Therefore, as long as they are not the first officials to attend such a large court meeting, they generally have no interest in these so-called royal banquets. Even if a prince comes from Northern Liao this year, according to the character of Guanglu Temple, even the emperor dares to fool him. I guess the taste of this dish is not much better either. Besides, among the officials who can attend the imperial meeting, which one is short of enough food?
However, for Huang Qiong, it was because it was his first time to participate in such a large court gathering, so he seemed very interested. What made him even more happy was that among the princes he saw outside the palace, except for him, he was the only one who came here under the imperial edict. Huang Qiong knew that his emperor had listened to what he said yesterday. Even if I haven't made up my mind yet, I at least have some ideas.
However, King Yong, who did not know the inside story, was asked to come to this grand meeting as an exception. Not only did he not show any excitement on his face, but he also looked depressed. When he saw Huang Qiong who was in high spirits outside the palace gate, he came up to him without saying hello, curled his lips and said, "Old Jiu, do you know why the old man has gone crazy today? Why did he want me to come to this grand meeting?" ?”
"According to common sense, the prince and other princes are not allowed to attend this kind of meeting unless they are summoned. The only time your seventh brother and I attended was two years ago. It was when the King of Shu returned to the capital. The old man showed mercy and specially allowed a few of us to return. There are no older princes from the vassal who come to see the world. Participating once is enough, but doing it a second time will be a disaster."
Seeing King Yong's expression of "I'm very unhappy", Huang Qiong frowned slightly and said with some dissatisfaction in his tone: "Brother Qi, why do you look like this? Today is the Great Court Meeting, which is also an annual event. National ceremony. As a prince, you should take care of your father's worries. Why your father summoned you, of course, he has his own reasons. Who can show you this unlucky look? "
Hearing the dissatisfaction in Huang Qiong's tone, King Yong grabbed the royal uniform on his body, curled his lips and said: "You, as the prince, are just one step away from correcting your title. It's your duty to share your father's worries. I'm just an idle prince, so I shouldn't participate in such a big court meeting. Besides, isn't it good to sleep in the mansion so early in the morning? Do you have to go through all the trouble so early in the morning? "
"Do you know how complicated the etiquette of this great court meeting is? You have to kowtow when playing music, you have to kowtow when the old man reads out the imperial edict, you have to kowtow when giving a banquet, and you still have to kowtow when the old man makes a toast. If you kowtow in a circle, everyone will When you are tired of all the hard work, why would you still be in the mood to eat an imperial banquet? Besides, are the meals made by those shady cooks at Guanglu Temple meant for human consumption?"
"This old man has been on the throne for more than 20 years, and the list of royal banquets for Guanglu Temple's annual court meetings has never been changed. I heard that this set of menus has been handed down from the reign of Emperor Lizong. In addition, cutting corners and cutting corners , this royal banquet is just for reputation. When it comes to eating, I would rather eat the cooking skills of the cooks in your house. Although it is a bit rough, it is much better than the cooks in Guanglu Temple."
King Yong's complaint left Huang Qiong speechless. The unlucky look on this guy's face was because there were too many etiquettes, the royal banquet was too unpalatable, and it disturbed his sleep. I also know that this guy has such a lazy temper. Look at this guy who just doesn't talk and doesn't take a step towards the palace gate. Huang Qiong, who was no longer too lazy to talk about him, simply dragged him into the palace.
After entering the palace, although he did not dare to shout loudly, King Yong kept mumbling. He kept talking about how complicated the imperial court would be and how unpalatable the royal banquet at Guanglu Temple was. As for this guy's complaints along the way, Huang Qiong, who knew that the old man would definitely not explain the reason for summoning him to the palace according to the imperial edict, just pretended not to hear it at all and just dragged him along.
The two of them walked towards Hanyuan Hall, the main hall where the great court meeting was held. When they arrived outside the Hanyuan Hall, they saw that the ministers who had come to attend the imperial meeting and most of the foreign envoys had already arrived. After Huang Qiong let go of his hand, he glared at the lazy guy a few more times before King Yong reluctantly closed his mouth.
However, before Huang Qiong was summoned away by the emperor, because he was worried about this guy, he showed a submissive temper and ran away regardless of anyone. He also specifically told Gao Wuyong, who came to look for him, to send a few eunuchs. Look at King Yong. When he heard Huang Qiong ordered Gao Wuyong to let people look at him, King Yong became even more angry. He rolled his eyes at Huang Qiong in dissatisfaction.
In fact, Huang Qiong was a little worried when people looked at King Yong. No matter how lazy King Yong is, he also knows the seriousness of this kind of big court meeting. He knew that if he did something wrong, the old man's family would definitely not be able to forgive him. Complaining is nothing but complaining, but for the sake of respecting my butt, I definitely don’t dare to do anything like running away.
What's more, although King Yong's temperament is a bit irritable, he is actually very smart. He also knew that in this kind of court meeting where princes other than the prince were not allowed to attend, he could make an exception and be allowed to participate by the old man. It must be because the old man had something to tell him. So even if Huang Qiong was taken away by the old man, he would stay in his position honestly.
After Huang Qiong was summoned by the emperor to the Hanyuan Hall, a small hall was specially used for the emperor to change clothes and rest during such a large court meeting. Although his face was a little tired, the emperor was still in good spirits. He did not hesitate and said directly: "Ajiu has never participated in such a big court meeting. You may not know some of the rules. Just follow me for a while." .”
