Nan Yan frowned tightly, looking at the abnormal birthmark.
After a long time, she let out a long breath.
But taking this breath was not to relax, but as if something was acquiescing in the bottom of her heart, she stretched out her hand, and gently held Xiaoxin Ping's chubby little hand.
"It's okay, it's okay."
She murmured, as if she was speaking to a child, but also as if she was speaking to herself.
"It will be all right."
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Because King Ning's residence was originally in the middle of Beiping and Tianjin, the emperor's imperial driver traveled northward for about half an hour and arrived at Beiping City.
In the distance, the outline of Beiping City was already seen on the vast snow field.
Nan Yan raised the curtain and looked ahead.
When I left, it was not on such a huge scale. Looking at it now, Beiping City is more than double the size of what I saw before. It is like a crouching lion, crawling on the snowy field. Just looking at it from a distance is breathtaking. fear.
Beiping used to be just a border town, but now it is the capital of the country, it should have such an imposing manner.
Perhaps it was this majestic spirit that gave Nanyan some strength.
Her heart also became a little more stable.
Bowing his head and hugging the excited Xiaoping, who kept thumping and poking his head out the window, he said softly, "We will definitely be able to pass this hurdle."
Under the city gate of Beiping, all the officials who were performing official duties here before, and the officials who later moved to the north all gathered here, and the ostentation was even bigger than the ostentation when King Ning met him in Tianjin.
Above and below the city, colorful flags are fluttering, and guards are lined up.
Some foreign envoys are also here.
And Nanyan saw one of the flags belonging to the country at a glance.
People from the country, they are here too!
Who is it
Of course, as the king of a country, it is impossible for Monk to come; and judging from some information received before, a delicate balance and competition relationship has also formed between Monk and Azlan.
At such an important moment, Azlan should not dare to leave the border.
It's a pity that it's too far away now, and there are too many people, I really can't see clearly.
Nan Yan thought for a while, then called out through the curtain: "Ye Zheng."
After a while, Ye Zheng rode his horse and followed.
"What are your orders, Ma'am?"
Nan Yan said: "Go and ask, among the envoys from various countries who came to celebrate the emperor's move of the capital this time, who is the envoy sent by the Kingdom of Tan?"
"yes."
Ye Zheng agreed, and immediately the sound of horseshoes galloping forward came from outside.
After a while, Yujia stopped in front of the city gate.
Nan Yan heard the voice of shouting "Long Live" outside, so it was naturally Zhu Feng who got out of the golden chariot to accept the worship of the ministers and the common people.
After the pilgrimage was over, the ministers and the common people all followed Yujia into the city gate and continued on their way.
The one to go is the Great Sacrifice Altar in the south of the city. Walking halfway, Ye Zheng's horse's hooves sounded again, and he returned to Nanyan's car.
He said softly outside the window: "Imperial concubine, I heard that the envoy sent by Tan Kingdom this time is an important minister named Mandu."
"Master Mandu?"
Nan Yan frowned, and that familiar face immediately appeared in her mind.
This man was the man who almost became Princess Tana's husband-in-law.
This time the country sent him on a mission...
Nanyan took a deeper breath.
After Ye Zheng outside finished his report, he saw that there was no movement inside for a long time, so he asked softly, "Your Majesty, is there anything wrong?"
"It's nothing." Nan Yan thought for a while, and said, "Someone have to watch him."
"yes."
Ye Zheng immediately passed on the message.
Around, horseshoes burst.
Nanyan listened to the sound of the wheels bumping against the brand new ground, as well as the dense sound of horseshoes, her heartbeat gradually became faster, even though she kept telling herself to calm down, but, Seeing that the Great Sacrificial Altar is just ahead.
Who can calm down again
Finally, their carriage stopped outside the altar.
Here, quite a few common people have already gathered to watch the ceremony. When they saw the emperor's golden car stop, all the people knelt down to the ground and shouted long live.
Zhu Feng stepped out of the golden car.
He was wearing a bright yellow robe, fluttering in the wind.
The wind here is much harsher than before, probably because there are no tall buildings around here that can't resist the cold wind, but he doesn't feel cold at all.
Especially when you see the avenue under your feet, the bluestone slabs are flat and spacious, leading directly to the front.
There is the outer altar.
In the distance, you can see the winding corridor leading to the Beamless Hall of the Zhai Palace, the Kagura Department on the other side, and a large area of connecting rooms.
And behind this building, several majestic halls can be faintly seen standing.
In the distance, the glazed green tiles on the top of the main hall are shining brightly in the sun.
Those are the three main halls of the Great Sacrificial Altar.
They are the main hall dedicated to the spiritual tablets of the ancestors of the past dynasties, the jade dishes of the royal family members, and two side halls dedicated to the royal family members who came to worship.
