Linzhi

Before dawn, He Tai was already dressed up, wearing a brand-new robe, starting from the palace and heading towards the gate of the palace.

Besides him, there was also the eldest son He Mu in the carriage, and the father and son looked at each other in the carriage, both of them couldn't hide their excitement.

As usual, when He Tai wakes up at this time, he must be yawning and looking tired, but now he is full of energy, people rely on clothes, Buddha depends on gold clothes, he is neatly dressed, with a little more wrinkles His face didn't look old any more, on the contrary, he had a little more calm demeanor.

He Mu has no official position and has not officially canonized the eldest son, so he is not qualified to accompany him, but after talking with the emperor's father that day, He Tai remembered that the eldest son has done a lot for the family over the years, not to mention the love he gave to the family in times of adversity. The younger brothers are very caring. After returning to the capital, Saburo and Goro were all conferred titles, but Da Lang, the eldest brother, was still bald on the top of his head, without any titles.

As for others, He Tai is also the eldest son himself, so he naturally knows the sadness of being the eldest son but not the son of a concubine. Back then, there was a prince in front of him who occupied the emperor's favor everywhere and stole the limelight everywhere. If He Tai was not at all awkward and aggrieved in his heart, then It's impossible, the prince finally got sick, and he got involved in the rebellion incident, and fell directly from the clouds to the bottom of the mud. This kind of tragic experience gave him a kind of sympathy for the eldest son, which he had never received. He was also willing to let his eldest son get what he had, so as to make up for what he had lost, so He Tai specifically asked the emperor to bring He Mu with him when he offered sacrifices to the Taimiao.

He Mu naturally understood what this trip meant to him. Although his father didn't say it clearly, he had already recognized him. He was extremely grateful in his heart. In other families, the mother-in-law and the concubine were fighting openly and secretly, and hated each other. It was rare for the emperor's grandfather to marry such a sensible step-concubine for his father, which made the inner house and backyard unintentionally less troubled.

"Father, my son will definitely do his best to live up to your expectations." He said to He Tai.

He Tai patted him on the shoulder, but still couldn't help yawning. He was so excited last night that he didn't fall asleep the whole night, and even brought Princess Pei to suffer, so he simply got up to drink tea and play chess.

"It's good that you have this heart."

The carriage soon arrived at the gate of the palace. Officials from the Ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple were already waiting there, including Xue Tan, but He Tai glanced around and only saw King Wei, but not King Qi.

King Wei took a step forward and saluted He Tai respectfully: "I've seen you, brother."

To be honest, after He Tai returned to Beijing, he had always had a good impression of his two younger brothers. If King Qi hadn't always dug holes for him intentionally or unintentionally, He Tai would not have developed aversion. , King Qi's energy seemed to be vented overnight, he closed the door and claimed to be sick, and he didn't even go to the court meeting. As the elder brother, He Tai went to see him once. Also weak, the emperor even sent the imperial physician to see, the imperial physician said a lot, in short, it is a heart disease.

He Tai's ears are soft, and his heart is also soft. He hates King Qi for tripping him up, but King Qi is so downcast, he can't bear to get up, and put himself in the shoes of anyone who has been on the throne for more than ten years, and his father will suddenly turn his back on him. The eldest brother who had been a common man was called back and replaced him step by step. No one could be happy.After King Qi was rejected by the emperor, he went to see He Tai, held He Tai's hand, wept endlessly, and said a lot of confession, which made He Tai shed a few tears along with him.

Compared with Qi Wang's complicated mood, He Tai's impression of Wei Wang, who never acted as a demon from the beginning to the end, was peaceful and peaceful, was quite good.

He nodded and asked, "Isn't Jiulang here?"

King Wei said in a low voice: "Brother Jiu is ill. He said that he didn't want his sickness to ruin his mood and this wonderful day. He asked Ah Zhen to come."

He Zhen, the son of King Qi, came out and saluted He Tai: "Uncle, my father is still sick and can't get out of bed. He specially ordered me to represent the Prince Qi's mansion and accompany him to the Taimiao for sacrifice."

He was just standing behind Lu Rong and the others, so it's no wonder that He Tai couldn't see him for a while. He Zhen is slightly longer than He Zhan, but not as tall as He Zhan. Maybe it's a deficiency brought out of his mother's womb, and he has been studying at his desk all the time. Due to lack of exercise, he was born a little thin.

