Three days later, the day chosen by the historian for the emperor's trip to Cangshan arrived.
It was a sunny summer morning. The officials set up the procession and waited until the auspicious time of five quarters past the hour of the clepsydra. General Qianniu led the way for the emperor, and the Minister of the Imperial Household came forward to request the emperor to set out. The emperor boarded the dragon carriage, and the palace immediately rang bells and drums to signal the emperor to leave the palace, pass through Chengtianmen Street, and then go out of the city from Tonghuamen in the northeast of Chang'an City, heading towards Cangshan Mountain.
Although the emperor ordered the streamlining of the procession and the removal of unnecessary red tape, when he traveled, apart from the ceremonial objects such as the canopy and the canopy around the emperor's carriage, the rest of the ceremonial objects, such as the guards, bodyguards, and ceremonial attendants, were indispensable.
On that day, at the front of the team, the Grand Master of the Imperial Household was holding the reins, with six horses leading the way. The Crown Prince Li Mao, dressed in military uniform, led the Jingzhao Mu and the Grand Master of Rites in front.
In front and behind the emperor's carriage, there were the left and right leading guards, the military guards, the brave guards, the mighty guards, and the guards of honor, and the guards of the imperial guards. Each guard was led by a general of the imperial guards and consisted of 36 cavalrymen. They were all the most outstanding sons and daughters selected from each guard. They were handsome and strong, wearing armor and equipped with bows, swords, shields and spears. The sun shone and the light was shining. Ashina Chengping, Yuwen Zhi and others were all in the group.
Behind the dragon carriage, many other royal relatives, noble ladies, and envoys from various vassal states who stayed in Chang'an, as well as the ministers of various departments and the ministers of the court, followed to Cangshan. Some of them rode on horses, some rode in carriages, and each had a ceremonial guard.
Following behind were the various officials and servants who were accompanying them.
This team had several thousand people. After leaving the city, they marched eastward. A strong wind blew, and the Jinwu Guard's Exorcist Flag, the Leading Army Guard's Qinglin Flag, the Wuwei Guard's Yuma Flag, the Zuoyou Guard's Huanglu Flag, the Xiaowei Guard's Chixiong Flag, the Mighty Guard's Heilun Flag... the flags were waving all over the sky, like clouds pressing down on the road, shocking many villagers who were working in the fields, who kowtowed and shouted "Long live the king".
Everything was in accordance with the proper etiquette for the emperor's travel, except for one thing, which was related to the young court painter named Ye Xuyu in the palace.
Everyone knew that this young painter had been favored by the emperor recently, but no one would have thought that the emperor's favor would reach this extent.
Early in the morning, when leaving the palace, the emperor took the young painter on the carriage, asked him to sit beside him, and drove with him. At that time, the people around were shocked. An imperial censor boldly stepped out to make a speech, saying that there was a difference between the high and the low, and the rules could not be violated. He asked the emperor to let the court painter return to his position and travel with the people in the direct court. Everyone was worried about him. Unexpectedly, the emperor neither got angry nor listened to the advice. He just said that this trip was just to escape the summer heat and was a leisurely thing. It was neither a sacrifice to heaven nor a sacrifice to ancestors. There was no need to say more. This sentence shut up the imperial censor and he still took the young painter on the carriage and set off.
This matter attracted everyone's attention from the moment the imperial carriage left the palace. However, at first, only the people around the emperor knew about it. After leaving the city, the news gradually spread. At noon, the imperial carriage arrived at a place called Yuluan Manor outside the city. The emperor took a short break here and ordered the team behind to follow and rest on the spot. The news spread quickly and finally reached Qingtou's ears.
Qingtou has been looking forward to this trip to Cangshan Mountain for many days.
Although he was of low rank, he never forgot to share his husband's worries, so he made up his mind early on that he would go with him to serve him. Unfortunately, after he tried to find out, he found that his husband did not want to take him with him. He was panicked and disappointed, and begged hard, repeatedly promising that he would keep his mouth shut and never cause trouble for him again. He almost threw a tantrum and cried, but his husband was as hard as iron and refused to let him go.