Tomorrow will be the first day of the fifth year of the Qi Dynasty, 1625 AD, the Zhengdan Festival. Early in the morning, officials gathered outside the Meridian Gate, each wearing brand-new court uniforms, quietly waiting for the arrival of Emperor Zhu Youxiao.
The temperature in the morning was very low, and some courtiers wore less clothes in order to look good. When a cold wind blew over, these courtiers shivered from the cold.
Ma Xiaoquan stood in the queue of courtiers, taking a deep breath quietly.
A courtier approached Ma Xiaoquan and asked, "Master Ma, how was your New Year's Eve last night?"
Ma Xiaoquan glared at the courtier and said with a smile: "Master Zhang, haha, it's okay. Where are you, Master Zhang?"
"Haha, what's so good? My concubine gave birth to a baby last night, which kept our family busy all night. This year has not been a good one."
When Ma Xiaoquan heard this, he cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations to Mr. Zhang, you must be a leader, right?"
"Where, where, haha"
Ma Xiaoquan smiled and said: "It's still a full moon, I will bring a gift to the door to congratulate you. Mr. Zhang, don't let me in then?"
"Oh, Mr. Ma, you are so polite, so polite..."
While the two were talking politely, drums suddenly sounded not far away.
The ministers were still whispering this in twos and threes, but as soon as the drum beat, the ministers immediately hurriedly lined up according to their official ranks.
On the Zhengdan Festival two years ago, Ma Xiaoquan, as a high official in the court, could stand at the front of the queue. Now that he was demoted by Zhu Youxiao to a three-level official position, Ma Xiaoquan could only stand with a group of fourth- and fifth-rank officials.
.
At this time, the second drumbeat sounded again.
The ministers were neatly divided into two rows, the civil servants were on the left, and the generals were on the right. The two rows of people entered the palace from the left and right gates in two teams, and entered the inner hall of the Huangji Gate. Thrones, incense niches and other objects had already been placed inside and outside the store.
.
The third time the drum sounded, Zhu Youjian walked out slowly in a magnificent dragon-yellow imperial uniform. In front of Zhu Youxiao, the lead officer respectfully guided him. Amidst the sound of palace instruments, Zhu Youxiao came
In the inner hall of Huangji Gate, he slowly ascended to the throne.
At this time, the eulogist came forward, unfolded the eulogy he had already written, and began to sing praises eloquently. The ministers, following the eulogizing process of the eulogist, chanted over and over again with pauses and rhythm, "
Long live my emperor."
Ma Xiaoquan felt helpless in his heart. He had said "I will never sleep" no less than ten times since he started to kneel down. If he continued like this, he was afraid that he would actually fall asleep without paying attention.
Zhu Youxiao sat on the throne, feeling the ministers paying homage to him, and felt indescribably comfortable in his heart.
Last night, Wei Zhongxian presented him with a beautiful woman. Although Zhu Youxiao was not obsessed with women, the beauty's kung fu was very good. What was even more commendable was that the beauty was still a baby...
..Thinking of this, the corners of Zhu Youxiao's mouth slightly raised.
Wei Zhongxian stood very close to Zhu Youxiao. When he saw the emperor smiling, Wei Zhongxian guessed what the emperor was thinking.
Although he had some regrets in his heart, he gave that young child with great kung fu to the emperor to enjoy, but he also thought that he could use the emperor's supreme power to deal with the Donglin Party gang and Ma Xiaoquan. Wei Zhongxian's heart
There is an indescribable joy.
Wei Zhongxian quietly turned his head and looked back, and saw Ma Xiaoquan who was yawning?
When Wei Zhongxian saw him, he was secretly surprised, what? Didn't the cotton needle hidden in the gorgeous clothes kill Ma Xiaoquan? Why is he still alive and yawning today, seemingly nothing happened? Why?
Thinking of this, Wei Zhongxian secretly complained that he believed too much in cotton needles.
"If the Donglin Party members are to be dealt with, Ma Xiaoquan... must not be allowed to stay!" Wei Zhongxian thought in his heart.
...
The court ceremony lasted until almost noon. After almost a morning of tossing, some of the elders among the ministers were a little overwhelmed. After the emperor left, these old guys simply sat on the ground and rubbed their feet.
Feet, knock the legs, knock the legs.
Because he rested late last night, Ma Xiaoquan was a little lax. He shook his head and planned to go home and catch up on his sleep.
At this moment, a court official came over and asked Ma Xiaoquan in a low voice: "Master Ma, have you heard about it?"
Ma Xiaoquan blinked twice: "What did you hear?"
"Well, Mr. Ma, you haven't heard, then forget it..."
"Hey, hey, hey." Ma Xiaoquan grabbed the court official and said, "Master Li, you are not being kind. You have already said it here, and you are hiding it, isn't it?"
The court official thought for a moment, gritted his teeth, and whispered: "Master Ma, let me tell you, don't say it was me who said it."
"Oh, Mr. Li, look at you, don't you know who I am, Ma Xiaoquan? I am not a member of the Donglin Party, and I am not a member of Wei Zhongxian..." Halfway through the words, Ma Xiaoquan suddenly realized
When something came to mind, he quickly changed his words, "I don't want to have any big conflicts with others. Mr. Li, just say what you say."
"Okay, let me tell you, it doesn't really matter. I just heard from one of my nephews that Eunuch Wei seems to be dealing with the Donglin Party members recently, so I said, Mr. Ma, if you have anything to do with Donglin,
If the party members come close, it's best to stay away. As you know, this government is now... ugh."
Ma Xiaoquan nodded. He understood what Lord Li meant and knew that the other party was doing it for his own good. After all, Lord Li had served as a military supervisor under Ma Ruiqing's father before, and he still had some good relations with the Ma family.
"Thank you, Mr. Li. Mr. Li, if you have time, we can have a good meal someday." Ma Xiaoquan said with a cupped hand.
"Hey, there's no need for food. Okay, I'll leave now. Mr. Ma, it's better to be careful."
"Okay" Ma Xiaoquan nodded.
...
Back at Ma's house, Ma Xiaoquan took off his official uniform and took a long breath.
The little girl of the Fang family stepped forward in time to take the official uniform that Ma Xiaoquan had taken off. Lisa obediently served Ma Xiaoquan a cup of tea, while Hua Yue stepped forward and asked softly: "How was the morning ceremony?
ah?"
Ma Xiaoquan shrugged: "It's still the same, but I've been demoted now, so I don't stand too far forward, haha."
Hua Yue said disapprovingly: "So what, you are always the best in our hearts!"
"Yeah," Lisa and the little girl from the Fang family nodded in unison, affirming Hua Yue's words.
"Haha, I am very satisfied with your support," Ma Xiaoquan said with a smile, "Lisa, how is it going for you to make money?"
