The emperor's travels were always extremely grand. Although this time it was just the emperor and the queen leaving the palace and going to Ci'en Temple to listen to Buddhist chanting, the etiquette and pomp required were quite complicated and grand. Although it was not as grand as the emperor's annual sacrifice to heaven, it was still This time out of the palace, water was poured on the streets and roads were blocked and closed.
Zongzheng Temple has always served the genealogy of the royal family, clan members, and relatives, and guarded the royal mausoleums and temples.
And because Li Shimin once said: "Lao Tzu is the ancestor of the imperial family", he regarded Lao Tzu as the ancestor of the Li family, and Taoism was the state religion of the Tang Dynasty. Zongzheng Temple has always managed Taoist priests and monks.
Today is also the busiest time for Zongzheng Temple. Since Yinshi, Taichang Temple, which is in charge of the rituals of the Zongmiao Temple, Weiwei Temple, which is in charge of ceremonial guards and tents, and Taipu Temple, which is in charge of carriages and horses, have been busy in the royal family.
Naturally, the palace was brightly lit early. The attendants, guards, left and right Qianniu guards, maids, and eunuchs all started to get up and run back and forth in the palace for today's two protagonists.
"Lian Tie, you go... forget it, I'm afraid you won't see him even if you go. He will listen to you. Send someone over, urge the prince, don't let him be late. Everyone in the East Palace has been spoiled by him in the past few years. , because of his temper, today is no different than usual, so he is a little more urging. "Wu Mei sat on a chair, with a huge mirror in front of her. The beauty in the mirror looked at the palace maid putting her hair up, and said with some worry. .
Lian Tie, who was waiting respectfully on the side, immediately breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that he was not allowed to go. If he urged him, he might be beaten out by the sleepy prince.
So he quickly found a palace maid who was usually very favored by the prince among the surrounding palace ladies, and motioned her to rush to the East Palace to urge the prince.
"You are very clever and know how to send a palace maid who has won favor in front of the prince, but that's fine, this way Pihou won't really get angry." Wu Mei looked at the departing woman from the mirror in front of her. The palace maid said.
It's no wonder that Wu Mei, as the master of the harem, is so concerned about the prince's affairs. She knows better than anyone that whenever there are major ceremonial activities in the royal family, he is the most idle person in the entire palace.
And the one who is most bothered by this kind of thing is him. It is the spring plowing every year. It has been done seven times since I was four years old. Six times on the day of spring plowing, Pihou would have a headache, brain fever or diarrhea.
Therefore, since he was named the prince, he has participated in this spring plowing once. As for other royal ceremonies, Pihou can run away if he can, hide if he can, and if he can't hide, he will just deal with the situation.
On the other side, the prince was being bathed and changed by Bai Lu and Xiao Xue. A sleepy-eyed person stood there swaying, letting Bai Lu and Xiao Xue manipulate him.
Seeing the arrival of the palace maid, Bai Chun smiled slightly, pointed inside and said, "Go back and tell the queen that the prince will be waiting for your majesty and the queen at Chengtian Gate on time. No, he is bathing and changing clothes now."
"Yes, Miss Lao Bai is here." The palace maid timidly bowed and ran back.
After Li Hong was waited on by Bai Lu and Xiao Xue, he ran out with his long hair down: "Did the Queen Mother just send someone to urge you?"
"Yes, the Queen was worried, so she sent someone to urge you." Bai Chun replied with a smile.
Li Hong yawned and sat down on the chair in front of Bai Chun. He looked at the still dark sky outside and said helplessly: "Don't tie your hair too tightly. It will hurt your scalp."
"That's not right. Today's matter was presided over by the Ministry of Rites and Zongzheng Temple. I heard that there are people following the Yushitai. If you do this, the Ministry of Rites and the Yushitai will have to trouble you again." Bai Chun smiled playfully. He smiled, stroked Li Hong's long black hair, smelled it and said.
"The past two days have been really unlucky. Yesterday I was tricked by that old bastard Xu Jingzong, and today I have to spend a day with the Ministry of Rites and the Yushitai, who have never dealt with me. Alas... life is really hard." Li Hong allowed Bai Chun to give him He tied up his hair and complained.
Among these three provinces, six ministries, nine temples and five prisons, as well as the Yushitai, the ones Li Hong felt most sorry for were the Ministry of Rites and the Yushitai.
Needless to say, the Yushitai is every day of the year and every month. If you don’t impeach the prince several times, you will always feel that every day of the year and every month has not been completed and incomplete, as if something is missing.
Li Hong and the Ministry of Rites have always disliked each other. Ever since Dai Zhide moved to the position of Minister of Rites, he and Li Hong have been at odds with each other.
The Ministry of Rites has always been in charge of imperial examinations and academic affairs, so when Li Hong made arbitrarily changes to the Chongwen Hall, including the reform of the Imperial College and the Hongwen Hall, he naturally formed a considerable relationship with Dai Zhide.
In addition, the Ministry of Rites is also in charge of guests' rites, as well as external affairs or foreign affairs, and Li Hong has always adopted a coercive policy toward Japan, Goryeo, Baekje, and other countries in the Western Regions, and has never looked favorably on them.
This was incompatible with the moralization policy that Dai Zhide had always advocated, so Dai Zhide and Li Hong would start fighting each other without even saying a few words.
