Prince of Heaven

Rong Shi pursed his lips tightly.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Jing Huai didn't look at her face for a long time.He raised his head and looked ahead, driving his horse forward.

A general in silver armor who was in charge of the ceremony came rattling over on his horse, reined in his horse and slowed down a bit and asked, "It's so noisy, what happened?"

As he spoke, he saw the child in Jing Huai's arms.

The general felt that the child looked familiar, and stared at him, frowning in thought, but couldn't remember who he was for a moment.

"Master Jing, this is against the rules." The general pointed to Rong Shi and said.

He didn't recognize Rong Shi, but Rong Shi recognized him at the first sight.

He is Qi Zhou, the adopted son of the Jiang family who reported to the emperor the Jiang family's conspiracy to rebel.From the perspective of the previous generation's relationship, he is Rong Shi's uncle.

But Rong Shi doesn't have many opportunities to meet him, and the last time they met was many years ago.It's normal when he can't recognize Rong.

Jing Huai squinted at him, and replied, "General Qi, in the etiquette rules of this god-worshiping ceremony, which one says that envoys of gods are not allowed to take children on horseback?"

Qi Zhou opened his mouth and was about to say one, two, three, four, but he thought about it for a while, and there was no rule of etiquette for him to say, so he just said "this and that".

But anyone with a discerning eye knows that such a serious ceremony of worshiping the gods, how can he be so casual and perfunctory?Jing Huai's behavior clearly shows that he doesn't pay attention to the ceremony of worshiping the gods, and doesn't pay attention to the gods.

But Jinghuai's status as the son of Duke An of Jin does not allow Qi Zhou to preach at will, let alone that Jinghuai is still someone the emperor intends to reuse.After thinking about the interests involved, Qi Zhou didn't waste any time talking with Jing Huai, and just smiled coldly: "Your Majesty likes to do things for himself, and arrogance and arrogance will only repeat the same mistakes."

Qi Zhou pointed out something, speaking with a stick in his mouth.

Jing Huai only smiled faintly: "General Qi, it's better to keep an eye on the people over there in the temple, always staring at me, I'm afraid you won't be able to do the task His Majesty entrusted to you."

After all, Jing Huai turned his eyes away and stopped looking at him, his expression and movements couldn't be more normal, but Qi Zhou felt the ridicule, and his face turned green and pale.

The Qi family used to be a prominent family in the capital, but it gradually declined. In his generation, they were already a poor family. With their empty airs, they managed to maintain their dignity among the aristocrats in the capital.

Later, both of Qi Zhou's parents died in an accident. He was only eleven or twelve years old at the time, and Rong Shi was about the same age at this time. Qi Zhou's mother and Jiang's mother were good friends in the boudoir, and Jiang's mother thought he was pitiful. So he adopted him.

But Qi Zhou felt even more inferior because of being dependent on others.Although he and Jiang Feng and Jiang Heng were called brothers and sisters, he didn't feel for a moment that his status in the Jiang family was the same as that of their brothers and sisters.Jiang Feng's casual advice and Jiang Heng's silence made his poor self-esteem feel uncomfortable, anxious and painful.

Not to mention, Jing Huai's disdainful attitude now.

His deeply hidden fragile self-esteem was picked out in an instant, exposed to the sun, and talked about by everyone wantonly.

He reined in his horse, feeling the eyes of all the people in the city were looking at him, so he hurriedly rode away with a cold face.

Jing Huai felt that he had met someone who was not what he wanted, and felt unhappy in his heart, so he hurried on with his head depressed. After walking for a while, he found that the body of the person in his arms was very stiff, so he asked: "Has Ming Yu ever ridden a horse?"

Rong Shi's face was still pale, and he replied in a low voice: "No."

He was weak when he was young, and a martial artist taught him martial arts to strengthen his body. From the basic skills to the martial arts moves that suit him, step by step, when he was nine years old, his body was similar to that of ordinary children, and he could learn to ride a horse. Jiang's rebellion happened, and before the martial artist had time to teach him how to ride a horse, he had already entered the limbo.

"Don't be afraid, I will protect you." Jing Huai retracted his arms a little, and held Rong Shi securely.

Rong Shi nodded, let go of the hands that were tightly twisting his sleeves, and tried his best to relax.

When the guard of honor went outside the city, the road suddenly opened up, and the speed of travel became much faster. Jing Huai was worried that the child would not get used to it, so he talked to him to divert his attention.

Jing Huai pondered for a moment: "Speaking of which, I still don't know when your birthday is."

Rong Shi replied, "The fifteenth day of the first lunar month."

"Shangyuan Festival? It's a good day."

Jing Huai casually asked him some common questions, such as "Did you sleep well last night", "What did you eat this morning", "Have you taken any medicine", "How does your body feel?", etc. Rong Shi answered them one by one, I didn't realize I had reached the altar while walking.

Jing Huai dismounted first, and then reached out to help Rong Shi.

