"Zimo, why don't you look so good, haven't you slept for the past two days?" Chang E asked tentatively.
When the black egg was full, he put down the table and chopsticks, and sat properly: "Mother concubine is not well, I have to take care of her." The child spoke word by word, as if he had practiced well.
Chang E nodded, looking at it in the morning, Cheng Jieyu's face was indeed not very good.
"Concubine Chang, can I come to eat often in the future?" Amu clasped the table with his chubby hand and looked at Chang E timidly. The palace servants of Chaoyang Palace did not treat him harshly, but they did not have a good face, and it seemed that serving him was a chore. Facing the group of cold palace servants, he felt scared and couldn't eat properly.
"Okay, you can come every day." Chang E couldn't help pinching Amu's chubby face. In the past, when I was in Jiuru Town, I was too poor, and it was easy to not let other people's children eat. But now it is different. There is plenty of food in the palace. After I was promoted to Jieyu, I couldn't finish every meal, and it was not bad for a child's meal.
With Chang E's approval, Amu was extremely happy. From this day on, he followed Chen Ziqi back to Qingyun Palace for dinner every noon. Heidan would also follow occasionally, but he spoke very little, and he never saw Cheng Jieyu send someone to look for her.
After fasting and bathing for seven days, it was finally time to sacrifice to heaven.
In the midsummer month, offering sacrifices to gods is a tradition of the Yuzhang royal family. It is said that every emperor is selected by the gods, so when the prince is not yet decided, the midsummer sacrifice is especially grand.
After bathing, in the small hall where sandalwood incense was lit, Chen Ziqi put on the clothes of sacrifice to heaven. The azure-colored wide-sleeved brocade robe is very soft in texture. The belt is tied, and the whole clothes are attached to the body. In addition to the prince jade pendant, he no longer wears any accessories, not even a jade belt, only a cyan waist rope. Her hair was tied loosely behind her back with a blue ribbon.
Chen Ziqi looked at this outfit, no matter how he looked at it, it looked like he was going to dedicate himself, and he felt uneasy.
When we arrived at Zhanghuatai, it was dusk. The orange sunlight fell on the smooth and recognizable bluestone slab, dyeing the entire Zhanghuatai light gold.
The national teacher was dressed in a snow-white sacrificial robe. The long robe was about a zhang long and spread neatly on the ground. The setting sun shone on the robe, and the cloud pattern embroidered with silver thread reflected a colorful halo, like an open screen. The white peacock is unbelievably beautiful.
"The bloodlines are all together, and now I can ask the spirit. The ancestors are above, bless me." The cold voice, like a bird singing solo in Shibuya, is ethereal and lonely.
Emperor Zhenglong did not go to Zhang Huatai, but stood under the stage and let the princes go up by themselves.
Chen Ziqi took a peek, and always felt that the emperor looked a little guilty. This discovery made Chen Ziqi even more nervous. No one told me what to do on the altar. In a hurry to find the prince who fell into the people, could it be that he was looking for a scapegoat
Eleven princes, in order of age, stood in line behind the national teacher, listening to him slowly chant. Except for the first few sentences, the rest is completely incomprehensible. It seems to be a very ancient language, and the byte tones are like birdsong.
This long recitation continued until the bright moon rose in the east.
"In the midsummer month, the emperor recommends a temple with peach. The person who contains peach is also a cherry. You are the prince, and you are not as good as the emperor. You should use your mouth to show your respect." The national teacher looked not far away. Zhang Huadian in the hall slowly explained to the prince behind him.
As soon as the words fell, a waiter in white came to Chen Ziqi with a plate of delicate cherries.
"Your Highness, please choose a cherry." The waiter in white was wearing a veil, so he couldn't see his face clearly.
Chen Ziqi looked around, each prince had a plate in front of him. The eldest prince and the second prince have already sacrificed to heaven once, and they are familiar with the road. They picked a cherry at random, put it in the heart of the left hand, dragged the left hand with the right hand, and placed it flat in front of them.
The cherries are freshly washed, with a few drops of water, which is very attractive. She had been standing in the same place for an hour, and Chen Ziqi was so thirsty that her throat was smoking. Looking at these cherries, she couldn't take her eyes away for a while.
The cherries in the plate were full of grains, and there was no difference when looking at them. Chen Ziqi picked the reddest and largest one, and held it in his hand, imitating the appearance of other princes. I picked up two more water-soaked ones and quickly stuffed them into my mouth.
Sweet water droplets, moisturizing the lips are about to chapped. Biting open the round cherries, the sweet and sour juice suddenly filled the tip of the tongue, relieving the thirst in the mouth and bringing a burst of relief.
The waiter didn't react for a while, and stared blankly at Chen Ziqi's movements. It was too late to stop him, so he pretended not to see it. He bowed his head and took back the plate, and together with the other messengers, retreated from Zhang Huatai.
"The gods are coming, princes, please." The national teacher closed his eyes lightly and signaled everyone to enter the hall.
There are twelve peacock candlesticks in Zhanghua Hall. The candlesticks are made of brass, each with thirty-six lamp bowls unfolding one after another like a fan. Twelve candlesticks were lit at this moment, reflecting the entire Zhanghua Hall like daylight.
Chen Ziqi knelt on the futon and looked up at the tall statue. No one has ever mentioned what the god that Dazhang enshrines is. It seems that only the royal family knows it, and the common people only call it the god of protecting the country. At this moment, it seems that Chen Ziqi suddenly has a feeling of being deceived... Isn't this the ordinary dragon and phoenix Chengxiang
A dragon and a phoenix are intertwined, and the sky is straight up, reflecting the candles in the house, which is particularly spectacular. However, this can't be covered up, it's just a dragon and a phoenix!
