Civil and military officials, vassal kings, nobles, and relatives passed through the Meridian Gate and Fengtian Gate and came to the square in front of Fengtian Hall one after another.
Different from the past, today I couldn’t see even half of the royal guards along the way.
The porches, corridors, palaces and pavilions were filled with soldiers in full armor.
The ten kings of Qin, Lu, Tang, Huai, Zhao, Qing, Zhou, Shen, Su, and Jingjiang took the lead in arriving at Fengtian Square with their descendants.
Huai Wang Zhu Qiquan is the cousin of Zhu Qiyu and Zhu Qizhen. He is only eighteen years old and his palace is not as deep as other princes.
When Zhu Qiquan saw that today's palace ban was so strict, he pulled King Qin and said with a smile: "Uncle Wang, can you afford to have such a big battle today? Isn't it just that all the relatives gather together to review the case and then go back?"
King Qin replied seriously: "How can it be so simple? Don't forget, it was in this square ten days ago that five princes died on the spot.
We underestimate the emperor. We have already suffered a big loss once. We haven’t long enough to remember, so we want to suffer a second time?
Have you forgotten, on the day of the mutiny, when we fought to the end, we vassal kings still had more than a thousand guards who survived, but the Tiance Guards rushed in and slashed their necks one by one.
Although I have seen many killing scenes, this is the first time I have seen one as ruthless as the emperor.
There were nearly 30,000 rebels in the entire capital. The emperor mobilized 60,000 to 70,000 pro-army troops and killed them all, leaving no one alive.
Oh, no, there was one left, Shi Heng who was kneeling outside the Meridian Gate. Judging from this posture, he was going to be humiliated in public.
Everyone, please be careful. Uncle Wang would like to advise you not to argue with the emperor today, otherwise the emperor will have to go on a killing spree if he disagrees with you. "
When Zhu Qiquan heard this, he nodded with lingering fear. I still vividly remember how my guards had their throats cut by the demons of Tiance Guard, and they have had nightmares for several nights.
There are two dragon chairs placed on the steps of Fengtian Hall.
Under the steps, there is a huge long table made up of several tables, which is filled with fruit refreshments.
Everyone went over to take a closer look, and everyone's position was marked.
On the northernmost side, which is also the side closest to the dragon throne, there are three positions. In the middle is King Dazong Zhengmin, on the left is the King of Soochow, and on the right is the King of Qin.
In the long row on the left are the royal concubines of Emperor Xuanyi, the eldest princess of Yongjia, the eldest princess of Hanshan, Wei Guogong Xu Chengzong, the former Wei Guogong’s wife Mu, Xin Guogong Tang Jie, Wuding Marquis Guo Chang, Ping Enhou Huan, Tai’an Bo Wu Zhong, Princess Changde's consort Xue Huan.
There is a long row on the right, including the two Princesses of Qi, Zhao, Lu, Shu, Zhou, Tang, Shen, Su, Qing, Huai, Xiwu, and Jingjiang. There are a total of twelve princes and representatives of the top counties and royal families.
Everyone was not in a hurry to sit down, because judging from the two dragon chairs above, I am afraid that both the Emperor and Emperor Gongrang will be present today, which is unexpected.
Everyone thought that the emperor would not come today.
So everyone gathered together in twos and threes to exchange ideas.
In less than a meal, the four kings of Min, Shu, Soochow and Xiwu also arrived with their nephews, together with Princess Wu, the eldest princess Yongjia, and the eldest princess Hanshan.
So far, all the vassal princes have arrived. There are a total of twenty-five princes and top-level princes. Seven of them died in the mutiny, and three were seriously injured and bedridden. Today, fifteen came to attend the meeting of the princes.
There are three relatives: Huan, Wuzhong, and Xue Huan.
Taizu designated the five noble families as royal relatives: Cao Guogong Li Xuan was far away in Gansu and could not attend. The young Duke of Guizhou, Mu Cong, was only one year old and was still on his way to the capital. Zhu Qiyu designated Mu Cong's aunt, the wife of the late Wei Duke Xu Xianzong, to attend on his behalf.
Plus Duke Xu Chengzong of Wei, Duke Tang Jie of Xin, and Marquis Guo Chang of Wuding, there are four people in total.
On the left and right sides of the long table for the relatives, there is a small table with three seats at each table.
On the left are cabinet bachelors Xu Youzhen, Huang Pu, and He Yi, who are responsible for drafting imperial edicts.
On the right are the chief officials of the Ministry of Punishment, the Imperial Procuratorate, and the Dali Temple: Wang Wen, Wei Ji, and Xiao Weizhen.
The mutiny has ended, and Xu Youzhen and Huang Pu have been recalled to the capital.
On the south side of the long table, there are rows of seats for other civil and military officials, princes, nobles, and relatives who are in attendance.
A series of major events have to be decided today, so the scene is very solemn.
Almost all those in Beijing who are qualified to participate have come.
As hundreds of officials, nobles, and relatives arrived one after another, Fengtian Square became extremely lively.
No one cared about etiquette, because the Ministry of Rites died and only Chen Xun was left as a bare minister.
After another half an hour, under the escort of thousands of heroic warriors, a chariot slowly drove into Fengtian Square.
After a fire and a mutiny, many of the palace walls around the three main halls were damaged. The internal officials took the opportunity to open the gate, and the chariot drove directly into the square.
