There are two meanings to the memorial ceremony, one is thought and the other is emotion.
Thoughts make people correct their words and deeds, feelings make people reflect on themselves.
With thoughts and feelings, he is neither rich nor noble but has a good family tradition.
In the magnificent Xiang Hall, there are memorial tablets of the ancestors of the Zhu family, but the two men did not enter. Instead, they went directly to the top of the imperial mausoleum behind the Xiang Hall.
Baoding looks like a mountain from a distance, but you can tell it is a tomb mound when you look up close. It is based on a strip of stone and uses green bricks as the wall. It follows the mountain and is two feet high and low.
Walking through the gate tower and walking under the diamond wall, the ministers stopped. The old eunuch Gou Ren, tremblingly holding on to his walking stick, followed behind them with difficulty.
"You have worked hard these years!" The old man suddenly turned around and said with a smile.
Gou Ren smiled, revealing half of his remaining teeth, "It's my blessing!" He said with a smile, "I know that the old man and the old lady loved to be clean when they were alive, so I have people clean the surrounding area every day."
Then he pointed to the eaves of the gate next to him, "There are nests of swallows over there in spring and summer, and some people say they want to give away the nests. I know that the old lady was the most soft-hearted and kind-hearted when she was alive, so I did it myself."
I advocate letting those swallows use this precious land to shelter from the wind and rain."
When winter comes, the swallows in the bird's nest have already migrated away, leaving only the empty nest.
"When we were little, we were so greedy for meat that we thought about catching those birds every day. My old lady said to me, my dear, those swallows in our house are our house swallows, we can't hurt them! Look at that
Although Yan'er is young, she knows what's good and what's good. If she's not from a good family, she won't leave!"
The old man looked over there and said, "You are right. If the emperor's home cannot accommodate even a nest of swallows, how can it accommodate the world." After saying that, he turned to Zhu Yunxi and said, "Grandson, let's go forward.
!”
When Zhu Yunxi took steps, he looked back and gave Cao Guogong Li Jinglong a look.
The latter quickly followed up, grabbed two bundles of golden barley seeds from the hands of the following eunuch, and held them in his arms.
"Grandpa Huang, my grandson asked Li Jinglong to follow him!" Zhu Yunxi held the old man's arm and said softly, "Give him some grace!"
"He should follow!" the old man said, showing a half-smile, and then turned back to Li Jinglong and said, "Although your surname is not Zhu, you still have half of the blood of the Zhu family in your bones. There are also your ancestors in that grave."
"I thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!" Li Jinglong swallowed even more, "I still remember following my grandfather when I was a boy. When my father was worshiping his ancestors, they would knock each other step by step. It was so heartbreaking that I couldn't bear to die. My grandfather, in particular, cried unconsciously for several times.
Second-rate."
"Hey, your grandfather is a good man! Back then, we, my father and mother, always praised this uncle when we met him. He was like no one in ten thousand! Our young family was poor, and it was thanks to your grandfather's relief. One year when the Chinese New Year was about to come, the family even held a memorial ceremony.
We didn’t even have food for our ancestors. It was your grandfather who walked thirty miles in the wind and snow so that our family could have a decent New Year!”
As he said that, the old man turned around again and said, "You have to remember that your wealth today is also a blessing, do you understand?"
"I understand!" Li Jinglong said loudly, "Without the love of Emperor Renzu Chun (Zhu Yuanzhang's father), the Li family would not be what it is today. I, the most incompetent person in the world, can only take shelter under the wings of my grandfather. If it weren't for the two emperors
I miss my old friendship, today..."
"Okay!" The old man interrupted him with a smile, "If you kowtow, you will say it to your ancestors later."
While talking, several people have arrived under the diamond wall.
The old man stood upright facing the mausoleum and tomb.
The wind suddenly became strong again, but it was not mixed with snowflakes.
Upon seeing this, Zhu Yunxi fell half a step behind, and together with Li Jinglong, they laid out the tributes on the stone five tributes, and then lit incense, candles, gold barley and other objects.
"Father, mother and brother, Chongba is here!"
The old man slowly knelt down and kowtowed devoutly, "Unfilial son Zhu Yuanzhang, kowtow to the second elder." After saying this, he placed his forehead heavily against the blue stone slab.
