A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 228 The Milky Way
"Please, Your Majesty!"

Luo Shu and Tang Ping's voices reached the ears of the Minister of Ceremonies.

A short while later, Liu Che emerged from the washroom, appearing somewhat listless.

Reverence for Heaven and ancestors, bathing and purifying oneself are acts of sincerity, but seeing His Majesty's actions, the two astrological scholars frowned in unison.

From ancient times, astrologers have assisted the royal family in every dynasty. In the Xia Dynasty there was Kunwu, in the Shang Dynasty there was Wuxian, in the Zhou Dynasty there were Shi Yi and Chang Hong. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, there were even more astrologers. In the state of Zheng there was Bizao, in the state of Lu there was Zishen, in the state of Jin there were Shi Zhao and Shi Mo, in the state of Tang there was Zi Mei, in the state of Qi there was Gan De, in the state of Wei there was Shi Shen, in the state of Zhao there was Yin Gao, in the state of Qin there was Li Chun, and so on. This is the authority of astronomical prediction.

During the reign of Duke Jing of Song, one year Mars was in conjunction with Antares. Duke Jing was greatly alarmed, and the Grand Master of Astronomy, Ziwei, suggested, "We can shift the blame to the Prime Minister." Duke Jing shook his head, "The Prime Minister is a pillar of the state; I cannot." Ziwei continued, "We can shift the blame to the people." Duke Jing shook his head again, "A ruler should love his people; how can I shift the blame?" Ziwei suggested a third time, "In that case, we can shift the blame to the harvest; if the harvest is poor, the disaster will be averted." Duke Jing exclaimed urgently, "If the harvest is poor, the people will suffer from hunger and hardship; what kind of ruler is this?" Ziwei solemnly replied, "Heaven listens to the humble. If a ruler has such a person who speaks these three times, Mars will surely move." Duke Jing was skeptical. However, three hours later, Mars indeed moved three degrees from Antares and left the "celestial realm" of Song!
For nearly a hundred years during the Han Dynasty, no astrologers emerged. This was not for any other reason than that astrologers had not observed the general trend of the rise and fall of the world and had no way to make major decisions based on celestial secrets.

At His Majesty's request, Luo Shu and Tang Ping were not misled by the lofty title of "Grand Master of Heaven," but rather they genuinely sensed the changes in the heavens and acted accordingly, serving by the emperor's side. This was a promise made to the dynasty by the astrologers.

Although the two astrological experts knew that His Majesty's intentions were not pure, they thought that His Majesty, as a seasoned monarch, was capable of knowing and respecting the Mandate of Heaven and acting in accordance with it. However, upon seeing this, they were surprised to realize that they might be wrong.

With his "divine skills reaching to the heavens," Luo Shu and Tang Ping, possessing profound Taoist cultivation, could discern many of His Majesty's problems at a glance, including "deficiency of vital essence and blood"!
At first glance, Luo and Tang thought that Liu Che was exhausted from working hard on state affairs. Now, looking at it again, it is true that he was overworked, but not because of state affairs, but because of excessive desires.

This presents a significant problem. Several years ago, the banner of Chiyou appeared in the sky above the Han Dynasty, a sign of impending war. When the Han Dynasty encountered a ruler with excessive desires, its fortunes were strong but then weakened. Today, however, the stars are shining brightly, clearly a sign of its zenith. The ruler with excessive desires has failed to restrain his lusts, yet the celestial phenomena have changed dramatically, turning from weakness to victory. Even the most ancient astronomical books have no record of this.

Weird!Weird!

However, the secrets of heaven had already been revealed, and Luo Shu and Tang Ping could not retreat in the face of destiny. They could only suppress their emotions, get up, and solemnly ascend the observatory.

Liu Che knelt before the altar where the two had knelt and prayed to Heaven: "Heaven, Heaven, my son's sincere reverence for Heaven is far better than that rebellious son's destruction of the gods and the extinction of divine miracles. You should give me a good omen!"

Dong Zhongshu and Wuqiu Shouwang knelt behind His Majesty and prayed silently: "Heaven, please give Confucianism another chance, so as not to fail the sincerity of countless Confucian scholars in respecting Heaven and following the ancestral laws."

