Back to the matter of the East Palace, Zhu Qiyu was aware of the many rumors going on in the government and the public.
However, he didn't care.
Because it was nothing more than groundless rumors. With his past life experience, at least for now, or in recent years, Zhu Qiyu has no intention of Yi Chu.
He has too many aspects to worry about in his new life, national affairs, and family affairs, and there are too many things he wants to do.
Until these things are done and these hidden dangers are eliminated, he will not touch the East Palace.
After all, the East Palace is the foundation of the country.
It is not difficult to replace a prince, but the turmoil in the court caused by abolishing the East Palace for no reason will last for at least a year or even longer.
Not to mention the opposition and confrontation of the ministers, just talking about the major reshuffle of the forces in the DPRK and China brought about by the change of East Palace, it cannot be completed in a short time.
This is on the surface, but it is hidden in the dark, and its impact on people's hearts will accumulate gradually and subtly over time.
After the Civil War, the Ming Dynasty faced a stage of destruction and re-establishment.
At this time, the impact of a year or even longer period of suspension of government on the country was difficult for Zhu Qiyu to accept.
Therefore, he will not move in the East Palace.
At most, it's just a little preparation in advance...
At this point, Zhu Qiyu is sober. It can even be said that he is the most sober person in the whole government.
In fact, no one except Zhu Qiyu realized it.
For Donggong, the biggest hidden risk is not whether he, the emperor, will be more sympathetic to Donggong, but whether Nangong will behave with his tail between his legs.
The more noisy the Nangong becomes, the more precarious the East Palace's status becomes.
Even if what they are doing is trying their best to expand the power of the East Palace, this will not change.
Even if it reaches a certain point, the East Palace will inevitably become a tower in the sky...
Even if they can escape safely, the East Palace itself is actually worrying.
Again, except Zhu Qiyu, no one knows what the little baby who is now regarded as the prince will look like when he grows up.
In addition to external threats, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also has a difficulty of his own to overcome. If he cannot overcome it, then no matter how hard others try, it will be useless...
After recovering his thoughts, Zhu Qiyu sighed again. He did not criticize Cheng Jing too much, but just waved his hand to signal him to leave.
Everyone has shortcomings, and Cheng Jing's temperament may not be a good thing in the court situation. At least, in terms of matters in the East Palace, the news that he, the emperor's side, revealed vaguely, was even better than Zhu Qiyu himself said publicly,
The effect is much better.
but……
Seeing the relieved figure of Cheng Jing leaving in a hurry, Zhu Qiyu shook his head gently: "Huaien?"
"My slave is here."
"Starting tomorrow, you go to the Supervisor of Ceremonies and receive an assignment from Eunuch Bingbi. Follow Cheng Jing to take care of government affairs and learn what you need to learn."
"My slave obeys the order."
…………
In a blink of an eye, it’s the Winter Solstice Festival.
Although it was said that the ceremonial note from the Ministry of Rites caused quite a stir in the court, in the end, the ceremonial note from the Ministry of Rites passed smoothly.
It is a foregone conclusion that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will leave the cabinet and open a palace. However, the ceremony cannot be prepared in a day or two. At least, it will definitely not be able to make it in time for the Winter Solstice Festival. If the Ministry of Rites works harder, it might be possible to prepare it before the imperial court seals it.
come out.
As one of the three most important court meetings held by the imperial court every year, the etiquette of the Winter Solstice Festival is naturally extremely complicated.
Early in the morning, when the sky was just getting dark, all the court officials gathered outside the palace gate. They lined up neatly, and no one wavered in the cold wind.
Different from previous Winter Solstice celebrations, this time the ceremony included the emperor leading his ministers to pay homage to the Supreme Emperor, so the elders were extra cautious.
Three whips sounded on the Jinshui Bridge, and the palace gate was slowly pushed open. Under the guidance of the ceremony officials, the officials lined up in two long rows and entered the palace gate from both sides.
Outside the Fengtian Hall, a treasure case has been set up. When the time comes, the emperor stands on the high imperial steps and performs the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven.
Under the auspices of the Ministry of Rites, everything is moving forward in an orderly manner.
According to the ritual, after offering sacrifices to heaven, the emperor should lead his ministers to pay homage to the Supreme Emperor.
So, after the ceremony was over, the emperor left first and went back to the apse to change clothes, while the ministers went straight to the Nangong Palace.
Standing outside Nangong, the emperor has not arrived yet, so the elders can take a short rest.
However, under the glances of the etiquette officer and the censor Jiuyi, they could not chat or feel sleepy. Therefore, the elders could only take a look at the Nangong, which was specially renovated for the return of the Supreme Emperor.
It should be said that for most of the courtiers, this was the first time that they had truly arrived at Nangong and looked at the residence of the Supreme Emperor.
