Zhao Hongrun looked at the young man next to Prince Hongli of the East Palace in the distance with some surprise.`
Although Zhao Hongrun has never met Luo Yao, he is not unfamiliar with him. After all, this person was the second place in last year's scientific examination.
Don't think that this person didn't get the top prize just because he didn't get the top prize. You must know that last year, He Xinxian, the direct grandson of He Xiangxu, the former Zhongshu Linghe, also participated in the examination last year.
Zhao Hongrun still feels resentful towards that guy, but it is undeniable that He Xinxian has been famous for his talents since he was a child. He can be said to be on par with Zhao Hongrun's sixth brother Qilin'er Zhao Hongzhao. He is not only one of the earliest organizers of the Yafeng Poetry Society, but also one of the most famous
People in Daliang regard him as a proud leader of the younger generation.
I remember how many people in the court at that time thought that He Xinxian could easily win the honor of being the top scholar in the scientific examination that year.
Unexpectedly, this real top talent was defeated by two extraordinary heroes who came out of nowhere, and only won the honor of third place, which made countless people sigh.
Regardless of his personal bias, even Zhao Hongrun had to admit that He Xinxian was indeed very talented. The reason why he lost last year was because he was unlucky and met two other young talents who were more talented.
The two people who defeated He Xinxian at that time were Kou Zheng, a member of the Shangdang family, and the other was Luo Yao.
Zhao Hongrun also heard a piece of news about this Luo Yao.
It is said that after reading this man's article that day, both the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites vigorously invited this scholar, especially the Minister of Rites, She You, who wrote a bold and rigorous metrical review of this man's article.
Highly rated.
Unexpectedly, Luo Yao politely declined the warm invitation of Sheyou, the Minister of Rites, and turned down the official career that was readily available to him. Instead, he became an aide beside Hongli, the crown prince of the East Palace.
To be honest, this made Zhao Hongrun a little confused.
In his opinion, it seems that such a talented person who can defeat He Xinxian with his talent can still have a smooth career even if he is not attached to the prince Hongli. Especially in the Ministry of Rites, which has the most rigid rules but the clearest atmosphere. The talented Luo Yao, needless to say
Suspicion was able to gain a firm foothold in the Ministry of Rites, and then gradually rose to the top under the care and support of She You, the Minister of Rites.
To put it bluntly, why should I seek refuge with the Prince of the East Palace when I can obviously rely on my own ability to make a living?
You must know that once you are involved in seizing the legitimate son, this is a road of no return, unless the Prince of the East Palace really ascends the throne and becomes the emperor in the future. Otherwise, for a talent like Luo Yao who has been labeled as the East Palace early, it is not difficult to predict the future end.
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After all, political alignment is extremely important. No matter how talented you are, if you are on the wrong side, the consequences will not be much better. After all, in this big world, will you really be missing someone?
Logically speaking, Zhao Hongrun felt that a talented person like Luo Yao should understand the importance of staying neutral and waiting for the price. But the other party invested in the East Palace without hesitation, which made Zhao Hongrun a little unpredictable.
At this time, on the high platform, the officials of the Ministry of Rites assisting in the heaven-sacrifice ceremony had already prepared the sacrifices.
On such occasions, sacrifices like chickens and ducks are completely unacceptable. In front of Zhao Hongrun, there was a cow, a sheep, and a pig, each tied tightly with ropes, with cloth balls stuffed in their mouths. "
"Kneel down" in front of the sacrificial table.
On the sacrificial table, there were killed and stripped chickens, ducks, and geese, as well as some exquisite vegetarian dishes and pastries. Placed in the middle was a fish two palms wide. According to Zhao Hongrun's visual inspection
, this fish should still be alive, it just didn't move for some reason.
Behind the sacrificial table, there are five large cauldrons filled with grains.
But what made Zhao Hongrun feel most distressed were the precious jade and gold objects on the altar table.
Because as far as he knew, these were all sacrifices and would be thrown into the pile of firewood and burned later, yes, including those priceless jade and gold objects.
"Let's get started."
Emperor Wei, who was wearing a dark fur coat with gold threads and dragon patterns, spoke in a low voice with a solemn expression.
After hearing this, even the narrow-minded Prince of the East Palace in Zhao Hongrun's impression had a solemn expression on his face. He stood in front of the large pile of firewood and bowed respectfully toward the east.
, then took the torch from the official of the Ministry of Rites and lit the pile of firewood.
This is called offering sacrifices. According to Zhao Hongrun's understanding, it is probably to use the smell of smoke to notify the Heavenly Father in heaven that he is ready to come down to earth to collect the sacrifices.
After a while, the firewood started to burn brightly.
At the same time, the officials of the Ministry of Rites began to slaughter the three animals, namely a cow, a sheep, and a pig.`
Zhao Hongrun didn't know if the chefs were chefs. He just felt that those people were extremely powerful. They sacrificed the three animals and dissected them in two or three strokes, which was quite similar to that of a chef dissecting an ox.
What is incredible is that in the process of undressing the three sacrificed animals, those people bled them first, so that from beginning to end, the white high altar was not stained with blood at all. In Zhao Hongrun's opinion, this was simply a miraculous workmanship.
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After waiting for the three officials of the Ministry of Rites, whom Zhao Hongrun suspected to be chefs, to slaughter the three animals, Hongli, the crown prince of the East Palace, walked over, took out the internal organs of the three sacrifices, and put them one by one into the pads in the hands of the officials of the Ministry of Rites behind him.
On a lacquered wooden tray covered with red silk, the latter presented it on the sacrificial table.
After that, some officials from the Ministry of Etiquette came over, holding a lacquered wood tray that was one size larger than before, also padded with red silk.
