Mu Sheng's crown prince's honor guard came all the way to the outskirts of the capital, to the south bank of Qingshui River, where the heaven-sacrifice ceremony was held. The place was extremely empty. There was a high platform more than ten feet high in the center where the ceremony was held. On the high platform stood a huge bronze sculpture with animal patterns. Ding, the copper tripod is filled with smoke, and the smoke rises straight into the sky. This is the fireworks rising from the burnt wood stove, which expresses the meaning of conveying the respect for heaven from the world to heaven.
At this time, there were crowds of people under the high platform, drums and music were blaring, and flags were flying in the wind. Under the flags, officials of all sizes stood waiting on both sides. They only waited for the prince's honor guard to arrive before the ceremony to worship the heaven officially began.
Mu Sheng, accompanied by a group of officials accompanying him, climbed up to the high platform, burned incense and prayed. Mu Sheng took the prayer and began to recite it. After reciting, Mu Sheng, on behalf of the emperor, knelt down and kowtowed three times to the tablet of the god to show his sincerity. , only gods can make the emperor kneel down.
The Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven, the son of Heaven, of course, if you regard Heaven as your father, you must kneel down and pay homage.
Then the saluting officer presented the gold-plated copper wine cup. Mu Sheng took the copper wine cup and walked to the copper basin. He put the wine cup into the copper basin and washed it in a ceremonial manner. He took the silk cloth and wiped the wine cup before returning it to the saluting officer. .
The salute officer turned around and filled the wine jar with royal wine, and presented the wine cup with both hands. Mu Sheng solemnly took the wine cup and offered it to the altar. After taking three sticks of incense, he bowed once, and then took three sticks of incense and bowed twice. Until the third prayer, the ceremony is completed.
At this time, the ancient music played, and the Si Zhuguan under the high platform led the people out, solemnly holding the silk book and reciting the congratulations in the square. Basically, they were words of respect to God, bless the country and the people, etc. After the congratulations were recited, the ceremony was completed. become.
The imperial wine that the official had taken from the sacrifice was presented to him, and Mu Sheng took the imperial wine and took a symbolic sip. This was the first offering of the ceremony, followed by the sub-offering and the final offering. What is the sub-gift and the ultimate gift? It means repeating the routine just now twice...
After going through this complicated ritual of offering sacrifices to heaven, even a monk like Mu Sheng could not help but feel some back pain and leg cramps...
On the way back, Mu Sheng lamented that people in this era seemed to spend all their energy on etiquette...
After the ceremony, Mu Sheng boarded the car and the huge honor guard returned to the East Palace.
In the early morning of the next day, Mu Sheng was awakened by the eunuchs in the palace. The last procedure after establishing the crown prince was to tour the entire Qingyang City to let the entire Qingyang City's subjects see what the new crown prince looked like.
After washing up, Mu Sheng, dressed in formal attire and with a crown on his head, came out of the East Palace and boarded a special Wang Qingqing car. This car has an open top and an umbrella cover on top. It is a high car that is specially used by princes, generals and ministers to parade in the streets. use.
After Mu Sheng boarded the carriage, he stood still. This carriage was luxurious, but it did not have seats. He could only stand motionless on it, holding on to the guardrail of the carriage. Because he was going to parade, the standing posture showed more status and nobility. The so-called correct appearance was, The only person qualified to sit in this car is the driver driving the horse in front...
Under the close guard of hundreds of people, the prince's honor guard left the Qingyang Palace. When the honor guard came out of the palace gate and walked to the street, almost all the people in the city crowded on both sides of the street to watch the ceremony. This kind of royal etiquette and royal pomp are beyond compare It is very rare. After all, such a grand ceremony of establishing a crown prince may not happen for many years. Naturally, people from inside and outside the capital who came to watch the excitement crowded the streets. Thousands of imperial guards on both sides of the street went to clear the way and guard the crown prince's honor. Slowly tour the whole city of Qingyang.
