Just as the ladies were resting in the bedroom, the Emperor in the palace learned that the Queen had led the concubines to the Temple of Heaven to pray for blessings, and his face suddenly turned ugly.
In this case, how could he sneak into the Zhai Palace through the secret passage and have a romantic encounter with Jiang Changning
The Queen Mother also said: "She is right. As the mother of a country, you should take responsibility for your own actions."
The emperor could not tell the empress dowager about his dirty thoughts, so he could only return to the Qinzheng Hall in a depressed mood to read the memorials.
At the beginning of noon, the ladies were summoned to the main hall of the Sai Palace.
The queen sat in the middle, with concubines on her left and right. Jiang Changning saw Zhuang Qingyan standing far behind.
Zhuang Qingyan, dressed in a plain turmeric palace dress, looked as dull as a potato, without a trace of vitality.
Jiang Changning also saw Lu Xiujie. The dark green palace dress made her small face, which was the size of a palm, look sallow.
"Before offering sacrifices to heaven, you must fast for three days. From today on, you must wear plain clothes, eat vegetarian food, burn incense and copy prayers. Each person should copy ten prayers a day." said the queen.
It just so happened that it was the ninth day of the first lunar month, the God of Heaven's Day, and it was natural to offer sacrifices to the God of Heaven and pray for his blessings.
Tian Gong is the Jade Emperor, the highest god who dominates the Three Realms, commands all gods within and outside the Three Realms, and all spirits in the world, and represents the supreme heaven.
The emperor is called the Son of Heaven, which, to put it bluntly, means he recognizes the Jade Emperor as his father.
Offering sacrifices to heaven are held several times a year, but the one at the winter solstice is the most grand and respectful.
Whether it is the official worship of heaven or the folk worship of ancestors, they all express the simple wish to pray to God for good weather, good harvests, and enough food and clothing.
The ladies bowed and said, "We will follow your Majesty's orders."
Vegetarianism can be roughly divided into four categories: Buddhist vegetarianism, Taoist vegetarianism, palace vegetarianism and folk vegetarianism.
Buddhist vegetarian food is the vegetarian food served in temples, which focuses on its light nature, skillfulness and convenience.
Taoism emphasizes the Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and purity and truth.
Gongsu means using plain food to contrast with meat, which is elegant and luxurious.
The cuisine is simple and plain, mostly seasonal wild vegetables.
Looking at the vegetarian dishes on the table that looked as gorgeous as bonsai, Jiang Changning was reluctant to pick up his chopsticks, not wanting to destroy such beauty.
"Xiao Ning, why don't you eat? The vegetarian food made by the imperial chef in the palace tastes very good. Come and try it." The Princess Consort of Prince De said in a low voice.
Jiang Changning smiled and took a spoon to scoop up the tofu stuffed with basil.
Although the name of "Hundred Flowers Inlaid Tofu" contains "Hundred Flowers", there are no flowers in the dish. The tofu is just made into the shape of flowers.
The tofu is tender and smooth, without any bean smell.
Even though it is a vegetarian dish, the ingredients used by the palace are much more exquisite than those of the other three vegetarian dishes.
The Shi Er vegetarian fish ball soup has a clear broth, soft texture and rich aroma.
It doesn’t contain fish meat, but it tastes like fish.
Jiang Changning was very satisfied with the vegetarian meal and no longer had any aversion to eating vegetarian food for three consecutive days.
After returning to the west bedroom, Jiang Changning went to the left room to take a nap. But just as she lay down, she heard Zhao Xifang in the outer hall loudly instructing the maid, "Use old sandalwood to copy the scriptures."
"Go get some snow water."
"Use pine soot ink, which is thicker."
"Wait until the snow melts, then grind it."
Zhao Xifang kept talking, making it impossible for Jiang Changning to fall asleep.
"Princess, she did it on purpose." Fu Cui rolled up her sleeves and was about to rush out and tear the person apart.
"Stop." Jiang Changning sat up.
Fu Cui is a maid, and she will be at a disadvantage if she goes against Zhao Xifang.
