After leaving the Capital, Xuanzang as usual paid a visit to Chang'an before heading all the way west. Not long after Xuanzang departed from Chang'an, however, news arrived that Emperor Jiaqing had passed away at the Mountain Resort.
The one who inherited the imperial throne was not Prince Rui, as Xuanzang had imagined. This outcome was both beyond expectation and within reason; after all, Prince Rui was still young at the time, merely a teenager.
Of course, all of this had nothing to do with Xuanzang. What he truly cared about was whether he should still go fetch the scriptures. He had just gained Emperor Jiaqing's recognition and obtained the travel pass to head west, yet before he had even stepped out of the Great Qing, the emperor had changed.
Chapter 371