Honghuang: Creation of the Green Lotus, the beginning of the Three Pure Ones

Chapter 301 Emperor Xin Offers Incense at the Nuwa Temple

After leaving the prince, Gun Juan quickly found Du Yuanxian's residence. She went directly to Du Yuanxian's study and then revealed her true form.

Upon seeing an extremely beautiful young woman suddenly appear beside him, Du Yuanxian was taken aback, and at the same time, he became wary.

"Who are you, and why do you dare to trespass into my study?"

Gun Juan glanced at Du Yuanxian, then took out a token and threw it in front of him. She then spoke.

"I am Consort Su's personal maid, and also a disciple of the Chan Sect. Today, I am here on my mistress's orders to contact you."

Upon seeing the token that Gunjuan tossed to him, Du Yuanxian immediately confirmed Gunjuan's identity. He then picked up the token with both hands and returned it to Gunjuan.

"So you are a fairy from the Chan Sect. Please forgive this old man for not knowing you."

Gunjuan reached out and took the token, then took out the evidence collected by Daji and handed it directly to Du Yuanxi.

"This is the crime committed by the current Queen Jiang Wenqiang. My lady asked me to pass it on to Grand Tutor Du, hoping that he can use this evidence to have the King depose the Queen."

After speaking, he took out a stick of incense and handed it to Du Yuanxian. He told Du Yuanxian that if he needed to see him, he only needed to light the incense.

After saying this, he disappeared from Du Yuanxian's sight and returned to Shouxian Palace to report to Daji.

Looking at the evidence of Queen Jiang's crimes in his hand, Du Yuanxian couldn't help but sneer. "With this evidence, I won't have to worry about being infamous after bringing down Queen Jiang."

Then Du Yuanxian summoned his steward. He then handed the evidence to the steward and whispered something to him.

The steward nodded and, carrying the evidence of Queen Jiang's crimes, quietly left the Du residence through the back gate.

……

Time flies, and on this day, Emperor Xin, dressed in full regalia, took Queen Jiang Wenqiang's hand, with his two crown princes, Yin Jiao and Yin Hong, by his side, and surrounded by a group of civil and military officials, and stepped onto the royal carriage.

Following closely behind was an equally luxurious carriage. Seated atop the carriage were Consort Huang of the Western Palace, Consort Yang of the Xinqing Palace, and Consort Su of the Shouxian Palace.

As for the other civil and military officials, they were not entitled to ride in the carriage. They all rode horses, following on either side.

The two who were at the forefront were Wen Zhong, who rode a black Qilin, and Huang Feihu, who rode a five-colored divine ox.

The procession of people offering incense left Chaoge City in a grand manner, heading towards the Nuwa Temple, thirty miles away.

People along the way also joined the incense-burning procession. In the end, the road from Nuwa Temple to Chaoge City, stretching for dozens of miles, was filled with people.

Meanwhile, Di Xin had already arrived outside the Nuwa Temple. He and Queen Jiang then walked into the temple together.

The Taoist priests in the Nuwa Temple had long known that Emperor Xin would come to offer incense today. Naturally, they had made ample preparations, and now they led all the Taoist priests to kneel outside the Nuwa Temple to welcome Emperor Xin's holy arrival.

Di Xin simply said "Rise" and then, surrounded by civil and military officials, headed towards the sacred hall of the Nuwa Temple.

Just then, Yang Jian's voice rang in Di Xin's ears, "Your Majesty, you must carefully examine everything before you and must not be careless in the slightest."

Before coming to the Nuwa Temple, Yang Jian had already told Di Xin that tomorrow's incense offering at the Nuwa Temple was not as simple as it seemed on the surface, and that someone might be plotting against Di Xin in secret. Therefore, he told Di Xin to be careful and never forget to use his ability to see through illusions.

For safety's sake, Yang Jian remained hidden in the shadows, observing everything from the shadows. Now, he reminded Di Xin again, fearing that Di Xin might be plotted against.

Di Xin is no more; his former arrogance and conceit have vanished. He knows that with his limited abilities, far too many people can outmaneuver him.

Although his facial expression remained unchanged, his eyes widened slightly at that moment, fixed intently on everything before him.

Di Xin thoroughly examined the Taoist priests at the Nuwa Temple, finding none of them possessing any special aura, which reassured him somewhat.

Soon, Di Xin was brought to the main hall of the Nuwa Temple. The Taoist priest in charge respectfully presented three sticks of incense to Di Xin.

As three incense sticks appeared before Di Xin, his pupils widened instantly, and he did not immediately accept the incense offerings.

Finally, he directly said, "I am offering incense to my human race's Holy Mother, how can I use such a short incense stick? Hurry up and bring a larger one."

Upon hearing Di Xin's words, the Taoist priest in charge hurriedly agreed. He then turned around and went to prepare, and soon brought Di Xin three sticks of each type of incense from the Nuwa Temple.

Looking at the dozen or so different kinds of incense in front of him, Di Xin couldn't help but scan them one by one. Finding that there was nothing wrong with the incense, he then chose the three largest sticks.

Then he ordered someone to set it on fire, and then respectfully bowed three times to the statue of Nuwa.

After seeing that Di Xin had finished worshipping the statue of Nuwa, the eunuch in charge prepared to step forward to take the incense and insert it into the incense burner.

However, Di Xin refused and directly asked, "Where is Grand Tutor Du?"

Upon hearing Di Xin call his name, Du Yuanxian immediately came over from behind and respectfully bowed to Di Xin.

Di Xin handed the three sticks of incense to Du Yuanxian and said, "Grand Tutor Du is the Grand Tutor of the Imperial Observatory. I usually have Grand Tutor Du in charge of my ancestral worship."

"Please place these three sticks of incense into the incense burner for me today. This will prevent others from being clumsy and angering my Holy Mother of Humanity."

Du Yuanxian naturally dared not refuse, and immediately reached out to take the three sticks of incense from Di Xin's hand. As soon as the incense touched his hand, Du Yuanxian couldn't help but inwardly cry out in alarm.

These three sticks of incense, which were as light as a feather in Di Xin's hands, were as heavy as Mount Tai in Du Yuanxian's hands.

Most critically, Di Xin did not order him to immediately insert the incense into the incense burner. Instead, he ordered him to hold up the statue of his hometown and lead the civil and military officials to bow to the statue of Nuwa once again.

This really put Du Yuanxian in a difficult position, and he knew perfectly well what would happen if he lost control of the incense sticks.

It seems that what happened to Mei Bo today will happen to him tomorrow. Du Yuanxian risked his life but dared not let the three incense sticks fall to the ground.

As if oblivious to this, Di Xin led Jiang Wenqiang, Yin Jiao, Yin Hong, and his other three consorts on a tour of the main hall of the Nuwa Temple.

Meanwhile, Zhunti Daoist, who had been hiding in the shadows, was also starting to get anxious.

After all, the three sticks of incense he prepared for Di Xin had been tampered with. As long as Di Xin lit them, he would be drawn into an illusion.

(End of this chapter)