Although the emperor requested that "the cabinet, the Ministry of Rites and other departments should immediately prepare for the crown prince's canonization ceremony," Gao Pragmatic was not in charge of the Ministry of Rites, so he was lazy and let Zhao Zhigao be responsible for this. Zhao Zhigao, as one of the typical representatives of Hanlin academic officials who went directly to the central government, was very familiar with the business of etiquette, so it was very appropriate for him to do this.
Moreover, after Zhao Zhigao took refuge, it was necessary for Gao Pragmatic to find some KPI sources for him. This is not called bossing people around, but it shows the importance that leaders attach to their subordinates.
The relationship between the first assistant and the second assistant, or even between the first assistant and the entire cabinet team, is not easy to say in name the relationship between the leader and the led. After all, the grades of all the bachelors' "grand bachelor of such and such hall and pavilion" are all the same. the same. But names are names. Who doesn't know that Gao Yuanfu is the only true god in the cabinet? If he is not the leader, who is the leader?
Preparing for the crown prince canonization ceremony is a huge source of KPI, because the status of the crown prince in the Ming dynasty is not only important but also stable, and doing this is basically a hundred benefits without any harm.
As expected, Zhao Zhigao went to prepare for the prince's canonization ceremony with Yu Shenxing, the Minister of Rites, while Gao Pragmatic had no other major actions for the time being except to continue to pay attention to the post-disaster response in Liaodong, Jiangnan and other places.
Two days later, Gao Jingshi, Zhao Zhigao and other cabinet ministers and the Minister of Rites, Yu Shenxing, jointly submitted a petition stating that the preparations for the crown prince's canonization ceremony had been completed and asked the emperor to decide on the date of canonization. At noon, the Chief of Ceremonies issued a decree: After confirmation by the Qintian Supervisor, it will be an auspicious day in the zodiac in three days, which is suitable for the canonization of the crown prince, so the crown prince canonization ceremony will be held three days later.
As soon as the news came out, the officials in the capital celebrated and started to get busy.
The ceremony of crown prince registration in the Ming Dynasty was the most complicated in all Chinese palaces, and everyone had to be meticulous. Otherwise, the ceremonial officer will impeach anyone who violates the rules, including not only princes and nobles, but also the emperor himself in theory. It is even more severe for ordinary civil and military officials. Those who violate the etiquette may lose their official hat or even risk their lives.
The day before the enthronement, the eunuchs such as the Director of Ceremonies ordered the display of incense eucalyptus for the throne in Fengtian Hall, the main hall of the palace, and placed special edict eucalyptus, eucalyptus eucalyptus and treasure eucalyptus specially made for the palace in the middle of the hall in front of the throne.
To the east of Danbi, a temporary pavilion was set up. All the officials, hundreds of officials and all relevant personnel who should participate in the ceremony of canonizing the crown prince must rehearse the canonization etiquette the day before the canonization.
The official who conferred the title of treasure stood to the east of the crown prince, facing west; the official who received the title of treasure stood to the north of the treasure officer who conferred the title, facing west; the official who received the title of treasure stood to the south of the treasure official who read the title, facing west; the official who received the title of treasure had two envoys The man stood to the west of the Crown Prince; the eight officials in the Diao Ce Pavilion stood to the east of the Dan Bi Ce Pavilion; the Administrative Officer stood on the west side of the hall; the Xuanzhi Officer stood in the northeast outside the palace gate; and the two Zanli Officers stood on the west side of the palace. Lord Dan went to the south; Zhiban and Yushi stood in the Danqi; and Yushi Jiuyi stood in the north of Zhiban; Zhiban and Yushi Jiuyi stood facing each other from east to west.
The civil and military officials are arranged outside the Meridian Gate according to their grades and shifts. Civil servants stand to the west, military attachés stand to the east. Envoys, monks, and elders stand to the south of the civil officials. Civil servants in charge of palace affairs and military attachés who protect the palace stand in their prescribed positions. .
At this time, in the main hall, edicts, books, treasures, etc. were placed one by one, and the eunuchs were responsible for guarding and protecting them.
After the rehearsal, as it was the first day of the ritual ceremony, as usual, a minister was sent to offer sacrifices to Gao, Heaven and Earth, the ancestral temple, and Sheji.