He Tai said kindly, "Okay, if you have a heart, let's go together."

The carriage of the palace could no longer be used, so He Tai abandoned the carriage and got on the horse, and a group of people went to the Taimiao in a mighty manner.

In Prince Lu's mansion, although Princess Pei and others didn't have to go to offer sacrifices, they also needed to get up early in the morning to enter the palace to pay New Year's greetings to the emperor.

According to the rules of this dynasty, there should be a grand court meeting in Japan in Zhengdan, and the emperor ascended to the Xuanzheng Hall to accept the worship of the six ministers and nine ministers.After the silk road was unblocked in the previous dynasty, every New Year's Day, there was a "worship of crowns and crowns from all nations". Envoys from various countries in the Western Regions would also pay homage to the emperor and celebrate the New Year with all the officials on this day. Because of the turmoil in the world, the commercial routes in the Western Regions were cut off by the Turks, and there were occasional turmoil in the south, so this link was saved.After the court meeting, there will be a royal banquet. The emperor will give gizzard meat, that is, beef, mutton and pork during the New Year's sacrifice. You can't put salt, just give it to the ministers to eat. The ritual of this banquet is far greater than letting everyone fill their stomachs. .

But this year the emperor was not in good health, and because King Lu was going to the Taimiao to offer sacrifices, the emperor asked the Ministry of Rites to cancel the grand court meeting. Princess Pei and others originally had to enter the palace in the afternoon, but they all changed it to the morning.

The emperor seemed to be in good spirits, and when he saw a large family from Prince Lu's mansion coming over, he joked a few words, asked Ma Hong to give red envelopes to the juniors, and made fun of his great-grandson He Xin, but in Princess Pei's opinion, the emperor The secondary complexion is obviously abnormal flushing, not a normal and healthy color. To put it bluntly, it is a flash of light.

Concubine Pei was even worried about whether the emperor would be able to survive until the first month when He Tai was formally canonized as the crown prince, but she could only think about it in her heart, maybe there were not a few people present who thought the same as her, but no one dared to say it.

To pay New Year's greetings to the emperor, the people of Prince Lu's Mansion were divided into two groups, He Xiu, He Xi and other men went back to the mansion first, while Princess Pei took the Song family and other female relatives to the harem to pay New Year's greetings to Concubine Yin.

This may be the busiest time of the year in the imperial concubine's palace. Everyone entered the palace at about the same time, and they also arrived at the front and back. When Princess Pei and the others passed by, the female relatives of Prince Qi's mansion and Princess Lin'an had already arrived. Concubine An Shu and other harem could count The famous concubine is also there.

King Wei's birth mother, Song Zhaoyi, was promoted to Concubine De just last year, and now it's time to change her name to Concubine Song De.

Originally, Concubine An Shu had been in charge of the Phoenix Seal for many years, and her son King Qi had won the respect of the emperor. Everyone thought that Concubine Shu would be the last one to take a step up, or even become queen. Not only was she not able to become the empress, but she even lost the power to run the palace. Although the noble concubine has the phoenix seal in her hand, most of the time she still seldom intervenes in specific palace affairs. Many things are decided by Concubine Song De. When encountering major events, the two houses will make decisions together.

Concubine An Shu, who lost her power, looked as elegant and peaceful as ever, and she was not depressed because of it. In contrast, King Qi seemed to be less able to bear the blow than his mother.

As soon as Princess Pei and the others arrived, they immediately became the attention of the audience, especially He Jia, who was about to get married, and made fun of her.

Princess Lin'an smiled and said: "Look, the person who is about to get married is here, come quickly and make us happy!"

He Jia blushed: "Auntie, don't make fun of me!"

Princess Lin'an covered her mouth with a smile and said: "Are you still shy? What is there to be shy about getting married? Our Tian family girls are always open and generous, so we don't shy away from it!"

"Okay, Lin'an, you know she has a thin skin, but you insist on saying, look at her face, it's so red that it's almost bleeding." The imperial concubine interjected with a smile. As the host, she would never marry someone just because a certain family is about to gain power. , so he ignored the other family, so he asked Princess Qi again, "How is King Qi's health? I heard from His Majesty that after the imperial doctor saw it, he said that it has improved a lot in recent days."