But this time, Prince Hongli of the East Palace picked up the meat from the three sacrificed bodies and placed it on the tray. This time, these officials from the Ministry of Rites directly held the tray and put it into the pile of firewood.
Zhao Hongrun looked sleepily on the sidelines. In his opinion, it was enough to just throw all the sacrifices and tributes into the fire, and there had to be a rule of order.
Just as Zhao Hongrun thought, there is a sequence in the process of presenting sacrifices and tributes to heaven in the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven. Moreover, not everything has to be thrown into the fire. For example, for the three animals, only the parts from the body are intercepted.
Meat, as well as internal organs, such as head, feet, tail, bones and other parts, are not sacrificed.
If Zhao Hongrun is interested, he can take a leg of the animal back and roast it for gnawing, or he can bring a few bones back to make a soup. In the custom of the Wei Dynasty, this is called giving pigeons.
Moreover, he can drink several glasses of the wine used for sacrifices, which also has an auspicious name, called drinking blessings.
Generally speaking, they are relatively good.
In fact, the reason why the people of Daliang who were watching paid so much attention to this kind of sacrificial ceremony was because they wanted to get some after the sacrificial ceremony, even if it was just a small piece of meat, the meaning was good.
It is undeniable that the Wei people are no less pious to Heavenly Father and Earth Mother than they are to the Chu people who fear ghosts and gods.
After the three animals were presented, the next step was the five grains, which basically meant lighting the five grains contained in the five bronze tripods. In Zhao Hongrun's opinion, this was also a pure waste of food.
And when Prince Hongli threw the jade and gold objects into the fire, Zhao Hongrun turned his eyes away in distress. He really wanted to rush over and dig out those priceless treasures from the fire.
Come out and stuff it into your arms.
66 Continuously, the tributes and sacrifices paid to the Heavenly Father have been thrown into the fire one by one. Although there is no guarantee whether the Heavenly Father will really receive these tributes, the fragrant smells are tempting.
Zhao Hongrun's stomach growled.
But at this time, the most eye-catching drama came. After the prince Hongli of the East Palace cleaned his hands, the drums and drums sounded again on the high platform, and the sacrificial music was played. At the same time, Luo Yao, an aide next to the prince Hongli, put the hand in his hand.
He held a silk prayer book and handed it respectfully to the Prince of the East Palace. What was written in it was exactly the heaven-sacrificial inscription that Prince Hongli wanted to read in front of countless people in Daliang under the high platform.
Watching Hongli, the Crown Prince of the East Palace, walking toward the southeast side of the high altar with the sacrificial inscriptions in his hands, facing east. The people in the beams below the altar of heaven were all eagerly awaiting him.
However, Zhao Hongrun's eyes unexpectedly turned to the young staff member named Luo Yao again, because just now Yongwang Hongyu said that today's heaven-sacrifice inscription was written by this person.
You know, this is a pretty big deal.
After all, it stands to reason that such a vital event as a memorial service should be written by a bachelor from the Ministry of Etiquette. After all, a memorial service should be about gorgeous rhetoric and not just a few eulogies.
Therefore, even if the East Palace Prince Hongli favors his staff Luo Yao, the Ministry of Rites will not approve it unless...
Unless Luo Yao's literary talents impress the officials!
Zhao Hongrun opened his sleepy eyes and looked at the elegant Luo Yao.
However, while Zhao Hongrun was secretly sizing up Luo Yao, from the corner of his eye he suddenly caught sight of an inexplicable faint smile on the lips of Yong Wang Hongyu beside him.
Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun was stunned. Immediately, he subconsciously looked at the Prince of the East Palace standing on the southeast side of the Temple of Heaven.
What's going on?... Nian, what is that idiot doing?
Zhao Hongrun squinted his eyes and stared at the Prince of the East Palace from afar. He could vaguely see the Crown Prince Hongli holding the sacrificial document in his hand, his face flushed, and even his whole body seemed to be trembling slightly.
What's going on?
Gradually, everyone on the high platform of the Temple of Heaven felt that something was wrong.
Even Emperor Wei frowned and scolded in a low voice with some displeasure: "Hongli, what are you waiting for? Don't miss the right moment!"
You, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, walked quickly behind Prince Hongli and reminded him in a low voice: "Your Highness, please recite the sacrificial inscriptions."
However, at this time, Prince Hongli's face was flushed.
Read it? What a nonsense!
Prince Hongli gritted his teeth and said in a low voice: "In the Book of Society, the words of the sacrificial inscription... have disappeared."
As he spoke, his eyes were still fixed on the sacrificial inscription in his hand.
What?
Upon hearing this, You, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, suddenly changed his expression, and he no longer cared about the rules. He took two steps forward and stood behind the prince, and glanced at the sacrificial document in his hand.
Sure enough, just as Prince Hongli said, there is not a single word on the sacrificial inscription.
Seeing this, Minister You almost lost his mind and screamed. He suppressed the horror in his heart and asked in a low voice: "How could this happen?"
"I don't know either..."
Prince Hongli said with a panicked look.
They both looked at each other.
You must know that this sacrificial document was written by Luo Yao, an aide next to Prince Hongli, before it was released today. At that time, many adults in the official department were watching, and they could clearly see each stroke.
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After that, the sacrificial document was personally kept by Feng Shu, the chief of the clan guard next to the prince, and was not handed over to Luo Yao until it was time to sacrifice it at the Temple of Heaven.
It can be said that this memorial document was kept by the people of Prince Hongli from beginning to end. Who would have thought that such a shocking incident would happen.
What should I do about this?
He is as high-ranking and powerful as the Minister of Rites, Shangshu Sheyou, and the ground is as pale as earth in shock.
You must know that there is absolutely no room for error in the ritual of worshiping heaven. (To be continued.)