Emperor Wu of Zhou designated the annual spring plowing as an important day, and the court attached great importance to it.
At the auspicious time in the morning of this day, Emperor Wu of Zhou would worship heaven and earth and his ancestors, and pray for good weather this year. Then, worship Houji, the god of grains, and pray for a bumper harvest this year.
On the day of spring plowing, at Yin Shi, when it was still dark, Zhao Yao was awakened by the same joy.
In order to help Zhao Yao wake up as soon as possible, Tongxi directly washed his face with cold water.
After being chilled by cold water for a while, Zhao Yao finally woke up from his deep sleep.
Seeing Liang Zhaoyi in the dining hall, Zhao Yao asked with surprise: "Concubine, why are you up?" Concubine does not need to go to worship, nor does she need to leave the palace to participate in spring plowing, so there is no need to get up so early.
"I made breakfast and snacks for you." Liang Zhaoyi said warmly, "Eat more."
"Concubine, I'm just here to join in the fun." Zhao Yao is not in good health and is not suitable for planting rice in the fields. Emperor Wu of Zhou originally did not intend to take him there, but under the "persuasion" of the fourth prince, he finally agreed to take Zhao Yao.
"You are here to observe and learn, not to join in the fun." Liang Zhaoyi corrected Zhao Yao's words seriously.
Zhao Yao realized that he had said the wrong thing, stuck out his tongue and said, "Mother and Concubine are right, I'm here to learn."
"Your imperial brothers will go to the fields to plant rice, you have to watch carefully." Liang Zhaoyi told Zhao Yao in a very serious tone, "You must also learn to go to the field to plant rice in the future."
"Don't worry, mother and concubine, I will take good care of you." Although the smelly father was sometimes unreliable, he did a very good job in spring plowing. "I will also study hard."
"Have breakfast, otherwise you will be late for worship." Liang Zhaoyi sat down and had breakfast with Zhao Yao.
"Then I have to eat quickly."
Liang Zhaoyi personally made porridge, egg pancakes and siomai for Zhao Yao. The egg pancakes she makes are very delicious. Zhao Yao usually eats them the most and can eat several in one sitting.
Zhao Yao ate two bowls of porridge, four egg pancakes, and five shaomai. If Liang Zhaoyi hadn't stopped him, he would still have been able to eat one egg pancake and two shaomai.
After feeding Xiaobai and finishing its meal, Xiaobai returned to Zhao Yao's sleeve and wrapped around his arm.
Seeing this scene, Liang Zhaoyi asked funnyly: "Isn't it boring for this little guy to hide in your sleeves every day?"
"Xiao Bai is too shy and timid to stay alone." Zhao Yao raised his right hand and gently patted Xiao Bai wrapped around his left arm. "Besides, the weather is not very warm now, and Xiao Bai is I'm afraid of the cold, so it's good to have it wrapped around my arm." When sleeping at night, Xiaobai would get into Zhao Yao's arms and curl himself up into a ball.
"I just saw it, it seems to have grown up."
"Well, I've grown a little longer and gained a little weight."
Liang Zhaoyi warned: "When you are worshiping, don't let it escape. It will be bad if it scares people."
"I understand, Concubine Mother." Zhao Yao waved to Liang Zhaoyi, "Concubine Mother, I'm leaving."
The place of worship is at the altar, also called the Temple of Heaven.
The Temple of Heaven is not very far from Chengguang Hall, but it is a bit far from Kunde Hall. It takes three moments to walk there.
The fourth prince specially waited for Zhao Yao on the road.
"Fourth brother, good morning."
"Good morning."
Because worship requires formal clothes, the fourth prince and Zhao Yao both wore vermilion prince uniforms.
Wearing vermilion clothes makes Zhao Yao look even more elegant, making him particularly attractive.
"Is it cold?" the fourth prince asked, reaching out to hold Zhao Yao's hand. Seeing that Zhao Yao's little hand was warm, he felt relieved.
"Fourth brother, I'm not cold." Zhao Yao held the fourth prince's hand and found that his fourth brother's hand was a little cold. "Fourth brother, your hands are a little cold. I'll warm you up." Zhao Yao stretched out his pair of The little chubby hand rubbed the fourth prince's hand.
"I'm not cold either." The fourth prince held Zhao Yao's hand without letting go, "Let's go."
"Fourth brother, you look good in red clothes." Fourth brother usually looks too mature and steady, like an adult, but wearing red clothes, fourth brother looks more lively.
"You look better in red."
"I'm good-looking, and I look good in whatever clothes I wear." Zhao Yao has always been very self-aware of his appearance.
"Yes, you look good no matter what you wear." The fourth prince smiled.
The two brothers walked and talked. Soon, we arrived at the Temple of Heaven.
The ministers arrived early and stood in order.
Among the princes, only Zhao Yao and the fourth prince arrived, and no one else arrived.
