Chapter 433: The Heavenly Mother Protecting the Nation, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Yin Qingyi Saint Queen
Time passed by little by little, and it was almost the Si hour.
Li Daoxuan frowned slightly and said, "Your Majesty, why hasn't Changle come yet?"
In order to show solemnity, Li Shimin not only attended the Fengshan ceremony in person, but all officials above the fourth rank in the capital were also required to come. In addition, members of the royal family were no exception.
Even Empress Changsun came to the scene with a big belly. It was her insistence that she wanted to set an example.
However, Princess Changle, Li Daoxuan's direct disciple and the tenth-generation disciple of Longhu Mountain, has not arrived yet. Logically, she should never be late.
Li Shimin asked the Queen about Changle's whereabouts.
Empress Changsun frowned and said, "Your Majesty, Changle hasn't seen Li Zhenren for several days. She got up early today and said she wanted to make cakes for Li Zhenren herself. Calculating the time, it's time for her to come."
For some reason, she began to have a bad feeling in her heart.
Although Changle is a little naughty sometimes, he is very sensible when encountering things, and such problems should not occur.
At this time, Li Shimin seemed to remember something and suddenly asked, "Queen, a few days ago you said you wanted to investigate that Yan'er, have you found anything yet?"
Changle, as the eldest princess with a noble status, actually called Yan'er "sister". This made Li Shimin a little angry, but he was busy with state affairs, so after handing the matter over to the empress, he temporarily forgot about it.
Empress Changsun said immediately, "Your Majesty, I have already sent people to check, but there is no maid named Yan'er in the palace. Perhaps one of the maids was frightened and deliberately used a fake name."
She saw that Li Shimin was busy with the Fengshan ceremony during this period and was overwhelmed every day, so she did not disturb him because of such a trivial matter.
Li Shimin immediately sent a group of bad people to look for Changle.
"It's a pity that Chunfeng and Tiangang are both in seclusion. In order to prevent being disturbed, even I don't know where they are in seclusion. Otherwise, I could ask them to calculate the good and bad luck."
Li Shimin sighed.
Li Daoxuan nodded. Everyone has their own expertise. When it comes to divination and fortune-telling, Louguan Dao is indeed unique. Looking at the entire Longhu Mountain, perhaps only his uncle Wu Dabao can compete with him.
At the time of Si, the Fengshan Ceremony officially began.
The so-called Fengshan is actually the emperor's show-off of his own achievements. By offering sacrifices to the gods of heaven and earth, he reports his political achievements to the gods and leaves a mark in history books.
Generally, the location for Fengshan is chosen on a mountain because it is closest to the sky, and the best place is Mount Tai.
In history, Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, and Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu all performed Fengshan rituals on Mount Tai.
However, Li Shimin chose to build an altar in the south of the city, because he did not want to boast about his own achievements, but wanted to use the grand ceremony of Fengshan to spread the faith in the Green-robed Goddess.
Fengshan is the highest ritual of the emperor. The ghosts and gods worshipped in Fengshan are the true gods of the world!
Choosing a location in the south of the city would, on the one hand, make it closer to the people and allow more people to witness it with their own eyes and spread the news through word of mouth; on the other hand, it would save a lot of expenses and would not require mobilizing a large number of troops and wasting manpower and money.
In history, after becoming the Heavenly Khan and creating the prosperous Zhenguan Era, Li Shimin also wanted to emulate the Qin Emperor and Han Emperor Wu in offering sacrifices to the gods on Mount Tai, but ultimately gave up in order to save money.
The process of the ceremony has been simplified as much as possible. After offering sacrifices to the God of Heaven and the Mother of Earth, the gods of community and grain, it is finally time for the highlight of this Fengshan ceremony.
A jade statue of the god had its red cloth removed and stood high on the altar, reflecting the crystal luster in the sunlight so that everyone could catch a glimpse of the holy face.
The statue is two feet and seven inches tall and is carved from white marble. It was made by a court master. Every axe and chisel is ingenious, and every frown and smile is lifelike.
The lady in green stood on the lotus platform, gently clasped her jade hands, and lowered her eyes with a look of compassion, as if she was watching the suffering of all living beings in the world.
"Bow to the Heavenly Mother who protects the country of the Tang Dynasty, the Holy Queen of the Nine Heavens, Mysterious Yin, and Blue Clothes!"