Everyone on the field stood up in order, preparing to worship the emperor.
But after waiting and waiting, the emperor did not come down.
It turned out that Zhu Qiyu brought Qianxue, Suxi, and Ningxiang this time, while Lin Xiangyu stayed in Prince Qi's Mansion to look after the house.
Zhu Qiyu was very cautious, fearing that his home would be stolen, and it would be interesting to have extreme joy and sorrow at that time, so he specially left Lin Xiangyu, his favorite concubine who could command the Yingzhou Guards, to look after the house.
Along the way, Zhu Qiyu and his beloved concubines had a great time playing the car-rocking game. It was not until the carriage stopped that the four of them realized that they had arrived.
Qianxue opened the car window a tiny gap, glanced outside, and then urged: "Hurry up and untie Ningxiang and get dressed quickly. It's all because our Qiguo Avenue is so stable and there are no bumps along the way. , arrived before I knew it.
All the civil and military officials were waiting outside to pay their respects. Fortunately, Ningxiang's mouth was blocked with a silk handkerchief, otherwise it would have been a joke. "
Zhu Qiyu had no choice but to withdraw from Ningxiang's jade body, and reluctantly reached out to untie Ningxiang's hands tied to the car roof rings.
Su Xi took out a jade box from the hidden compartment, smiled at Zhu Qiyu and said: "Husband, wait a minute, doesn't Ningxiang want to experience the feeling of being a queen? Let's put this treasure on her, so that it will be more beautiful." She looks like a mother who cares about the world."
Zhu Qiyu took the box and opened it. Oh my god, it's a seven-star series made of mutton-fat jade.
Ningxiang still had a silk handkerchief stuffed in her mouth, so she had no way to retort, so she could only blush and shake her head.
The four of them struggled in the carriage for another two-quarters of an hour before they were all dressed up. Zhu Qiyu got off the carriage in high spirits, and then turned around to help Ningxiang, who looked sad, get out of the carriage.
When the four of them got off the station and took their seats, everyone on the scene, except Concubine Wu, Prince Min, and the two eldest princesses, all knelt down and saluted.
Zhu Qiyu smiled and waved his hands, and said loudly: "Today is just a gathering of the royal relatives to chat. There is no need to be restrained. All my dear friends, please stay calm.
Everyone should be more comfortable. When the eldest brother arrives, we can officially start the meeting. "
Everyone thanked him and stood up.
Zhu Qiyu brought his beloved concubines to Concubine Wu. After saluting and saying hello, Concubine Wu looked at them carefully and asked softly curiously:
"Huang'er looks good, but Ningxiang's face is so red that it looks like she's about to bleed. Is she feeling unwell?
I see that you are walking strangely. You are usually the most elegant, but today you are always trembling, and you feel like you can't move forward.
Don't lose your royal decency in front of so many people. "
When Ningxiang heard this, her pretty face turned red to her neck, and she turned her head and glared at Zhu Qiyu with a very sad look.
Zhu Qiyu quickly explained to Concubine Wu: "Concubine, Ningxiang is having her menstrual period today and she is not feeling well. But Qi'er has to stay and look after the house, so I can only bring her here. Concubine, please be more considerate. .”
When she heard that Ningxiang was menstruating, Concubine Wu no longer bothered her, but started asking her questions.
Fortunately, no one else dared to approach the emperor, so no one heard their conversation.
Zhu Qiyu and his three beloved concubines visited King Min, Princess Yongjia, Princess Hanshan, Prince Dongwu, Prince Xiwu, King Shu, King Zhou, King Shen, King Su, and several others. A noble person and a relative.
Zhu Qiyu had a very good attitude towards these people, but he ignored the other vassal kings. You are all rebelling. It would be a bit mean for me to try to be polite.
After everyone chatted for a while, Emperor Gongrang arrived with Queen Qian, Queen Zhou, and Concubine Wan Huang.
For a moment, everyone didn't know how to salute.
Even the emperor Gong Rang conspired against him, so it is not wrong for everyone to kneel down, and it is also wrong not to kneel down.
It was not until Zhu Qiyu took the initiative to come forward and bow deeply that everyone knelt down and saluted.
After the ceremony, Zhu Qiyu very politely moved Zhu Qizhen to the dragon chair: "Brother, please take a seat."
The two brothers showed humility to each other, but Zhu Qiyu still insisted on letting Zhu Qizhen sit on the dragon chair to the east, while he took Ningxiang to sit on the dragon chair to the west.
Everyone looked towards the steps, but couldn't help but feel speechless. The emperor really knew how to play. There were three people sitting on it. Etiquette respects the left, although the emperor insisted on asking the emperor to sit on the throne.
But there were three people on it. The emperor was sitting in the middle, with Emperor Gongrang on the left and an imperial concubine on the right. In this way, the position where the emperor sits is more prominent.
However, although everyone could see clearly, they were too lazy to expose the emperor's little trick.
As for the emperor's insistence on sitting on the dragon throne with his beloved concubine in his arms on such an important occasion, although it was not appropriate, everyone could understand that this was similar to Qin II's way of treating a deer like a horse.
The emperor's implicit meaning was simple: this is what I do, and the rules are made by me. I want to see who will jump out and challenge the authority of the few.
Everyone was not stupid either. There were two to three thousand personal guards surrounding the square, and each of them was filled with murderous intent. As long as the emperor looked at them, they would really dare to take action.
(End of chapter)
