the whole world is celebrating, and our Taoist sect is celebrating together." Bai Yu's full-bodied voice spread throughout the entire hall, and everyone heard it clearly.

But Wu Yi remembered that when Wang Chuchen spoke, it was as if he was speaking right next to you, while Bai Yu relied entirely on his true qi to spread the sound waves. As someone who was relatively close, Wu Yi felt his eardrums vibrating constantly, and even had a moment of tinnitus. Of course, such a comparison is naturally unfair, after all, Wang Chuchen was only talking to more than a hundred people, while Bai Yu was talking to thousands of people.

But Wang Chuchen, after all, had mastered the Dao rhyme of the Great Dao of Sound, so he should be stronger. Wu Yi thought to himself. Now he was so bored that he was thinking about these boring things in his mind. The reason was that after Bai Yu made an opening, he talked endlessly about what the disciples should do on their birthdays. Everyone practiced in the Taoist temple all day long, and even when they went out of the cave, they mostly went out to listen to the professor's explanation of Taoism. They were rarely restricted, and practiced and rested at their own will. Now this is not allowed, that is not allowed, how can they not be bored.

Not only Wu Yi, but other disciples had the same attitude. They were just embarrassed by the professor standing in front of them. It was not easy to breathe to kill time, and it was even harder to express dissatisfaction. They could only droop their bodies, listlessly, and wandering in the sky.

Bai Yu didn't want to do this originally. He said so much nonsense. Not to mention the disciples, even Li Gu, a foundation-building cultivator at the professor level, was very dissatisfied. But what could he do? Behind him stood the old Taoist with white eyebrows. This Taoist was from the Ping family, so he had to make him happy.

The oath-taking ceremony lasted for more than half an hour. It was not until the sun was tilted to the center that Bai Yu stopped talking and asked everyone to attend the banquet.

The Taoist disciples of the Taoist temples traveled in a large number, occupying three or four streets. Seeing these Taoists traveling, even if there were enough gaps between the Taoist temples for other pedestrians to cross the street, no one dared to cross. Even mortals knew that these were real Taoists and should not be despised.

After all, it was the birthday of the king, so it was shocking and offensive to the imperial power. Wu Yi and his party were not allowed to use Taoist magic easily in the capital, and the magic of driving clouds and playing with qi was not allowed. But even so, with the speed of Wu Yi and his party, ordinary people could not see the change of footsteps clearly, but they saw the heavy shadows of footsteps, and the shadows in front had not dispersed, and the back foot came again, which made them dazzled for a while, and they were even more awed in their hearts.

Wu Yi and his party were at the peak of the fourth transformation of Qi Refining, so their footsteps were not weak. Even so, they walked for half an hour when they arrived outside the Sheji Hall of the banquet.

When they arrived at the place, they had to stand in the designated position. At this time, all the officials and ministers had arrived, and countless golden armored soldiers stood on both sides with swords. They all got up early in the morning before dawn and waited in the cold wind, not daring to let the emperor wait. In comparison, Wu Yi's group of Taoists were the last group to arrive.

As the time was approaching, Wu Yi and the others hurriedly stood at the designated positions under the guidance of the master of ceremonies. Wu Yi and the others complained that Bai Yu had wasted too much time and told too many useless things before, which made them so flustered now, but they did not open their eyes and say it now.

In order to stand as quickly as possible, everyone could not help but use their spiritual energy, and their bodies were surrounded by white mist and breeze. With the carefully prepared sky-blue Taoist robes, they looked more elegant and graceful. Even the officials were dissatisfied when they saw that the people from the Taoist temple came so late, but they dared to bury it in their hearts at this time, and did not dare to whisper and complain privately as before.

Seeing the respectful look of the officials, Bai Yu closed his eyes and meditated as if no one was around. The current situation was what he had intended. The authority of religion was superior to that of officials. It was not an empty talk. Even if he tried not to perform magic in the capital to maintain the majesty of the imperial power, he still needed to let these officials who were used to being high and mighty understand the difference between the upper and the lower.

After the Taoist priest took his position, Emperor Gengshi came late accompanied by a group of palace maids and soldiers. If you look closely, you can find that Emperor Gengshi's steps are unstable and he often goes in the wrong direction. It was only because of the support of the empress beside him that he did not fall down or make mistakes.

This queen had plump cheeks, moth-shaped eyebrows and white teeth. She wore a dragon-and-phoenix pearl crown, a red long-sleeved dress, a shawl, a red long skirt, a red jacket, a special bun with dragon and phoenix decorations, and embroidered gold dragon and phoenix patterns. She looked noble and powerful. Emperor Gengshi married her when he was over 60 years old after his first wife died. It was a political marriage at that time. She was the daughter of the ruler of Linxia, ​​a neighboring country of Dayu.