Being described by Jiang Changning as a low-class actor, Zhao Xifang said angrily: "People who grew up relying on others are really uneducated."
"If you have such a loud upbringing like Princess Yu, then it's better to be uneducated." Jiang Changning sneered, "This is the Zhai Palace for sacrifices, not the Prince Yu's Mansion. Princess Yu should be more restrained in her behavior and stop making so much noise. It looks too unstable and will make people question Princess Wenhe."
As for what you are questioning, there is no need to state it explicitly. We are all smart people and we will listen to what you say.
"Princess Jin, please don't go too far." Zhao Xifang said angrily.
"He who teases first is the cheap one." Jiang Changning involved Shangwen and the county lord because Zhao Xifang was the first to say that she cared.
The death of both her parents was a sad thing that she didn't want to be mentioned.
"Princess Yu and Princess Ningxia are just like half-sisters. When they go crazy, they act exactly the same." Jiang Changning continued sarcastically.
"Song Yirou pointed at her nose and cursed her, but she dared not say a word, and she ran to me to show off her power. Princess Yu is so powerful, why is she treating the Jin Palace as a soft persimmon?"
"Sorry, I was just in a hurry to copy the prayer and disturbed you." Zhao Xifang suddenly regained his polite demeanor.
Jiang Changning was stunned for a moment. Is Prince Jin's Mansion so useful
Zhao Xifang walked back to the table silently, picked up the pen, and began to copy the prayer.
She stopped making a fuss, and Jiang Changning wasn't the type to keep pestering her, so he turned around and went back inside to take a nap.
Half an hour later, Jiang Changning woke up from a nap.
Seeing the rosy-faced and gorgeous Jiang Changning, a hint of jealousy flashed in Zhao Xifang's eyes.
Only a woman who is doted on by her husband can have such a delicate appearance.
How can a helpless orphan be loved by her husband
"There is only one table here." Zhao Xifang said.
Jiang Changning looked at the table that she occupied most of, and smiled faintly: "I am a generous person, I will give you the table, and I can copy on the long table."
Zhao Xifang pursed her lips, thinking that she would hear Jiang Changning say a few soft words to beg her.
But I didn't expect that Jiang Changning's mind worked so quickly.
Shu Fei and Fu Cui moved all the ornaments on the long table to another place, fetched some water, and wiped the long table. "Princess, it's done."
Jiang Changning washed his hands first, then burned incense, sat at a long table, and copied scriptures.
"With all my heart, I pay my respects to the Supreme Heaven of Miro. The wonderful and mysterious realm, the vast and boundless Jade Emperor of the Purple Gold Palace. The High God of the Mysterious Sky"
Those who are offering sacrifices to the Jade Emperor must state this at the beginning of the scripture.
The ninth day is Tiangong Day, which is the birthday of the Jade Emperor. People also have to write a congratulatory message: May the great Jade Emperor, the Supreme God in the Mysterious Sky, have an endless life. I hope that God will have mercy on the people, release his divine light to illuminate the Dharma Realm, and may all the six ordinary beings and four saints receive his protection.
Pray for peace in the country and the family, and beg for life protection and disaster relief. Sweep away all misfortunes, break the Iron Mountain, and drain the bitter sea water. Destroy the great hell, and remove serious sins and sufferings. Subdue violent demons and protect all countries.
We pray to God to release the seventeen lights of his miraculous power to cure all serious diseases, remove all evil poisons, drive away all evil people, destroy all evil beasts, destroy all evil ways, and subdue all the gods.
There aren't many words, but it still takes a lot of time to copy them neatly and word for word ten times.
Jiang Changning started copying more than half an hour later than Zhao Xifang, but they both finished writing at the same time.
"Huh" Jiang Changning chuckled.
"What are you laughing at?" Zhao Xifang asked shyly.
"The Princess of Yu is in charge of everything, and she can even make people laugh. She's really capable." Jiang Changning said as he picked up the copied prayer and walked out.
Zhao Xifang clenched her fists, then unclenched them, picked up the copied prayer, and followed him out with an expressionless face.