female concubine

In the early morning of Yuanchen, all the officials entered the palace early and waited. The emperor took his relatives to the ancestral temple to worship the ancestors, and then went to the altar to worship the heaven and the earth, praying for the blessings of the people in the world. , may God bless my Great Song Dynasty, the weather will be smooth, the country will be peaceful and the people will be safe."

Hundreds of officials gathered in the Daqing Hall. The time teller with a green official uniform at the entrance of the hall was responsible for recording the hour and telling the time with a wat board. When the bells and drums on the second floor sounded one after another, the officials wrote down two strokes on the wat board and said loudly: "You time just!"

The sun had not yet set, and all the civil and military officials were waiting in the Daqing Hall, and all the bureaus and divisions brought up dishes, snacks, and preserved fruits one by one.

"The holy driver is here!"

The emperor entered the palace wearing court clothes and holding a jade wat, and walked slowly from among the crowd to the front of the throne, followed by golden melon warriors in silver armor and holding golden hammers, who lined up on both sides of the throne after the emperor sat down.

The civil and military officials on both sides got up and left their seats, walked forward slowly to the center of the hall facing each other, turned around to face the Zhengbei emperor's throne, held the wat board in their hands horizontally above their heads for a moment, then pinned it to their waists, put their hands together to the top of their heads, and descended Kneeling Jishou, shouted in unison: "Hey, long live Your Majesty."

After receiving the emperor's signal, the officials took out the imperial edict and read it out, "Master, in the year when I was established, I obeyed the will of heaven and obeyed the hearts of the people. I have been in power for nineteen years. Di Lai’s offense, I’ve been punished by my relatives, for eleven years, I have settled the border, established the country forever, lest I lose the foundation of my ancestors, now I am old, the spring of heaven and earth, and the beginning of reform with the people, I hope you will remember that the monarch and his ministers are one, loyal to the emperor and love the people , Live up to the country, live up to the ancestors, achieve success and fame, and leave a mark on history."

All the ministers and workers bowed their heads again, "Ministers, please remember!"

At this point, the emperor raised his hand to signal the ministers to stand up.

"Feast!"

"Giving wine."

The crown prince led the group of officials, walked to the center of the hall, and raised their glasses to congratulate, "The heaven and the earth are in the same spring, congratulations to your majesty, and a long life without bounds."

"The prince has a heart."

Then Zhao Wang also raised his glass to the middle, raised his glass to the top of his head, knelt down and congratulated him, and said, "I wish your Majesty the new year, and may your majesty live the same life as the sky, and the country will last forever." After drinking all the wine, he got up and changed another glass Jiu Fu knelt down, "My son congratulates Daddy on Yuan Chen Daqing, wishing Daddy a long and healthy life."

Just as the emperor was about to raise his hand, he stroked his beard and laughed heartily, "It's my family, Saburo, who has a heart. Come, first reward King Zhao with hairpin flowers, Qianye Peony."

Since the beginning of the dynasty, hairpin flowers were popular among men of all walks of life, especially the scholar-bureaucrats, and then spread into the palace, so giving hairpin flowers has become a tradition of imperial banquets. Officials have different sizes, so flowers also have ranks. Zhao Wangxi At the tip of his eyebrows, he bowed down to thank him, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Song people loved peonies, so most of the hairpins bestowed by the emperor were peonies, and thousands of leaves of peonies were the most precious. Only the emperor and his clan could wear them as hairpins, so very few were given as rewards.

During the banquet, a waiter, Xiao Huangmen, quietly walked behind the throne of Chu, "Six kings, this villain is the adopted son of Zhao Duzhi. According to His Majesty's instructions, if the six kings are not feeling well, they need to toast. Just take good care of your body." Conveyed After finishing speaking, Xiao Huangmen said again: "Before the banquet started, His Majesty ordered the officials of the lower provinces to add cushions for you when they set up their seats. It was originally a decree to send all the rewards to the Chu Palace for you to rest at home, but the Spring Banquet It is extremely rare, and this is also the first time the prince has come back from Sichuan to participate, His Majesty has withdrawn his will after thinking about the relationship between father and son."

Such a father-son relationship, the king of Chu bowed his head and smiled, "I know, thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."

"The villain will step back first."

After Xiao Huangmen left, seeing that King Zhao was about to finish his congratulations, Xiao Youqing looked at King Chu, "My lord is not suitable for drinking at this time, the congratulations are still..."

Before she finished speaking, Wei Huan picked up a glass of wine in front of the table and sat up propped up, "This king is the prince of the country, how can I be rude."

