Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 42: Grandma Kong

I have to say that the people in the Imperial Observatory were quite skilled. They selected the day months in advance, and the weather was clear and sunny on the day of the enthronement.

When Zhao Xing arrived at the Taimiao, the sun was just rising. The orange-red sunlight shone down, refracting through the glazed tiles of the buildings around the Taimiao, looking very gorgeous.

In the center of the square outside the Temple of Heaven, an altar rose from the ground, with civil and military officials standing on the left and right of the altar, leaving an aisle covered with a red carpet in the middle.

The official stood in front of the steps for the sacrifice. Zhao Xing walked on the red carpet step by step to a position slightly in front of the official, stopped, and then knelt on the ground.

The Minister of Rites came to the front with the imperial edict in his hand, unfolded it and read: "The edict says: I have inherited the noble mandate, and my benevolent grace and honor have brought prosperity to all. The country is blessed by the way of heaven, and is prosperous with the sun and the moon. The grain and silk are piled up, and it is prosperous. My eldest son Zhao Xing is the first heir of the royal family. He is gifted and beautiful, and has noble character. He is the will of heaven. I hereby strictly abide by the initial edict, review the ceremonies, and follow public opinion. I hereby inform the heaven and earth, the ancestral temple, and the country that I will grant you the imperial seal and seal, and make you the crown prince, and take the throne of the East Palace, to strengthen the rule for thousands of years and to satisfy the hearts of the people. Announce it to the world, so that everyone will know it!"

Although Zhao Xing was not the eldest, his older brothers all died young, and according to the rules, their order did not count, so he was the eldest son.

Imperial edicts are generally divided into three types: imperial edicts, decrees, and imperial orders.

As the name suggests, an edict is to announce to the world, usually important political affairs, or the emperor's succession to the throne, the enthronement of the empress and the crown prince.

Zhao Xing knelt three times and kowtowed nine times, then took the prince's enthronement edict and the golden seal and handed them to Sanshui behind him. Then he turned around and accepted the worship of all the officials.

All the civil and military officials knelt down and shouted in unison: "The East Palace has been opened. Congratulations to your Majesty and your Highness the Crown Prince. May the Song Dynasty last forever!"

Although kneeling was not a popular ritual in the Song Dynasty, people still had to kneel and worship when the crown prince was enthroned or the emperor ascended the throne.

This bow determined the status between the ruler and his subjects.

Although Zhao Xing was a prince before, the prince was still a subject, while the crown prince was the heir to the throne.

Zhao Xing extended his hand and made a gesture of support, saying, "No need to be polite, gentlemen!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!" After expressing his gratitude, the civil and military officials stood up.

The emperor looked at Zhao Xing and said with a smile, "Fuer, follow me to offer sacrifices to the heaven."

"Yes!"

Zhao Xing bowed and responded, then followed his father onto the altar.

Ancient emperors all claimed that they were appointed by heaven, so enthroning a crown prince naturally required offering sacrifices to heaven.

If the emperor ascended the throne, he would early choose a Feng Shui site outside the city to build an altar.

However, Zhao Xing only wanted to enthrone the crown prince, so there was no need to go through so much trouble. He simply built an altar in the square outside the Taimiao.

Climbing onto the altar, under the supervision of the director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, the father and son completed the tedious ceremony of offering sacrifices to the sky, and finally inserted the incense into the large cauldron in the center of the altar.

After offering sacrifices to heaven, it is time to offer sacrifices to ancestors. In the past, when Zhao Xing offered sacrifices to his ancestors, he could only kneel and wait outside the door. Now that he has become the crown prince, he is qualified to follow his father into the main hall of the Taimiao.

The main hall of the Taimiao is not luxurious, but rather very simple, with more than ten seats enshrined.

His father is the fourth emperor of the Song Dynasty and is still alive. Normally, there are only three emperors.

However, people in ancient times liked to confer titles posthumously. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, a large number of ancestors were posthumously conferred the title of emperor.

After offering sacrifices to the ancestors, Zhao Xing followed his father to offer incense to the empresses of the royal family and the ministers who were enshrined in the Taimiao in the left and right side halls.

By the time everything was done, it was already past noon.

A banquet had been set up in the Jiying Hall, and after the banquet, the enthronement ceremony was completed.

……

After the banquet, Zhao Xing returned to Renming Hall, changed into his crown and robes, and went to the main hall in casual clothes.

"Youth pays homage to the Queen Mother!" Zhao Xing bowed.

"The prince is here." Empress Cao looked at Zhao Xing and said with a smile, "He looks much more energetic in his prince's clothes."

