At the beginning of Chen hour, the morning dynasty begins.
Last night Emperor Zhou Wu reviewed the memorials until midnight, and kept dreaming after he went to bed. He didn't sleep well in the second half of the night, and he didn't have much energy when he got up in the morning.
At this time, he was sitting on the dragon chair, with his right hand supporting his face and his elbows on the armrests of the dragon chair. He was lying on the dragon chair. He really had no posture to sit or lie down.
Emperor Wu of Zhou opened his mouth wide and yawned from time to time, showing no imperial image at all.
He Xiang and several other important ministers came out one by one to report important matters.
Emperor Wu of Zhou felt drowsy after hearing this. He raised his hand and waved casually, indicating that he understood.
After He Xiang and others finished talking about important matters, Yushi Zhongcheng came out and began to participate in the performance of the king.
The censor Zhongcheng was very angry and his voice was very loud, which woke up Emperor Wu of Zhou who was almost asleep.
Emperor Wu of Zhou's right hand was numb, so he changed his posture and gestures, supported his face with his left hand, and listened carefully to the music played by the censor Zhongcheng.
The censor Zhongcheng Shen was accused of being rude, arrogant and domineering, and contemptuous of the prince. He told all the rude things that King Dai had done to the prince when he welcomed him back to the capital.
After he finished speaking, several more censors came out to echo his words. He said that Dai Wang relied on his strength to win the battle, so he did not take His Highness the Crown Prince seriously.
King Dai didn't take Censor Zhongcheng's participation in the performance seriously.
The ministers who supported the King of Dai refuted the remarks of Yu Shi Zhongcheng and others one by one, saying that His Highness the Crown Prince did not greet His Highness the King of Dai as the crown prince that day, but as his elder brother. Facing your brother, you don't need so much etiquette.
Those who supported the prince's party felt that they were being careless and started discussing etiquette and rules with them.
The prince, the Duke of Zhen, the King of Dai, and Marquis Xuanping did not speak. They stayed away and watched the ministers argue about etiquette and rules.
Censor Zhongcheng suddenly raised his voice and asked Emperor Zhou Wu to deal with the king. He also said that if King Dai relies on himself to make military exploits for the Zhou Dynasty and ignores the court laws and etiquette, then King Dai will definitely do more treacherous things in the future.
He also said that not long after the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, not long after the rituals and music were completed. If he was allowed to ignore etiquette and rules just because he won the battle on behalf of the king, then why did Zhou bother to cultivate rituals and music?
When Marquis Xuanping saw that Yushi Zhongcheng had brought the matter to the attention of Zhou Dynasty to repair rituals and music, he thought that he could no longer let Yushi Zhongcheng talk about it, otherwise the acting king would become the Yunwang of the previous dynasty.
He was just about to speak when Yushi Zhongcheng asked Taichang Cheng.
Taichang Cheng is the cousin of the fourth prince and belongs to the Li family. Back then, the Li family was invited down the mountain by the late emperor for the purpose of practicing the rituals and music of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
No one knows the etiquette and rules of Dazhou better than the Li family, so it is right to ask Taichang Cheng.
Taichang Cheng did not expect that Yushi Zhongcheng would ask him, so he was stunned for a moment and then came out to answer. He is not afraid of the king, nor the ministers of the king's party. He answered the censor Zhongcheng's questions very objectively.
When he answered, he stated in great detail which of these articles of etiquette were included.
King Dai and his ministers frowned when they heard Taichang Cheng's answer.
The ministers who supported the king did not dare to refute Taichang Cheng's words. Because everything Taichang Cheng said was right. The most important thing is that the etiquette was practiced by the Li family, and the ministers could not refute it even if they wanted to.
For the Li family, neither the prince nor the acting king dared to offend.
The Li family's status in the court was very high, even higher than that of the Kong family. Back then, the late emperor only visited the thatched cottage three times before inviting the Li family down the mountain. In order to allow the Li family to come out again, the late emperor granted some privileges to the Li family.
The ministers did not know what the specific privileges were, because the late emperor did not make it public, and the Li family did not leak it. Ministers have various speculations about this privilege. One of the guesses is that the late emperor gave the Li family a gold medal to avoid death. This guess was recognized by many ministers.
After Taichang Cheng finished speaking, Yushi Zhongcheng once again asked Emperor Zhou Wu to punish Dai Wang as a warning to others.
At this time, the hall was quiet.
Censor Zhongcheng and several censors knelt on the ground, and the ministers standing on both sides did not speak.
Emperor Wu of Zhou sat up straight and looked at King Dai standing below.
