The Mushroom Emperor & His Empress General

Chapter 5

This Empress's monthly rituals are usually done on the last day of every month, they would slaughter a mountain lion on the altar of the temple.

Then the minister of rites would burn incenses and chant so many incantations as the Empress Regent and her son drinks the blood of the lion spilled into a bow mixed with the water fetched from the foot of the mountain.

The Empress Regent and Minister of rites strongly Believes that this blood sacrifices guards and protects them from all evil plots and makes them immortals.

When it was the crown prince's turn to drink the lion's blood, he felt like vomiting, he hated these ritual ceremonies so much but him of all people knows that if he doesn't obey his mother by attending the rituals and doing as she pleases then his servants and guards will be severely punished again for his disobedience.

Peng Qi couldn't stand having his beloved guard Zhen Shi getting canned by the royal disciplinary guards again, so he summoned all the courage in the world and drank the blood then pass the cup to his mother and his mother will pass it to the minister of rites to drink.

When the barbaric blood drinking rituals was over, the crowned prince returned to his chambers and immediately vomited everything, washed his mouth thoroughly and drank himself to sleep.

All through the night, the maids and servants did not sleep, everyone was working hard, cooking, and brewing alcohol and decorating the Lang royal square where the major royal occasions are always held in preparing for the upcoming wedding and coronation of the crowned prince.
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It's finally the day of the coronation of the crowned prince. Security was tightened up everywhere and the whole city was packed with people trooping into the capital and in into palace.

First thing in the morning, the minister of rites and the Empress Regents first visited the temple to perform the sheep blood drinking rituals to make sure the day goes peaceful and they were joined by the crowned prince as usual at cockcrow.

The city was bustling with locals and people from the other kingdoms who came to witness the coronation and royal wedding.

While the whole nation was gathering in anticipation for the coronation of their new emperor, others were busy spreading rumors about the crowned prince.

Some said he was the bastard son of the Empress Regent and she actually had him for one of her minister.

Although these people spreading this rumor hide secretly or whispered to themselves, they dared not say it in the open because such gossip was treasonous.

Others claimed to have once met the crowned prince at the NuYing brothel manor and he was a playboy who only knows how to drink and sleep around with male and female prostitutes and was only considered for the throne because the second heir went on exile, although this was the truth but others still doubted the rumor mongers.

The Beauties from all the eight kingdoms all gathered in a big room. They were personally selected by the Empress Regent upon their arrival out of the many that came.

Some of these kingdoms willingly brought their beautiful daughters & sons while others didn't have a choice as it was a royal decree from the capital.

Those from rich and famous elite families simply wanted an alliance with the government, even if their daughters or sons were not chosen as the Empress, they could still benefits greatly from the capital.

Benefits such as contracts, lenient taxes, military supports, health support and so on. The total number of the beauties selected as candidates for the crowned prince were ten in number, seven pretty girls and three pretty boys.