The heroine Jiangshan

Chapter 24 Auspicious?

According to the old practice of the Qing Dynasty, there were actually quite a few royal festival celebrations.New Year's Eve, Beginning of Spring, Dragon Boat Festival, etc., all have prescribed celebration activities.Like the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, there are also moon appreciation and moon worship activities in the palace.

It's a pity that Emperor Yuanqi "cultivated Taoism with a pure heart" for many years, and these routine gatherings were basically interrupted except for New Year's Eve.That's why the holding of the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet this time caused people to discuss a lot, wondering what kind of medicine was sold in Emperor Yuanqi's gourd.

Now everyone's doubts have been added - which prince does the emperor prefer?

Before today, most people believed that King Cheng was more likely to ascend the throne than King Jing.But seeing that the emperor was particularly fond of Princess Huarong, who was brought out by Prince Jing, people began to be undecided again.Could it be that because of Prince Jing's recent performance in disaster relief, the emperor has a new understanding of the prince's ability, and he has valued him again?
This is not impossible!The emperor has always been very kind.

This made many people worry about the emperor's reduction of the royal family's treatment, but also added another worry.I heard that the emperor's health is not very good recently, could it be that... is it true that he is going to decide who will belong to the crown prince?
The servants of the maidservants brought up fresh melon and fruit mooncakes like flowing water.Red soft and juicy pomegranates, fresh and sweet grapes, and melons from the Western Regions are all rare and good fruits.The mooncakes made inside are also very different from those sold outside. The fine sand lard filling is wrapped with a moderately sweet, salty, browned and crispy crust. It is pressed into a small and exquisite shape with exquisite cake molds. The color, fragrance and shape are all attractive. extreme.

Then someone brought steamed big crabs with a set of "eight pieces of crabs", which exude a strong fresh fragrance from a long distance.Eating crabs in the Mid-Autumn Festival is also an old tradition in the palace of the Qing Dynasty. Fresh and fat crabs are specially selected to wash, wrapped in cattail leaves and steamed. After eating, drink Suye soup, and then use Suye to wash hands. sets.During Taizu and Taizong's time, officials were even invited to participate in the crab banquet in the Mid-Autumn Festival. It was a rare event for talented scholars to compose poems and play music in the classroom.

But when it came to Emperor Yuan Qi, everything was kept simple, and he couldn't bear to invite so many people to the palace.And the clan members who came back to participate in the palace banquet were also worried, for fear that what the emperor held was a "Hongmen banquet", and they would not eat the delicious food, it was just a formality.

Only Yun Ruochen was sitting beside his father, devoting himself to eating crabs with the "Eight Pieces of Crabs", not letting go of a piece of fat paste or even a trace of crab meat, eating up the two big crabs in front of him gracefully and calmly.Hmph, the emperor is big when eating, food is the most important thing for the people, so she doesn't want to waste such delicious food.Thinking of those victims who were still eating bran-swallowed vegetables, she ate even more vigorously, and she would be punished by God if she didn't eat them.

After the three routine toasts at the beginning of the banquet, Emperor Yuan Qi stopped making any noise, looked around the people in the Hetai Hall calmly, drank a couple of mouthfuls of fresh bamboo shoot soup occasionally, but didn't bother to touch other dishes.In order to "cultivate Taoism", he has always eaten vegetarian dishes, but His Majesty's exquisite vegetarian dishes cost more time and money than big fish and meat.

Prince Jing and Prince Cheng sat at a table under the emperor, and the two princes were very excited.Can you not be excited, how long will it take to meet your own father?

It's all the nonsense of "the two dragons don't meet each other", so they have no chance to face the saint alone, and they all want to take advantage of the party to bond with the emperor's father.But their father and son were used to indifference, and now neither of them knew how to talk to the old emperor, lest they would offend the temperamental father if they were not careful.

Emperor Yuan Qi watched his two sons fidgeting condescendingly, feeling dissatisfied and desolate in his heart.

This is his only heir.

I can't hold back at all, I am 30 years old, but I am not as good as when I was 17 years old when I became the throne.Emperor Yuan Qi himself was a strong man, so he especially hated the weak - but his two sons didn't even dare to raise their heads under his prestige, which made the old emperor even more entangled.

Suddenly, his eyes fell on Yun Ruochen who was beside Prince Jing, and then looked at the clean crab shells on the plate in front of her, finally a smile appeared in his eyes.

This girl has a good appetite.Although it was her first time entering the palace, she was not nervous at all, much stronger than her father and uncle.Alas, it's a pity that it's a girl, how great would it be if it was a male grandson?

Although King Cheng kept his head down, the corners of his eyes were tightly locked on the movements of the emperor's father, and he felt even more annoyed when he found that Emperor Yuan Qi was looking at Yun Ruochen.

My precious daughter didn't know what kind of evil she had fallen into. She went to Chonghua Palace to see Concubine Shu, but she rolled down the steps of the palace gate, her nose was black and her face was swollen, and she was sent out of the palace early.Really useless!

If Bao Ling was here, that damn girl Hua Rong wouldn't have stolen the limelight.But the father is also true, but he is so eager to let the side concubine Liu carry the infant son over to greet him, and he doesn't pay much attention!This is his only grandson.

