kvmb Chapter 369 Prophecy
Chapter 369 Prophecy
As long as Jiang Jianzheng predicts that the Lin family are loyal and virtuous officials, pillars of the nation, she can then explain to the Northern Qi Emperor that she has found the "remnants of the previous dynasty," and have Jiang Jianzheng testify against her.
In doing so, she performed a great service, giving the Northern Qi emperor a way out, and thus released the Lin family.
Consort Shu lowered her head slightly and curved her lips into a smile.
Jiang Jianzheng replied, "Your Majesty, I made some calculations before entering the palace. The new year will be a prosperous year for the nation and a year of abundant harvests."
Upon hearing Jiang Jianzheng's words, the Northern Qi Emperor's smile deepened. Before he could raise his wine cup to celebrate with his ministers, Jiang Jianzheng spoke again.
“However…” Jiang Jianzheng took out a letter from his sleeve and presented it to the Emperor of Northern Qi: “This is my prediction of the future fate of Northern Qi based on the Tui Bei Tu.”
Eunuch Liu immediately took the letter and forwarded it to the Emperor of Northern Qi.
Seeing that Jiang Jianzheng looked solemn, the Emperor of Northern Qi put down his wine cup, opened the envelope, and took out a letter.
The inscription read: "Grass heads and fire feet, palaces reduced to ashes. Birds in the house, tombs in the suburbs."
The Emperor of Northern Qi had a somber expression. He silently repeated the sentence several times in his mind before trying to understand its meaning.
Grass head and fire feet... Could it be referring to a swallow?
After all, the four dots below belong to the fire element.
"Palaces reduced to ashes" refers to a calamity occurring within the palace.
Thinking of this, the Northern Qi Emperor's face darkened, and he turned his gaze to the Imperial Tutor below him.
Because the emperor's tutor's surname was Yan.
The next moment, he directly dispelled any suspicion that he was the Imperial Tutor.
If the Imperial Tutor wanted to usurp the throne, he wouldn't have waited until now.
In particular, the Imperial Tutor never married and had no children. Who would he pass the throne to if he were to inherit it?
The Northern Qi emperor suppressed his thoughts and continued reading.
If there are birds in the house, and they are house birds, aren't they just swallows?
Upon seeing this sentence, the Northern Qi Emperor's eyes darkened, and he looked at the Wise Prince.
The wise king's surname was Chu, his given name was Heng, and his courtesy name was Yanshan.
Does this prophecy imply that a wise king will plot to usurp the throne?
Since the prophecy predicted the fate of the Northern Qi dynasty, the final tomb should point to the fate of a person of vital importance to the Northern Qi.
His home was taken over by birds, and he became a grave in the suburbs.
The Northern Qi emperor had long been wary of the Lin family's power, as they were able to conceal their spies from him in the Lin residence, disregard human life, and sell illicit tea.
Although the Lin family was arrested and imprisoned in the imperial prison, their influence was left to the Prince Xian.
If the Prince Xian wanted to force the emperor to abdicate, he might actually succeed if he colluded with Consort Shu from the inside.
The Northern Qi emperor's jaw tightened as he turned to look at Consort Shu.
When Consort Shu saw the cold look in the eyes of the Northern Qi Emperor, her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't understand why he would look at her like that.
Could it be that Supervisor Jiang didn't say the Lin family were loyal and virtuous officials in his letter, but instead accused her?
She suddenly looked at the letter in the Northern Qi Emperor's hand, but he had turned it face down, so she couldn't see its contents.
"Your Majesty..." Consort Shu's face gradually paled, and she tugged at his sleeve with her fingers: "What's wrong with you?"
The Emperor of Northern Qi avoided Consort Shu's hand and ordered, "Consort Shu is unwell; send her back to the palace."
Consort Shu's face turned ashen. The Northern Qi Emperor's public banishment of her from the palace banquet was a proclamation to all the civil and military officials that she had fallen out of favor.
She dared not think about the consequences of falling out of favor; she absolutely could not leave the palace banquet like this.
Consort Shu wanted to see what Supervisor Jiang had written, which caused the Northern Qi Emperor's attitude to change drastically.
Only by finding the root cause of the problem can she prescribe the right remedy.
"I'm feeling much better now," Consort Shu said coquettishly, as she always did when she was favored, placing her hand in the Northern Qi Emperor's palm.