Rong Shi was frightened at the beginning, and it was the first time he rode a tall horse. Along the way, his face was already as pale as paper.He wanted to get off the horse with Jing Huai's hand, but he was still small, his legs and feet couldn't reach the stirrups, his hands were weak and weak, he turned over on the horse's back and almost fell down.

Fortunately, Jing Huai caught him below.

Looking at Rong Shi's frail body and frightened eyes, Jing Huai's heart softened suddenly, and he held him in his arms, stroked his back, and said "it's all right".

Rong Shi closed his eyes for a while.

The ceremony of worshiping the gods is proceeding according to the established steps. Unlike previous years, a second child besides the "Son of God" appeared on the ceremony. Everyone will always glance at this child between watching the ceremony of worshiping the gods. The emperor watching the ceremony on a high platform in the distance.

Rong Shi looked like Empress Jiang, and the emperor showed disgust at the first sight of him.

Sitting next to the emperor was Mrs. Gouyue, wearing a complicated and luxurious gown, trying her best to put on a graceful posture, but no matter how luxurious the decoration was, she couldn't stop her whole body from being soft and charming.

Mrs. Gouyue soon discovered that the emperor's eyes were not on the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the gods.She followed the emperor's gaze, and saw the deposed prince who had not been active in front of people for a long time.

He was arranged by Jing Huai in a corner with few people, with two attendants standing beside him, a man and a woman.His face was very pale, and he coughed once or twice from time to time.

Mrs. Gouyue turned her eyes to the side and looked at the emperor.

Despite the obvious disgust on the emperor's face, his gaze never moved away from Calm Shi's body for a long time.

Mrs. Gouyue was startled, and suddenly had a bad premonition.

"Your Majesty." She called out in a low voice.

The emperor looked back at her and asked, "What's wrong?"

Mrs. Gouyue smiled brightly, and said softly: "Today's grand ceremony will surely be able to pray for God's blessing, protect me from the country and win every battle, and establish my prestige in the four countries."

The emperor gave a faint "hmm" and said nothing more, but he didn't tease his favorite concubine as usual.

Mrs. Gouyue felt the difference, and rubbed a brocade handkerchief in her hand uneasily.

Rong Shi and Yin Zhu Yin Lan were watching the ceremony, but their expressions were not very good.They disobeyed the young master's order and came out to play, and they happened to be caught by the young master, and Rong Shi almost died under the horse's hooves, each of them was worried.

After returning to the mansion, a punishment is inevitable, it just depends on whether the punishment is serious or light.

When Yinzhu saw her face, she had a weary expression, and comforted her: "Mingyu, don't worry, you haven't fully recovered from your illness, the young master will not punish you."

Rong Shi lowered his eyes, coughed twice again suddenly, and a little mist filled his eyes.

He wasn't worried about such trivial matters as whether to be punished or not. He just felt the gaze of the emperor from the high platform, and he felt uncomfortable in his heart. His stomach was rolling like nausea, which made him want to vomit, but it was difficult for others. Too much, so I had to cough to cover up one or two.

"Ah, why are you crying?" Yin Lan whispered in surprise, when she lowered her head to look at Rong, Rong Shi felt that she was too close, so she nodded.

Yinzhu listened to the sound and went to see it. Sure enough, when he saw Rong's eyes were moist, there was a tear in the corner of the eye, which was about to fall, which was really lovable.

"Oh, I didn't cry even if my ass was about to suffer, why are you crying?" Yinzhu muttered, and was punched by Yinlan, and immediately shut up.

Rong Shi lowered his head and did not speak.

Yinzhu leaned close to Yinlan's ear and whispered: "Do you feel that his attitude has become colder?"

Yinlan glanced at him, and replied: "Isn't he always like this, he doesn't talk much."

"It's different." Yinzhu said, "If you don't talk, you don't talk, and if you are indifferent, you are indifferent. There is a difference."

"I don't quite understand."

Yin Zhu annoyed: "What a elm head."

Yinlan stepped on him, and Yinzhu let out a cry.

When the two people next to each other started to fight, they became even more quiet.

He was wearing a light blue cloak, and his small face was a little covered by the animal fur on the cloak. His face was cold and expressionless, and his brows were covered with a deep sickness.

Delicate and fragile, no matter who has such a child, they should take it home and take good care of it.

Probably, except for the emperor's family.

The emperor cruelly abandoned his son and removed his name from the list. Even when Rongshi was seriously ill for the first time, when the palace servant reported it, he just said coldly: "Whether he lives or dies, it is up to fate."

He resented the queen's betrayal, and even hated the children born to the queen.

The emperor sat high on the stage, guarded by heavy troops below.

"Your Majesty." Zhang Wangde, who was accompanying him, came forward to report, "General Qi, please see me."

"Let him come up."

