Shen Dingzhu had never seen the emperor worship his ancestors before, and today was the first time that he accompanied Xiao Langyan to the imperial mausoleum. In her previous life, she had never had such qualifications.
Even though the imperial mausoleum is located deep in the mountains, emperors of all dynasties worshiped their ancestors almost every year, so they built an ancient palace here as a place to stay and take a short rest for a few days.
The time for ancestor worship is set for tomorrow morning. After Shen Dingzhu arrived at the palace, he and Xiao Langyan went to rest for half a day. Then the two of them changed clothes and went out. Under the arrangements of the Minister of Rites and the Minister of Taichang Temple, Xiao Langyan needed to go to the palace first. Incense in front of the mausoleum.
Later, in the imperial temple filled with ancestors' memorial tablets, Xiao Langyan and Shen Dingzhu stood on the left and right, and officials from the Ministry of Rites handed over two gold papers.
Xiao Langyan: "Write down your wishes on paper and burn them to your ancestors. They will bless us both."
Shen Dingzhu raised her eyebrows in surprise. She was just Xiao Langyan's concubine, not a queen. Would the ancestors of the Jin Dynasty bless her?
While he was thinking about it, the eunuch writing the pen next to him had already handed over a wolf hair stained with ink.
Shen Dingzhu saw from the corner of her eye that Xiao Langyan was already writing. She thought about it and slowly wrote a few words with her sleeves raised.
Just when he was about to hand it over to the officials of the Ministry of Rites to be burned in the cauldron, Xiao Langyan stretched out his big palm to stop it: "I will exchange with you and see what is written."
His gold paper was placed in her hand. Shen Dingzhu lowered his eyes and saw that Xiao Langyan's handwriting was bold and vigorous, penetrating through the back of the paper, and each stroke was filled with a proud look.
He wrote:
When all nations came to court, Lao Lai joined hands with Shen Dingzhu to see peace together.
Shen Dingzhu was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized what she had written. Her face flashed with panic, and she stretched out her hand to grab what she had written.
"I haven't finished writing yet."
However, Xiao Langyan had already clearly seen what she was writing, and his face was stern, but there was no hint of happiness or anger.
Shen Dingzhu licked her red lips, held her waist and looked at him silently.
"Peace will prevail in the world, and I hope that your majesty's grand plans and hegemony will be fulfilled." Xiao Langyan read out slowly, and at the end, he couldn't help but sneer.
Shen Dingzhu's ears were burning and she felt awkward. She really didn't understand. After reading Xiao Langyan's letter, she realized that her true wishes could be written on it?
She also thought that what she wanted to present to the ancestors of the Jin Dynasty must be blessings related to Guo Zuo, so she wrote that sentence.
"I gave you a chance to make a wish, but you only wrote about me." Xiao Langyan said, his tone seemed to be filled with a hint of joy that was barely noticeable.
He looked at Shen Dingzhu: "If you are asked to add it, what are you going to add?"
Shen Dingzhu's eyes were full and as clear as autumn water. The bright lamps in the ancestral hall lit up the sparks in her eyes.
"My concubine wants to join you. Chengcheng is carefree. The baby in her belly was born safely. My parents are in good health. My eldest brother's legs will be healed soon..." Halfway through, she suddenly saw Xiao Langyan narrowing his eyes. With thin eyes, he was listening intently to what she said.
Shen Dingzhu's heart skipped a beat, and she added: "I still want to ask my ancestors for help, so that I can be immortal and be favored by the emperor forever."
Xiao Langyan sneered, his thin eyes slightly raised, and his whole body was full of nobility. He lowered his eyes and looked at the little woman in front of him. Her pink face was charming, and her eyes were twinkling, just like every time she felt guilty.
"I'll add it for you." Xiao Langyan wrote everything she just said with a stroke of his pen.
Shen Dingzhu panicked instead and stretched out her hand to stop: "Enough, enough, the emperor wrote too much, and the gold paper can't bear it." What's more, if the ancestors of the Jin Dynasty can really see it, how should she face it? to them.
Xiao Langyan ignored that and wrote down his wish for her eloquently. At the end, he added an extra sentence himself, and Shen Dingzhu stepped forward to read it.
I actually saw him write:
With the emperor, the relationship is always new, and the love between husband and wife is deep.
Shen Dingzhu couldn't help but smile. Thinking that there were other officials present, she quickly covered her lips with her hands and raised her bright eyes to look at him.
Xiao Langyan was then satisfied and handed the gold paper to the young eunuch. The two of them joined hands and watched the gold paper quickly turn to ashes in the cauldron.