The fourth prince was worried that Zhao Yao would be nervous and forget the rules of worship, so he hurriedly told him again.
After a while, the third prince and the others arrived. After a while, Dai Wang arrived with the Ninth Prince.
The Ninth Prince also looked at the Third Prince and the others provocatively, and the Third Prince and the others gave him a blank look.
As soon as the acting king arrived, the scene became lively.
The ministers saluted and said hello to the king one after another, and the king chatted cordially with the ministers.
Seeing the scene where the acting king and the ministers were talking and laughing, Zhao Yao complained silently in his heart: The prince's elder brother was sick and could not participate in the spring plowing, so the second brother took the initiative to stir up... the big trouble, making himself like the prince.
In the past few years, King Dai has been away fighting chaos and has never participated in spring plowing. It is rare to be in the capital at this time of year. The prince happened to be ill again at this time, which gave him this opportunity.
When it is time to perform sacrifices, the king will temporarily take over the duties of the prince and perform sacrifices.
Just when King Dai was feeling delighted, he suddenly heard the sound of saluting Emperor Wu of Zhou coming from afar.
"See the Emperor."
Then, he heard the sound of saluting the prince again.
"Join the Prince."
The smile on Dai Wang's face suddenly froze, his eyes widened with an unbelievable look on his face.
How can it be?
Why is the prince here?
Many ministers also showed expressions of disbelief.
Zhao Yao almost couldn't help but laugh when he saw the surprised look on behalf of the king and the ministers.
He knew that the prince brother would appear and would never let the second brother replace him.
Sure enough, he expected it!
Looking at the prince walking beside Emperor Wu of Zhou, King Dai's eyes instantly became gloomy, and his heart was filled with anger.
He was tricked by the prince!
When the prince saw the shocked look on the king's behalf, he smiled very proudly in his heart.
Duke Zhen Guo took the lead in saluting Emperor Wu of Zhou and the prince, and the ministers quickly followed suit.
The moment King Dai lowered his head, his face became sinister and twisted.
"Everyone, get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Emperor Wu of Zhou walked up to the Temple of Heaven, with the prince following behind him.
The seventh prince, who had been following Emperor Zhou Wu and the prince just now, walked into the prince's team.
Although the seventh prince looked calm, he was very angry and unfair inside.
He is obviously the legitimate son, but he is often ignored. Obviously his status is higher than that of the prince, but...
Not long ago, the seventh prince met Emperor Wu of Zhou and the prince on the way to the Temple of Heaven, so he went with them.
On the way to the Temple of Heaven, the eldest brother, the prince, asked the seventh prince some questions with concern. Although the seventh prince was impatient with the prince's hypocritical concern, he still answered obediently.
What made the seventh prince most angry was not the prince, but Emperor Wu of Zhou's neglect of him.
When Emperor Zhou Wu saw the seventh prince, he just glanced at him and did not ask him with concern whether he had eaten breakfast or how he was doing in his studies.
Among the princes, the seventh prince is relatively outstanding, especially in reading. Except for the fourth prince, the seventh prince is the best-read among all the princes.
The seventh prince often received praise from gentlemen for his study, but rarely received praise from Emperor Wu of Zhou. This made him feel more and more that the prince was blocking his way.
In fact, Emperor Zhou Wu rarely praised not only the seventh prince, but also other princes, including the prince. When the prince was studying, he was very good at it. The gentlemen who taught him praised him and often praised him in front of the emperor for his intelligence in reading. However, Emperor Wu of Zhou rarely praised the prince.
In terms of reading, only the fourth prince could be praised by Emperor Wu of Zhou.
The fourth prince did not read as many books as the prince, but the fourth prince did not study like the prince. The prince was a bit rigid in reading, and Emperor Wu of Zhou often said that he was a nerd.
The prince is smart in reading, but he is not as savvy as the fourth prince in reading.
Emperor Wu of Zhou took the prince to pray devoutly to heaven, earth and ancestors, and then worshiped Houji.
After the worship is over, Zhao Yao and the others will first go back to their palace, change out of their clothes and put on ordinary clothes.
Kunde Palace was a bit far away, so the fourth prince took Zhao Yao directly to Xingde Palace and changed clothes in his room.
The fourth prince's room had always been filled with several sets of clothes for Zhao Yao. Sometimes Zhao Yao would go to live with him.
After changing his clothes, Zhao Yao went to the eighth prince's house to visit him.
After the eighth prince returned to the palace, he stayed in his room to recover from his injuries. After these days of recuperation, the eighth prince finally had some color on his face. However, his body was still very weak.
After talking to the eighth prince for a while, Zhao Yao left.
"Fourth brother, let's go."
The fourth prince nodded lightly and immediately took Zhao Yao's hand and walked towards the palace gate. On the way, the fourth prince wanted to speak several times to ask Zhao Yao to stay away from the eighth prince, but in the end he did not speak out.
(End of chapter)