After Li Hong was granted the title of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue yesterday, some officials joked with Dai Zhide after going to court: "Dai Shangshu, your majesty is secretly seeing that the two of you are not having enough sex, so he brought you to court." In the hall, do you want to show it to him openly?"
"Dai Shangshu, you are over 50 years old. Why do you care about a child? Haven't you already done surgery on the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall? Besides, Yang Sijian is not in a hurry. Why are you so anxious? Please tell me."
Dai Zhide naturally didn't care about these jokes. He darkened his face and said, "I'm not afraid that he is the prince."
As long as he thought of students receiving education and not studying the ancient books of the sages, but playing with those messy things, he felt that he had a responsibility to defend the next generation of students of the Tang Dynasty and the imperial examination system of the Tang Dynasty.
Although the court officials often joke around, everyone is still looking forward to how the two powerful ministers will confront each other in the court.
Thinking about the scene of an old man and a young man in the court, each insisting on their own opinions and refusing to give in to each other, and they were all looking forward to it.
"You can just say a few words. Why bother? Your Majesty, the Imperial College and the Hongwen Hall, shouldn't you just do what you want?" Bai Chun said while tying up his hair.
"Oh, that's different. Dai Zhide feels a bit like Wei Zheng to me now, so old-fashioned." Li Hong couldn't help but shake his head when he thought of Dai Zhide.
"Don't move, your hair has just been done." Bai Chun reminded softly: "Then you won't always quarrel with him. Some time ago, your quarrels in front of the Imperial Academy attracted a large number of people every day. Look, and now everyone in the government knows about it.”
"Forget it, don't tell me. I'll just be honest today and don't give him any clues. By the way, who is going to the Yushitai? Don't tell me it's Wang Yifang!"
Li Hong finished tying up his crown, put on the bright yellow prince's clothes, and the dragon-shaped jade pendant around his waist shimmered under the light. He looked much more energetic and handsome than usual.
Of course, except for the slight evil smile at the corner of his mouth, which was still on his lips like a sign, even Bai Chun who saw it at this moment had the idea that this guy was stabbing Lou Zi again. It's no wonder that every time the queen saw his smile, Smiling evilly, I couldn't help but want to punch him.
"It's almost time, please wait at the door of Chengtian. This royal etiquette is really killing me." Li Hong muttered dissatisfiedly. Xia Zhi and Xiao Han were already waiting at the door.
The eastern skyline lit up slightly with fish belly white. The prince's chariot had already stopped at the door before the emperor and the queen came out, and relevant personnel from the Ministry of Rites and Zongzheng Temple were also waiting in line.
Dai Zhide and Qing Zongzhengsi were waiting in the palace. When Li Hong heard Bai Chun's signal that no one from the Yushitai or the Ministry of Rites was behind him, he immediately got out of the carriage and jumped out. Anyway, he would be back soon. I have to say hello to my father and mother. It won’t be a problem if I come down early.
The entire royal traveling team was much simpler than the royal grand ceremonies such as offering sacrifices to heaven and other activities, but in Li Hong's eyes, this ceremony was already a headache for him.
For him, every time he participated in such activities, he felt the urge to be possessed by gods and ghosts. Coupled with his strange identity of nine reincarnations and ten reincarnations, he, who was originally atheistic, became a little awe-inspiring for some reason.
On both sides of Chengtian Gate, Qianniu Guards wearing bright light armor stood on both sides. The horizontal swords on their waists were already giving people a chill even before they were unsheathed, and the ceremonial horses in their hands reflected the cold light.
Suddenly, the sound of ritual music came to mind in Chengtian Gate. First, six banners and twelve large flags came out, and the magistrates of the two counties of Chang'an were among them. Then the Qingyou team, holding crossbows and horses, cleared the road for the last time in front. Flags of wind, rain, thunder, lightning, gold, wood, water, fire, earth, etc. led the Ministry of Rites, Zongzheng Temple and other temples and ministers to clear the way.
The ceremony of leading the twelfth level was omitted, and then the emperor's dragon chariot and the queen's phoenix chariot filed out, naturally surrounded by the strict protection of the Qianniu Guards. Behind the two carriages, there are naturally still ritual music and various fan screens, small group fans, peacock fans, square fans, yellow ducks and other wing screens, which are dazzling.
The majestic royal guard of honor stopped for a moment at the gate of Chengtian. Dai Zhide, the Minister of Rites, ran to the front and spoke in a long and eloquent manner.
At this time, Li Hong also hurriedly marched from the side of the carriage. Accompanied by officials from all levels of the Prince's Palace, he came to the emperor's dragon chariot to salute and kneel down. Then came the queen's phoenix chariot, kneeling down one by one and standing below, waiting. After the emperor's chariot begins to move, you can return to your own chariot and follow closely.
The three masters Xu Jingzong, Li Yifu, Shangguan Yi and the third young master of the Prince's Mansion followed the prince to greet him. After the salute, Li Hong looked at Xu Jingzong next to him and whispered: "Why are you here? Stay away from me today. I get angry when I see you, and you know why!”
Wu Mei looked at Li Hong and Xu Jingzong through the window. She knew that this boy definitely didn't take his trip to Ci'en Temple seriously, but seeing that he didn't look like he was yawning, she felt in her heart. Still somewhat comforting.
(End of chapter)