After leaving Lin Hanyan and returning to the study, Huang Qiong thought of what happened yesterday, and her heart was actually far from as relaxed as it seemed. Originally, he thought that the Yuan family was just a magic stick passed down from his ancestors, but now he learned from Lin Hanyan and He Yao that the Yuan family actually had such great power. Unexpectedly, almost all Taoist sects in Jiangbei are in the hands of the Yuan family.
These large and small Taoist temples throughout Jiangbei are all related to the Yuan family, which can be a large force in itself. With the addition of countless believers, the Yuan family does not appear to be very conspicuous on the surface, but its secret power is no smaller than that of the Guilin County Prince's Palace. It is even possible that in terms of financial resources, it may not be much inferior to the Guilin County Prince's Palace. These days, there are many people who destroy their homes and worship God.
And with their family's ability to deceive people, as long as someone in the family has a channel, it's easy to plant an ear and an eye wherever they want. These days, it is much easier for the gods to talk and explain tasks than the boss's words. Even among those officials and scholars who open and shut their mouths, who are silent and powerful, how many of them do not believe in gods and Buddhas, or do not respect gods and Buddhas?
Offending the Yuan family is equivalent to offending such a large force. If the Yuan family wanted to correct themselves and cause some trouble for themselves, they would be better than Concubine De and her son who only relied on the power of their natal family. That pair of idiots didn't know how to deal with it. Thinking of this, Huang Qiong couldn't help but frown. He was somewhat helpless about what happened yesterday.
I wanted to bring Fan Jian and Jia Quan to discuss it, but the kind of thing that happened yesterday was really hard to explain. Wanting to send someone to find the whereabouts of the Yuan family, Huang Qiong thought for a while and finally gave up. Since people want to avoid me, how can I find it easily when my disciples have Taoist views all over the world? What's more, he doesn't have anyone in his hands yet.
The only thing I can do now is to hope that Yuan Baoer will take the initiative to look for me as he has judged. But what Huang Qiong didn't understand was why the Yuan family moved away suddenly. As for the Yuan family's sudden departure from Beijing early, is it related to themselves or what happened yesterday? Huang Qiong thinks this is very possible.
Because from what the old housekeeper said, it sounded like when Yuan Baoer left yesterday, he went directly back to Yuan Mansion. And once he returns home, Yuan Baoer's strange behavior cannot be hidden from anyone, especially his parents. The Yuan family originally planned to leave after the New Year, but not long after Yuan Baoer returned home, the Yuan family left in a hurry.
It is enough to explain the connection between what happened yesterday and the Yuan family's sudden departure from Beijing. Huang Qiong thought about it carefully for a long time, but she still couldn't figure out how she had offended the Yuan Mansion, or what she had done to the Yuan Mansion to make Master Yuan feel so taboo on her. Even if his precious daughter suffered a loss, she didn't come to him to ask for an explanation, but instead moved the whole family away in a hurry?
Could it be that their family's divination is really that good, that their family can tell some clues by just counting a divination? Or do they realize that if they get involved with them, their family will be in bad luck? Is it possible that their hexagrams are so accurate that they can tell what happened in the first thirty years or the next thirty years? It can be seen that he is not a good son-in-law for Yuan Baoer, and may even bring disaster to their family?
Originally, Huang Qiong had never believed in things like divination and fortune-telling. He thought those gadgets were just money and goods used to deceive ignorant people. If those things were really that powerful, there would be no perishable dynasties in this world, let alone any natural or man-made disasters. Because if something happens, just think of a way to avoid it.
Looking now, the matter is far from that simple. After thinking about it for a long time, I still couldn't figure out why the Yuan family avoided me like a snake and a scorpion. It seems that he and the Yuan family have never interacted with each other except for fighting Yuan Baoer once and meeting once in Wende Hall. As for Mr. Yuan, who is famous all over the world, I have never seen him before.
Huang Qiong pinched the bridge of his nose and felt a headache. Just when he finally calmed down and picked up a book to read. However, he received an imperial edict from the emperor, telling him to take a bath and burn incense tonight and not to have sex with a woman. Yinshi was guided by the Minister of Rites and went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to worship the previous emperors on behalf of the emperor.
After receiving this imperial edict, Huang Qiong couldn't help but feel a slight pause in his heart, but he didn't say anything. Regarding the significance of Huang Qiong's sacrifice to the Ancestral Temple, the ladies of He Yao were at a loss. But both Lin Hanyan and Duan Jin clearly understood the meaning behind being a prince and offering sacrifices to the Ancestral Temple on behalf of the emperor.
Compared with Duan Jin, who is from Dali and does not know the ritual rules of Daqi Tianjia, he only inferred them based on the custom-made traditional sacrifices of past dynasties. What Lin Hanyan knows better is that unlike the previous emperors of this dynasty who, in addition to the grand ceremony, held sacrifices to the Imperial Ancestral Temple every Spring Festival, those with heirs usually sent their princes, while those without heirs sent officials of the bachelor's level to offer sacrifices.
When we arrived at this dynasty, perhaps the vassal king succeeded to the throne. In previous years, on the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, the emperor always visited the Ancestral Temple in person. Not to mention other princes, even a prince has never had one. This time the emperor sent the King of England to worship the Ancestral Temple on his behalf. This was undoubtedly equivalent to publicly announcing to the world that he was preparing to depose the crown prince again and prepare to appoint a new crown prince.
Although the crown prince's position is still there, the reason why the emperor has not abolished it yet is not because he wants to keep the crown prince in the crown prince's position. It is most likely because of the changes this year, or simply because there are too many scandals in the Tian family. Deposing the crown prince might cause turmoil in the world. In addition, Huang Qiong is not married yet, so she wants to take it slow, or say, stabilize it before telling the world.