"As for etiquette, you don't have to worry too much. There is still some time before you go to court. I will ask Gao Wuyong to teach you carefully what to do. This is your first time to formally appear in front of ministers and foreign envoys. Your appearance must not leave the impression that you are not polite and frivolous. Too many things happened last year, and I don’t want anything to happen to you during your first official appearance."
"By the way, has King Yong arrived? I thought about it for most of the night yesterday, and decided that your idea makes sense. But I haven't made up my mind yet on what to do. Today you have a formal meeting with that King of Liang. , taste it carefully, and then give me a fair opinion. However, you have to keep an eye on Prince Yong for me, and don’t make any jokes for me."
After the emperor finished speaking, Huang Qiong, who was familiar with King Yong's character, didn't say much, but nodded equally cautiously. When Gao Wuyong saw this master, he did not object. He quickly stepped forward and taught him carefully in a low voice. Although there are many etiquettes in this kind of big court meeting, there are not so many requirements for Huang Qiong today.
Gao Wuyong told Huang Qiong more about the location of the station and the details that should be paid attention to during the meeting. But when it came to etiquette, the emperor intervened and said: "After entering the palace, you stand next to me on the imperial steps. Except for the first salute that is required, you should not kneel down and worship after the other virtual salutes." .As for the kneeling of the ministers, you can accept it together with me."
When the emperor's words fell, not only Huang Qiong was stunned, but even Gao Wuyong was stunned. Huang Qiong didn't know, but Gao Wuyong, who had been with the emperor for several years, knew it. In the past, the prince always stood below the royal rank and at the head of the ministers. Not to mention that he has never stood on the imperial level before, and all the necessary gifts are indispensable.
To the kings and ministers, the prince was their king. But to the emperor, the prince was not only a son, but also a minister. Chujun, Chujun, there is also the word "chu" in front of "jun". Even if you don't officially ascend the throne, you will always be a minister. But today, the emperor not only allowed the British king to stand on the royal steps, but in addition to the first ceremony, he also had to accept the kneeling of the ministers together with the emperor.
This is what a prince can do, not even as good as the prince. This status is almost equivalent to the new emperor. Thinking of the fact that yesterday, the British king was sent by the emperor to offer sacrifices to the Ancestral Temple on his behalf, Gao Wuyong didn't know the emperor's true intention. He quickly knelt down, kowtowed heavily to Huang Qiong and said, "Slave Gao Wuyong, congratulations to the King of England, congratulations to the King of England."
How dare Huang Qiong accept Gao Wuyong's congratulations in front of the emperor. He quickly waved his hands and said: "Master Gao, this is just the great love my father has for me. This congratulation is too much. Everyone Gao, please get up quickly. Don't kill me like this. This should be my son." Yes, I am grateful for my father’s love.”
After saying that, he turned around to face the emperor, lifted up his sleeves and knelt down on the ground. After kowtowing politely and thanking him, he said: "My father is so kind to me, and I am so grateful that I can't help but shed tears. However, please take it back." After all, I am just an ordinary prince now, and I really can’t afford the kneeling of the ministers. What’s more, I definitely don’t dare to stand shoulder to shoulder with my father.”
In response to Huang Qiong's modesty, the emperor said calmly: "Why are you so verbose now? Do you think it's because of your reputation, your words, or something else? I have my own reasons for letting you do this. I am. The king of a country, you must know that there is no reason for you to talk nonsense. There is absolutely no reason to take back what I have said. You kid is shirk, do you want to despise the king's father? "
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, drums and music began to play in Hanyuan Hall. Hearing the sound of drums and music outside, the emperor stood up knowing that the time had come. He hesitated for a moment when going out, but turned around and grabbed Huang Qiong's hand before firmly leaving the small hall. Walk along the white marble steps between the two halls and walk towards Hanyuan Hall.
It wasn't until he reached the imperial steps that the emperor let go of Huang Qiong's hand that he had been holding tightly. At this time, this grand hall was almost twice as large as the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in Beijing that Huang Qiong had seen in his previous life. Although the foreign envoys had not yet entered, the civil and military officials had already entered the hall with their civil and military skills. They are arranged on both sides of the throne in the main hall according to their official positions.
The people standing in front of the military attache are all nobles with titles. The leaders were naturally the commanders and commanders from the front department. On the civilian side, the leader unfortunately happened to be King Yong. According to the Daqi ancestral system, the prince's title is the first rank, and the county prince's title is the second rank. But he is the emperor's son. Who in the civil and military dynasties dares to say that he is older than the emperor's son?
Although in this great hall right now, there is no need to worry about the affairs of the Zhongshu family, the ministers and ministers, or the actual duties of the ministers. Or there are a lot of officials hanging on their heads, such as Grand Bachelor, Grand Master, and Young Master, who hold fictitious positions and are in the first grade. This dishonest King Yong usually does not have a high status among the ministers.
But no matter what they say, he is still the son of the emperor. He is the master of all the officials present, so he naturally has to stand at the top of the list of civil servants. Even if the real power in the hands of this prince is not as good as that of the fourth-rank official with the smallest official position in the palace. There were even more officials with white eyebrows and beards standing behind him. But no matter what, his status is high.