The Emperor of Northern Qi waved her hand away.
Following the force of the Northern Qi Emperor's push, Consort Shu swept the letter to the ground.
She pretended to be startled, knelt on the ground, picked up the letter, and handed it to the Emperor of Northern Qi.
"Concubine..."
The Emperor of Northern Qi looked directly at Hong Qiao: "What are you still standing there for? Didn't you hear my order? If anything happens to Consort Shu, you will be held responsible!"
Hongqiao trembled with fright and quickly helped Consort Shu leave Baoyuan Palace.
Consort Shu was preoccupied with Jiang Jianzheng's prophecy and let Hongqiao lead her back to Zhaohua Palace.
Hongqiao helped Consort Shu sit down, and just as she was about to speak, she caught a glimpse of Consort Shu's eyes turning red, and the fierce look they revealed sent chills down her spine.
"Jiang Su, how dare he disregard his own son's life and death, and use his position as the Director of the Imperial Observatory to slander my son, claiming that he will usurp the throne in the future?"
Consort Shu said indignantly, "How dare he? How dare he do this!"
No wonder the Northern Qi emperor looked at her with such a cold gaze.
No wonder the Northern Qi emperor, in front of all the civil and military officials, disregarded all sentiment and kicked her out of the palace banquet.
The Lin family was already on the verge of collapse, but she could still gain some sympathy from the Northern Qi Emperor because of their past relationship.
Now that Jiang Jianzheng has made his prediction, where will they, mother and son, find refuge in the palace?
Consort Shu wished she could kill Supervisor Jiang to vent her anger.
At this moment, a palace maid rushed in and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, a message has come from outside the palace. Supervisor Jiang's son is in our hands, and your message has been relayed to Supervisor Jiang. What should we do with Young Master Jiang next?"
Consort Shu spat out the words through clenched teeth: "Kill them!"
"Yes." The palace maid withdrew to relay the message.
-
On the other side, in the Baoyuan Hall, there should have been clinking glasses and resounding music, celebrating the New Year together. However, after the Northern Qi Emperor drove away Consort Shu, the atmosphere inside the hall became oppressive and somber.
Fearing to make a mistake, the officials respectfully offered their New Year's greetings to the Emperor of Northern Qi and presented their New Year's gifts. The Emperor, in turn, followed custom and bestowed gifts upon his ministers.
After the elaborate rituals concluded, the main banquet began. For a grand banquet like today's, according to custom, wine was served nine times, with music played each time.
The Northern Qi emperor was in a bad mood and his mind was preoccupied with Jiang Jianzheng's prophecy. He skipped the drinking ceremony and simply drank a cup with the civil and military officials at the start of the banquet before putting down his cup and not touching his chopsticks again.
The officials were not focused on the banquet, but rather on speculating about the prophecy that Jiang Jianzheng had given to the Northern Qi Emperor, and whether Consort Shu had truly fallen out of favor.
If Consort Shu falls out of favor and the Lin family collapses, leaving only the not-so-shrewd Prince Xian, it will be too difficult for him to ascend to the throne.
Those who were originally part of the Wise King's faction began to waver.
Shen Qingtan was unaffected. The banquet dishes were plentiful, but they were already cold when they arrived. Only the five kinds of roasted and fried dishes and the five kinds of fruit were available, which she could pick out and eat a little to fill her stomach.
She took a sip of warm water from her cup, and as she looked up, she caught sight of Jiang Jianzheng sitting diagonally opposite her. He was sitting there with his back hunched over, his expression darker and more somber than the night, and he kept glancing toward the palace entrance, as if hoping that the palace banquet would end soon.
Just as Shen Qingtan had expected, after the palace banquet ended, Supervisor Jiang hurriedly left the palace.
He arrived at the palace gate and asked the servant guarding the carriage, "Is there any news of the young master?"
The servant shook his head: "There's no news yet."
Jiang Jianzheng's face darkened. He couldn't wait to ride back to his residence in the carriage. He untied the horses pulling the carriage, mounted his horse, and galloped towards the residence.
The cold wind lashed his face like a knife, but he didn't feel any pain. When he arrived at the gate of the mansion, he reined in his horse and dismounted.
As soon as the gates opened, Supervisor Jiang heard the commotion coming from inside and froze at the entrance like an ice sculpture.