Although Nangong is called Nangong, it is actually not in the palace city. Instead, outside Donghua Gate is the Taisun Mansion built by Emperor Taizong for Emperor Xuanzong in the early years, called Chonghua Palace.
Its scale is grand, almost as big as the East Palace.
Therefore, the first impression of the courtiers was that it was big!
Although these ministers go to court every day and know the area of the palace city well, after all, the areas they can set foot in are only Fengtian Hall, Wenhua Hall, and Wuying Hall, where political affairs are discussed, and a few ministers
, gained the emperor's favor and was able to enter the Qianqing Palace.
However, this is the end. The rest of the huge areas in the Forbidden City are beyond the reach of ordinary courtiers.
Therefore, in fact, what the courtiers saw every day were the palaces at the front of the palace.
The Nangong Palace is different. When the Nangong Palace was built, it was a complete palace complex including a series of palaces such as the political affairs hall, sleeping hall, and side halls.
There are two main halls in the entire Nangong. From front to back are the Chonghua Hall and the Qinghe Pavilion, which were originally used for political discussions and economic banquets.
Now that the Supreme Emperor has moved in, he has used the Qinghe Pavilion as his bedroom and the Chonghua Hall as a reception hall for receiving courtiers.
On the left side of the two main halls are the dining room and the treasury. On the right side, nine palaces are arranged from front to back. They were originally the inner palace of the grandson, but are now used to house the emperor's concubines.
There are at least a dozen palaces in the entire Nangong.
Standing outside Nangong and looking around, it was quite a shock to the ministers.
Secondly, the second impression of the courtiers was that of magnificence.
It's really gorgeous!
Nangong has been uninhabited for many years, and many places have long been dilapidated. These bosses know that the emperor once ordered people to renovate Nangong before the emperor returned to Beijing, and they also know this.
But, you call this renovation?
There is no shortage of brand-new white marble, marble, blue bricks and glazed tiles, and all the precious materials that should be used. These palaces and pavilions are said to be newly built, and the elders believe it.
So much so that the elders all looked at a certain household minister...
The imperial court, isn’t this quite rich!
Unexpectedly, looking at this brand-new palace, Shen Shangshu felt heartbroken.
In recent times, Shen Shangshu's money has become much easier, but his stinginess has become more and more serious. Now it has developed to the point where he feels bad when others spend other people's money.
For example, facing Nangong in front of him, Shen Shangshu looked at it, sighed, glanced at it, and sighed again.
You know, there was actually a debate between the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites about the residence of the Supreme Emperor after he returned to Beijing. For cost-saving reasons, the Ministry of Revenue once proposed that only the Chongzhi Hall on the Nangong side should be renovated for the Supreme Emperor to move in.
That’s it.
However, the Ministry of Rites felt that doing so was inconsistent with the status of the Supreme Emperor.
Finally, when we arrived at the Emperor's place, he said that in addition to the Supreme Emperor, Nangong would also house the Supreme Emperor's concubines, as well as a number of servants serving in the palace. There were quite a few of them, so with a stroke of his pen, the entire Nangong East Garden was assigned to
The Great Emperor.
Not only that, on a whim, the emperor also ordered that the original simple cleaning and renovation turned into a major overhaul.
What the ministers saw was only the surface. Several palaces inside are still being renovated and have not been completed yet.
Looking at all the precious materials on it, Shen Shangshu began to calculate how much it would cost.
Of course, if any courtiers knew what Shen Shangshu was thinking at this moment, they would definitely wonder, why don't you, the Minister of Revenue, have no idea how much money you have spent?
In this regard, Shen Shangshu’s answer is...
Nonsense, I don’t know how much I spent on the money your Majesty paid!
"Your Majesty is here!"
The mighty Luan Jia stopped at the palace gate, and the officials immediately calmed down, stood in awe, and prostrated themselves on the ground.
At this moment, Zhu Qiyu had changed out of the imperial robes he wore to worship heaven, and instead put on a Gon dragon robe, wearing a Yishan crown on his head, and slowly walked off the Luanjia.
He stood outside the Nangong Gate with a lot of emotion in his heart.
In his previous life, he had looked at Nangong from a distance countless times, but he had never taken a step inside.
This was the first time in his two lives that he was about to enter the place where the Supreme Emperor "lived his old age".
The palace door has already been opened.
As the emperor arrived, a group of palace servants emerged from the Nangong Palace. The leader was an old eunuch with white hair and beard. He was fat and looked very blessed.
This person is none other than the current eunuch in charge of Nangong, Ruan Lang.
"The chamberlain Ruan Lang is here to see your majesty."
"Come on, where is the Supreme Emperor?"
Zhu Qiyu's face was calm and he asked.
So Ruan Lang stood up and answered respectfully.
"Back to Your Majesty, preparations have been made in the Chonghua Palace. The Supreme Emperor is changing his clothes. When the ministers enter the palace, they can receive congratulations."
