On the third day of February in the thirty-first year of Hongwu, Princess Yining of North Korea went to Fengtian Hall to meet her. At this time, more than a year has passed since the imperial court canonized her as the lady of the East Palace of the Emperor's grandson.
The lotus flower stands outside the Meridian Gate, waiting for the call. The cold wind in winter is biting and blowing loudly across the vast square outside the Meridian Gate. Lotus is wearing a light blue Korean palace dress, the sleeves of the clothes are fluttering in the wind, and the wide train of the skirt is blown up and inspired, and it seems that it will be blown away by the wind at any time. Fatty Zhao shrank with the cold, but he didn't even dare to rub his hands.
The imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty is far from comparable to the Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. It is magnificent and solemn. The lotus flower looks at the Meridian Gate in the distance, with the palaces and palaces lined with warriors standing like ants; further away, the Fengtian Hall has double eaves and double ridges, and the glazed gold tiles shine golden in the morning sun.
Lotus suddenly felt that she was so insignificant. After traveling through mountains and rivers and going through hardships to get here, was it a blessing or a curse
After waiting for more than an hour, I finally heard the eunuch's announcement: "Princess Yining of the Joseon Kingdom, Zhao Pang, the Secretary of the Secret Service of the Joseon Kingdom, has an audience!" The first call came from the Fengtian Palace, and eunuchs continued to announce at intervals. The message came out of the Meridian Gate one by one, as loudly as in the ears: "Princess Yining of the Joseon Kingdom is announced, and Zhao Pang, the Secret Secretary of the Joseon Kingdom, has an audience!"
The two of them straightened their clothes and started solemnly. Entering the Meridian Gate, crossing the Inner Wulong Bridge, and passing through the Fengtian Gate is the Fengtian Hall. Along the way, Lotus walked, and couldn't help but think of the day when we set off from Gyeongbokgung Palace, countless Korean people were waving and calling: "Eternal friendship between the heavens!" "Heirs of Yongchang!", those eager shouts, that The sincere face and the waving arms all place full of hope on himself! North Korea must gain the friendship of China; and oneself must become the messenger of this friendship.
The morning sun shone obliquely on me from the east, and the lotus flower stepped into Fengtian Hall. How many people are willing to sacrifice their lives for this step? Will this step be successful
The Fengtian Hall is tall, majestic and resplendent, with hundreds of civil and military officials standing on both sides. The crowds of people are overwhelming, and the lotus flowers suddenly feel dizzy.
Slowly walked to the center of the Fengtian Hall, faced the Jinluan throne, and bowed down Yingying: "The humble minister Quan knows the state affairs of Korea, Li Dan, and the daughter Yining, long live my emperor, long live the emperor!" The voice was neither high nor low, gentle. It's pleasant to the ear, but it can't help but tremble a little.
Fatty Zhao also bowed down and said: "Pang Zhao, the humble minister of the state of North Korea, the secret secretary of the state of Korea, please bow to my emperor, long live the emperor!" He still had a stiff accent with a heavy curling tongue.
The emperor waved his hand, and the eunuch in charge of ceremonies preached: "No courtesy, get free!" Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the princess from North Korea. All the civil and military officials, eunuchs and guards also looked at it curiously.
Lian Hua is wearing a slightly thin Korean palace dress. Her temples are high and her hair is combed in a traditional Korean bun. A white jade hairpin is inserted into her hair. Her face, which has been lightly rouged and powdered, is a little red from the cold after standing outside the Meridian Gate for a long time. Her eyes are clear. The black and white are clear and clean, and the face is radiant and the figure is graceful. Although he couldn't hide his nervousness, he was not like the people from a small foreign country, who spoke appropriately and had a measured approach and retreat. From Zhu Yuanzhang to all the officials, they were shocked and relieved.