When King Dai saw the look Emperor Wu of Zhou gave him, his heart trembled. He hurriedly walked out of the queue, knelt down, and apologized to Emperor Wu of Zhou: "Father, I understand that I am guilty. I should not treat His Highness the Crown Prince as my eldest brother. I am your son." I'm being disrespectful, please forgive me."
At this time, the prince also came out and saluted Emperor Wu of Zhou: "Father, when I welcomed the second brother's triumphant return as an elder brother, he did not greet his second brother as a prince. Furthermore, there is no need for so many rules and etiquette between brothers. , please don’t blame the second brother."
Emperor Wu of Zhou raised his hand to signal the prince and the king to stand up.
The prince and the king said at the same time: "Thank you, father."
"On that day, I promised the prince to welcome the king as his elder brother. That being the case, there was only the elder brother on that day. There was no prince, and there were no monarchs or ministers." Emperor Wu of Zhou spoke calmly, as if he was talking about a very ordinary thing, "Without a monarch or ministers, there will be no monarch or ministers." There is no need to observe these etiquettes of a monarch and his ministers."
When King Dai heard what Emperor Wu of Zhou said, his face was filled with joy. He knew that his father would protect him.
The prince's expression was calm, but the hands hanging down by his legs were clenched into fists.
"Your Majesty..." Censor Zhongcheng was dissatisfied when he saw Emperor Zhou Wu being so partial to the king. As soon as he opened his mouth, Emperor Wu of Zhou raised his hand and interrupted.
"Acting King."
"My son is here."
"If you do something disrespectful in the future, I will never forgive you lightly."
"My son, please remember your father's lesson."
Emperor Wu of Zhou nodded, and then said: "Copy the "Etiquette" a hundred times."
"Ah?" King Dai was confused. He didn't expect that Emperor Wu of Zhou would punish him for copying the "Etiquette".
"Why, if a hundred times is too little, then..."
Before he could say the word "two", King Dai hurriedly said: "Not a little, not a little at all. I am willing to copy it a hundred times."
Emperor Wu of Zhou looked at Yushi Zhongcheng and said: "Zhongcheng, after copying the "Etiquette" a hundred times on behalf of the king, he will definitely remember the "Etiquette" in his heart and will never violate the "Etiquette" in the future."
Censor Zhongcheng said nothing.
Emperor Wu of Zhou asked: "Zhongcheng, are you satisfied with this punishment?"
Of course Yushi Zhongcheng was not satisfied, but he did not dare to say anything.
"I don't dare."
"Get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Emperor Wu of Zhou sat back on the dragon chair again, "Is there anything else?"
"Father, I have a favor to ask of you." The prince suddenly said.
"What's up?"
"Father, next month is the anniversary of my mother's death. I want to go to Hulong Temple to pray for my mother." The prince pleaded, "I want to bathe and fast for my mother for seven or forty-nine days. Please allow me to do so!"
When the late empress was mentioned, Emperor Zhou Wu's expression changed instantly, and he was no longer as rude as before.
"I am very pleased that you are so filial. When are you going to Hulong Temple?"
"My son wants to go to Hulong Temple tomorrow."
"Then go ahead."
"Thank you, Father."
Emperor Wu of Zhou did not speak any more. Sun Kui then asked the minister: "My lords, do you have anything to report?"
Seeing that the ministers had nothing to do, Sun Kui shouted loudly: "Retreat!"
"Long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor!"
After Emperor Zhou Wu left the hall, Kong Taichang also hurriedly left the hall.
In the imperial study, Emperor Wu of Zhou had just sat down when he heard that Kong Taichang had asked for an audience.
"Let him in."
Kong Taichang walked in with his waist hunched over, then knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Emperor Wu of Zhou.
When Emperor Wu of Zhou saw Kong Taichang performing such a grand ceremony, he knew the reason why he came to the imperial study to find him.
"My dear, why are you doing such a great courtesy?"
"Your Majesty, my youngest daughter is not worthy to be His Royal Highness's concubine. I would like to ask the Emperor to withdraw the marriage." Kong Taichang said directly.
Emperor Zhou Wu was not surprised at all when he heard Kong Taichang's words.
"My dear, you don't want to be your son and daughter with me."
Kong Taichang was frightened in his heart, but he still tried his best to keep calm on his face.
"I don't want to, and I don't want to be in-laws with the emperor!"
Emperor Zhou Wu did not expect Kong Taichang to be so bold and straightforward, which surprised him.
After Kong Taichang finished speaking solemnly, he knelt on the ground with a pale face, waiting uneasily for Emperor Zhou Wu's condemnation.
The third update is here.
Zhao Yao: I didn’t expect that my second brother would also be punished with copying books, and I instantly felt balanced.
Eighth Prince: Silly brother, my father punishing my second brother to copy books is different from punishing you to copy books.
(End of chapter)
