The third princess hugged Eniang's legs and kept climbing up and down the seat. Ji Ling sat in the middle of the carriage, eating cakes and patiently answering her daughter's various questions.
Until the third princess got tired of playing, the little girl finally calmed down and fell asleep on her mother's lap.
Grandma Chen smiled and said, "Master is really patient with my little master."
Ji Ling lowered her head and patted her daughter's back again and again, and said softly: "Children, that's all. When I was young, I was very curious."
Qixi opened the red sandalwood food box and said, "I was in a hurry this morning. Just leaving the palace, I spent a long time doing all the etiquette. I'm afraid the master is hungry now."
Ji Ling didn't want to eat it at first, but when she saw the hot plate of thousand-feuille cake with a layer of osmanthus stamens sprinkled on it in the food box, she immediately became greedy. She took the chopsticks, picked up a piece and put it into her mouth.
The size of Concubine Chen's carriage was only lower than that of the emperor and empress. It was extremely spacious inside, with a couch, a small table, a sewing box, a fruit box, and several volumes of books for entertainment on the road.
Ji Ling sat in the carriage for a while and felt a little sleepy. Qixi saw that she could hardly open her eyes, so she came forward and spread a small pillow, helped Ji Ling lie down on the couch, and tied the brocade curtains
Tie carefully to the window hook.
The carriage suddenly became dark.
…
This eastward tour started from the capital and passed through twelve camps along the way. All food and supplies for the camp, except for those prepared by the capital, were supplied by the Imperial Mansion under the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Shengjing.
Due to the emperor's words, "The autumn crops are so strong that they may trample the fields", so many routes were changed along the way.
Finally, in mid-September, the mighty emperor arrived at the palace in Shengjing.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Shengjing had already arrived hundreds of miles in advance to welcome him, and at this time, he was leading the emperor all the way.
After entering the city, Ji Ling looked out through the cracks in the carriage's curtains and saw crowds of people lining both sides of the city's streets, shouting long live.
Ji Ling looked at the scenery in Shengjing City - compared with the capital city, the streets on both sides have a different style. Although it is not as prosperous as the capital city, you can see buildings full of Manchu style everywhere. As expected, it was just like what Yinzhen had seen before.
She said, "Shengjing is the birthplace of this dynasty, and its customs are mellow and spirited. I will take you to have a good look this time."
Behind the uniform stands of Manchu and Qing officers and soldiers is the dense garrison of the Eight Banners in Shengjing.
Before the Eight Banners garrisoned, they dismounted to greet General Shengjing who was waiting for the emperor.
Since the fifth year of Yongzheng reign, when the previous General Shengjing resigned, Duosuo Li has taken over the position.
Duosuoli is a man of medium height, with a dark complexion and a relatively fat figure, but his movements are unambiguous. You can tell from his movements that he is a very neat person.
He came forward and kowtowed in front of Emperor Yinzhen. With a beaming smile on his face, he said loudly: "I ask for more gifts to pay your respects to the emperor. I welcome the emperor respectfully!"
The full name of General Shengjing is "General who guards Shengjing and other places". It sounds majestic, but in fact it has great power. This is a first-class military position, the highest military and political officer in charge of Shengjing, with broad responsibilities - in addition to guarding the remaining capital,
In addition to being in charge of the army and horses in the region and recommending and appointing military officials, he also has to deal with the marriage, land and house litigation matters of the bannermen in the Shengjing area.
All affairs of Manchuria, Mongolia, and the Eight Banners of the Han Army were under the control of General Shengjing. It can be said that General Shengjing was a very important figure among the frontier officials of the Qing Dynasty. The Northeast region with Shengjing as the core was the Qing Dynasty's rear area and
The source base of the Eight Banners' troops.
Duosuoli was kowtowing. Next to him, Altai, the chief minister of the Shengjing Internal Affairs Office, with three assistants, had wiped their sleeves and knelt down to wait. The emperor asked Duosuoli a few words and asked him to
Go down.
