Transmigrated Female Official

21 Summer Festival

After Luo Lifei and Wang Yurou apologized to Li Ziyou, they were only fined two months' salary, and that was the end of it.

Inside and outside the palace, everyone was working hard, and everything was peaceful. Chu Qingluo enjoyed a few rare days of tranquility.

Finally, the legendary grand summer festival has arrived.

On this day, before the sun had risen, a thin layer of mist clung to the air, and morning dew still clung to the branches and leaves. Yet everyone was already waiting at the Temple of Heaven, awaiting the arrival of the Empress's phoenix chariot, at which point this sacred ceremony would begin.

The vast Temple of Heaven was perfectly circular, with three layers stacked on top of each other. The princesses and princes surrounded the second layer below, while the female officials and their entourage surrounded the lowest layer. The common people who came to witness the ceremony were kept a hundred meters away from the Temple of Heaven and could only watch from afar. Fortunately, the uppermost layer of the Temple of Heaven was built very high, allowing them to have the privilege of catching a glimpse of the Empress.

Nine-Tailed Fox, Kirito, and Gongsun Yu also arrived early with Chu Qingluo, securing a good spot to watch the ceremony.

All the female officials were required to be present today. The tenth-rank female officials wore distinctively colored robes, making them easily identifiable. The executive officers, however, were numerous and all wore light purple robes. Chu Qingluo stood behind Li Ziyou with Shaoyao, but Gongsun Yu and his two companions, who were further away, had difficulty finding her in the crowd.

Before the Empress arrived, Chu Qingluo looked around.

Only nine of the ten-rank female officials have arrived so far. Besides Li Ziyou and Ji Jie, there is another female official who is quite young. She is dressed in a green official robe, her jet-black hair is tied up high with a golden crown, and she has a sword at her waist. She looks heroic and valiant.

"So cool!" Chu Qinglu couldn't help but admire inwardly. Judging from her official robes, she should be Yao Man, a female military officer of the fourth rank. She just hadn't expected her to be such a young and beautiful woman.

At the very center of the top floor of the Temple of Heaven, sacrificial offerings such as ox heads and sheep heads were laid out. Yu Fei, a female official of the second rank, was burning incense, her expression as solemn as her black and white official robes.

Gongsun Yu's mother, Gongsun Ruyi, was dressed in a rose-colored official robe. She happened to glance over here and her eyes met Chu Qingluo's. The two nodded to each other knowingly.

Standing beside Gongsun Ruyi was Ji Jie, dressed in a yellow official robe. She was craning her neck to look up at the upper level of the Temple of Heaven. Following her gaze, Chu Qingluo realized that the person she was looking for was none other than the Fifth Prince, Ji Qili. Chu Qingluo secretly chuckled. After all, Ji Qili was quite a handsome man, so it was normal for Ji Jie to be infatuated.

While she was secretly reading gossip, Ji Qili's gaze suddenly swept over her for some reason. Chu Qingluo, feeling guilty, shifted her gaze away... It would have been better if she hadn't shifted it, because she ended up meeting the gaze of Ji Qiran next to her.

"Holy crap!" She gasped, then dodged immediately.

Ji Qiran had actually been watching Chu Qingluo the whole time, noticing her looking around as if she were lost in thought. Only when they met eyes did she avoid him as if he were a plague carrier, and a hint of displeasure flashed across his face.

At this moment, a crimson sun broke through the clouds and rose slowly in the east, soon painting half the sky red. Accompanied by solemn ceremonial music, the Empress's enormous phoenix chariot appeared in the light. She wore a black robe embroidered with gold phoenixes, and a red-eyed peacock hairpin with its tail feathers spread high on her flying-flying bun. Her eyebrows were bright and lively, her skin radiant, and her figure voluptuous.

This woman doesn't look like she's over fifty! She looks like she's only in her thirties or forties. She's so well-preserved! No wonder Ziyan is so infatuated. This is Chu Qingluo's first time seeing the Empress, and she feels a little excited, like she's about to discover an ancient site!

"Honorable Empress!" Everyone bowed in unison.

The empress extended a porcelain-white hand, intending to get off the carriage.

