After Su Peisheng finished his errand and exited, Ji Ling took a look at the things Yinzhen had given him - most of them were specialties from Shengjing, and there were many unique gadgets among them. It looked like they were also for the third princess and the sixth elder brother.
They are all small things and not difficult to carry.
She asked the third princess to come over and choose, and the ones she picked would be taken with her. If she didn't pick the ones, she would put them back as they were, and wait for the Shengjing Internal Affairs Office to arrange for someone to send them back to the palace in the Forbidden City.
On the second day, the emperor set off from the palace in Shengjing.
In Shengjing City, the whole city was sealed. It was still dark before dawn. The Shengjing Eight Banners Army held torches and stationed from the city to outside the city until they were twenty miles outside the city gate. Both sides of the road were lined with guards of honor.
The fire is blazing. If someone stands on the Phoenix Tower at the highest point of the Shengjing Palace and looks down, he can see that the city's ceremonial guards are like a long dragon, outlining a bright shadow of light and fire, extending all the way out of the city gate.
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In Linzhi Palace, the luggage had been packed a long time ago, and the Shengjing Internal Affairs Office had already picked it up at night and affixed a seal.
At this time, Ji Ling was wearing a slightly loose flag dress and leaned back on the chair. Qixi was combing her hair, and Evian was holding a jewelry box next to her and stroking Qixi.
Qixi combed her hair and saw her master's head drooping.
Qixi knew: the master was too sleepy - the third princess rode the unicorn as a pony last night, and accidentally fell off the unicorn's back.
Fortunately, there were many servants serving him, and I was able to help him with his eyes and hands. Although he didn't fall anything, it still shocked the third princess and made her cry on the spot.
She lay on the small bed with tears in her eyes, crying and unable to fall asleep. As a result, her master persuaded and coaxed her for a long time until midnight before she returned to her house.
After sleeping for two hours, the master has to get up to wash up and get ready. Can you not feel sleepy?
The master has no choice - to pay homage to Changbai Mountain and leave the palace in Shengjing, these are all important events and cannot be delayed even a little bit. Besides, the time of departure was set by the Qintian Supervisor, who asked the emperor about everything.
It’s good to get good luck.
In the palace in front, I heard from Xiao Fenzi that the emperor had been preparing to set off since early in the morning.
Evian was beside her, reaching out to support Ji Ling's shoulders and holding her head, asking Qixi to seize the time to comb her hair.
After that, Ji Ling lay down on the dressing table and took a nap. In the end, even breakfast was useless. Qixi ordered the dining room to pack food boxes and bring them to the carriage to prepare for eating on the road.
A total of three carriages are allocated to Linzhi Palace.
Ji Ling took Qixi, nanny, wet nurse, sixth brother, and the third princess in one car.
Bixue, Evian, Xiao Dazi and others followed in a small carriage. The last one carried a small part of the luggage. Xiao Yoko sat in the last one specially to look at things.
Xiao Fenzi is the busiest, looking back and forth unsteadily.
He put one hand on the roof of the carriage and watched the master and the young masters get into the carriage. Then he put his hand down, breathed a sigh of relief, hit his shoulders and back, and looked at the sky.
The sky is still dark.
In the carriage, Ji Ling turned around and sat down. One of the wet nurse and the nanny held the sixth brother and the other held the third princess. Qixi bent at the door of the carriage and reached out to help them up one by one.
After everyone was seated, Qixi lowered the car door curtain.
Ji Ling lifted the car curtains and looked outside - it was still noisy outside.
It was dark, so I couldn't see it, so I had to rely on the palace lanterns held by the eunuchs and maids. This was at the entrance of the palace. Not far outside was the escort, everyone holding torches.
Apart from the emperor and empress, she was the first to be served by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and boarded the car, and by this time she was already seated securely.
But as far as the eye can see, there are still many concubines. Even their carriages have not come over. They can only stand aside and wait, watching the people from the Shengjing Internal Affairs Office lead the carriages over in order of rank.
Qixi took out the breakfast box, filled another bowl of porridge for Ji Ling, and said softly: "Master, please take your time. Looking at this situation, it will take a while before we can set off."
The third princess and the sixth brother were lying on top of the wet nurse and the nanny, sleeping soundly, with small breathing sounds coming and going.
Ji Ling lifted the quilt for them, and then took the bowl. After finishing her breakfast, she closed her eyes again and leaned against the wall of the carriage for a while, feeling that she was about to fall asleep.
When the carriage came, it swayed slightly and rushed forward.
The large army set off.
This time I said I was worshiping Changbai Mountain, but I didn’t actually go to the foot of Changbai Mountain. I just walked in that direction. When I got close to the sacred mountain, I knelt three times and kowtowed nine times.
He did not intend to delay on the road to Yinzhen. Except for necessary stops and rests at several places he passed, although local officials greeted him respectfully, he did not interfere with anything else.
In the capital, memorials would be delivered to the emperor by express, waiting for Yinzhen's instructions before being sent back to the officials of various ministries for them to handle them according to the instructions.
During the eastward patrol, all necessary items, such as tents, bedding, pots and stoves, and tableware, must be transported with the team.
Countless vehicles, mules and horses followed the large army along the way, and there were also convoys and laborers from various places responsible for supplying rice, noodles, and fresh vegetables.
This is not over yet. At the end of the team, there are people driving cattle and sheep for milking on the way, or for slaughtering at any time for cooking.
One can imagine the speed of such a mighty team with flags flying.
Not to mention that after Shengjing, there is still a stretch of road beside the Liao River, and the terrain is low-lying.
This section of the road made the carriage very bumpy.
Even the third princess, who was usually the most naughty, held her little hand honestly, sat on the carriage seat, pursed her lips and said nothing.
Ji Ling took the sixth brother from the wet nurse and held him on her knees the whole time. The flesh on the sixth brother's face was shaken and trembled.
Ji Ling herself almost felt motion sick and vomited.
It is said that the road we are passing through was called Liaoze in the Tang Dynasty.
The ambitious Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was once hindered in using troops here; in the Ming Dynasty, when the emperor built the Liaodong border wall, he had no choice but to bypass this area.
Waiting until Nurhaci sent troops to Liaoxi - he knew that this was an unavoidable problem and had to be solved, so he spent a lot of effort to build a three-foot-wide dirt road.
Knowing that the emperor was heading towards Changbai Mountain, local officials had already spread yellow sand and sprinkled water on it. Even after the carriage drove past, the sky was still filled with frightening yellow sand, almost like a sandstorm.
Ji Ling asked Qixi to seal all the curtains of the carriage, and covered the mouths and noses of the sixth brother and the third princess with silk scarves. The third princess was choked and coughed uncontrollably.
Ji Ling held both children in his arms and covered their faces with his sleeves.
After passing this section of the road, everyone in the carriage was breathing heavily. Ji Ling stretched out his hand and wiped the window edge of the carriage, and saw a layer of yellow sand on his fingertips, as if it had not been cleaned for ten and a half months.