Zhuo Jing, the Minister of Household Affairs, was the first to stand up: "Congratulations to our Emperor! The small country of Korea has always respected our Ming Dynasty respectfully. This time, we pay tribute respectfully and the tribute is generous. Princess Yining has traveled thousands of miles and is sincere. It is really a tribute to our Ming Dynasty and Korea." Lucky for the country!"
Zhang Bing, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, also stood up and said: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! The world is at peace, the emperor is saintly and wise, and the country of Korea respectfully comes to pay homage and establish a long-lasting friendship with our country. This is truly a great event for our Ming Dynasty and Korea!"
All civil and military officials expressed their congratulations.
The Ming Dynasty was only thirty-one years old at this time, and there were not many diplomatic exchanges. The grand occasion of all nations coming to Korea came after Zheng He's voyage to the West more than ten years later; at this time, Korea and Siam (today's Thailand) and Ryukyu (today's Ryukyu Islands) ) Annan (now Vietnam) officially respected the Ming Dynasty as its suzerainty, and other small countries were unstable. Among the four vassal states, King Li Dan of Korea was the most respectful. From the beginning, he directly recognized himself as a vassal state, and then he claimed to have the right to know the state affairs of Korea. The other three countries are not so close. Therefore, North Korea paying tribute and sending princesses was a rare thing for the Ming Dynasty at this time. Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but feel that he was very dignified by the compliments of the officials. After all, if he was the only country, no matter how much he praised himself, it would be nothing more than self-importance. big.
Zhu Yuanzhang had read countless people in his life and had always been very good at recognizing people. At this time, he looked at Lotus with his sharp eyes and felt that this North Korean princess was really good, she was just beautiful. It was rare to be pure and simple, especially with such clean eyes. Then he asked with a smile: "It's hard work for the princess to come from a long distance. How long have you been on the road?"
Lianhua respectfully replied: "Yining set off from Seoul on March 29th of the 30th year of Hongwu."
Zheng Zheng explained on the side: "Later, he was kidnapped by the Mongols at Tielingwei. He arrived at Daning Prefecture, then passed through Peiping, and set off from Peiping on November 22."
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed: "It's been a hard journey, and it's not easy for the princess. The Mongolian ambitions have hurt the princess. The two ignorant people, King Yan and King Ning, have also made you suffer."
Lianhua still said respectfully: "Thanks to the grace of the Holy God, Yining has nothing to do, and the two princes treat Yining very well." Lianhua didn't know that Zhu Di and Zhu Quan took the initiative to become villains in the memorial, and told the truth at this time. Zhu Yuanzhang thought that she was deliberately maintaining the harmony between his father and son, and his favorable impression increased a little. He then asked: "I saw the Korean Tripitaka in the gift list. It is profound and profound. This is not easy. Is Buddhism prevalent in Korea?"
Lianhua replied: "Thanks to the great blessing of the Buddha, Buddhism is prosperous in Korea and there are many Buddhist disciples. Yining also converted since childhood."
"Oh, are you a disciple of Buddhism?" Zhu Yuanzhang heard this interestingly: "I also became a monk and became a monk."
"The Mongols were tyrannical, but thanks to His Majesty's majestic talent and strategy, the people were saved from hanging upside down. What His Majesty did was exactly the Buddha's compassionate heart. I, the people of Korea, are extremely grateful to His Majesty, and many people worship His Majesty's statues. The people worship Your Majesty as they worship Guanyin Bodhisattva."
Lotus's remarks are not entirely flattering. You must know that during the Yuan Dynasty, North Korea (called Goryeo at the time) was a vassal state of the Yuan Dynasty. It not only had to pay tribute of food, cloth and silver, but also provided military bases, sea ports and even ships and navy crews, which was extremely exploitative. Moreover, the Mongolians have a narrow racial concept and treat other ethnic groups except Mongolians as untouchables, and they are not ordinary discrimination against the Koreans; in the 98th year of the Yuan Dynasty, they oppressed the Koreans for more than a hundred years. It was not until the Ming Dynasty drove Gu Yuan to Mobei that North Korea escaped the despotic power of the Mongols. The Ming Dynasty treated North Korea very generously. As mentioned earlier, the northeastern part of the Korean Peninsula was allocated to North Korea and never asked for anything. Politically, it treated North Korea as an equal. Therefore, the gratitude of the Korean people to Ming Dynasty is real. As for whether the common people worshiped the emperor's portrait, there is no way to verify it and I dare not lie.
Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy to hear this: "Guanyin Bodhisattva is not worthy of me. I have been working hard to make the people live and work in peace and contentment." Every day, he only heard compliments from his own countrymen. Now he heard that Koreans from far away in the northeast corner also worshiped him. It felt really different. .
Lotus said respectfully: "The wise Lord is a blessing to the people of China and North Korea."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the lotus and said with a smile: "North Korea has the "Korean Tripitaka", and I, the Ming Dynasty, also have the Tripitaka. I heard that they call it "Hongwu Nanzang", which is located in Tianxi Temple in Yingtian Mansion. The princess can go and read it when she has time. , how about comparing your Korean Tripitaka?"
Lian Hua couldn't help but feel a little excited: "Thank you, Your Majesty, this is the Buddhist fate that we Buddhist disciples are looking forward to."
Zhu Yuanzhang was a little happy when he saw that she couldn't restrain her happiness. He turned his head and shouted, "Yunwen, remember? When will you find time to take the princess to Tianxi Temple?"
"Yes", Zhu Yunwen replied with one word, looking at the lotus quietly.
Ever since he guessed yesterday that the girl he met by chance in Langya Temple was Princess Yining, Zhu Yunwen was very excited and felt that God was treating him too kindly. Princess Yining has been talking about this for more than a year, wondering what she is like. It turns out that she is tens of millions of times better than she imagined! The dreamy girl they met in the snow at Langya Temple was actually her! I really don’t know how many lifetimes it took to achieve such blessings? Zhu Yunwen lay awake all night and went to court early this morning, waiting for Princess Yining to come to the palace. Full of anticipation, I felt that time was extremely slow until I saw her walking into the palace door wearing the sun, watching her chatting with the imperial grandfather; my heart kept beating. At this time, I heard that the emperor asked me to take her to Tianxi Temple. I thought about my future happiness and wanted to tell her a thousand words.
However, in the Jinluan Palace, before the emperor and his officials, they only responded with this faint "yes".
Lian Hua kept looking up at the emperor intently, and even Zhuo Jing and Zhang Bing did not move their heads or move their heads when talking to the officials. It wasn't until he heard the emperor calling "Yunwen" that he moved his eyes slightly and quickly glanced at the emperor's grandson beside the emperor. But I saw the emperor's grandson wearing an apricot-yellow dragon robe, with a long body and a jade-like figure. His expression was gentle and elegant, and his smile was familiar and amiable. But he was not the Mr. Zhu whom he met by chance in Langya Temple the day before yesterday.
Lianhua felt dizzy for a while, and her first reaction was to reach out and rub her eyes to see clearly. With great difficulty, he held back, turned his gaze away, lowered his head, and his heart was so panicked that he wanted to jump out of his chest.
Zhu Yunwen saw it and felt excited in his heart: She recognized me! I couldn't help but feel a burst of ecstasy.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw Zhu Yunwen and Lianhua looking flustered, thinking that it was their first meeting and they were embarrassed. After looking at the two people, they were both slender and fair, gentle and elegant, especially their eyes were clear and bright. They were truly a match made in heaven, and Long Yan couldn't help but be overjoyed.
Zhu Yuanzhang gave a few instructions to Wang Zhi behind him. Wang Zhi looked surprised, then calmed down, stepped forward and announced: "Princess Yining has accepted the title!" After a pause, he said: "Princess Yining of North Korea, she is gentle, gentle, dignified and intelligent, and she has come all the way to build a strong friendship between the two countries. , I will immediately confer you the title of Emperor Taisun East Palace Talent, I highly recommend you!"