Xiao Youqing frowned, and had no choice but to help her up, a person who hated etiquette the most, but at this moment stubbornly said that he did not want to lose etiquette.

"Is the concubine helping the prince over there?"

"No, this king is not that delicate."

In front of the throne, an eunuch ran to the side of the emperor, "Your Majesty, the rewards prepared by the foreign ministers have been delivered."

After presenting the gift, the emperor nodded, and when he was about to speak, he saw the king of Chu standing up with a drink in the seat below, so he frowned and looked at Zhao Ci, "Didn't I let you pass the message?"

"The villain has already asked the adopted son to convey it, and the six kings..."

"That's all." The emperor waved his hand.

The king of Chu picked up his wine glass and left his seat. He slowed down his pace in order not to reveal his flaws. He just forced himself to go as usual. However, the punishment was carried out in front of the Wende Palace. How could this news be concealed? Gongdu knew it well, and Xie Yuanli, who was in Zhongju, also knew about it.

If the thirty court sticks were half a point off to the waist, it would be enough to kill him. The King of Chu walked to the center of the main hall, raised his glass and knelt down slowly, "As a subject, I wish Your Majesty a long live forever, and Yongxing Sheji." The King of Chu drank the wine in the cup Still kneeling down, he bowed his head and said again: "As a son, my father begets me, and my mother bows to me. Raise me, raise me, raise me, take care of me, take care of me, come in and out of me, and want to repay my virtue." , Haotian Wangji. Fearing that there will be no reward for this life, I only wish to reduce my lifespan so as to prolong the life of my father and lord and protect the peace of the people in the world."

From King Chu's strenuous congratulations, the emperor got up from his seat and walked down slowly, approached her, leaned closer and whispered: "Since you were born, you have refused to even call your father. In your eyes, I am just So unbearable? I give you food and clothing, promise you prosperity, but you are still dissatisfied, what the hell are you," the emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, "what do you want to do?"

"Father's kindness in nurturing, I know I can't repay it, but no one has ever asked me whether it is what I want, never!" Wei Huan raised his head slightly and looked at the biological father in front of him. , there is no kindness in her, "I don't want to do anything, I just want to be an idle prince."

The emperor frowned and understood what she meant, "You don't want to serve in the court?" Her two elder brothers fought fiercely for this, but she, with the help of the founding father of Longde, still retreated.

"Your Majesty asked me to go back on New Year's Eve. I knew that I was taking care of the founding father. I don't understand government affairs, and I don't like these things. I only wish to use books as companions. If Your Majesty is still worried, I wish that the ancient Buddha with a green lamp will live forever."

The emperor straightened up and laughed suddenly, and all the ministers looked at him with doubts.

"What are your Majesty and King Chu talking about?"

"Seeing that His Majesty's eyes are red, it must be the words of the King of Chu that touched His Majesty's heart. After all, they are still father and son. They are cut continuously, and blood is thicker than water."

"Mr. Lu Wei told me that Liu Lang is smart, knowledgeable, and diligent in studying, and today he really is." The emperor smiled at the crowd, "It's not bad for young people to study more, but don't want to become a rotten scholar."

"What Your Majesty said, minister, remember it."

"Zhao Ci."

"The little guy is here."

"Qianye Peony!" The emperor stretched out a hand.

Zhao Ci presented the thousand-leaf peonies, and the emperor stretched out his sleeves, twisted up a bunch of flowers, and said to King Chu, "Liu Wang raised his head."

The king of Chu raised his head, and the emperor bowed down to replace the flowers with his own hands, which made all the officials stare.

"It seems that King Chu's appearance made His Majesty feel guilty, and it was a blessing in disguise."

"Sir, thank you, Your Majesty."

The king of Chu has a good appearance, and the emperor has seen countless people. This is the first time he has looked at her closely. Her eyes are bright, clean and penetrating, with a rare softness that neither the crown prince nor the king of Zhao have. .

But the emperor didn't like this gentleness. Whether it was true benevolence or false benevolence, she was very much like the deposed prince of the previous dynasty.

The crown prince on the side saw all of this, and while everyone was congratulating him, he just slightly raised the corners of his mouth and drank the wine in his hand.

"Your Highness, the cold is good, so drink less wine."

The prince put down the wine glass, turned his head and gave his wife a cold look, "I know my own body, so don't worry about it, the princess."

Putting the flowers on for his hairpin, the emperor put his hands on the jade belt and said with a satisfied smile, "Get up."

