Although it was not bright yet, with the sound of a drum, uniform soldiers on the east and west sides of Danqi had already set up ceremonial guards and were waiting in full formation. Flags were flying, horses were majestic, tigers and leopards bowed their heads, and the music of drums was loud.
As the second drum sounded, all the civil and military officials were waiting at the Meridian Gate, and Shang Baoqing and many attendants and guards had already arrived outside the Jinshen Hall to welcome the emperor who was serving his crown.
The three drums sounded, and all the civil and military officials, Chinese and foreign envoys, monks and Taoist elders who were supposed to attend today's canonization ceremony, and even the famous scholars and scholars who had gathered in the capital for the sutra banquet before, all took their places.
As for today's biggest protagonist, the Third Prince, it was at this time that he began to put on his complicated dress in the inner ear room of Fengtianmen. At first glance, his outfit was not too big compared to the set of crowns worn by the Third Prince yesterday.
Different, even the crowns are similar. The only difference is probably that the Xuan Yi Yu Shang and the jade gui in the hand are a little longer.
However, just this little difference is the goal that countless dragons and phoenix grandsons are fighting for. And he knows even more that when the eldest prince and the second prince are still alive, it is really difficult for him to enter the East Palace with his age and background.
He would become the target of countless people's criticism, not to mention that his two brothers would definitely be extremely angry, but since he agreed to his father, he was certainly determined.
Layers of clothes were put on, and leather belts and ribbon rings were tied one by one. When he finally put on the heavy crown, he felt that even his neck was so stiff that he could not move. He couldn't help but think of
He understood what Zhang Shou said to him unintentionally - if you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight. Therefore, when he saw this set of Crown Prince's crown yesterday, his heart was like a bright mirror.
The color of the prince's clothes is different from that of the prince, and this kind of dyed clothes cannot be produced by ordinary weaving shops. It must be made in advance by the Jiangnan Weaving and Dyeing Bureau, and such a fine and thick texture must be customized according to his stature.
All patterns must be in the specified position, and it is by no means a one-time effort.
If calculated according to the date when the father announced that he would be crowned prince, this Gunmian would not have been produced in a hurry. In other words, the father had already made up his mind much earlier.
How could this not make him frightened? How could it not make him deeply moved? How could it not make him swear to give his all?
As the beads of Mianqi were straightened out by the waiter and hung above his forehead, he heard the music and rituals outside, which indicated that the emperor had left the Jinshen Hall and headed for the Fengtian Hall. He immediately followed the guide.
Arrived at the door.
The drum music suddenly stopped, and the sound of the emperor's ascension to the Fengtian Palace came, followed by three more silent whips. The third prince felt as if the world between heaven and earth suddenly became silent. When he followed the leading four people into the east gate of Fengtian, he even
He was a little confused until the ritual music started playing again, and when he stepped onto the altar where he had prepared his prayers, his heart was pounding so hard that it almost jumped out of his throat.
Bow, bow and bow. Although the movements of kneeling and saluting are meticulous and no matter how strict the etiquette officer is, the third prince feels like a puppet on strings. His head is blank, and he seems to be enjoying himself outside.
He was completely unaware of it, relying solely on instinct to support all his movements.
At this moment, he suddenly heard a loud voice: "Control!"
The third prince almost subconsciously knelt on the ground again, but the moment he landed on his knees, he could tell who the voice was. When he looked up again, it turned out that it was not the Minister of Rites, but the Minister of War, Duke Zhu Jing of Zhao State!
"The imperial edict said: The prince is established to respect the ancestral temple and the country. He is not a private person, but is the public of the world. This method was used during the prosperity of Xia, Shang, Zhou, Han, Tang and Song Dynasties. The third prince, Zheng Rong, was smart, kind, filial and courteous to his friends, and he was enough to inherit the ancestral temple. On October 15th, the twenty-seventh year of Yongchen, he was established as the crown prince."
Hearing that simple eight-character comment, the third prince felt his heart tremble. It was not until the praising officer shouted that he prostrated himself that he woke up as if from a dream. He hurriedly bowed and thanked him, and then followed the leading officer step by step into the throne room of Fengtian Hall. Before, bow and bow again.
He knelt down and thanked him in a daze. It was not until the official who read the book read aloud the contents of the gold book that he was suddenly shocked. Even without raising his head, he could hear that this was Zhang Shou's voice! When he waited for the ceremony, When Bi stood up, he had just entered from the outside. After experiencing both cold and warm weather, he tried his best to steady his body and stand up straight, and then he met Zhang Shou's smiling face as always.
After reading the book, Zhang Shou presented the gold book in his hands to the scholar Confucius who was standing aside. Although the scholar Confucius has not yet been appointed as the chief minister, on this occasion, he replaced the emperor and awarded the gold book to the prince. The actual power of the prime minister is already obvious.
For such an honor, Academician Confucius should have felt very proud, but he saw that the person who read out the inscription on the golden book was actually Zhang Shou, and also saw that on this occasion, the third prince and Zhang Shou looked at each other and smiled, as if Everything was said without saying anything, but he felt extremely uncomfortable in his heart.