Early the next morning, before dawn, the emperor personally informed the emperor of the palace and offered sacrifices as usual. After the farewell was completed, the emperor personally visited the Ciqing and Cining palaces and informed the empress dowagers of the two palaces about the enshrinement and conferment, and said that all joint ceremonies would be observed. The two palaces are happy and everything will go as planned.
In the early morning, the Jinwu Guards of the imperial palace lined up majestically on the east and west sides of the Meridian Gate. Outside Fengtian Gate, there are banners and flags, and the ceremony is strict.
The Arch Guards Department displays guards of honor in the east and west of Danbi and the east and west of Danqi. The ceremonial carriages are placed in the south of Wenlou and Wulou. The shepherd officers displayed war horses in the southern part of the car, and the rigorously trained tigers and leopards were arranged in sequence outside the Fengtian Gate. Dan Chinan arranged a band to play music, conducted by Heshenglang. Drum music and ceremonial guards were used to welcome and deliver the treasures to the East Palace to welcome the prince.
Hundreds of civil and military officials in official uniforms, each with different titles and grades, gathered outside the Meridian Gate under the pragmatic leadership of the chief minister of the cabinet, Nanning Marquis Gao. Shang Baoqing and the attendant guards respectfully went to the Jinshen Hall to greet the emperor.
Zhu Yijun, Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, also rarely wore the most solemn and noble crown on this day. Although the infant prince was still young, he was also dressed in a full dress, dressed in a royal robe, and was held by Chen Ju, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, and stood outside the Fengtian Gate.
The emperor stood up and left his seat, surrounded by his attendants, and took his carriage from Jinshen Hall to Fengtian Hall. Shang Baoqing held the emperor's seal, and the attendants guided the holy driver, guarding all the way to the main hall.
The palace band plays elegant music. The emperor ascended to the throne amid the majestic Yonghe music. Four solemnly dressed guides led the crown prince into Fengtian Gate. The drums were playing, and Chen Ju carried the prince to the front of the hall to pay his respects and stand in his honor.
The salute officer came to stand beside the prince, and then shouted loudly: "Bow!" Chen Ju then hugged the prince and bowed to him again.
The controller knelt down to the emperor to accept the order. Then the controller stood up, stood outside the door, and shouted: "There is a system." The salute officer shouted in response: "Kneel down!" Chen Ju knelt down with the crown prince in his arms.
The official read out the canonization edict, and then announced that Chang Hao, the emperor's legitimate son, was the crown prince.
Chen Ju held the prince in his arms and was guided by the salute officer to salute, prostrate himself, and lay flat. The official in charge knelt in the west of the hall and played back: "The system has been handed down." Chen Ju hugged the prince and bowed again.
The salute officer announced the registration ceremony. The ceremonial officer ushered the prince into the palace through the east gate of the main hall.
The imperial eunuch led the prince to the throne to worship him. The official in charge sang: "Kneel down!" Chen Ju hugged the prince and knelt down.
The official holding the book knelt down in front of the eucalyptus, held the book, and solemnly handed it to the official who read the book.
The internal official announced the reading. The official who read the book knelt down and read out the book. After reading it, he handed the book to Gao Pragmatic, the chief minister of the cabinet who had arrived here in advance. Gao Pingshi took it respectfully and solemnly handed the book to the Crown Prince on his knees.
Crown Prince Chen Ju took the treasure book and put it into his arms, indicating that he accepted the canonization, and then handed the treasure book to the envoy who was beside him to receive the book. The treasure was also awarded to the crown prince according to the same etiquette procedures as the book, and the crown prince then handed it over to the envoy holding the book and the treasure.
As the crown prince praised the officials and sang orders, Chen Ju held him in his arms and completed the process of getting out of the palace, prostrate himself, and flattening himself. Holding the book and the treasure envoy in the lead, Chen Ju walked out of the hall with the prince in his arms. The inner envoy put the book and treasure into the box of the book pavilion.
[In view of the general environment,
Chen Ju once again embraced the crown prince and bowed before His Majesty Dan, solemnly bowing four times. The internal envoys are sent to the pavilion to move forward. The crown prince left Fengtian Gate.