Li Yannian and other officials of the Central Court followed closely behind, kneeling and praying: "Your Majesty now has only two sons, Ju and Bo, standing in the world. We pray that Heaven will punish Ju and protect Bo. When Bo ascends the throne, we will surely spend resources to pay homage to Heaven and Earth."

After Lady Li gave birth to the dragon prince, His Majesty named him "Bo," meaning shoulder armor, which shows His Majesty's high expectations. However, along with the jade scepter came Liu Bo's title of "King of Changyi," meaning that it was impossible for him to go to the capital in the future. In fact, the court kept urging the little King of Changyi to enter the Chang'an Prince's Palace. If it weren't for His Majesty's protection, he would have been "imprisoned" as soon as he was born.

Your Majesty already has five sons: the eldest son is Crown Prince Liu Ju, the second son is Prince Liu Hong of Qi, the third son is Prince Liu Dan of Yan, the fourth son is Prince Liu Xu of Guangling, and the fifth son is Prince Liu Bo of Changyi.

With the death of the King of Qi and the whereabouts of the Kings of Yan and Guangling unknown, Your Majesty now has only two sons before you. Crown Prince Liu Ju is in Chang'an, and King Liu Bo of Changyi is at the Ganquan Palace. If Your Majesty turns the tide and wins, King Liu Bo of Changyi, as Your Majesty has done before, will be promoted from a vassal king to the position of Crown Prince. As Liu Bo's maternal uncle, Li Yannian eagerly awaits that day more than anyone else.

At the top of the observatory, without hearing the prayers of the emperor and his ministers, Tang Ping solemnly bowed to the deep blue sky, then raised his head to look at the vast and boundless Milky Way.

The brilliant night sky was unusually quiet, sparkling and shimmering. Luo Shu and Tang Ping couldn't help but admire it. In their entire lives, no, in the history of astrologers, they had looked up at the starry sky countless times, but they had never seen such a beautiful Milky Way.

All the stars are striving to shine with their own light. Although some stars are particularly bright, they do not overshadow the light of the others. This is an era of dazzling stars.

A spectacle of unparalleled wonder!
The two astrological scholars were deeply attracted by the starry sky and carefully recorded the changes in brightness of the stars, large and small. The Ziwei star, which symbolizes the "Emperor Star", was not dazzling. Even the Tianxiang star, which symbolizes the "Minister Star", could rival it. However, the Tianxiang star's light flashed and shone, and its imposing presence that covered the entire field was still there, but it was destined not to last long, and might even disappear in an instant.

Besides, the upper left general star and the Seven Killings star shone brightly, especially the Seven Killings star, whose murderous aura seemed to want to wash the entire starry sky in blood. This made Luo Shu and Tang Ping, two astrological experts, tremble with fear. At the same time, they were also a little puzzled. Why did the Seven Killings star not flash? It was a born killer, so why did the heavens not seem to have any intention of taking it back?
Those who are good at killing will die young; this is the will of Heaven!
It goes against common sense.

In addition, several smaller stars surrounding the large star are rapidly "expanding," their brilliance growing stronger with each passing moment. There is even an "alien star" appearing beside the large star, somewhat resembling a replacement for the main star, but not in the sense of usurping its place.

How so? It's as if I was born in the wrong place, and now I've just returned to where I was meant to be.

Luo Shu and Tang Ping frowned deeply; the strangeness of tonight's starry sky was greater than that of any stargazing in the past few decades.

Suddenly, Luo Shu and Tang Ping turned around gently at the same time and looked to the west. Their supernatural ears had already heard the faint "heavenly sounds" from the depths of the distant Milky Way. With their innate talents, they sensed that the source of all the strange things in the starry sky and all the changes in the Han Dynasty was about to arrive.

A moment later, a bright light streaked across the western night sky, and a huge comet with a long tail stretched across the western sky from north to south!

Its intense light and its immense power sweeping across the Milky Way caused the star clusters to tremble collectively—a gesture of welcome.
The Ziwei Star, which has always remained calm and composed, has actually "disappeared"?

As the bright light shone, the faint rumble of thunder lingered for a long time.

Luo Shu and Tang Ping were deeply shocked. They stood on the star-gazing platform, unable to recover for a long time, and remained silent.

(End of this chapter)