And behind the three main halls is the great sacrificial altar for sacrifices.
There are some other buildings around, and Zhu Feng only briefly looked at the blueprints. Today, it was the first time that all this was truly presented in front of his eyes.
He took a deep breath and said, "Let's go."
"yes."
The guards on both sides immediately came forward and helped him and the queen get out of the golden carriage, and the concubines at the back also got off the carriage one after another.
Officials on both sides cleared the way, and they walked forward slowly.
After a while, they came to the main hall where the spirit tablets of the ancestors were enshrined.
However, because we have to sacrifice to heaven and earth first, we can't come here to sacrifice to our ancestors in a hurry. We can only come here after we go to the altar and sacrifice to heaven and earth.
Zhu Feng only took a brief look, and then let everyone go to the side hall on the other side.
After all, starting from King Ning's annex early in the morning, everyone was bumpy and hard along the way, so they had to rest here and recharge their spirits, so as not to make mistakes in the sacrifice for a while.
As for Zhu Feng himself, he went to the Emperor's Palace.
Naturally, it is necessary to change into the clothes specially used for sacrifices, and to confirm all the steps of today's sacrifices with the ritual officer.
For such a big matter, one step cannot be wrong.
Nan Yan followed the queen and other concubines to the side hall to rest.
But after a while, she got up and walked out.
Xiao Shunzi, who was serving at the door, said softly, "Where is the imperial concubine going?"
Nan Yandao: "The hall is a bit boring, I want to go out for a walk."
"Your Majesty, please be careful, it's almost time now, so don't miss the time for offering sacrifices."
"I know."
Nan Yan nodded, left the side hall, and walked forward along the long corridor.
After a while, I arrived at another hall.
Here is where the royal genealogy and jade plates of royal family members are placed.
As soon as he walked to the door, the guards here came forward: "The imperial concubine? Greetings to the imperial concubine."
Nan Yan raised her hand calmly: "Get up."
The guards stood up, and said with some doubts: "Your Majesty, the emperor will be offering sacrifices over there in a while. Shouldn't your empress be resting in the side hall with the empress? Why did you come here?" ?”
"Oh, come and have a look."
"this-"
They hesitated.
Although, there is nothing wrong with the rules for the noble concubine to come in here to see, it's just that there was no word from above to allow her to enter, which made these guards a little embarrassed.
Nan Yan glanced at them, smiled and said, "You don't mean to stop me, do you?"
"The villain dare not wait."
"Okay, I won't make things difficult for you," Nan Yan said with a smile, "Don't forget, today is the first birthday of my daughter, Princess Xinping, and in a while, her jade plate will be gone." Put it here."
Only then did everyone remember.
By the way, today is not just the day when His Majesty the Emperor comes to the altar to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth.
Another important thing is the princess's first birthday.
Like other members of the royal family, her jade plate must also be put in.
Nan Yan said: "Being Nangong just came to see in advance, there is nothing important, and you don't have to make such a fuss."
Everyone looked at each other, then stepped aside: "Yes."
Nan Yan pushed the door open and walked in.
Although there are many guards outside, the inside of these halls is very empty.
Not a single person.
Nan Yan walked in and closed the heavy door behind her with her backhand. It was so quiet inside that only her breathing was left, and the surrounding candlelight flickered slightly.
All of a sudden, it seems to have entered a quiet space.
It's not like the world outside.
The front of this hall is a whole wall, which is connected to the top of the hall. On the wall is a whole painting, which is about mountains and rivers, and there are some scenes of soldiers fighting the enemy bravely.
Emperor Gao spent his entire life in the army, and in the hall where the jade plates of members of the royal family were placed, he specially had such a painting drawn.
Probably, he can't forget his past on the battlefield.
However, Nan Yan's attention is not here now, she just glanced briefly, bypassed this wall, and walked to the back of the hall.
On the back of this wall are countless cabinets.
It was the same as the jade seal she guarded when she was Shang Bao's female official.
It's just that these cabinets were not locked, but just opened like this, and there were countless bright yellow satin-wrapped boxes inside.
Inside the box are the jade plates of each member of the royal family.
Under each cabinet, a small piece of paper was pasted, marking who the owners of the jade plates were, and Nan Yan saw Zhu Feng's name at a glance.
She stepped forward, carefully took off the box, and untied the satin on it.
The box inside is very delicate.
Also familiar.
It is almost the same as the box where the jade seal was placed in the Jinling Palace in the past, and the wooden box seen in the Jinlou Bieyuan.
In particular, the lock above.
Nan Yan took a deep breath, reached out to her neckline, and carefully pulled out a rope hanging around her neck.
Under the rope, hung a key.
It was the key she fished out from the mud at the bottom of the lake back then.
Her hands trembled slightly, holding the key, and gently inserting it into the lock.
Just a click—