At five o'clock in the morning, in the dim and bright morning, with flags flying everywhere, soldiers and horses escorted a carriage out of the imperial city.
As for the current situation where many bandits were besieging Chang'an, the nerves of the civil and military officials in the court were on edge. Upon noticing the movement coming from the imperial city, they all dressed neatly, left the palace, and followed the long dragon-like imperial chariot to the Hibiscus Pond.
The people who had gotten up early to make a living saw this scene and turned back to inform their families. In less than a moment, lights were lit up in the dark city, and many people followed the lights out of their homes, putting on their robes as they walked.
"The civil and military officials of the court have all come out. Your Majesty must be in the front."
"Looking at the direction, it should be heading to Hibiscus Pond."
"Hurry up, let's go together. There must be some movement from the Imperial Master."
There were also men who had gotten up and pushed the sleepy children, "Let's watch the fun. San'er, go wake up your mother and make some pancakes for her!"
The vendors who had been waiting for this business opportunity for a long time, lit an oil lamp and busied themselves around the pot, putting the baked pancakes one by one under the basket covered with white cloth. The man carried the goods on his shoulder, led his wife and children out of the door, and rushed over there with the crowd that was gradually gathering on the street, shouting about their business and watching the excitement.
In the lead-blue color, a crowd of people surged. Vendors carrying breakfast and snacks on their shoulders shouted loudly and shuttled back and forth in the crowded crowd. In front of the countless moving figures, soldiers holding spears stood in a row, separating the Hibiscus Pond from the sea of people at a safe distance.
A huge crowd of civil and military officials got off the carriage and lined up in the court team tacitly, following the emperor who got off the imperial sedan and slowly walked towards the huge platform towering in the dark blue sky in the distance. Their vision gradually narrowed, and they looked up along the base, shocked and a little dazed.
"It's... so thick."
"I heard it's called the Conferred God Platform... Is the Imperial Master really going to confer gods?" "I wonder if we have a place, since we are important officials in the court after all."
"What are you thinking?!"
"Speak less. This is a solemn matter and should not be discussed carelessly."
In the distance, the emperor, wearing a heavenly offering robe and a crown, raised his face, with a circle of thick beard on his cheeks fluttering in the wind. He looked solemnly at the huge platform. The stone walls on all four sides were carved with auspicious clouds, the sun, moon, stars, gods, dragons and phoenixes, as if holding up the stone steps that meandered around the platform. Yang Guang slowly put his hands together and bowed towards the Conferred God Platform.
The eunuchs around him saw the emperor bowing and kowtowed, and quickly turned around and shouted to the civil and military officials behind him: "Your Majesty, go first, and the civil and military officials will follow suit!"
Upon hearing this, the civil and military officials, both large and small, who were arranged in an orderly manner in front and behind, all raised their hands and bowed. On both sides, soldiers walked over, holding torches and going to the two sides of the Conferred God Platform, throwing the torches into the two three-legged tripods engraved with the images of the Sun God and the Moon God. The flames jumped up with a bang, and the thick smoke twisted and swayed in the wind, illuminating the surroundings.
In the distance, inside the Wanshou Temple, a Taoist priest dressed in a pitch-black robe and holding a whisk walked out. Looking at the huge crowd of people, his shouting voice spread with the wind.
"The gates of heaven are about to open, the auspicious time has arrived!"
Sun Yingxian bowed with his whisk, showing a rare serious expression, and stood aside. Eight burly men, with their upper bodies covered with runes, carried the three animals and walked out of the mountain gate. Soldiers on both sides followed with swords and weapons in hand, and stopped at the stone steps below the altar, then formed two rows and went to the left and right.
Eight people walked up the winding stone steps to the highest point, placed the three animals on the altar one by one, stepped aside, and held up eight flags symbolizing good weather and a bright sky and earth.
"Please invite the national master to ascend the altar and offer sacrifices to the heavens!" Sun Yingxian shouted again.
Inside the mountain gate, a pair of footsteps stepped slowly out of the mountain gate on the moss-covered stone steps, and the legs stepped towards them with the swaying hem of their robes. Yang Guang, who was bowing under the altar, stood up and looked at them. He let out a long breath and looked at the national teacher who was coming over, holding a scroll. He couldn't help but smile. After a moment, he gave a few instructions to the eunuch beside him, who nodded and shouted loudly to the back.
"The national teacher offered sacrifices to the heavens and conferred the title of God, and all officials knelt in worship—"
A group of figures knelt on the ground and clasped their hands in greeting. Lu Liangsheng walked between the soldiers on both sides, holding a scroll. His face did not change at all despite the countless gazes from near and far. He looked at the stone steps leading to the altar in front of him, his heart mixed with complicated thoughts about deification.
'I have made it this far.'
Looking at the stone steps under his feet, he slowed down his pace, then stepped firmly on the steps, taking each step very slowly and steadily, as if every stone step brought back scenes from the past. The sleeves of his cloak printed with yin and yang fluttered in the wind. Lu Liangsheng walked up to the platform and his vision became wider.
The crowded crowds in the distance, the emperor below the high platform, and the civil and military officials all became tiny, and the rows of houses and buildings stretched to the end of the sight.
Lu Liangsheng was distracted for a moment, and no one noticed the emotional fluctuations in his eyes, which were like ripples of past memories.
… The mountains are winding and the forests are lush and green. A young man carries firewood on his back and walks carefully along the rugged mountain road. When he is tired and thirsty, he sits down to drink some clear water from a stream. The mountains are shrouded in mist and the villagers at the foot of the mountain quarrel and fight over water sources, and the case is brought to the county government…
A high wall, a gong, a cold wind, a female ghost dancing with her sleeves flying on the wooden stage, singing an opera, the scene unfolds like water, an old man from the government office hands him three books...
As the flowers bloom and the grass grows, the young man transforms into a graceful scholar. He walks out of the house leading a donkey loaded with books. Standing under an ancient pine tree, he bows and bids farewell to his mentor with gray hair.
…
The wind blew over the high platform, and his snow-white beard swayed in the wind. Lu Liangsheng suddenly laughed: "Uncle Pan, Uncle Qing, I remember that the first time I went on a long journey, I followed Dad. Later, I went out with you. I didn't expect to encounter a huge centipede. I didn't expect that once I stepped out of Qixia Mountain, everything would change like the passage of time."
At this point, his smile became even brighter.
"I remember the Xiaoqing River outside Qixia Mountain. It was a small area, but it supported the people of two villages. The water came down from the mountain and was crystal clear. Every summer night, I saw many men from the village secretly lying by the river, and they were often scolded by the women bathing in the river."
hey-hey…
The eight big men holding flags on both sides laughed. They were the ones who never fell behind every year. At this time, the voice of the Taoist priest was heard from below.
"The auspicious time has arrived, and the gates of heaven are about to open!"
Lu Liangsheng, who was standing in front of the altar, ignored the voice, still smiling, and said softly: "From a young boy in a mountain village, to today... It's still the old days, which makes people yearn for it, but it's a pity that we can't go back."
Lu Liangsheng took a step forward, holding the scroll above his head, and slowly knelt on the cushion. He raised his eyes and looked at the golden morning light breaking through the eastern sky, which was even more dazzling in his eyes. Then, he closed his eyes slightly, his lips trembling slightly, and spoke words that only he, or the white clouds and morning light in the sky, could hear.
"... I hope you can help me with the Conferred God matter. Lu Liangsheng agreed to what you said in Guixu."