Altai quickly winked at the two assistant leaders, came forward, kowtowed, and first reported to the emperor the preparations for the sacrifices at the Shengjing Cemetery and other important matters, and then talked about the arrangements for the Shengjing Palace.
Your Majesty is tired from traveling all the way, so please come in and rest.
The carriage finally approached the Shengjing Palace. At the entrance of the palace, the concubines changed into sedan chairs and were carried in.
The Shengjing Palace was built in the 10th year of Tianming in the Later Jin Dynasty and was first completed in the first year of Chongde in the Qing Dynasty. Compared with the Forbidden City, the Shengjing Palace is much smaller, but its architectural style adds Manchu and Mongolian features.
As Ji Ling walked along the way, he saw that to the east of the palace were the Dazheng Hall and the Ten King Pavilions; in the middle was the Dazhong Palace, including the Daqing Gate, Chongzheng Hall, Phoenix Tower, Qingning Palace, Guanju Palace, Yanqing Palace, and Yongfu Palace.
Wait, the palace is majestic, with carved beams and painted pillars, and is magnificent.
When the sedan arrived in front of Linzhi Palace, people from the Shengjing Internal Affairs Office were already waiting here. Seeing Concubine Chen's sedan stopped, everyone knelt down and said, "I would like to pay my respects to Concubine Chen. May your concubine be blessed!"
The sedan curtain was raised, Ji Ling held Qixi's hand and walked down. He saw the solemn and gorgeous Linzhi Palace in front of him. Four palace maids and four eunuchs were kneeling in front of them. They were all assigned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to prepare for the emperor's eastward tour.
The people who serve Concubine Chen.
When the emperor made an eastward tour, the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Shengjing was extremely busy - not only had to prepare vehicles, horses, food and grass, but also arranged for the repair of the palace, food and accommodation, and as for the favored Concubine Chen, they could not be careless at all.
.
Who told her that she was now the person who held the emperor's heart in high esteem?
Ji Ling stepped into the Linzhi Palace. Qixi whispered beside her: "Master, be careful where you step."
Although Linzhi Palace is not as big as Chengqian Palace, it is still not small. Ji Ling looked around and saw that he had put a lot of effort into placing the sixth elder brother and third princess, as well as their respective servants.
More than enough.
People from the Shengjing House of Internal Affairs presented all kinds of food and drink to Ji Ling, kowtowed to him, and then withdrew.
At Qixi's place, she and Evian had already replaced the bedding and beds with those brought from the Forbidden City. This time, they helped Ji Ling sit down and fetched hot water to wash her face and hands.
Ji Ling was sitting in the carriage. Although there were curtains, he had eaten a lot of dust on the road. After washing his face, he suddenly felt refreshed and his energy was much better.
The third princess was so excited when she arrived at a new place - a two- or three-year-old baby, when her desire for exploration is strongest, she took her grandma's hand and ran from front to back, and then from back to front. After a while, she was
He came and said to Ji Ling: "Mom, there are flowers in the backyard!"
Ji Ling nodded and said with a smile: "Okay."
The third princess twisted beside her for a while, then walked out on her two fat legs.
She brought Qilin's puppy to play. Qixi was afraid that she would drop the puppy, so she found a small basket for her. The third princess put the puppy in the basket and carried it around the house.
After Ji Ling had settled down, Qixi went out, sweating profusely, and began to clean up the rituals. There were too many rituals, so he had to clean them all up. By the time they were done, it was already dark.
Yinzhen's place has already served dinner, which is a Shengjing-style dish: pickled cabbage, mustard greens, soy sauce melon seeds, radish, pastry, millet porridge, sorghum fried noodles, millet fried noodles.
Ji Ling had never tasted these dishes before, so when he tried them, he found that the taste was unique and very different from what he had tasted in the Forbidden City.