This time, Huang Qiong was sent to replace him to offer sacrifices to the Ancestral Temple at the end of the year. It was also an undisclosed public announcement under the current situation. At least at this time, the significance of worshiping the Ancestral Temple on behalf of the emperor is absolutely extraordinary. Lin Hanyan knew that after the sacrifice ceremony tomorrow morning, Huang Qiong might no longer be the King of England today.
Lin Hanyan, who understood the meaning of this imperial edict, quietly explained the meaning of this imperial edict and other meanings behind it to the other girls. When the girls looked at Huang Qiong, they couldn't help but have mixed feelings. Especially Duan Jin, the eldest princess of Dali, looked at Huang Qiong with a heavy look, and even a faint worry.
I could feel the excitement, worry, boredom, or some uncertainty in the eyes of the women when they looked over. Huang Qiong walked to the girls, hugged and kissed them one by one, and then said: "Don't think too much, no matter what changes in identity, I am still me, and you are still you. I will always treat you. Nothing will change. Wait for me to come back tomorrow and let’s have New Year’s Eve dinner together.”
But as soon as Huang Qiong finished speaking, Lin Hanyan shook his head and said: "In the past, on New Year's Eve every year, the emperor would send the queen, the concubines with famous positions in the harem, and the concubines who gave birth to the prince. Together with the princes and princesses , as well as the married princes, royal concubines, and the emperor’s grandson over five years old, eating New Year’s Eve dinner in the palace together.”
"We won't be able to have the New Year's Eve dinner tomorrow, so you can come back early. I think the New Year's Eve dinner at the Prince's Palace should be postponed to the evening of the first day of the Lunar New Year. In the past, the Emperor would receive him and give him a banquet in the Li Zheng Hall on the first day of the Lunar New Year every year. For envoys from various countries, as well as civil and military officials, there is usually nothing to do at night. This was what was done when King Jing was in the capital before he became a feudal lord."
After Lin Hanyan finished speaking, Huang Qiong touched her nose and smiled bitterly: "Hanyan is still thoughtful. In the past eighteen years, I spent every Chinese New Year listening to Xuexuan, spending time with my mother and Sister Chen Yao. Yes, it can be said to be very deserted. I have never experienced anything like this. If it weren’t for the cigarette reminder, if you were waiting for me to have New Year’s Eve dinner tomorrow, who knows how long you would have to wait?”
Although Huang Qiong's words didn't say much, there was still some bitterness in them. Knowing that he and his mother had stayed in the cold palace for eighteen years. Not to mention having a New Year's Eve dinner with relatives, even ordinary people may not be able to see a few of the girls, and all of them feel a deep sense of distress in their hearts. Duan Jin, in particular, was filled with emotions.
Although the Spring Festival is not celebrated in Dali, there are quite a lot of festivals every year. When my father and brother were in power, it was a great time for the whole family to be together on every holiday. Later, he was forced to hide in Ailao Mountain, but the mountain became even more lively during various festivals. Except for the days when she was traveling, she had never spent a holiday alone.
Thinking of this, Duan Jin walked up to Huang Qiong, hugged Huang Qiong with a blushing face and said, "Now that you have us by your side, you will no longer celebrate the New Year alone. Tomorrow you can go about your national affairs with peace of mind. We will all be waiting for you to come back. Also, during the Chinese New Year tomorrow, the empress will definitely not attend the family banquet in the palace. If you have time tomorrow, don’t forget to visit the empress."
Feeling Duan Jin's extremely rare thoughtfulness, Huang Qiong gently patted the back of the beautiful woman in his arms and said to Duan Jin: "I will probably be busy in the palace for a whole day tomorrow, so don't be idle, bring flowers with you." You all go to the palace to accompany your mother. I can't accompany my mother tomorrow, so you daughters-in-law can go in my place. I think my mother will be happier to see you than to see me."
Speaking of this, Huang Qiong looked at Lin Hanyan and said: "Hanyan, you go too. My mother has always wanted to see flowers, and she received so much money and gifts years ago. Tomorrow will be the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month. I just happened to bring Huahua to meet my mother. My mother has a cold temperament, and there are many rules in the palace. Huahua may not feel comfortable without you. Don't think too much, Huahua is your adopted daughter, this is normal."
When I heard that Huang Qiong asked me to enter the palace, I hesitated for a while, but thinking that I was already eighteen years old, I was still trembling with trepidation when I entered the palace for the first time. Hua Hua was still so young and didn't understand the rules of the palace. Don't be really frightened, so she finally nodded. Anyway, the emperor also said that he should bring the flowers into the palace for him to see.
In response to Huang Qiong's instruction, all the girls except Wu Ziyu who was not present nodded. Huang Qiong originally wanted to spend more time with the girls, but unfortunately this rare and warm moment was interrupted by officials from the Ministry of Rites and Taichang Temple sent by the emperor. Knowing the purpose of these officials, Huang Qiong could only give up the tenderness with the girls and bathe and change clothes according to the requirements of these officials.
After bathing and changing clothes, officials from the Ministry of Rites and Taichang Temple respectfully invited Huang Qiong, the deity of heaven and earth, to burn a pillar of incense in Huang Qiong's study, which was temporarily used as a quiet room. Huang Qiong also behaved well and bowed three times and kowtowed to the heaven and earth tablets. Following the instructions of several officials, he sat quietly on the futon and meditated. ,
As soon as the ugly time arrived, under the urging of the officials, he changed into wearing a five-color nine-color crown on his head, a white jade bag tied around his waist, and a five-color blue robe prince's formal dress. He rode in his princely sedan chair, escorted by five hundred guards sent by the emperor, and arrived at the Ancestral Temple outside the main entrance of the palace. Under Fengchang's guidance, after entering the Ancestral Temple, they bowed three times and kowtowed.
