Although there is no wind, it is still a bit cold. In the imperial garden behind Fengtian Palace, in the early morning, the plum blossoms with a little bit of last night's frost bloom proudly in the warm sunshine of early winter.
The blooming plum blossoms complement the deep red palace walls, as well as the glazed tiles that glow softly under the winter sun. They give the Forbidden City a hint of spring color in early winter.
Zhu Yunxi was woken up by the eunuch at dawn, and then he washed and dressed carefully, and began to change clothes under the service of the palace servants.
Today is the old man’s birthday, a Longevity Festival celebrated by everyone.
The red prince robe with five-clawed dragons embroidered with gold thread is slightly waisted, with pleats underneath, and a skirt that is also wide and not bloated with gold thread, making Zhu Yunxi look tall and tall.
On the waist is a jade belt inlaid with twenty pieces of fine Hetian jade and engraved with dragon and phoenix patterns. At the feet are black court boots with soft soles embroidered with two dragons playing with beads.
On the case not far away, there is the most solemn ceremonial crown of the Ming Dynasty Prince, the Nine Star Crown. (liumian)
The nine-shaped crown is made of rattan strips. The surface is covered with silk and painted black, and is inlaid with gold edges. The top is a nearly one-meter-long yan board (yan). The first half is a slightly curved arc, and the back is a square, which represents
The sky is round and the place is round.
There are plum blossom-shaped perforations on both sides of the crown, with gold hairpins running through them. There are nine thin strips on the front and back of the crown, connected in series with red, white, black, red, green, and colorless beads, like door curtains. It means not seeing wrong, not seeing evil, and being clear about right and wrong.
Remember the URL m.wxsy．
Silk threads are hung on both ends of the jade horizontal line, and a round piece of beautiful jade hangs, which means hearing.
It means turning a deaf ear to the words of a treacherous person, which is the origin of the entire idiom.
For thousands of years, since the emperor ruled the country, except for the Qing Dynasty where hair was shaved and clothes were changed, the Nine Crown Crown has been one of the most solemn crowns worn by Chinese kings.
As a prince of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yunxi's crown was slightly different from that of the emperor. Zhu Yuanzhang's crown was more magnificent.
This is the first time that Zhu Yunxi wears the Nine Crowns. This new crown was made under the personal supervision of the eunuchs of the Yin Shou Supervisor and the Ritual Clothes Supervisor when he conferred the title of King of Wu.
This is the first time he has worn it, but it will also be the last time. After today's court meeting, the crown of the vassal king will be shelved and replaced by a brand new crown of the crown prince.
Clothes are also a great gift from China.
Putting on the prince's attire was very cumbersome. Zhu Yunxi stood in front of a tall glass mirror, stretched out his hands, and let the eunuch dress him up.
There were only two mirrors in the palace. One was used by Zhu Yuanzhang, and the other was given to Zhu Biao. Later, it naturally fell into the name of Zhu Yunxi.
It is said that these two mirrors, which are completely flawless, were donated by maritime traders from thousands of miles away in the early days of the founding of Hongwu. (I don’t know if there were mirrors at this time. It seems that only Ye Cai had them, but the novelist said,
Don’t take it seriously.)
"Slave, please comb His Highness's hair!"
In his ear, Pu Wuyong spoke softly. And when he finished speaking, another eunuch silently pushed a stool over.
Zhu Yunxi sat down on the stool, looking at his long black hair and imagining it flowing like flowing water under a comb.
"Never put oil on your hair, Your Highness doesn't like the smell!"
Suddenly, a voice came from the side.
Zhu Yunxi turned around and said with a smile, "Wang Shai, are you feeling better?"
The person who came was none other than Zhu Yunxi's personal eunuch Wang Sha. He had been recuperating in the palace for the past two months. He was tortured so severely that day that he still walks with a limp.
"On this day, the slave has to crawl to serve his master!" Wang Sha walked to Zhu Yunxi with difficulty and said to Pu Wuyong, "Give it to me!"
Pu Wuyong held the comb without moving, looking straight at him.
Wang Sha said coldly, "His Highness's hair used to be combed by our family!" He snatched it away, pushed Pu Wuyong away, and smiled at Zhu Yunxi, "I am still a slave serving His Highness, others are so careless."
Zhu Yunxi saw this scene in his eyes and said with a smile, "No matter who combs his hair, it's different. If you were a palace maid, I would still be able to pick and choose!"
As he said that, he also laughed.
As the King of Wu, there is not a single beautiful palace maid beside him. They are all eunuchs. Or they are forty or fifty-year-old nuns who have a straight face all day long.
Zhu Yuanzhang orally ordered that the prince should not have any maids around him before he became a vassal, probably because he was afraid that the prince and his grandson would not be able to control themselves in the face of beauty.