It doesn't matter, fortunately he has already made full preparations for entering the palace today!
In the middle of the banquet, as a rule, Prince Jing, Cheng and other princes should toast to the emperor.Prince Jing is a dull person, he obediently listens to the guidance of the eunuchs and offers wine to the emperor's father.However, King Cheng knelt down in front of Emperor Yuan Qi, yelling, "I kowtow to my father", with tears in his eyes, looking like a filial son who hadn't seen his father for a long time and finally got his wish today.

"Is this acting too exaggerated?"

Yun Ruochen stared blankly at King Cheng's performance, and then at Emperor Yuan Qi, thinking that the old emperor wouldn't be moved by such superficial acting skills, would he?
"Okay, how decent is a person in his tens of years." Emperor Yuan Qi's expression was calm, and his tone was as usual, and he was not at all moved by his son's "expression of true feelings".

Just when Yun Ruochen thought that King Cheng was going to jump up and hug Emperor Yuan Qi's thigh and cry "Father", King Cheng put away his tears and said with a smirk, "My son is so happy today, that's why I'm so happy." If you lose your composure in front of your father, you should be punished! You should be punished!"

"...I won't blame you on this beautiful Mid-Autumn Festival reunion day."

Emperor Yuan Qi remained indifferent, but King Cheng kept nodding his head and said, "Father, it's always wrong for my son to lose his temper. Fortunately, today I brought a gift and wanted to present it to my father, so I asked my son to use this gift Make amends to your father!"

Gift?

The attention of everyone in the Hetai Hall was drawn to King Cheng, and they all speculated about what precious gift His Highness King Cheng would give to His Majesty.

Prince Jing stood aside with an unnatural expression.

King Cheng didn't care what Prince Jing's expression was like, he was full of confidence, and he was sure to win this round!
"Father, a few days ago, in Antong, my fiefdom, someone suddenly discovered two divine beasts. I was afraid that the people below made up nonsense to fool me, so I deliberately had them captured and brought them to the capital. Recently, my son I invited several respected adults to look at it, and finally confirmed that the two beasts are real!"

"My son didn't dare to hide it privately, so I brought it into the palace today to present it to my father!"

"Where is the beast?"

Emperor Yuan Qi, who was always an old god, had his eyes shining brightly, and he didn't seem to be as calm as usual. He stood up with a "huh" and waved his hands: "Send it in quickly!"

Prince Jing's face suddenly turned pale.The hall seemed to be poured with boiling oil, and it boiled all of a sudden, and everyone was eagerly discussing——What kind of beast is King Cheng going to offer?
"It turns out that the old emperor is obsessed with Xiangrui..."

Yun Ruochen secretly rubbed the corner of his forehead, and pulled the corner of his mouth into a wry smile.

Well, she has indeed seen too many people like this.But almost all those who claim to "cultivate the Tao" in the secular world have this kind of temper!
It is said that Emperor Yuan Qi has been obsessed with Taoism many years ago, and devoted himself to practicing the art of longevity.But apart from a descendant of Qimen like Yun Ruochen, there are very few people who can truly cultivate and enter the Tao. No matter how hard Emperor Yuan Qi tries, it will be in vain.

But he is an emperor, and he has been confident since he was a child. How could it be me who can't do it?It must be done!

At this time, the courtiers who are as caring as little padded jackets start to coax the emperor.But it's useless to just talk about your majesty's profound morals and deeds, no matter how much you praise, how can he not know whether the emperor himself has supernatural power?Therefore, we must find another way and start from other aspects.

This is "presenting auspiciousness".

Auspiciousness is a general term for auspicious omens, and is considered by Confucianism to be an oracle from God to the world.For example, the sky is full of colorful clouds, the weather is good, the double ears of grass grow, the sweet spring comes out of the earth, rare birds and animals, etc.When it comes to the emperor, it represents God's praise to the "son of heaven", his agent in the world.

"Good job, I'll give you a little red flower!"——uh, that's pretty much what it means... So basically the emperors like Xiangrui, but the degree of liking varies.

Emperor Yuan Qi belonged to the particularly fanatical kind.

In the official history books of all dynasties, there is a special item "Fu Ruizhi", which is used to record auspiciousness.Moreover, auspiciousness is strictly divided into five levels, which are Jiarui, Darui, Shangrui, Zhongrui, and Xiarui.

In the early years when Emperor Yuan Qi first started practicing Taoism, he was really ruthless, and he was happy with whatever the people below offered.But people will always become smarter, and Emperor Yuan Qi gradually understood that many people were taking him for a fool.

This must not be tolerated!
So later, Emperor Yuan Qi decreed that the so-called auspiciousness that did not meet the requirements of "Fu Ruizhi" should not be brought in front of me to cause trouble.As a result, the team offering auspiciousness has shrunk greatly.

However, today King Cheng dared to present auspicious auspiciousness at the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet with great fanfare, which shows that he has a well-thought-out plan. The two "divine beasts" he wants to present may really be "big auspiciousness"!
For a while, even Yun Ruochen was a little nervous, thinking about how to deal with King Cheng's move this time.

This was the first time she had seen King Cheng's methods positively, and she was really not sure.Especially looking at the pale face of my Baozi father, I feel even more helpless.

It doesn't matter, fortunately, she has already made plans...

　Overhead text, due to the needs of the plot, the etiquette such as the separation of men and women is not so strict, everyone understands.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)