The book and pavilion were carried into the East Palace under the ceremonial guard and the officials. Chen Ju then carried the crown prince to the Central Palace to thank the empress. The queen took the crown prince and carried him into her arms, and then went to Ciqing and Cining Palaces to pay homage to the empress dowagers of the two palaces respectively. At this point, Zhu Changhao officially became the crown prince.
The crown prince then went to visit the ancestral temple and pay homage to his ancestors. This could no longer be held by the queen, and was once again handed over to Chen Ju to act on his behalf.
Along the way of the worship ceremony, people stood in the street, vying to see the appearance of the future emperor. The scene was very spectacular - although the crown prince was still young, everyone knew that no matter how young he was, he was still the crown prince and the future emperor.
From then on, the crown prince will live in the East Palace as the heir to the throne and start his career as a prince in the East Palace. The remaining princes will be crowned king one by one, live in various palaces outside the palace, and go to the fiefdom country when they reach adulthood.
After this process has been completed, the Crown Prince's canonization ceremony has been completed. Not to mention the civil and military officials, even the emperor himself was very tired, so he could rest today after the ceremony. When Gao pragmatic returned to the mansion, he originally wanted to talk to his wife, but the maid told him that his wife had entered the palace under Yi's order and had not returned to the mansion yet.
Only then did Gao Pragmatic remember that officials in Beijing were not the only ones busy with today's ceremony. The wives of officials of third rank and above also had their own tasks. The wives of the third-rank officials and above are naturally the so-called "wives of destiny", and they will also celebrate the middle palace and the two palaces today.
In layman's terms, it means entering the palace to meet the queen and express congratulations to the queen. The queen will give gifts and may talk to some of the particularly high-status wives for a while. Then the queen will take a group of wives to visit the empress dowagers of the two palaces, and the situation will happen again.
Since Gao Jingshi is now the first civil servant in the Ming Dynasty, according to the tradition that wives value husbands, Huang Zhiting must be the first wife to celebrate the middle palace and visit the two palaces today. Heading often means
There are so many things to do, so it makes sense that he hasn't come back yet.
But having said that, Gao Pingshi looked at the sky and still couldn't help but grumbled: "Are you going to be left in the palace to have dinner? There shouldn't be such a ceremony! It's just a gift for the married women to celebrate the middle palace and the two palaces. Bi, why did it take so long?"
Gao Jingshi didn't think wrong. According to the initial instructions, after the married women celebrated the Central Palace and visited the two palaces, they should be guided to exit the palace and go back to their respective homes. Indeed, it would not be delayed until this time. .
However, the other married women did go back to their respective homes, but Huang Zhiting was left alone in the palace.
The person who left her behind was the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces. To be precise, it was the Empress Dowager Cisheng who made the words. The Empress Dowager Cisheng said that Huang Zhiting was the biological mother of Princess Yongning's adopted son and could stay with the child.
This is actually quite ridiculous. Not only the emperor, but also the Empress Dowager Cisheng knew that Huang Zhiting was Gao Luo's nominal biological mother. In addition, although the Queen did not know it on the surface, as a close friend of Princess Yongning, she actually knew it, and it was the Princess who hinted it to her.
But after all, this incident can only be a hint, and she and Princess Yongning have not spoken out about it. Among the three most distinguished women in the harem, only the Queen Mother Rensheng really didn't know about this - but it's hard to say whether she would have made any guesses.
Since everyone more or less knows that Huang Zhiting's "Gao Luo's biological mother" is just a rhetoric on the stage, then the Empress Dowager Cisheng's so-called leaving her to chat with Gao Luo is naturally not the real intention.
Originally, Gao Luo's appearance in the palace today was only due to the need for the Crown Prince's canonization ceremony. Besides, if Huang Zhiting really wanted to see Gao Luo, she could go when Gao Luo was at the princess residence. If there was any need, she had to be in the palace. See?
Huang Zhiting himself knew this, so naturally he would not take this reason seriously. However, after all, she has really seen the big world, so although she is a little confused, she is not worried about anything. With the mentality of taking things as they come, she plans to see what the Empress Dowager Cisheng wants.
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