Concubine Qi: "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness suffers from headaches, and always suffers from headaches. When you have a headache, you will lose your appetite, so other problems will follow. Recently, the imperial doctor has recuperated, and sister-in-law specially sent Kunzhou gastrodia elata. It's much better now."

Princess Pei smiled slightly: "I also have some experience because someone in my family has suffered from this disease. If it is not enough, tell me and I will ask someone to bring it to Kunzhou."

Princess Qi said gratefully: "Thank you, sister-in-law."

Princess Pei: "Family, you don't have to be polite."

She is young, but she has the bearing of a sister-in-law. The noble concubine nodded, and said to the concubine Qi: "Your Majesty also has a head-wind disease. This disease is most afraid of catching cold and wind. When it hurts, I wish I could hit my head against the wall. King Qi is still young. You You have to let him take good care of him, don't take it seriously."

Princess Qi hurriedly responded.

While speaking, another group of foreign wives came in to pay New Year's greetings to the noble concubine, including the wife and daughter of General Ji Cuo, and the wife and two daughters of Zhenyuan Hou Li Kuan.

Mrs. Zhenyuanhou saluted everyone, and said to Concubine Yin: "The eldest princess is also going to enter the palace. Who knows that last night to watch the old age, she drank two more glasses when she was happy, and she was a little dizzy after going to pay her respects to your majesty. I'm back, let my concubine come over to pay New Year's greetings to the noble concubine, so I can accompany you along the way."

Mrs. Zhenyuanhou's father-in-law passed away a few years ago. Her mother-in-law, Princess Yiyang, has her own princess mansion, and she doesn't often go back to the Marquis' mansion on weekdays. The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is not close, but they are also polite to each other. , I was also afraid that there was a princess and mother-in-law who were not easy to get along with. Later, I found out that Princess Yiyang didn't care much about the Hou's mansion at all, and even seldom cared about her husband's daily life. It is completely different from the mother-in-law who often dislikes her daughter-in-law in other families.

This made Mrs. Zhenyuan Hou breathe a sigh of relief, but also felt a little regretful, because her daughter Li Suian was raised by the eldest princess of Yiyang since she was a child, and was spoiled by the eldest princess in every possible way, so that she didn't learn any virtuous and virtuous virtues from her daughter's family. On the contrary, he has an arrogant and fiery temper.

The noble concubine smiled and said: "The eldest princess is too polite. If it wasn't for the inconvenience of going out of the palace, I should have paid a visit. Last time she came to my place, she said she wanted to drink the plum blossom tea I made by myself. I made it, but I haven't seen her come to pick it up for a long time, but you just came today, so help me bring it to her later."

Mrs. Zhenyuan Hou thanked her.

The imperial concubine looked at the two young girls standing next to Mrs. Zhenyuan Hou: "This is An'an, I haven't seen her for a while, she seems to be pretty again."

Li Suian saluted and greeted generously. All the noble ladies present have heard that Li Suian was spoiled by Princess Yiyang. I also don't want my son to marry a shrew, the husband and wife fight all day long, and the house is restless.

But I have to admit that there is nothing wrong with Li Suian's appearance, body, family background, but his temperament, which makes people have to weigh a little bit more.

Li Suian smiled like a spring flower, and said sweetly: "An'an came with her grandmother to visit my mother during the Mid-Autumn Festival last year. How long has it been since then? How could she become beautiful? It's because my mother likes me that she praises me."

This kind of Li Suian is completely different from when he made things difficult for He Rong. If He Rong is here, he must think that she has been possessed by a ghost.

But Concubine Yin really likes Li Suian's personality. It doesn't matter if she is a noble girl, she has a bigger temper. People like Li Suian are much better than those two-faced people.

The imperial concubine smiled and said: "I like you, but I didn't lie. If you don't believe me, you can ask the ladies here."

Everyone naturally made fun of it.

The other girl next to Mrs. Zhenyuan Hou was also charming and attractive, showing a bit of style at a young age. Concubine Yin looked at her strangely and asked, "Is this your natal niece?"

Mrs. Zhenyuanhou smiled lightly: "Mrs. Hui, this is my other daughter. She has never entered the palace before. Today is Zhengdan, so I will bring her to enjoy the joy."

Everyone knew as soon as they heard it, it must be a concubine.