"Mother, please stop teasing me." Zhao Xing said.

"Haha, come and sit down." Queen Cao waved her hand.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xing stepped forward and had a eunuch bring a soft stool and place it next to Empress Cao.

After sitting down, Zhao Xing bowed and said, "Mother, I will be moving to Yongning Palace soon." Empress Cao said reluctantly, "Are you in such a hurry to move out? Although I am not your biological mother, I have always treated you as my own child. Are you so cruel?"

She had no children in her life, and Zhao Xing had been raised by her for many years. She treated Zhao Xing as her own son from the bottom of her heart.

"Mother, I am getting older and it is not appropriate for me to continue living in the harem. I know all your kindness to me. In my heart, there is no difference between you and my biological mother." Zhao Xing said.

This was not just a polite remark. People are all made of flesh and blood. Empress Cao treated him as her own son, so how could he not feel it?

Apart from anything else, the Cao family also had women of marriageable age, but Empress Cao never mentioned that he should marry one from the Cao family.

Zhao Xing accidentally learned that Cao An's wife, Xin, had mentioned when she entered the palace to meet Empress Cao that she wanted to make a girl from the Cao family a concubine for Zhao Xing, but was rejected by Empress Cao.

If the girl from the Cao family became a concubine, with her aunt, Empress Cao, she would be able to compete with the Crown Princess.

Empress Cao refused because she was worried about this.

For Zhao Xing, she completely gave up the interests of the Cao family. How could Zhao Xing not be moved?

"My mother understands what you said. However, even if you move to Yongning Palace, you are still in the palace. You must wake up in the morning and sleep at night. Otherwise, don't blame me for having someone bring you back." Queen Cao said with a smile.

She also knew that Zhao Xing was getting older and it was impossible for him to stay with her forever, but it was inevitable that a woman would be sentimental at times like this.

But she is the queen after all, and she knows the importance of things.

"Don't worry, mother. I will not only take care of you in the morning and evening, but I will also come to talk to you often during your rest time. I'm just afraid that you will get annoyed by then." Zhao Xing said with a smile.

"You are just sweet-talking. If that's the case, I would love it."

Empress Cao cursed with a smile, looked at the eunuch Zhu beside her, and said, "Call the people in."

"Yes!"

Nei Guan Zhu responded and gestured to a young eunuch. Upon hearing this, the young eunuch hurried out through the side door and soon led in an old lady who looked to be in her fifties.

"Greetings to the Queen Mother and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" the old nanny bowed.

"No gift!"

Empress Cao waved her hand, looked at Zhao Xing and said, "This is Nanny Kong, a female official in the palace. In her early years, she was responsible for teaching the new palace maids etiquette and manners, and later she taught the selected ladies etiquette and manners. When you move to Yongning Palace, someone will have to take care of everything. Nanny Feng is good at managing food and clothing, but she is not good enough in other aspects. Nanny Kong attaches great importance to rules and is very methodical in doing things. I can rest assured to let her take care of it for you."

Zhao Xing was stunned when he heard this. Isn't this the Nanny Kong who taught the three girls of the Sheng family the rules?

However, according to the original plot, it is still many years before she leaves the palace. It is normal for Empress Cao to arrange her to help Zhao Xing manage the palace maids and eunuchs.

Zhao Xing moved out of Renming Palace and set up his own household. The palace maids and eunuchs all needed someone to take care of them, and since he was not married, he naturally needed someone mature and steady to take care of them.

Palace maids and eunuchs also have to rely on seniority. Madam Kong was a female official during the reign of the late queen, and was also responsible for the training of palace maids and eunuchs, so she is also a veteran in the palace.

"Thank you, Queen Mother!"

Zhao Xing looked at Madam Kong and said, "I'll have to trouble you in the future, Madam Kong."

"Your Highness, I am sorry to trouble you." Madam Kong bowed and said, "These are what I am supposed to do."

"Take all the people who served you before, including Nanny Feng and Eunuch Li, with you. I have also had people pick out twenty palace maids and ten young eunuchs to serve you." Queen Cao said.

Nanny Feng and Eunuch Li were both elderly people serving Empress Cao. After Zhao Xing moved in, the palace maids who served him were taken care of by the two of them.

In addition, Zhao Xing had fifteen palace maids and five eunuchs to serve him.

This is because he lives in Renming Palace, and these seventeen people are only responsible for taking care of his daily life, and other things are done by other people.

Now that Zhao Xing has moved away, the number of people serving him will naturally increase.

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(End of this chapter)