"Unfilial grandson Zhu Yunxi, kowtow to your great-grandfather and great-grandmother!" Zhu Yunxi followed closely behind, quickly knelt down, and also kowtowed.
The moment he lowered his head, he saw the old man's shoulders shaking.
Zhu Yunxi understands this feeling. The most tragic thing in the world is that a child wants to be raised but cannot be cared for. That kind of guilt and regret will be haunted for life and will be unforgettable.
Huhu~
In the gold vat, the gold paper and gold ingot-shaped barley were burning fiercely, with little sparks in the cold wind.
The old man kowtowed and stood up. Seeing Zhu Yunxi unable to stop turning over the fire with a stick and throwing gold paper into the fire, he shouted loudly, "Father and mother, spend it, the money will help you grow old!"
He did not read any formal memorial words, nor did he talk about the rules of the imperial family. Instead, he said the simplest but most affectionate words like an ordinary filial son and virtuous grandson.
Spend it, my son has given you money, spend it as hard as you can, buy whatever you want, and eat whatever you want.
I didn’t enjoy any blessings when I was alive, so let’s put it aside now, that’s enough!
~~
Next to the diamond wall, there are brick steps leading to the top of the treasure top.
The old man refused to let anyone help him. He stubbornly held on to the wall and climbed up step by step with difficulty.
The higher you go up, the stronger the wind becomes. When you reach the highest point, your sight is level with the splendid Imperial City in the distance.
Zhu Yunxi suddenly understood why the old man chose this place for the mausoleum.
Because only here can the deceased relatives see the wealth of future generations.
Because it was winter, the Baoding was also covered with light white snow, and the tree in the middle of the Baoding had no branches or leaves.
On the contrary, around the top of the treasure, in the gaps between the blue bricks, the withered and yellow weeds are still taking root tenaciously, making it impossible for them to bow their heads.
"Come on, let's work hard and shovel!" The old man said with a smile, lifted up his clothes and squatted down, carefully pulled out a few weeds from the gaps, and then gently knocked on their roots to remove the tops.
Use your fingers to rub the stained soil into the gaps.
"These weeds are the most annoying ones. They compete with the crops for fertilizer in the fields and take root on the graves." The old man said, squatting forward for a few steps and continuing to weed. "Look, when this mausoleum was built,
The top of Baoding is made of Sanhe soil, and no grass will grow on it. But damn, I still can’t prevent it!"
Zhu Yunxi listened to the old man's words and put all the grass that the old man had collected into a dustpan.
"The house you live in must be clean when you are alive, and your grave must be clean after you die." The old man tried hard, and a weed broke at the waist. He cursed and continued, "It's not clean and makes people laugh!"
As he said that, he suddenly looked at Zhu Yunxi and said, "Our mausoleum must be clean from now on!"
"Grandpa Huang, look at you, you are always..."
"At our age, there's nothing we can't say. Before I came out this time, I took a look at all my old clothes!" The old man smiled nonchalantly, "Before I went out, I secretly went to my tomb.
You’ve seen it, don’t you know?”
How could Zhu Yunxi not know that the old man returned to the palace early in the morning after sunset, and it is said that he spent the whole day on his mausoleum.
"The place where we lie down after death is rich indeed, but there is still something missing!" The old man continued, "There is a missing monument!" He said to Zhu Yunxi, "Come and erect it for us, and erect it in front of our grave!"
"
"The monument of merit is erected...?"
The old man interrupted Zhu Yunxi, "It's not a merit monument, it's a tombstone!" After saying that, the old man stood up and looked around on the top of his parents' treasure, "You can build a monument for us, the tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty!"
As he spoke, he suddenly laughed out loud, "There is no dynasty in the world that lasts for ten thousand years. How about the Han and Tang Dynasties? Didn't the tomb of the emperor and me have to be dug out? All the bones and dregs were dug out!"
"Put a monument in front of our tomb. If it is hollowed out and stolen in the future, future generations will be able to find our tomb!"
"Grandpa Emperor!" Zhu Yunxi said softly, "Your mausoleum will last forever and no one will dare to touch it!"
~~
I'll be back from my hometown tomorrow, so the update will be a little late. Please be patient...
This chapter has been completed!