Linxia did not have a big character in front of its name to show respect. Its national strength was naturally inferior to Dayu, but its people grew up in the bitter cold land of the northeast, lived by fishing and hunting, were good at fighting and liked to fight. They helped Emperor Gengshi to quell many border invasions. Even many Linxia people were made marquises and generals in Dayu, reaching the top of the ministers. Relying on the power of her mother country, this queen was able to firmly control the state affairs of Dayu after Emperor Gengshi was unable to handle the government affairs, so that the prince who was not born from her fetal blood had to rely on the power of Taoism to ascend to the throne.

The empress was already over 40 years old, but she was still radiant and charming, and she was lovable. However, any man who saw the arrogance in her eyes would feel ashamed and dare not look up.

The emperor and the empress took their seats, and the ceremony officially began. The master of ceremonies began to list the achievements of Emperor Gengshi since he ascended the throne. In addition to those that were spread all over the world, there were also a lot of trivial matters, and the splendid articles were expanded to a long list.

Wu Yi immediately understood why so many professors and deacons declined this matter. Even Wang Chuchen looked impatient. After practicing Taoism for a long time, the restraint in his heart gradually disappeared, leaving only the persistent pursuit of the Tao. How could he be interested in these trivial matters?

Wu Yi had no intention of listening to these words of praise, so he sealed the sound and practiced on his own. Naturally, he did not dare to calm down completely. He just sat in meditation and breathed in and out, just like many other disciples. At this time, most of the disciples in the Taoist temple were doing the same. The master of ceremonies was not surprised and continued his recitation. After reading the long eulogy, he announced the start of the banquet.

All officials bowed down together, and Wu Yi and other Taoists bowed their heads and said flattering words of longevity.

The Sheji Altar is a place for singing praises, not a place for banquets. The banquet is in the pavilions behind the Sheji Altar. After the emperor and empress left, everyone followed the master of ceremonies to the place they should go.

The sons and grandsons of the dragons, the royal relatives, the civil officials, the military generals, and the rest were the Taoists like Wu Yi.

Before leaving, the sharp-eyed Wu Yi saw a young man who seemed to want to come forward to support the Gengshi Emperor, but was scolded by the empress. He did not dare to come forward to support him and retreated.

Wu Yi didn't know who this young man was, but combined with his four-clawed golden dragon suit and his movements, it was not difficult to guess that he should be the prince.

Such a thing happened in front of all the ministers, which shows that the rumors outside are not groundless. Wu Yi thought.

Speaking of which, the prince and the queen also have a complicated relationship. The reason why the current prince can become the prince is largely due to the support of the queen. When Emperor Gengshi married the current queen, she was already over 60 years old. It may not be impossible, but it is unlikely to continue to reproduce, which also led to the queen being childless until now.

But the queen's childlessness does not mean that she has no other choice. Before the death of Emperor Gengshi, the couple still gave birth to a son, the current prince Ping Yunce. It should be noted that he was already over 40 years old at that time. Many people inside and outside the court believed that the first queen died because she tried hard to give birth to this child.

The first empress gave birth to three sons and one daughter. The first two sons had grown up, and she was not happy about the birth of the third brother. Apart from the struggle for power in the royal family, this brother took their mother's life as soon as he was born, so he was never liked. Even Emperor Gengshi did not value him very much. If there were no accidents, his life would be spent in a muddle.

But the accident came, and the current empress came. She knew very well that she might not be able to give birth to an heir at the age of Emperor Gengshi. So on the one hand, she invited famous doctors to try to give birth to an heir, and on the other hand, she took Ping Yunce, who had lost his mother and was still in the cradle, to raise him herself. Not only did she give the outside world an image of being virtuous and kind, but she could also leave a way out for herself.

In the end, the empress did not give birth to an heir, and Ping Yunce was naturally raised by her as her own son. Then, through various suppressions, Ping Yunce's two brothers were deposed from the throne, and they were demoted and placed far away, and Ping Yunce was helped to the position of the East Palace.

If the Gengshi Emperor was still healthy, nothing would have happened. But when the Gengshi Emperor suddenly collapsed, the court was divided into two factions over who would take over the power, and the two factions were extremely unbalanced. Ping Yunce, who originally thought he would get more support, found that the court was almost all about the power of the Queen Mother, and he could not get any support at all. It was all the old ministers of the Gengshi Emperor who supported him.

So Ping Yunce looked for another way out and found the ancestor of the Ping family to beg for help from extraordinary power.

The Queen scolded Ping Yunce and left, which was considered to have extinguished Ping Yunce's last thought of a peaceful solution.

He lowered his head, like a child who had done something wrong, but no one noticed the complex expression in his eyes, which showed unwillingness, reluctance, regret, and resentment, but in the end, they all turned into fierceness, like a hungry wolf, with green light in his eyes.