"Um."
Without any obvious indication, Zhu Qiyu took the lead in entering the Chonghua Gate and headed straight for the Chonghua Hall.
Compared to the emperor, the ministers did not dare to be so casual. Under the guidance of the etiquette officer, they followed Ruan Lang in a long queue and entered the Chonghua Hall in order.
Although it is said that the Chonghua Hall was originally built according to the specifications of Taisun Yizheng Hall, it was still crowded with so many civil and military ministers from the Manchu Dynasty coming in together.
Perhaps because it was their first time to visit Nangong, the elders couldn't help but take a second look. At this glance, many ministers with upright personalities frowned.
If it were just that the palace was gorgeous, there were too many maids serving in the Nangong Palace.
Moreover, when looking at the palace maids coming and going in the Nangong, the first impression of the elders is that although these palace maids have beautiful faces, there is an inexplicable frivolous temperament in their makeup and dress, which makes people feel that they are different from the strict ones.
The Royal Palace is somewhat out of place.
As a result, many ministers thought of the recent rumors in Beijing.
It is said that within a few months of the Emperor's return to Nangong, he had already received three new concubines, which was much faster than the draft.
You know, the emperor selected one concubine, two concubines and four talented people in the last draft.
But the problem is that the emperor is elected every eight years, but the Emperor has only returned to Beijing for less than half a year. If this continues, in a few years, the Emperor's harem will still have many people...
What's more, some people even thought of spreading some random rumors without knowing whether they were true or false.
It is said that although the concubines newly accepted by the Supreme Emperor are not high in status, they are very prestigious. Not long after they were canonized, they became very domineering. Relying on the favor of the Supreme Emperor, they fought with several concubines and even noble concubines.
, there are frequent frictions...
With all kinds of turbulent thoughts, the ministers stood still in the Chonghua Hall.
Then, the etiquette officer shouted loudly.
"Your Majesty has arrived."
Then, all the ministers bowed their heads, and the emperor walked in from outside the palace, passed over the ministers, and stood at the front of the hall.
"The Emperor has arrived."
As the official's loud voice sounded again, a figure walked out of the back hall, surrounded by a group of palace attendants.
The ministers finally met again the Supreme Emperor, who had been living in seclusion in Nangong since his return to the capital.
Today's Supreme Emperor is wearing a black crown robe and twelve crowns on his head. He looks quite majestic.
It can be seen that the Supreme Emperor has taken good care of himself during this period. Although it has only been a few months, it is visible to the naked eye that he is in much better condition than when he just returned from Wala, and his figure is also a little fatter.
Especially at a time like the Winter Solstice, perhaps because he had not seen his courtiers for a long time, the Supreme Emperor looked very good, his face was white and rosy, and he looked very rosy.
In contrast, the emperor looked a little more plain, and put on a red robe with a crown that reached the sky. Perhaps because of fatigue, there was a hint of tiredness on his face.
The two stood facing each other. After a moment, the Supreme Emperor walked up the imperial steps and sat down on the throne in the middle.
"kneel!"
The music continued, the official's voice rose again, and the officials kowtowed and knelt.
However, when the leaders at the front bowed down, they unexpectedly saw that His Majesty the Emperor at the front still only bowed and raised his hands, and did not perform the kowtow as written in the ceremonial notes.
Well, this is one of the few times today when people are willful.
Moreover, it is so willful that it gives people a headache!
This was the case when we welcomed the Emperor last time. During the ceremony, the old man said nothing, but when it came time to hold the ceremony, the Emperor went his own way and only bowed and refused to kowtow.
This is simply playing rogue.
The ritual process has already begun, and naturally it cannot be interrupted. If other ministers dared to do this, they would have been taken out by Jiuyi Censor long ago. However, facing the emperor...
Well, if you see it, you can just pretend you haven't seen it. Anyway, let's finish the ceremony first.
However, a certain General Xian couldn't help but sigh.
Well, this time when the winter solstice is over, those brats down there will definitely make trouble about this matter again, giving them a headache...
"On the occasion of the winter solstice, I answer the yellow bell and the day is approaching. I respectfully wish His Majesty the Supreme Emperor to pray for blessings and blessings, may you live a long and healthy life."
Apart from this small twist and turn, there were no other accidents in this greeting. Various rituals were completed, and after about two sticks of incense, the ministers left with various thoughts.
To Nangong.
Next, the emperor and the emperor will continue to pay homage to the ancestral temple, while the ministers can rest for a while, and then continue to rush to Fengtian Hall to hold a large court meeting.
This day, beyond the expectations of the courtiers, was extremely smooth. It seemed to be no different from the Winter Solstice Festival in previous years.
However, it seems that there are some changes that are subtly affecting something...
This chapter has been completed!