It turns out that the ladies who were granted the title of Lotus were of the lowest rank, and the higher ones were the selected attendants, Zhaorong, Beauty, Zhaoyi, Jieyu, and the talented ones; and the higher ones were the concubines and noble concubines. Such a letter from Zhu Yuanzhang made the lotus jump several levels, second only to the concubine Ma Shuyi in the East Palace. The enfeoffment of concubines was originally a matter for the harem, but Zhu Yuanzhang actually announced the decree in the Fengtian Palace, and even treated North Korea with high standards.
Lian Hua was stunned and hurriedly bowed down to thank him: "Thank you, my emperor, long live the emperor." Fatty Zhao also bowed down and thanked him.
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand: "Bring the almanac." Wang Zhi bowed and presented the almanac, trying to figure out the emperor's intention and said softly: "The twentieth of this month is a good day, a good day to get married."
The emperor took one look, laughed and said, "Okay, we will marry Princess Yining of North Korea in the East Palace on February 20th! Everyone, come and have a wedding drink!" Zhu Yuanzhang was frugal by nature, so it was rare for him to be so cheerful and generous.
All the officials cheered and congratulated in unison. The emperor's grandson Zhu Yunwen blushed, but could not restrain his joy. Lotus lowered his head and did not dare to move.
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the officials and said: "Dong Cao Guo!"
Li Jinglong responded and said, "I'm here!"
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Princess Yining has come all the way, but she is a bit lonely in our Ming Dynasty. When you get married, you should go out from your natal family. Princess Yining's surname is Li, how about you recognize me as a sister?"
Li Jinglong was overjoyed: "Thank you Lord for your kindness!" He immediately walked up to Lotus, bowed his hands, and shouted affectionately: "Xian sister!" The emperor obviously liked this Korean princess today. If you become a talented person, you will undoubtedly become the imperial concubine in the future. Suddenly there was a princess sister in Li Jinglong's palace, and the future emperor became his brother-in-law. Riches and honors descended from heaven, and nothing could stop her.
All the officials were surprised and quickly congratulated him. Some people regret that their last name is not good, but it is too late to regret it now.
Lianhua was also stunned for a moment, and then saluted Li Jinglong with a smile: "Brother!" Seeing Li Jinglong's majestic appearance and friendly smile, she was really happy. Just thinking of Cao Min made me feel sour again. Zhu Yunwen kept looking at Lianhua and felt happy when he saw her happy.
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand: "Mr. Cao Guo, Princess Yining can leave this to you. Today is the third day of February. In seventeen days, my Zhu family will come to your Mansion to marry Cao Guo Gong. You must prepare the dowry! This coming from North Korea The tribute is not yours. If the princess enters the East Palace and lacks anything, I will settle the account with you."
Li Jinglong agreed repeatedly. Cao Guogong's family is very wealthy. Although it only lasts for more than ten days and the time is a little rushed, it is not difficult to prepare a decent dowry with the Li family's wealth.
When Lotus came down from Fengtian Palace, he moved directly to Cao Guogong's mansion, and Haishou and Zhien followed him into the mansion. Fatty Zhao was overjoyed and eager to return to Seoul to report the news. Lianhua was also afraid of the worries of everyone waiting, so she let Fatty Zhao return to North Korea. Lianhua wrote a letter to the king and her mother, repeatedly asking Fatty Zhao to reassure her mother after returning to Seoul. Li Jinglong was very considerate and arranged silk, porcelain and various gifts for Fatty Zhao to bring back. Lianhua was grateful and settled in the Li Mansion with peace of mind.
Zhu Yunwen returned to the East Palace, thinking about everything today, his heart seemed to fly with joy. Thousands of miles of marriage are connected by a thin thread. The encounter at Langya Temple is fate, and it is even more miraculous that the emperor's grandfather likes her so much.
Everything was so perfect at this time, Zhu Yunwen simply couldn't believe his luck. And later stories proved that he really shouldn't believe it.