Early the next morning, Shen Dingzhu got up to wash up. She was wearing a grand dress specified by a noble concubine, but the hem of the dress was embroidered with green phoenixes and hundreds of flowers.
Xiao Langyan arranged for the embroidery department to prepare this dress, but she felt it was inappropriate when she put it on. She wanted to change it, but it was too late.
The weather was gloomy, the scent of sandalwood in the imperial temple was faint, and the sound of bells and drums was deep, like a ray of dusk breaking through the dusk, bringing with it a tranquility that made people immersed in it.
The minister of Taichang Temple sang the memorial words loudly, and the faint and clear sound echoed in the stern ancestral hall.
Xiao Langyan first offered a stick of incense on behalf of himself, then on behalf of Guo Zuo and the people of Li, and the last stick of incense had to be offered together with Shen Dingzhu.
When the two people's incense was delivered to the incense altar by the ceremony officer, Shen Dingzhu knelt down and was about to kowtow to his ancestors together with Xiao Langyan.
However, she just bent her knees, and before she could do so, she was supported by Xiao Langyan.
"You step back, I will kneel down." His voice was light and cold, as if he had been prepared for this.
Shen Dingzhu was startled. She was helped by the palace servants and walked aside. She saw Xiao Langyan with his hands raised above his eyebrows. His handsome and tall figure was kneeling on the futon, facing his ancestors.
He said: "My son and grandson Langyan's wife, Mrs. Shen, is pregnant with Liujia. She is already a month old and it is inconvenient to kneel down and hold her waist. My son and grandson are here to kowtow to her."
I saw Xiao Langyan kowtow respectfully, and as expected, Shen Dingzhu's share was also kowtowed. Shen Dingzhu looked at him with watery eyes, and her heart suddenly beat very fast.
The movement in her eyes was like the spring breeze turning into rain, lifting her heart carefully, as if there was a very soft feeling.
The ministers whispered secretly.
The emperor's kindness to Concubine Shen was a little too much, going beyond the ancestral etiquette. Where has such a practice been seen in all dynasties? If it were written down by historians, wouldn't it be ridiculed by future generations?
However, Xiao Langyan did just that. He knew what the consequences would be, but he was determined and prepared to deal with everything for Shen Dingzhu.
The companionship he spoke of was never empty words.
At night, the two hugged each other and lay on the couch. Shen Dingzhu leaned on his chest and fell asleep.
Xiao Langyan was slowly rubbing her lower back. He knew that she had been busy with him worshiping ancestors for a whole day, so she might have been uncomfortable for a long time, so he just kept holding on and said nothing.
"Actually, I have read the biographies and historical records of the past emperors. Our ancestor, Emperor Qianyuan, once doted on one concubine, Deng. Deng was not of high origin, but she stayed with Emperor Qianyuan for thirty years. There were many concubines in the harem, but she was the only one who was his wife. Emperor Yuan gave birth to a child."
Shen Dingzhu opened his eyes slightly after hearing this, looking at him with misty eyes, trying to understand Xiao Langyan's intention of doing this.
Suddenly, she thought about it and understood.
He wanted to convince her and himself, so he looked for similar shadows from history to prove that if he chose to pamper her in this way, the result would be good.
Shen Dingzhu's voice was humming and soft: "The emperor is better than Emperor Qianyuan, and there are not many concubines in the harem, so I can feel at ease."
Her words made Xiao Langyan smile and place a kiss on her forehead: "Go to sleep. The ancestor worship ceremony tomorrow will be complicated. I miss you because you are tired, so there is no need to get up early to accompany you."
Not long after Shen Dingzhu fell asleep, she heard Xu Shou's urgent low voice calling from outside: "Your Majesty, it's not good."
Before Shen Dingzhu heard what was said, she felt Xiao Langyan cover her ears and give some instructions. Xu Shou's voice fell silent, and then Xiao Langyan's tall and hot body left the bed.
"Your Majesty, what happened?" Shen Dingzhu opened his eyes and saw Xiao Langyan putting on his robe, so she couldn't help but ask.
Xiao Langyan paused while tying his belt, and his voice was cold, calm and calm.
"It's nothing. There is another urgent report from the border. I will deal with it. You have a good sleep."
Before leaving, he opened the bed curtain and found that Shen Dingzhu had fallen asleep. Xiao Langyan tucked her quilt tightly and walked out quickly.
After closing the door, his expression turned gloomy.
"Where did something go wrong in the palace?"
