No wonder everyone in the world yearns for high places. Standing at the top and overlooking all living beings, this feeling is extremely wonderful.
The most beautiful scenery is always at the highest point.
On the high altar, the ceremony officials were busy preparing for the solemn ceremony that was about to begin.
In such an occasion, small livestock such as chickens and ducks are obviously not of high quality, and more solemn large livestock must be used.
Qin Heng's eyes fell on the sacrificial table, where a cow, a sheep and a dolphin were tightly tied with ropes, their mouths were stuffed with cloth balls, and they "knelt" in front of the sacrificial table in a strange and enchanting posture. .
This posture looks very enchanting.
On the sacrificial table, slaughtered and feathered chickens, ducks, and geese were arranged neatly, next to some exquisite vegetarian dishes and pastries.
In the center, a wide, plump fish struggled on the plate, its gills swaying from time to time, proving that it was still alive.
Behind the sacrificial table, five large bronze cauldrons reflected a faint green light, and the grains swayed gently inside them, as if whispering ancient secrets.
"The heaven-sacrifice ceremony begins."
The trumpet sounded, and everyone's faces showed solemnity.
They all stood in front of a pile of firewood and bowed respectfully toward the east.
After the ceremony, the ceremony officer took a torch and handed it to Emperor Qin to light the pile of firewood.
In an instant, a raging fire ignited, and a puff of smoke shot straight into the sky, as if communicating with God.
At the same time, several ceremony officials walked up to the three animals and began to slaughter them.
Qin Heng saw very carefully that the ceremonial officers raised and lowered their knives, silver light flashed continuously, and they dissected the three animals in a short time, which was quite similar to that of a cook and an ox.
What surprised Qin Heng was that during the process of slaughtering the three livestock, except for the vessels containing blood, the white high altar was not stained with any blood at all. It was simply a miraculous workmanship.
At this time, a ceremony officer guided Qin Mian out. With his disgusted eyes, he personally took out the internal organs of the three animals, placed them on a tray lined with red silk, and then presented them on the sacrificial table. .
Before it was over, several more ceremony officials came up with large trays and motioned Qin Mian to put the meat on it.
Qin Mian followed the instructions one by one, and soon the tray was filled with steaming fresh meat.
The ceremony officials carried the trays of fresh meat, walked directly to the firewood pile, and threw them in one by one.
According to Qin Heng's understanding, not all the meat of these animals was thrown into the fire.
The three animals only cut off the flesh from the body, as well as the internal organs, such as the head, feet, tail, bones and other parts, which are not sacrificed.
The remaining meat will be rewarded by Emperor Qin to the royal children or ministers in high positions. They can take the meat back, roast it and eat it. This is called giving.
After throwing away the three animals, the ceremony officer handed Emperor Qin a torch.
Emperor Qin walked to the sacrificial table and lit the grains in the five bronze cauldrons one by one.
A thick smoke rose, and Emperor Qin picked up the jade and gold objects on the sacrificial table and threw them into the fire one by one.
Qin Heng's mouth twitched when he saw this scene. These things are worth a lot of money.
After placing the items, Emperor Qin stood in the middle of the high platform again, with a majestic look on his face.
Suddenly, the drums sounded in unison again, playing sacrificial music. After washing his hands, Qin Mian stepped forward and faced the east.
A ceremonial officer held a prayer book and walked to him respectfully.
Qin Heng knew that the prayer book was the memorial written by Qin Mian.
He wanted to chant this memorial to all the civil and military officials and all the people in the world.
Qin Mian picked up the memorial text with both hands, stood up, and slowly opened it.
Suddenly, a trace of surprise flashed across Qin Mian's face, and then his shocked face turned into panic.
Qin Heng even saw that his hands had begun to tremble.
what's the situation?
Qin Heng was puzzled.
At this time, not only him, but also everyone on the stage felt that something was wrong with him.
"what happened?"
"Why don't you read it yet?"
"Read it, is this prince illiterate?"
The people watching in the audience also began to talk about it.
"Your Highness, please recite the sacrificial inscription."
A courtesy officer stepped forward and whispered a reminder.
"I...I can't pronounce it. There's nothing on it."
The prince looked panicked and whispered quickly.
"What?"
The courtesy officer was immediately startled and quickly stepped forward to take a look.
Sure enough, there was no word on the prayer book, only an eye-catching seal.
"how so?"
The official was horrified. If something like this happened at this juncture, everyone would be miserable.
If God is angered, the people will be in fear, public sentiment will be unstable, public security will be unstable, and other situations will occur.
If he doesn't do it right, it will damage the foundation of the Qin Dynasty and alienate all the people. Not to mention a small official like him, I'm afraid even the prince can't afford it.
"what are you doing?"
Emperor Qin's suppressed anger sounded on the high platform.
"Father...Father, the memorial text has disappeared and is completely blank." Qin Mian turned around and said in horror.
"Are you kidding me?"
Emperor Qin's voice of dissatisfaction echoed on the high platform, and his eyes swept towards the blank prayer book like a sharp sword.
Instantly, his eyes narrowed.
"The sacrificial text has been kept in your hand, how could it disappear?"
"My son, I don't know."
Qin Heng finally heard their conversation clearly, and his heart was filled with shock. The handwriting on the sacrificial inscription disappeared, which was obviously someone's manipulation.
Who could have done it?
It stands to reason that only people close to this kind of ritual can come into contact with it.
According to his guess, this memorial document for the prince should have been written by Feng Chang and then kept by his Zongwei.
It is impossible for Zongwei to betray. They have been raised by the clan since they were young and instilled with the idea of loyalty to their master, so it is impossible for them to betray.
Growing up in this kind of brainwashing environment, Zong Wei's betrayal has never happened yet.
In their subconscious, the Lord is more important than their lives.
In that case, the problem arises with Ma Ji.
He raised his head and glanced at Ma Ji, only to see that his face was frightened and angry, and his whole body was shaking.
Obviously, Ma Ji knew that he could no longer escape suspicion.
After all, this memorial document only passed through the hands of four people, one him, one prince, the emperor and Zong Wei.
After much deliberation, he was the most suspicious.
However, Qin Heng's eyes flashed with suspicion. Ma Ji shouldn't be so stupid.
He knew that by doing this, he would be the most suspicious, so it was even more impossible for him to switch the package. His father's anger was not something he could bear, so it meant that someone was behind the scenes.
What a plan to kill two birds with one stone.
Destroy the prince and alienate Ma Ji.
His eyes subconsciously looked at Qin Su in front of him. He was the only one who was the most suspicious.
Qin Heng's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he saw Qin Su's hands trembling slightly, with a very small amplitude.
Sure enough it was him.
Qin Heng thought to himself.
The prince may be in trouble now. You must know that a memorial text can have about a thousand words, and most of them are obscure and difficult to read. The words are relatively unfamiliar. Even if the average person reads according to the memorial text, it is difficult to read smoothly.
If this were the case, Qin Mian would probably have to bear the fact that he was abandoned by heaven on his head today.
If he doesn't do it right, he will lose his position as the prince. I wonder how such a prince will succeed to the throne in the future.
"waste."