As the eunuch's voice sounded, all civil and military officials, including the emperor and Li Daoxuan, bowed to the statue.
"Bye again!"
"Three bows, the ceremony is complete!"
As the last bow ended, the burning incense and candles in front of the statue of the Green-Robed Goddess suddenly began to accelerate, and wisps of smoke floated around her body, like a layer of hazy smoke.
The statue of the Green-Robed Goddess began to emit brilliant light, illuminating all directions. All who were illuminated by the light felt relaxed physically and mentally. The sick were cured of their illnesses, and the healthy were also able to strengthen their bodies.
The dragon energy hovering over Chang'an seemed to sense something, raised its eyes slightly, took a quick glance, and then looked away.
The emperor personally worshipped the Mother of Heaven who protects the country, and conferred the title with his own hand at the Fengshan Ceremony. The status of the Queen of Heaven in Green Clothes is second only to the Mother of Heaven and Earth, the Goddess of Community and Grain, and as the Queen of Green Clothes is herself a righteous immortal, the dragon energy will naturally not interfere with her manifestation of power.
At this moment, most of the people outside the altar have already knelt down.
"The gods have appeared, the gods have appeared!"
"This seems to be the Qingyi Lady. I saw her when I was doing business in Hongzhou. There were many people there worshipping this lady!"
"Even His Majesty and Master Li have bowed to her, so she must be a righteous deity with boundless magical powers!"
"Yes, just now when I was illuminated by that light, the pain in my waist that I had suffered for many years disappeared!"
"It's really a manifestation of the gods. When I return, I will enshrine this lady at home."
"I heard that this lady doesn't ask for a golden body, gold, jade, stone or mud will do. As long as you bow down devoutly and recite the name of the god silently, your sincerity will make your wish come true!"
People were talking about it a lot. With the endorsement of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and Master Li, they all held a respectful attitude towards this divine goddess who appeared in public.
From today onwards, the faith of the Green-robed Lady will spread throughout the world.
Who knows, in the future, wherever there is a well, there will be a Qingyi Temple.
…
Longhushan, back mountain .
The old Taoist priest and Master Ye of Maoshan were playing chess. They both looked up at the same time and looked in the direction of Chang'an.
"The dragon and tiger energies have converged, creating a powerful force. It seems that the ghost fairy from Yuzhang City has made up his mind. I'm afraid your good disciple has played a key role in this."
Sect Leader Ye said with a half-smile.
The old Taoist priest said with a smile, "Haha, you are just jealous."
Master Ye choked, then shook his head and said with a smile: "I also have talented people in Maoshan, why should I envy an old fellow like you?"
"Haha, can you, a talented man from Maoshan, defeat the evil Buddha?"
Master Ye’s smile froze.
"Can a talented person like you from Maoshan be honored as a national teacher by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty?"
Master Ye coughed and suddenly felt that it was a very wrong decision for him to come and play chess as scheduled today.
"You, a talented man from Maoshan, can—"
“Ahem!”
Master Ye quickly interrupted him and said helplessly: "No, it's okay if you can't!"
After a pause, he sighed, "Qianyang has recovered his cultivation, and Taichong has become a force to be reckoned with again. With the help of the great Tang Dynasty's national destiny, his cultivation will surely soar. In less than ten years, I'm afraid he will be on par with you and me. He is indeed a genius, but..."
He glanced at the old Heavenly Master and said in a serious tone, " Since ancient times, practitioners who relied on the country's fortune either made great progress and soared to the sky, or died suddenly, their souls scattered, and even brought trouble to the sect. Are you really not worried at all?"
Borrowing the power of a country to practice cultivation, the cause and effect is too great, if you can't repay it, you will have to pay it with your life.
The old Heavenly Master smiled and said, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Since he has decided on his own path, as his master, I have no choice but to support him."
After a pause, he smiled and said, "The Dorsal Dragon is about to be born, and Taichong is in need of people right now. You have many talented people in Maoshan, why don't you send a few to support my disciple?"
Master Ye suddenly realized and said, "I was wondering why you suddenly invited me to play chess. It turns out you were waiting for me here."
He dropped a piece and said calmly, "Didn't someone say that the talented people from Maoshan can't beat the evil Buddha?"
"Someone also said that I, a talented person from Maoshan, cannot be honored as the emperor's national teacher."
The smile on the old Taoist's face froze.
Well, retribution came so quickly.
