It was the Hour of the Rat.
National Preceptor Wu Jingluan was observing the celestial phenomena. He had increasingly come to believe that the Third Prince was neither a wise ruler nor the future Polaris; to follow him was to face an uncertain future and a poor destiny. Six months ago, he had witnessed a shower of scattered stars and knew then that disaster was at hand. He foresaw the end of Da Wu, with officials and commoners alike displaced, destined to perish in exile. Now, those omens had been fulfilled.
Turning his gaze to the present, he saw Mars in opposition to the sun—the precursor to war and chaos. Yet, within this turbulent age, there remained a glimmer of hope. He looked closer. The stars twinkled, and the moonlight was like silk. Polaris shone brightly at the meridian, while Venus hung high in the west, flickering irregularly as it moved toward the east. The celestial alignment of the sun and moon had formed; once the seven stars aligned, it would signal the unification of the realm.
Chapter 415