At this moment, Mu Sheng could only stand silently in the car. He could not move around and wave to the people watching the excitement. He had to remain serious and expressionless throughout the whole process, just like a wax figure of a real person. In general, there are strict requirements for doing everything in the car. This is a strict hierarchical etiquette system.
The so-called etiquette system of this era was used to distinguish the superior and inferior of the three, six and nine classes. The prince's ceremonial parade was also a way to declare to the public and establish his legal status and authority.
At this time, Gongzixiu's mansion was sitting in the courtyard, drinking sullen wine, with only a concubine by his side, looking doubly desolate.
Suddenly he heard a burst of noise outside the courtyard. He called the housekeeper of the mansion and asked, "Uncle Tang, why is there so much noise outside the mansion?"
Uncle Tang shook his head and said, "I don't know why, but now everyone in the mansion cannot enter and exit freely, and there are guards sent by the court to guard the door."
Young Master Xiu sighed, took out the gold cake from his arms and handed it to Uncle Tang, saying, "Money can help the gods. Go find the guard at the door and make some concessions. You can inquire carefully to see what happened outside."
Uncle Tang received the gold and said, "Sir, I'll do it now." After that, he turned and left.
In just one cup of tea, Tang Bo left and came back.
Seeing this, Gongzixiu asked Tang Bo, "How is it?"
Uncle Tang sighed, with a look of regret on his face, and said: "Sir, I have found out clearly that the new crown prince has been installed and is paraded through the city. The entire people of Qingyang City went to watch the ceremony today."
When Young Master Xiu heard this, he was stunned on the spot. He clenched his fists tightly and felt extremely painful in his heart. Everything should have belonged to him, but fate had played a trick on him. Now he was even more convinced that Huo Zheng, the treacherous man, had deliberately concealed certain things. fact.
If His Majesty really wanted to establish a Crown Prince, his son Xiu should have been established as the Crown Prince long ago. He was basically sure that the traitor Huo Zheng was afraid of public dissent, so he chose to appoint the Crown Prince in His Majesty's name. This would make it appear that the person he chose was justified. many.
Young Master Xiu recalled Wei Man's speculation. It seemed that his father had probably passed away long ago this time. Either he was seriously ill and could not manage politics. Otherwise, Huo Zheng could not be allowed to act so wantonly and appoint whomever he wanted...
Young Master Xiu's heart moved and he asked the housekeeper: "Uncle Tang, who is this new prince?"
Uncle Tang said solemnly: "I dare not go too far from the mansion. There are so many people on the street. I can't tell which young master is being appointed as the crown prince. But I heard from the guards that he seems to be the new crown prince." This is Prince Sheng, the Marquis of Anle, I remember that this young master once came to our house."
Hearing this, Young Master Xiu was shocked and said: "What? Mu Sheng? How could it be him? Shouldn't it be Mu Yin and Mu Tao?"
Young Master Xiu thought of Zhao Chu, one of the four assistant ministers, and sighed in his heart. It is possible that Mr. Huo persuaded Young Master Zhao to help Zhou in order to establish Young Master Sheng. He knew that just one person from Zhao Young Master The power is simply not enough to influence the crown prince to abolish his throne.
Young Master Xiu said, "Uncle Tang, are you going to find out how Mr. Zhao of the Young Master is doing?"
An hour later, Tang Bo came back and handed over his hand to the young master Xiuhui report: "Sir, I have found out the exact news. Mr. Zhao of the young master has left his official post and returned to his hometown yesterday."
Hearing this, Young Master Xiu said to himself: "It seems that I still judge a gentleman with a villain's heart. This Zhao Cu is indeed a true gentleman. From this, it seems that Mr. Zhao, the dignified auxiliary minister, should have been driven away by the old thief Huo." Back home."
Tang Bo heard this and said: "Young Master, this is indeed a possibility. I found out that before Mr. Zhao returned to his hometown that day, there were many important officials from the imperial court to see him off. But for some reason, Prime Minister Huo got so angry that he even scolded these officials in public. These people just I don’t dare to say goodbye to Mr. Zhaofu. It is said that when Mr. Zhao left Beijing, he was only accompanied by his family members."