"Yes." The King of Chu bowed his head and got up immediately.

But kneeling for a long time made her weak, and it was very difficult for her to even stand up. After barely standing up with her legs propped up, she couldn't control the dizziness caused by the fatigue.

"My lord."

Fortunately, Xiao Youqing rushed over when the King of Chu was about to get up, so that the King of Chu did not fall to the ground, but leaned into her arms.

The emperor raised his eyebrows lightly, and ordered in a low voice: "Take him back to have a good rest after the hairpin flower ceremony is over, and the rest of the rewards will be sent to Chu Palace after the banquet."

"Yes, I would like to thank His Majesty for your understanding on behalf of the prince."

The emperor waved his hand, turned and walked back to the throne.

Seeing the emperor seated, the ceremonial and music officer waved his hand to play the music, and the hall sounded "the music of Zheng'an"

The emperor got up and said: "The festival of Gengshi is celebrated all over the world. I am happy with all of you. The ancestral rituals cannot be abolished. All the ministers have rewards, and they will be rewarded in order."

So the servants of the Ministry of Internal Affairs held up different numbers of Luohua and silk flowers according to their ranks, and walked to the ministers, Juren and the prince.

"Give flowers!"

The emperor, prince and important ministers are all worn by the eunuchs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, while other low-level officials and guards can only wear hairpins by themselves, and the number of flowers decreases according to the rank of the official position.

The prince and ministers are equal, with eighteen big flowers on hairpins and ten luanzhi flowers, down to the lowest rank officials, and the lowest rank is only two.

According to the usual practice in previous years, the emperor personally put flowers on the heads of the political affairs hall and the Privy Council to show the favor of the emperor.But this year's spring banquet, the emperor only wore hairpins for the king of Chu who had not yet left the court. He also gave flowers to the king of Zhao, and ignored the crown prince and his confidants who had already left the court. Duke Longde of the hairpin also failed this year.

All the ministers felt that this was a hint that the emperor wanted to break the rules set by Taizong and let the prince also take charge of the court.

After the hairpin is worn, it is to thank you. During the Taizong Dynasty, officials only had to bow their heads in their seats. Since the emperor of this dynasty ascended the throne, it was stipulated that all the thank you at the banquet should leave their seats and go to the middle of the palace to pay their respects. The emperor Jishou knelt down and thanked him.

After thanking him, the king of Chu got the holy will and left the table first.

"Your Highness, I will leave for a while."

The Crown Prince glanced at the Crown Princess, then at the empty square table next to King Zhao, and took a sip of his wine, "You really care about my younger brother."

"Your Highness, the concubine grew up in the deep palace since she was a child. After the empress left, how many people can speak?"

When the prince didn't answer, she regarded it as a tacit consent.

As soon as he left the hall, Wei Huan wanted to stretch out his hand to pull the Luo Hua on his hairpin. Seeing this, Xiao Youqing stopped him gently, "The hairpin is a ritual, and those who violate it will be corrected. I'll take it at home." She gently shook King Chu's hand again, "Your wife has a lot of eyes, so please be patient, okay?"

Concubine Chu's eyes are full of tenderness, even when she speaks, no matter how angry she is, it has now turned into a cloud of smoke, "Okay."

"Prince Chu, please stay."

The two supporting people were stopped, turned around, and the attendants who followed retreated to the sides, only then did they realize that it was the Crown Princess's person, and, the Crown Princess's.

"His Royal Highness?" Xiao Youqing was stunned.

"Your Highness, subject..."

"It's all like this, why are you still trying to do something you don't like?" This time the princess' tone was a little harsh, and she even asked a little bit.

King Chu lowered his head slightly, "Your Highness left the table openly, the crown prince..."

"You don't need to worry about this matter, you are such an adult, you still don't know how to take good care of yourself." Then he said to Princess Chu: "He has a stubborn temper, don't you want to stop him?"

"Don't blame her!" The King of Chu subconsciously stopped in front of Xiao Youqing, "It's the minister's own fault, and it's his wife's family."

The Crown Princess sighed, and then calmed down, "Seeing that the two of you are of the same heart, I am relieved a lot. Now that you have become a family, you are no longer alone. In the future, you should be more cautious and think twice. , think more about the people around you.”

"I understand, sir."

Then the female history of the princess presented a bottle of wound medicine.

"This is the imperial medicine of the Medical Officer's Academy to treat trauma, and it is useless to keep it in the East Palace."

"Sir, thank you, Your Royal Highness the Crown Princess."