After Qi Zhou came up, he knelt down to pay respects to the emperor, and then added fuel and vinegar to the fact that Jing Huai didn't pay attention to the ceremony of worshiping the gods, and openly brought a child to perform the ceremony.

The emperor didn't respond for a while after listening, Qi Zhou gradually became uneasy.Then I remembered the emperor's cruelty, if the emperor blamed him in a fit of anger, what should I do?

Unexpectedly, the emperor just said: "I know."

Although the God Sacrifice Ceremony is nominally a ceremony used by the royal family of the Li Kingdom to pray for the protection of the Suzaku God, it has actually become a way for the temple to deepen the belief in the hearts of the people. The emperor has suffered for a long time, and now Jinghuai is so wanton The sex just suits his heart, so how could he offend Jing Huai.

At this time, the master of ceremonies who presided over the ceremony came to report: "Your Majesty, the envoy and son of God are about to climb the ladder of the altar."

The emperor waved his hand to stop Qi Zhou from talking.

At the altar, the Son of God and four envoys stood in front of a 120-story staircase. This staircase was called the Heavenly Ladder by the people of Liguo, and it led to the highest point of the altar.

In the last step of the ceremony, the Son of God was wearing a red cloak and a rosebird jade crown on his head. Like the favored person of the god, he stepped on the ladder to the highest point of the altar under the eyes of everyone.

The highest part of the altar is as wide as a square, and there is a lifelike statue of Suzaku in the middle. The statue is a young boy with long hair cascading down like a waterfall. On his back are red wings that are as beautiful as flames. the world.

The Son of God and the envoy knelt down piously in front of the statue, folded their hands together and bowed their heads to pray for blessings.

A group of people surrounded the high altar. They knelt on the ground like the sons of gods, and sincerely begged the God of Suzaku to appear and save and protect this troubled country.

This continent is in an era of war, and the four countries have been fighting for more than 100 years.In recent years, Liguo has suffered successive defeats and ceded an unknown number of cities and lands.The new emperor came to the throne with great ambitions, using talents and abilities, and fought a few victories with all his strength, but he was powerless to save the decline.Their supplies were almost exhausted, and batch after batch of elite soldiers were killed or injured. The gradually increasing taxes and continuous conscription made the people almost breathless.

Next year will be a year of life and death for Liguo. If he loses again, the most important military fortress in the east of Liguo will be breached, and the dozens of cities hundreds of miles to the west will be even less likely to stop the enemy's troops. The imperial city, the country is destroyed, and the people will become prisoners of the enemy country.

They prostrated themselves for a long time, begging their God of Suzaku to send down divine grace, to bless their triumphant return of the army that went out to fight against foreign enemies in the coming year, and to bless the people who left the country and the people who left the country.

They are praying earnestly.

Rong Shi quietly stared at Jing Huai who was beside Shenzi, and then looked at the statue on the high altar, and then, one after another, whispers sounded indistinctly in his ears as if from another time and space .

After the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the gods, Jing Huai's mission as an envoy of the gods was completed. After exchanging a few quick greetings with other acquaintances, he walked in the direction of Rongshi. Seeing that he was safe and sound, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Before he finished asking, a eunuch's voice suddenly came from behind: "Lord Jing, Your Majesty has summoned you."

Jing Huai turned around to look at the person.It was the servant next to the emperor, Zhang Wangde.

Zhang Wangde smiled at him, then stretched out his finger to Rongshi, and said, "Your Majesty ordered Master Jing to bring this young master with him."

Jing Huai narrowed his eyes slightly, and subconsciously glanced at Rong Shi.

Rong Shi held the cloak in his hand, didn't move, just looked at Jing Huai blankly.He doesn't want to go.

Jing Huai rubbed his head, then turned to Zhang Wangde: "He is ill and should not see nobles, can Eunuch Zhang see it?"

He held Rongshi's shoulders and let Rongshi stand in front of Zhang Wangde. Zhang Wangde turned his eyes and saw a very sick young man, and said, "It's true that I'm not feeling well, but I don't know if I can see the nobleman."

Jing Huai showed a gentle and alienated smile: "Eunuch Zhang only needs to tell the truth, and I will thank Eunuch Zhang to lead the way."

Jing Huai and Zhang Wangde left for a while, and stood in place for a while, when the wind blew, he coughed repeatedly, and stretched out his hand to tighten the cloak.

Suddenly, there was a commotion around the altar, wave after wave, and when it reached Rong Shi, he heard the people around talking repeatedly: "The Son of God is a man in disguise!"

From time to time, he thought of the boy who looked like a child of God that he saw in the city before.It seems that he did not admit his mistake, that person is the son of God who escaped.

Rong Shi turned his head to look at the high altar, a young man dressed in the costume of the Son of God was escorted to kneel down, in a gesture of repentance.

The guard holding him held a human skin mask in his hand.

The crowd rioted, and a large number of people started rushing over from Yinzhu's side. In the chaos, someone bumped into Yinzhu, and Yinzhu fell and got up again.