Especially when he thought that the emperor had not only added Zhang Shou to the East Palace Lectures and Readings recommended by the big guys like himself, but was even recommended by Zhang Shou and added Liu Zhiyuan, he felt very bad.
Therefore, when the third prince was awarded the golden book and treasure, he didn't even have to pretend to have a straight face. Seeing that the little prince had become the prince and no one cared about him in the past, he took the golden book and the golden treasure with both hands, and then handed them over solemnly. He handed over to the emissary on the side who was responsible for holding gold books and gold treasures, and then bowed down and thanked him again to the music of drums. He couldn't help but smile in his heart.
Even though the eldest prince and the second prince have all kinds of bad things, at least they are adults. But now the third prince is really too young - so young that if the emperor goes on a temporary tour or for other reasons, the prince must be left to supervise the country. The prince can only entrust all matters to the ministers. Moreover, he seems to be kind, courteous and thrifty, so he should be easier to deal with than the emperor.
In the eyes of the fourth prince, who was also wearing a crown and was so heavy that he had to keep a straight face, his third brother was a kowtowing bug today. From the very beginning when he was blowing the cold wind on Danqi and listening to the ceremony of canonizing the crown prince, he had been He was kneeling down and saluting. He even counted on his fingers out of boredom, and was shocked to find that people stood up and knelt down at least five times, and there were more than ten or twenty kowtows.
It is really not easy for the third brother to be the prince! After a while, he accompanied the third brother to Qingning Palace and the Second Palace, and he had to continue kowtow!
While the little naughty boy was feeling tired for his third brother, the third prince had already left the Fengtian Palace under the escort of the usher. He bowed again before paying homage to his throne, and then arrived at the east wing of the Fengtian Gate, preparing to visit the Queen Mother first. , and then go to visit the two palaces.
Now that the middle palace has no owner, Concubine Yu and Concubine He, as noble concubines, take care of the palace affairs together. Although to him, one is his concubine and the other is his biological mother, not the middle palace. Originally, he could go or not to visit according to the etiquette, but the emperor
Still made some changes to the etiquette system of the Ministry of Etiquette.
The emperor specially asked him to go to the two palaces to meet the two concubines, but the etiquette was reduced a little. For this, he was naturally extremely grateful. After all, he was so kind, not to mention that Concubine He always loved his son very much, Concubine Yu
Although he was cold and cold, he had never relied on the divine favor to look down on his mother and son. In the past, he even tried his best to defend her in front of the deposed queen. Of course, he was willing to take this opportunity to express his gratitude.
He was surrounded by people carefully selected by the emperor, so no one advocated that he, the prince, should take advantage of his entry into the East Palace to find a way to put his biological mother and concubine in the middle palace, so as to eliminate the possibility of his favorite concubine and his young son shaking the throne in the future.
But it is not like someone else has said this before. The person who said these words was none other than Liu Feng, who had caused the fourth prince to receive that beating before.
The third prince was thinking about whether to go to his father to expose this guy, but the next day the fourth prince's public case suddenly happened. He heard that Liu Feng was killed with a stick, and he regretted it. But if his father had come to him at that time,
If he went to the emperor to speak, it would inevitably mean passing the responsibility to the dead, so he finally remained silent, but at this moment he couldn't help but bring up the matter again.
Although the newly minted crown prince must first go to pay homage to the Queen Mother and the two noble concubines, Concubine Yu and Fei Fei, however, it is impossible for all the civil and military officials to disperse just like that, because before going to Hedong Palace, they have to escort the edict from Cedong Palace to the palace.
Reading begins outside the Meridian Gate. After all, here are gathered representatives of the Shuntian Prefecture's officials, citizens, and gentry who were carefully selected before the Shuntian Prefecture.
Although the hundreds of people gathered at the Meridian Gate at this moment are nothing compared to watching the Lantern Festival lanterns in Dong'anmen on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, but any smart person knows that compared to the Lantern Festival the Emperor
The drama of having fun with the people and aiming to promote peace in the world. The edict of canonizing the prince was issued in public at Meridian Gate today, so the meaning is naturally completely different.
But this time, the person who read out the edict of canonizing the East Palace was of course no longer Zhang Shou, but Mr. Wu Ge, who was commonly known as the emperor's yes-man.
Although this man was scolded behind his back by countless people in the past as a sinister and immoral person, when he actually read the imperial edict loudly, he was no less impressive than those officials from Honglu Temple who had been specially selected in the past and had loud voices.
What's even more rare is that he actually read the simple canonization edict with a sense of rhythm.
After finishing reading, Wu Ge's face was not red and out of breath, but he looked even more energetic. Especially after receiving a few compliments from Academician Zhang, he smiled even more freely.
"When I was young, I was timid, hesitant in speaking, and even worse in dealing with others. Later, I learned the hard way, so I went to a deserted place in the back mountain to recite poems and articles against the stone wall. Day after day, year after year, I finally became able to speak clearly and speak clearly.