Emperor Zhenglong and the civil and military officials stood under Zhang Hua's stage and looked up nervously.
In the midsummer month of last year, the gods were not there, forcing the emperor to go to the people to find the prince. I just don't know if it's all found this time, but it's better not to make any mistakes.
Now that the prestige of the royal family is at stake, if there is no miracle, the next monarch may be even more difficult.
The national teacher stood on the spot and looked at Zhang Huadian quietly.
After a quarter of an hour, the candles in the hall suddenly went out, and at the same time, the entire Zhanghuatai was radiant. The golden light was instantly revealed from the bluestone slab, and the dark patterns on the stone slab turned into incomparably clear golden patterns, depicting a golden phoenix that was about to fly. A golden dragon coiled a circle around the edge of the round table, firmly encircling the phoenix.
"God, to." The national teacher said this in a soft voice, knelt down slowly, and kowtowed in the direction of Zhanghua Hall.
People in Beijing knew that they were going to sacrifice to the sky today, so they all waited in the courtyard, and when they saw the golden light of Zhanghuatai, they knelt down and bowed.
Chen Ziqi sat in Zhanghua Hall, wondering what happened. The moment the golden light on Zhang Huatai rushed into the hall, he saw the red chicken hidden on the beam.
"Up to the sky?" The light was so bright that Chen Ziqi couldn't help closing his eyes. When he opened it again, the light from Zhang Huatai had disappeared, and the hall was pitch black. Only a ray of cold moonlight came in from outside the gate of the temple, and it was somewhat bright. After a while of getting used to it, I could barely see things clearly.
"Prince, please, put cherries in your mouth and sleep on the futon." The national teacher did not know when he walked to the door of the temple, and when the princes all put the cherries in their mouths, he walked slowly to the statue of God, from his sleeves Take out a very thin incense, light it, and place it on the incense burner. Afterwards, he raised his head slightly indiscernibly and looked at the red-haired chicken on the beam.
Looking at the sight of the national teacher, it was dark there, but Chen Ziqi knew the location of the chicken, so he was very sure that the national teacher was watching the chicken!
After the national teacher finished the incense, he exited the Zhanghua Hall and closed the door. The entire hall was immersed in darkness, and sporadic moonlight came in through the carvings on the door, but it was not enough for people to see things clearly.
"Ha..." Someone couldn't help yawning.
The eldest prince was the most relaxed, lying directly on the ground and sleeping on the futon. The other princes were also drowsy and fell on the futon for a while.
Chen Ziqi looked at Amu beside him, and had already fallen asleep. He was also very sleepy, but he couldn't sleep. This drowsiness came too fast and too fierce, there must be ghosts!
Pinching herself, forced to wake up, Chen Ziqi got up and looked up at the chicken on the beam.
The little red bird slowly moved out of the shadow and tilted its head to look at him. The moonlight illuminated the two hairs on his head, pulling out a long shadow.
The eyelids were getting heavier and heavier, Chen Ziqi couldn't hold it anymore, she lay down on the futon and looked at the cherries in her hands. The national teacher made Han in his mouth not to eat, but he swallowed it when he was asleep. Such a big cherries would definitely choke to death if swallowed. After thinking about it, he sandwiched the cherry between the upper and lower lips, closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Feeling that he only closed his eyes for a moment, Chen Ziqi opened it again and saw the fluffy little red bird standing in front of him. I wanted to reach out and grab it, but I didn't have the slightest strength, so I could only watch it helplessly, and slowly brought it to my lips, tilted my head, stretched out its tender yellow mouth, and took a bite of the cherry.
"Well..." Chen Ziqi's eyes widened, trying to stop the chicken from destroying the cherry. He only had this one, and it was eaten by chickens, and the cherry was missing tomorrow morning. Maybe it was a big sin.
The little red bird obviously didn't understand his anxiety, and took a bite after a slow peck. The big cherries were pecked to rot, and the juice flowed onto Chen Ziqi's lips, dyeing the tender lips with a layer of sparkle. After pecking a few bites, the little red bird picked out the cherry pit, threw it aside, opened its mouth, and swallowed all the cherry flesh.
After eating the cherries, the little red bird seemed very happy, flapped its wings twice, jumped onto Chen Ziqi's head, hooked his hair with his claws, and let out a "chirp".
That crisp cry is very different from its usual cry, such as the broken jade in Kunshan, and the movement of brocade.
His head was awake, but his body still couldn't move, Chen Zi smacked his lips, and watched the little red bird get into his soft and smooth clothes, found a comfortable place to step on it, rubbed his head on his chest, curled up In a lump and didn't move.
The clothes for offering sacrifices to Heaven have no inner shirt or middle clothes, just a azure robe wrapped around the body. The warm hair was tangled in the chest, it was a little itchy, and I wanted to scratch it very much, but I couldn't move. Chen Ziqi bit her lower lip and endured for a while, and when the itching passed, and the little red bird didn't come out, she closed her eyes resignedly and fell asleep.
The author has something to say: Small Theater:
Bird Attack: After eating your cherries, you are mine
Qi Qi: Why does this sound so awkward
Bird Attack: How do you say that
Qiqi: After eating my cherries, you are my bird
Bird Attack: How does this sound like a curse (· v ·)