Not only is Li Qingluo not the same mother as Li Suian, she has nothing to do with her name. She entered the palace for the first time, but she was not stage frightened. Seeing that everyone's eyes were on her, she bowed to Concubine Yin: "Li Qingluo Greetings, ladies and gentlemen."

The imperial concubine nodded, and asked about the female family members of the Ji family.

There is a Ji family in the capital, which is the original family of Ji Ling, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, but the general Ji Cuo has nothing to do with that Ji family, but just happens to have the same surname as Ji.Ji Cuo was born in a poor family, and he performed well in the army. He was single-handedly promoted by Emperor Wende, and he got to where he is today. As before, it was a good story for a while.

Mrs. Ji's family background is mediocre, and her facial appearance is also very ordinary, but her daughter Ji Yingluo is graceful and graceful. Standing next to Li Suian, she is in no way compared to her. Anyone who sees her will praise her as "Shui Furong".

Many people can't help secretly thinking that Mrs. Ji is really lucky. Not to mention marrying a husband and becoming an official, but also devoted to her, not to mention having both children, and her daughter is so beautiful. Mrs. Ji's life is really everyone in this era The days of the gods are envied.

There is no empress dowager in the palace, and the noble concubine is the most honored. After the noble concubine regains the phoenix seal, it is inevitable that the family will become lively. No matter how quiet she wants to be, she can't go anywhere.After the Li family and the Ji family, people came to pay New Year's greetings one after another. When there are more women, there will be more topics. After discussing etiquette and respect, everyone casually chatted about makeup and food, but they were also in high spirits.

Mrs. Song herself came from a poor family, and when she saw Mrs. Ji, she felt very friendly. She happened to be sitting next to her, so she couldn't help chatting a few more words.

Concubine Pei, Concubine Qi and others were chatting with the concubine, He Jia was dragged by Princess Lin'an to point out, and Xiao Lu was dragging her natal mother to talk about family affairs. The huge Shicui Palace was suddenly lively and lively, contrary to the usual quietness.

Seeing that the time was approaching noon, the foreign wives got up to leave one after another, Concubine An Shu said with a smile: "It's rare to have a crowd today, why don't you come to my place to enjoy the plum blossoms and eat the pot?"

Concubine Song De laughed: "Sister Concubine Shu, it's very cold today, to go to your Xuanhui Hall, at least half of the palace city has to be bypassed, it's better to stay and have a meal with the concubine!"

The noble concubine pointed at Concubine Song De with a smile and scolded: "You will take advantage of me!"

Seeing that she was not disgusted, Concubine Song De smiled and said, "Sister Guifei hasn't allowed us to have a meal a few times throughout the year. After all, so many people came today, but you have to let your heart hurt once!"

Concubine An Shu also said: "Then this time we will have the blessings of both taste and eyes. The white plums behind Shicui Palace are the most beautiful in the palace. I have been coveting them for a long time."

"Okay, okay, I can't say no to you, since that's the case, everyone is happy today, so let's all stay and eat before leaving. Your majesty is not feeling well, so we can't be extravagant. The singing and dancing are gone, and the plum tree is enough." Yes." The concubine said with a smile.

This is a good opportunity to get closer to the concubines, and the foreign wives naturally would not refuse, so they all accepted orders.

……

The Chinese New Year atmosphere in Luoyang City is no less than that in Chang'an.

As the accompanying capital of the dynasty, it lacks the majesty and solemnity of Chang'an City, but it is more graceful and beautiful because of the peonies.

"Now is not the time for peonies to bloom. If in April and May, the flowers bloom all over the city, covering the whole city with white antlers and colorful flowers, regardless of gender, age or age, and everyone has hairpins on their heads, then that will be the real blooming scene." Congratulations Zhan said regretfully.

But it’s not bad now. The heavy snowfall last month seems to have wiped away the filth from last year. The auspicious snow heralds a good year, and everyone is looking forward to a good year in the coming year.

It seems to have heard the expectations of the people. Since yesterday, the sky has cleared up, and you can see the bright blue when you look up, which makes people feel brighter. The streets are full of joy and excitement. Children are running around with colorful paper windmills. However, the sound of firecrackers can be heard everywhere, and some shops specially opened on this day. It was a good fate, although the two sides met by chance, they were both beaming.