Hearing this, Young Master Xiu sighed: "It seems that even if Anlehou successfully ascends to the throne and has no close followers to assist him, he is still a real loner. With such a powerful man controlling the government, I'm afraid he will have to be patient if he wants to truly sit firmly on the throne." I have been waiting for many years..."
After saying this, Gongzixiu shook his head secretly and cursed secretly. He was already in jail, so how could he have time to worry about others? Maybe the old thief Huo suddenly changed his mind and found a reason to behead himself, an idle commoner...
In the Prince's East Palace, after Mu Sheng returned to the palace, he received a letter of greeting. The eunuch came to report: "Your Highness, there is a tourist outside the East Palace who wants to see you."
Mu Sheng naturally knew in his heart who the visitor was and said, "Well, I know it and summon the visitor immediately."
After a while, a person wearing a bamboo hat and dusty clothes entered the main hall. When Mu Sheng saw the person, he stepped forward and said, "Guo Jue, you have worked hard on this journey."
Mu Sheng turned around to greet the palace servants and serve food to entertain the visitors.
Guo Xuan still seems to be a little unconvinced that his master returned to the Central Plains to become the prince? Simply outrageous.
After a long while, Guo Jue stepped forward to congratulate him: "Your Majesty, is it really you? Oh no! Is it really you, the Crown Prince?"
Hearing this, Mu Sheng shook his head and said with a smile: "It's me, it's really me, I guarantee it's fake."
Guo Xuan said with a look of disbelief: "Your Highness, to be honest, if His Highness hadn't paraded in public, I really couldn't believe my eyes. You were actually canonized as the Crown Prince?"
Mu Sheng smiled and said: "Don't say you don't believe it. Even when I think about what I have experienced these past few days, it feels like a dream."
Guo Xuan sighed: "It's really an eye-opener for God. His Majesty actually appointed you as the crown prince. It's really a blessing to the world."
Although Guo Xuan didn't think anything on his face at this moment, he was extremely happy in his heart. He was actually happier than His Highness the Crown Prince himself. He knew that the time had come for him to rise to prominence. He really never expected that the young master who had followed him for so many years would actually Did he really take the position of crown prince?
In fact, even Guo Xuan himself is not very optimistic about whether the young master Sheng can really inherit the throne? Thinking back to the time when he was chased by the Tsing Yi envoys, he had no choice but to seek refuge from Anlehou in Zhixian County. This was really a fate calculated by man. Did he not expect that his helpless act at that time would actually lead to his success? When the young master really ascends to the throne one day, as the only remaining disciple and confidant of the young master, how can he become a phoenix from now on?
Thinking of this, Guo Xuan looked at His Highness the Crown Prince and giggled while eating the food brought by the palace servants, as if His Highness the Crown Prince in front of him was his god of luck.
Mu Sheng looked amused and asked: "Guo Xuan, just eat well when you eat. Why are you laughing while eating?"
Guo Xuan smiled and said: "Your Highness, I am just happy. I am happy for you, Your Highness. God is so happy!"
Mu Sheng smiled and said: "Okay, you and I can really get through it from now on. If I ascend the throne as emperor in the future, I will definitely give you the position of Jiuqing. Come on, let's realize it. Today we You won’t come home until you’re drunk.”
Mu Sheng waved his hand and said: "Here comes, serve the wine..."
The palace attendants brought the wine and placed it on the table. Guo Xuan picked up the wine glass and bowed forward and said: "Your Highness, from now on, Guo will only follow His Highness's lead. He will not avoid hardships or dangers, nor will he avoid axes. He will only rely on His Highness's orders."
Mu Sheng stepped forward to help Guo Xuan up and said: "There is no need to be polite between you and me. Let's do this. You come to me first and be the prince's servant. It will be convenient for us to discuss anything in the future..."
Guo Xuan was overjoyed and said, "Thank you very much for your kindness, Your Highness."
Guo Xuan knew in his heart that from now on, he, Guo, would have great success. At this time, he had to believe that Young Master Sheng might be the son of destiny.