A woman dressed in red and black official robes followed beneath the phoenix carriage; this was Long Kui, a first-rank female official. She took the Empress's outstretched hand and carefully helped her down from the carriage.

"All beings, you may rise in formalities." The Empress's voice was loud and clear, her aura majestic.

Everyone then raised their heads.

The Empress strode towards the top of the Temple of Heaven, her trailing robes spreading out on the spotless stone steps. Long Kui followed her all the way to the central altar at the top, where they awaited the auspicious hour...

Although the Temple of Heaven was filled with a dense crowd, it was eerily silent. Only when a dazzling beam of light shone directly onto the altar did the priest, Yu Fei, announce, "The auspicious hour has arrived—" Instantly, thunderous drums roared, shattering the silence of the sky. The executor presented a massive, already lit incense stick, as thick as an arm and about half a meter tall, which the Empress herself inserted into the bronze incense burner.

Yu Fei flicked his white whisk and shouted, "I kowtow to Heaven, granting my Ji Kingdom favorable weather and bountiful harvests in all four seasons!" The Empress was the first to kneel and kowtow. Everyone immediately followed suit.

"Kowtowing twice, may my Ji Kingdom be free from disasters and difficulties, and enjoy peace and tranquility." The Empress kowtowed again, and everyone else kowtowed as well.

"We kowtow three times to the Heavenly Goddess, praying for the prosperity and flourishing of our Ji Kingdom." The Empress kowtowed again, and the crowd followed suit.

"Serve tea—"

The Empress stood up, and Chu Qingluo was about to stand up as well... But when she had already straightened one leg, she realized that everyone around her was still kneeling, so she hurriedly pulled her leg back down and squatted back down.

Yu Fei handed the three golden cups filled with tea to the Empress in turn, and the Empress poured the tea into the Temple of Heaven one cup at a time.

"A toast—" and then three more cups of wine were poured.

"Tribute meat—" The Empress herself used a dagger to cut a small piece of meat from the cow's head and the sheep's head, and placed it in the prepared vessel.

"Sprinkle blood—" One executive officer held a large rooster in his hands, while another executive officer slit its neck with a dagger, filled a container with the rooster's blood, and handed it to Yu Fei.

Yu Fei took the chicken blood, muttering a string of strange incantations that Chu Qingluo couldn't understand at all. Then he dipped his thumb and middle finger in the chicken blood, flicked it up and down, and finally dipped his thumb in the blood and smeared it on the Empress's full forehead.

"Ritual music—, begin—" Upon hearing this, the ceremonial music began again. Only then did everyone stand up, and Chu Qingluo already felt a slight numbness in her calves.

Ji Qiran was positioned diagonally above Chu Qingluo, so he could see her very clearly. He was already familiar with the sacrificial ceremony, so he had no interest in watching. He was focused on observing her actions. He noticed her attempt to get up as soon as the ceremony began and the embarrassment on her face. He even noticed her secretly rubbing her knees.

He used to think she was noisy and annoying, never knowing she had such a genuine and adorable side. But this side of her gave him a strong sense of unfamiliarity, as if he had never known her before.

After the music stopped, Yu Fei shouted, "The ceremony is over!"

"May His Majesty be well! May the Ji Kingdom be peaceful and prosperous!" The voices of princesses, princes, and female officials rang out in unison beneath the Temple of Heaven. Chu Qingluo pretended to follow suit, but didn't utter a single complete word. This scene instantly reminded her of Mr. Nan Guo; pretending to be something he wasn't was an easy thing after all.

Fortunately, the sacrificial ceremony to heaven at this summer festival has been completed.

The Empress returned to her phoenix carriage, surrounded by a majestic retinue of female attendants, and made her grand return to the palace, leaving only a small number of attendants to guard the incense burner. Chu Qingluo followed in the crowd and suddenly spotted Gongsun Yu and his two companions watching from a distance.

Nine-Tailed Fox and Kirito finally found her amidst the bustling crowd and waved enthusiastically, while Gongsun Yu stood motionless in place. Chu Qingluo also wanted to wave back, but realizing her current identity, she simply smiled and winked at them in response.

//

~~~~~~~~~~A simple and straightforward dividing line~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Those reading on their phones won't be able to see the author's notes, so I plan to do that from now on~(o゜▽゜)o☆[!]