Children of Loulan

Chapter 490 The Incense is Broken

Xilin knew very well that as long as the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven could proceed smoothly without any accidents or mistakes, then when the king returned to the palace and accepted the worship of all civil and military officials in the court, the coronation ceremony would be a complete success.

She climbed onto the sedan chair steadily, sat down firmly, then stood up straight and looked into the distance with a determined gaze. That was the goal she had been striving for, and now it was finally within reach.

Years of hard work and dedication, countless days and nights of hard work and persistence, all gathered into the strength deep in her heart at this moment. Xilin tightly grasped the armrest of the sedan chair, feeling the slight coolness coming from her palms, which made her thoughts clearer.

She knew that today would be an important turning point in her life, and she was fully prepared to welcome her glorious moment.

At the same time, she would not allow anyone to ruin such an important moment today, so after she learned that Keremu had escaped, she was worried that she did not have enough manpower to protect today's coronation ceremony, so she had to take the risk and asked the capital's defender Ankar to be responsible for guarding the palace gates, while her own people were responsible for ensuring that the entire ceremony could proceed smoothly, and at the same time protecting herself and her son's safety!

Because she couldn't be sure what Keremu would do in secret after he disappeared. This made her feel a little uneasy. After all, Keremu had been able to sit firmly on the throne of the crown prince for so many years, so he must have some tricks.

However, at the same time, she did not completely trust General An. Although General An was loyal to Loulan, she was not sure whether he recognized her as the queen mother. Therefore, she decided to let General An guard the palace gates and put her most trusted people in the most central position to ensure that nothing could go wrong.

Not long after, the sedan slowly arrived at the Temple of Heaven. Aunt Kui carefully helped her get off the sedan. After she stood firm, she scanned the entire Temple of Heaven with her sharp eyes. Suddenly, her sight was attracted by a figure - it was the Regent!

The regent was standing not far away, dressed in gorgeous clothes and looking very imposing. When he saw Xilin, he immediately bowed respectfully and said in a loud voice, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to the Queen Mother."

Xilin smiled slightly and responded softly: "My Lord, I haven't seen you for many years. Are you okay?"

The Regent bowed again and replied, "Thank you, Queen Mother, for your concern. I am doing fine."

The conversation between the two was very concise and plain. However, in this seemingly ordinary exchange, the endless regrets in the heart of the Regent were hidden. It was just that this regret was so deep that no one could detect it.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, Maihemuti led many officials to rush from the ancestral temple. When his eyes fell on Xilin, his movements suddenly paused, and then he stepped forward without hesitation, respectfully performed a standard etiquette, and said: "Your son pays homage to the mother!"

Since the coronation ceremony had not yet been completed, Maihemti had not yet officially ascended the throne, and Xilin had not yet become a real queen mother, so at this special moment, he could only call Xilin "Mother Concubine" instead of the more formal "Queen Mother".

Seeing this, Xilin hurried forward, gently stretched out her hands, gently held Maihemuti's hands, and said softly, "No need to be polite, my child." Her eyes were full of love, like the warm spring sun shining on Maihemuti's body, making people feel extremely warm.

Maihemuti gazed at his mother's loving eyes, and a warm current surged in his heart. He knew that his mother had high hopes for him, and he would never let her down for her hard work and careful teaching over the years.

With the encouragement of his mother, Maihemuti became more and more cheerful. He secretly made up his mind that he must become a wise monarch in the future and live up to his mother's expectations, so that the country would prosper and the people would live and work in peace and contentment.

Then, Xilin slowly took Maihemuti's hand and walked towards the altar step by step. Each step seemed particularly solemn, as if carrying the weight of the entire country.

When they finally reached the altar, Xilin stopped. She stood there quietly, staring at Maihemuti, and said softly, "Go, child. Your mother will always be here watching over you."

Maihemuti nodded solemnly, and then walked towards the altar with steady steps. Each of his steps seemed particularly solemn, as if carrying the hopes and expectations of the entire country.

When he finally climbed onto the altar and stood on the towering platform, his figure seemed a little small, but full of majesty. He slowly picked up three thumb-thick incense sticks, prepared to light them, and pray to the heavens.

However, just when he was about to light the incense, something unexpected happened - the three originally solid incense sticks suddenly broke in the middle without any warning, as if they were broken by an invisible hand, and fell straight to the ground!

This sudden change caught Maihemuti off guard. He widened his eyes and looked at the incense on the ground in disbelief. He stood there in a daze for a moment, as if time had frozen at this moment.

This astonishing scene also shocked the civil and military officials below the altar. They whispered to each other and began to discuss:

"The incense was fine, how come it suddenly stopped?"

"Is it because God is not satisfied with him being the king?"

"Oh, this situation has never happened before!"

"If the incense is cut off, how can the sacrifice continue?"

Various speculations and concerns arose among the crowd, and the whole scene suddenly became a little chaotic.

Maihemuti naturally also heard the voices of discussion. He was like being struck by lightning. He froze in place with a bewildered look on his face. He had no idea how to deal with the situation.

At this critical moment, Xilin quickly came to her senses. She reacted very quickly and shouted, "Someone, come quickly, protect the emperor!"

This shout was like thunder. Just as she finished her words, dozens of people dressed in imperial guard uniforms rushed over like a gust of wind. They were well-trained and moved quickly. They drew their swords one after another and surrounded the altar in a protective posture in the blink of an eye.

The court officials present were all a little surprised and puzzled when they saw this. One of them couldn't help but ask loudly: "Madam, what does this mean?"

However, before Xilin could open her mouth to explain, the Regent said before her: "Someone dared to touch the incense for offering sacrifices to the heaven. This is clearly an intentional sabotage of the ceremony! Their purpose is to prevent the king from completing the coronation ceremony today!"

The Regent's voice was sonorous and powerful, like a huge bell, echoing above the crowd, allowing everyone present to hear it clearly.

At this time, Doctor Zhengyi came out from the crowd. His face was solemn, but his attitude was very respectful. He said: "Since this incense stick has been destroyed, the most urgent thing now is to quickly replace it with a new one and start the heaven offering ceremony again. Don't waste time. If you can't complete this heaven offering ceremony, then the king will not be able to ascend the throne smoothly."