Rise of an Empress

The Serpentine Creature

"What will happen if the ritual fails,Head Monk Kang?" Emperor Sinjong asks the chief monk of the dragon temple.

"Ritual for dragon goddess never return someone with an empty hand, Your Majesty. But it's hard to arrange without eligible candidates."

"Send the list to the royal palace of what is needed for arranging it. Royal family will spend from the familial treasury. I will order all princes to gather for rituals even from distant places. Any of them will do it ,no matter how hard it is."

"Prince? Your Majesty,they are your brothers. But the ritual is to save your throne. It would be someone who has your blue blood in veins. Like your child," Monk Kang explains.

"Head Monk Kang, you could say it before starting a conversation. I thought you were wise," Eunuch Won Jo says as the monk's sudden speech has made Emperor Sinjong silent.

"You didn't let me complete it." The monk remains calm and continues," or someone who will carry your baby in the womb."

"All from the harem and," the Emperor starts, but Chief Monk stops him politely.

"Someone with whom you are married religiously or ritually, Your Imperial Majesty. All ladies from the harem wouldn't be considerate of this ritual. Until now, whomever you have married or accepted ritually, someone from them will do it."

"Concubines?" The Emperor questions.

The monk just nods his head.

"But there are a total of three concubines in my palace. Among them, whom to send for the ritual?"

"Heaven will select whether there's anyone eligible one or not.

"What if there's no one?" Sinjong asks.

"Then still you have to complete the ritual in the best way you can. Arranging for the selection of eligible candidates is the first step of the ritual. Once it has started, there's no way to come back. The Dragon Goddess will not return without giving something. If the ritual is not completed, then she will return to heaven after giving a terrible disaster and a curse to the state from which none will escape. But if the ritual is completed even without an eligible candidate, you will get something even milder from her blessing."

"Just arrange for it, Head Monk Kang," The Emperor says without hesitation.

__________________________

"Mother, the first part of the ritual will start tomorrow," Emperor Sinjong says while meeting his mother after making a decision.

"Doing rituals is okay. But don't forget to collect taxes as early as possible. You need to be a hard Emperor. Kim's family and Park's family were asking me to let Consort Kim and Concubine Park do the ritual. I think letting Myeon Hye do it will be better. Her family's influence is more important for you. Meanwhile, use Seung Deok in such a way that her family is impressed too," Queen Mother says.

"This is an event to impress the Dragon Goddess, not others. The Chief Monk will find out whom to let do it according to the ritual. Interfering with heavenly processes won't make the situation easier for my throne."

___________________________

Concubine Seo doesn't get surprised after getting the order to attend the royal temple. There's now gossip everywhere in the palace about it. Even two groups have been divided on behalf of Concubine Park and Consort Kim. Maybe one of them is going to do it.

Now Concubine Seo is standing on the premises of the royal temple along with Consort Kim & Concubine Park. Several higher and lower rank people are also attending it. An old man in a temple monk's robes is talking with the Emperor in the front of the temple which is high from the premise by 100 staircases.

Concubine Seo's eyes met his eyes once. Before understanding anything she lowered her head just to avoid eye contact. She kept her head lowered until a voice started the ritual.

The loud sound of drums can be heard now gaining the full attention of everyone.

"Our Great Dragon Goddess will be worshipped by someone on behalf of the royal family from Goryeo. No human is perfect, everyone does mild or even larger sins with an absent-minded person. Finding an eligible candidate is harder. Only eligible candidates can enter the Dragon Temple. Even monks have restricted entry to the temple. Someone with a pure heart without any bit of darkness who has never hurt anyone, has no intention to hurt others, and also has never performed any grave sins will be eligible for the ritual to lead. We could do the selection in oral question ways. But we need to be careful, as if someone is not eligible to enter the Dragon Goddess Temple or not with minimum criteria perform this ritual, it will end with disaster to Goryeo. So, the ritual is going to begin."

Concubine Park shares a smile towards Consort Kim. She thinks she will be one to do it. Even if Consort Kim is her strong opponent, the Park family is thinking not to step back this time even if by offering a bribe to the monks of the Dragon Temple.

"Heaven will select the eligible one," The monk removes the cloth from something on the table placed in front of them. As he removes the cloth, it reveals a glass jar.

There's something inside the jar.

Audible whisperings can be heard from the people of the premises as movement from the golden thing movement can be noticed from such distant places.

The golden thing has just moved spirally inside the glass jar in a sudden rush of sunlight.

A golden snake!!!

The monk's voice makes the audience silent, "The Golden Snake is a heavenly serpentine creature representing a guard of The Dragon Goddess treasure for thousands of years in the human world. It will select whether there's any treasure of the Dragon Goddess hidden in Goryeo or not. An eligible candidate is nothing but the representative of a Dragon Goddess that Goreyo has never seen in recent millennia."

***********************