THE SACRIFICE CEREMONY 1

In the wilderness near the outskirts of Jiangsu.

The sunlight in the midwinter was fairly hot and dazzling, yet its heat did not reduce the cold which spread throughout the earth.

In a deserted, uninhabited meadow, a stage had been built, specifically designed for a very magnificent ceremony. The entire stage was decorated dominantly in gold, yellow, and red - the symbol color of the Ming Empire. The carvings of mighty dragons were embroidered here and there. Surrounding the stage, the whole Imperial Ming royalty were sitting quietly. Zhu Yunwen, the empress, and the crown prince were sitting in the front area, followed by the other Fan Wangs and their families. At the rear, hundreds of people from all over Jiangsu came in, waiting anxiously for the event which would happen soon.

And, on the stage, Zhu Su was standing still, staring straightforward to the front. however, his eyes often turned to one of the seats for the royalty - more precisely, to the seat Zhu Youxun was sitting on.

Of course, Zhu Youxun had been informed that Zhu Yunwen assigned his father to solve the epidemic case in the outskirt of Jiangsu. He soon got infuriated with the news. Before Xie Wang had carried out his next evil plan, Zhu Yunwen had designated his father to carry out this duty. On the other hand, he was also scared to death. If his father managed in completing the duty and Zhu Yunwen appointed him back to become Zhou Wang, then he would definitely be finished.

Even, all of a sudden, they had already passed each other. That incident was beyond Zhu Youxun's estimation. If only he could choose, he did want to run away from his father. Too bad, he had no time to do that. The father and son had been face to face in the corridor.

The fear crossed Zhu Youxun's face as he squeaked, "Fu Wang..."

"So?" Zhu Su said slowly. "You are so powerful right now. You have become Zhou Wang. Congratulation."

"How... how do you... know?.."

"I know everything, Boy. Everything. Including your evil deeds by putting your father and elder brother to death."

Zhu Youxun squeezed his fingers which were full of cold sweat. He smiled awkwardly. "Fu Wang... don't accuse me like that... It has nothing to do with me... it is all the Emperor's job..."

"Should I arrange a meeting between you and the Emperor to make it clear?"

Cold sweat soaked much swifter on Zhu Youxun's fingers. He quickly looked down. Zhu Su smiled bitterly. "Tell me, how can you be so cruel to your own family, Youxun! Why?!"

"I... am cruel?..." Zhu Youxun laughed in a strange manner. "If you accuse me to be cruel, then look at yourself first. It's you who are so cruel towards me! You just care for Brother, and unwilling to care for me! In your eyes, it's only him who is your own son! Me?! Hell no! So, who is cruel, then?! Xie Wang is right, you are the kind of person who likes to do everything arbitrarily!..."

"What... do you say?! You say... Xie Wang?!" Zhu Su's eyes widened. "So you collaborate with him to attack your own family?!"

"That's true! The unfamiliar person is better than my own family. The unfamiliar person can help me more than my hypocrite family who only knows to emphasizes bloodline but instead do bad to their own family!"

"I see." Zhu Su's balled fist trembled as he held his anger so badly. "That's good. Finally, I know clearly, what kind of person you are. You hate your family and prefer to choose an unfamiliar person? No big deal. You know, your entire family loves you sincerely, fosters you from baby to adult, always exerts every effort to give you the best... it's okay. From now on, I will not regard you as my son. Today Heaven has told me this fact. Goodbye, Zhou Wang. Please excuse me."

And after that, Zhu Su left. Without saying anything else.

He promised, he would kill all of the weak emotions due to his affection for his son, and bury it inside the deepest part of his heart. He had already cut off any family ties with Zhu Youxun. This time, for him Zhu Youxun was like an unfamiliar person who had been mean to him.

For that reason, despite the enormous temptation which always persuaded him to pay attention to his son more often, Zhu Su could finally force himself to ignore the temptation.

And, to have his mind fully focus on this matter.

The ceremonial leaders who were in charge of imperial ceremony had come on stage. Consisting of twelve people, they wore robes and hats in black and white, just like the color of clothes Zhu Su was wearing. They began to take incense sticks, bowed respectfully, and after that, chanted spells.

A sign, that the sacrifice ceremony had begun.

One of the ceremonial leaders said aloud, "Heaven is Great, Earth is Vast! O Gods, Ancestors! A disaster has occurred in the Great Ming, if we make You angry then please forgive us! Please help us, hope You no longer punish us, and, give us the greatest blessing to the Great Ming!"

"Your Highness! Are you really willing to be a sacrifice to diminish this epidemic?!" That was how Hu Nayin protested as Zhu Su told Hu Nayin about what he would do shortly after. Hu Nayin could no longer bear her worries and soon screamed that way.

"Take it easy, Nayin. This is just a strategy. I will be fine," Zhu Su said soothingly.

"B... but... you will use sacrifice ceremony, which is even led by the imperial priesthood! I am afraid, God is even more concerning with the ceremony than the strategy you secretly design. In our Miao religion, a ritual is a very sacred thing, if it is slipped into a strategy, it will possibly make God turn wrath and..."

Zhu Su grabbed Hu Nayin's hands tightly. He was now staring deeply into her shocking face.

"I believe what Confucius said, "Human does, Heaven decides." The strategy is a product of humans, the rest is God's will. So, I am not afraid anymore. I have done everything I can, I have been ready to bear any kind of risk. And, it gives me courage. As well as the belief that we will succeed. Nayin, you must also have that trust!"

Slowly, Hu Nayin nodded.

"Yes... Your Highness... I believe... you will succeed! Will succeed!"