Her hair was slowly combed, and a slightly heavy crown was placed on her head.
In the mirror, Zhu Yunxi's face was exposed by silk threads strung with beads, which was a bit fierce but also a bit majestic.
"Your Highness!" Wang Shai suddenly swallowed, "Slave, I finally see you today. If the empress is still here..."
"Don't cry on this big day!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile, "Come on, follow me to Grandpa Huang's place!"
"Yes!" Wang Sha wiped away his tears and limped closely behind Zhu Yunxi.
Zhu Yuanzhang had already gotten up and finished dressing.
Today, the old man rarely wore a bright yellow dragon robe, and on his head was a crown made of golden threads, with two lifelike golden dragons on it, playing with pearls.
"Grandson, please see the Emperor!" Zhu Yunxi bowed down and kowtowed.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Get up!"
Zhu Yunxi did not get up, but kowtowed three times respectfully, "My grandson wishes my grandpa a happy birthday. I hope my grandpa will be as blessed as the East China Sea and live as long as the Southern Mountains!"
"Okay!" Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "Get up quickly, the ground is cold!"
Later, Zhu Yunxi stood up with the help of the palace attendants, "Grandpa Emperor, why don't you wear a crown?"
The crown on the old man's head is not a ceremonial crown.
"I'm old, and my eyesight is not good to begin with. It's annoying to have so many beads and gold threads dangling in front of my eyes!" Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.
"My grandson doesn't want to bring this!" Zhu Yunxi pointed to the crown on his head and said with a smile, "It's too heavy!"
"We can not wear it, but you can't!" Zhu Yuanzhang stood up, put his arm on Zhu Yunxi's arm and said, "If you want to wear his crown, you must bear its weight!"
As soon as the two men moved, Pu Bucheng sang at the door of the palace, "Your Majesty, take off!"
"Long live my emperor! Long live!"
Outside the palace, beside an imperial chariot, palace servants in auspicious robes and imperial guards who specially put on rude robes knelt down and kowtowed.
Zhu Yuanzhang took Zhu Yunxi's hand, and everyone bowed respectfully before getting into the imperial chariot.
The old man sat on it, Zhu Yunxi held on to the side bars of the imperial chariot, and then the emperor's guard of honor set off slowly, aiming for the Golden Palace not far away.
The honor guard walked very slowly, and everyone's steps seemed to be astonishingly consistent as measured by a ruler.
Everywhere he passed, whether on the vegetation or on the walls of the palace, red silk flowers representing happiness were hung.
But suddenly, Zhu Yunxi's steps became awkward, his heart was beating hard, and his mind was filled with the scene when he accompanied the old man to court for the first time.
The curtain on the royal chariot was opened through a gap, revealing half of the old man's smiling face.
"Dasun, are you afraid?"
"What is there to be afraid of, grandson!" Zhu Yunxi straightened his chest.
"Nonsense!" the old man laughed, "When we went to court for the first time, we were so panicked that we didn't even know which leg to move first!"
After the old man saw through his thoughts, Zhu Yunxi smiled shyly.
Today is not only a happy day for the old man, but also a happy day for him. From time traveling to now, he is finally going to ascend to that position.
In fact, he didn't do anything. Everything he had came from the love of the old man in front of him.
"Grandpa!" Zhu Yunxi said seriously, "My grandson will not disappoint your expectations!"
"Don't let down the people of the world, that's the best reward for grandpa!" Zhu Yuanzhang said happily.
Zhu Yunxi showed a bright smile, nodded vigorously, and his steps suddenly became smooth again.
"Grandpa, is today your birthday?" Zhu Yunxi spoke again as the honor guard moved forward slowly.
In these days, many people don't know their birthdays. There is a saying that after Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he chose a random day.
"Your grandpa was born with nothing but this birthday!" Zhu Yuanzhang said slowly in the chariot, "My son's birthday is my mother's day of pain! On the day when you gave birth to me, someone specially spent five dollars.
Enshrine our names in front of the Buddha in the temple, and hope that we will be safe and sound in this life!"
Seeing that the old man was a little sad, Zhu Yunxi consoled him, "Grandpa, my grandpa and grandma are watching from the sky. They will definitely be proud of you!"
The old man rubbed the corners of his eyes and said, "Grandson, grandpa will also be watching you in the sky from now on!"
Then, the two men looked at each other and smiled at the same time.
The Golden Palace is right in front of you, the guard of honor, and Zhu Yunxi's voice are still going on.
"Grandpa, you are a Libra!"
"What is that?"
"They are the stars in the sky!"
"You said grandpa descended from the stars!"
"Yes, you always come down from the stars to warm the world!"