Even in the college examination and the provincial examination, I have attracted the attention of the examiners. Today, the emperor asked me to read the edict of canonizing the East Palace. It is really like lightning."
Hearing that Mr. Wu Ge did not forget to praise the saint at this time, Academician Confucius frowned at first. But even though there were people around him who were as unfaithful to Mr. Wu Ge's yes-man nature as him, he could not hear those who were selected.
The monks, Taoists and elders from all over the capital were cheering and dancing there. Who would say something disgraceful at a time like this?
It's just following the trend of chanting saints. Praise to saints is the last thing to go wrong. Even though countless people are scolding Wu Ge behind his back for always being a yes-man, who doesn't want to replace this yes-man?
But Zhang Shou, who was standing in an inconspicuous position, couldn't help but think that even though all the civil and military officials were gathered today, it was not like the gathering of royal family members and daughters of various families like the Jingyan Festival, so he did not see Zhu Ying's shadow.
. But he still remembered that Zhu Ying told him with great air that she would definitely come to watch the canonization ceremony today.
In this case, where did he go? Could it be that he just peeked at the corner door of Fengtian Hall and that was all?
When Zhang Shouzheng thought this, he took the four princes to the Qingning Palace to meet the Queen Mother's new crown prince. After a series of ups and downs in the ceremony, when he finally entered the Qingning Palace where the Queen Mother was, he saw something extraordinary.
big occasion.
Unlike what he imagined, his biological mother, concubine and concubine Yu were all here. In addition, the concubines were gathered together, including many princesses. Among these people, the most conspicuous one was none other than Zhu Ying.
Because the third prince, the new prince, clearly remembered that his father had teased him and the fourth prince yesterday evening. Zhu Ying's outfit would definitely not be inferior to the weight of his crown prince. The fourth prince's
At that time, he was so curious that he asked, but his father gave the Jiuzhai Four Phoenix Crown as an example, and he immediately realized that his father had given Princess Zhu Ying the crown and clothes.
But now, although Zhu Ying's red shirt with large sleeves is bright and eye-catching, and the headdress in her hair is also shining with gold and jade, it is only the shape of a first-class lady. Even because she is not married yet, her bun is much simpler than that of a first-class lady.
Little did he know that the Duke of Zhao's Mansion had sent someone to urgently send a note signed by the Dowager to the Qianqing Palace last night. Chen Zhu Ying had accepted the imperial robe, but was unwilling to take it today. At this moment, the third prince could not help but stare at Zhu Ying.
He looked again and again until the person smiled broadly at him. Then he woke up as if from a dream and hurriedly bowed eight times under the guidance of the female officer.
"Young man Zheng Rong, I would like to express my gratitude to Her Majesty the Queen Mother for accepting the appointment."
This is an old rule when meeting the Queen Mother in the East Palace. For the Queen Mother, who has been a feudal princess and queen, she has seen her own son become a prince, and now she sees her grandson in the East Palace. She can say that she has mixed emotions. Especially...
The young man in front of her was not the one everyone expected, but now he looked as solemn as a young adult. She was reminded more and more of the two brothers who had been blessed amidst all the blessings.
There was nothing superfluous to say in the court ceremony, but the Queen Mother understood that the reason why Concubine Yu and Concubine He came to her unexpectedly today was simply because she did not want the Prince to go to her palace to thank her in person again, so after receiving the ceremony, she smiled and said: "You
Since the two mothers and concubines are here, you should also bow together."
The fourth prince, who was following the third prince, blinked his eyes and saw his mother, Concubine Jiang, winking at him, obviously telling him not to speak randomly. He couldn't help but be confused in his heart. Concubine Yu left it alone, but Concubine He went out of her way to come.
Come here, is it possible that Chengcheng doesn't want to personally have a few words with the third brother who has become the prince in his own palace when the third brother is awarded the title of prince?
However, he did not understand, but the third prince vaguely knew that his mother did not want to cause him any trouble. He respectfully bowed to Concubine Yu and Concubine He, but Concubine Yu came first and Concubine He took second place, just like the two of them.
His position in the palace when he was a concubine in the past. But immediately afterwards, he did not forget to salute the other concubines, including Concubine Jiang, with the same courtesy and humility as he did to Concubine Yu and Concubine just now.
Faced with such a gentle, courteous and thrifty new prince, who among the many concubines would not like it? Compared with the eldest prince and the second prince who have the character of the East Palace, the third prince becomes the prince. If they walk behind the emperor in the future, they will not be afraid of not being able to do anything good. It's over!
After thanking the concubines one by one, the third prince's eyes finally fell on the princesses. Now that the eldest prince and the second prince were condemned to leave the capital, he had no brothers, only these sisters. Therefore, he took a deep breath , and finally bowed deeply to the princesses including Zhu Ying solemnly and said: "My son, Zheng Rong, is hereby appointed. I am here today to express my sincere thanks to all the royal sisters for taking care of me for many years."