He Rong and He Zhan passed by the silk and satin village, and each was stuffed with two copper coins. He Zhan said to the owner: "Congratulations on the new year, and a happy opening!"

"Good luck, good luck, each other!" The boss bowed his hands and thanked him with a smile.

I heard that there is a new shop opening here, and children and beggars who like to join in the fun all come here, and soon they are surrounded by a tight crowd. He Zhan and He Rong finally squeezed out of the crowd, and in a blink of an eye, they were almost caught by the endless traffic on the street. Tourists are overwhelmed.

The two of them had half a day's free time in their lives, and they finally went out for a stroll. They were planning to go to the temple fair. Seeing the crowds, He Rong couldn't help saying: "Why don't we go to the White Horse Temple."

He Zhan was also afraid that He Rong's legs and feet would be bad and he would be knocked down easily: "Alright, I heard that the White Horse Temple is full of incense and there is a small temple fair at the gate. I've come here myself, and I haven't gone to see it yet."

There are also many people in front of the White Horse Temple. From a distance, you can see the cigarettes curling up from the temple, and there is an endless stream of worshippers. Where there are people, there are business opportunities. Many small stalls and vendors also ran to the gate of the temple to display The stalls, the monks did not drive them away out of the convenience of others and their own convenience. Over time, a small market spontaneously formed here. Every [-]th day of the Lunar New Year, the flow of people surged. Today is the first day of the New Year, and it is getting more and more lively.

However, there is a temple fair in the city that distracts the attention of more than half of the people, and it is still possible to walk here. The two of them walked and strolled, and saw delicious and interesting things to buy, and soon their hands were full—of course, it was basically congratulations. Zhan is taking it.

"Third brother, I told you not to buy it, I can't carry it anymore!" He Zhan said bitterly from behind.

He Rong walked leisurely in front without looking back, muttering to himself: "If someone who doesn't even care about the sandbags on the school field says such a thing, will anyone believe it?"

A scent wafted over, and He Rong looked around, and saw a shop selling roast chicken not far away, it must have made a name for himself, and there was already a long line of people waiting to buy.

When there are too many people, it is inevitable that there will be one after another. Among them, there are also rich ladies who come out to play, surrounded by servants and maids, and there will inevitably be occasional collisions. However, women are not harsh on women nowadays. No one has to chop off their wrists if they are touched. dropped.

He Rong walked over, and passed by many tourists who also came to Shangxiang for shopping. His eyes fell on the roast chicken shop in front of him, and he didn't pay attention to who was passing by. Suddenly, a burst of aroma entered his nose, and his expression turned pale. Changed, and subconsciously reached out to grab the source of the fragrance beside him.

Only after hearing a woman's exclamation, He Rong realized that what he had grabbed was a young girl. The family members who accompanied him all looked hostile, and they obviously regarded him as a disciple.

"What do you want to do!"

"You bastard, how dare you be rude to our little lady!"

He Rong was pushed away a few steps, and the girl was immediately guarded by the servants of the family. This movement immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding people.

"Young lady, I'm so sorry. It's not intentional to be frivolous, but there is a reason for the incident. Can you take a step to speak?" He Rong said.

Maybe it was because his expression was too serious, the girl was undecided, and her anger eased slightly, but the servant beside her obviously regarded He Rong as a slick and rude person, and said with a sneer, "I have seen a lot of people like you, next time I will change to someone else." If you make more excuses, if you dare to be rude, I will drag you to see an official!"

He Rong had a headache: "I'm really not a disciple, if you are worried, then let's go see the official first."

The servant was about to speak, but was stopped by the girl, she said softly, "What's the matter with you?"

He Rong: "There are too many people here, please take a step to speak, just under the eaves in front, this is a matter of life and death, it is not a joke."

The more serious he was, the more the servant felt that He Rong was scaremongering, but the girl was more talkative, so he really took people with He Rong to an open space under the eaves of the temple where there were few people.

He Zhan didn't expect that the third brother would run away with the little girl when he was inattentive, and rushed forward with his things, only to hear He Rong ask him something more like a disciple: "Dare to ask the little lady's body?" Where does the aroma come from?"

The author has something to say:

Small theater unrelated to the main text:

He Zhan: (Heartbroken) Third brother, I misread you!I didn't expect you to be so...

He Rong: Huh?

He Zhan: So awesome!You can hook up with little girls casually!

He Rong: ...