May 19th.
At the fourth watch, Li Qing got up.
Today is the day of the little emperor's wedding. If he, the wedding messenger, is late, will the boat of friendship be capsized?
Li Qing put on the wedding dress sent by Zhu Qizhen's order, looked at the bronze mirror and looked at her, pushed the door and walked out of the courtyard with the imperial edict, and rushed to the palace.
He saw the Forbidden City for the first time at four in the morning.
He, who had always been stuck, saw a closed door for the first time.
Li Qing touched his nose and laughed at himself: "It's true that the emperor is not in a hurry, but the eunuch is. It's not me getting married, so I'm in a hurry!"
Fortunately, he didn't wait long.
Only a quarter of an hour later, the door opened.
Li Qing was the first to enter the palace and rushed to wait in front of Fengtian Palace.
After a while, hundreds of officials arrived one after another, including the princes and princes who usually did not go to court, and they also arrived early.
This was the first time that an emperor married a queen in the Ming Dynasty, and no one dared to ignore it. gōΠb.ōγg
Li Qing glanced at these nobles. Decades later, most of them did not have the spirit of their grandfathers. They were all white and fat, and some of them even looked more like civil servants.
No matter how you look at it, he doesn't look like the kind of ruthless character who can go into battle.
Li Qing felt helpless.
After a while, Duke Yingying, Duke Chengguo, Guo Jing from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Yang Pu from the Cabinet, Yu Qian...all the big shots came one after another.
Yu Qian took another look in the crowd and saw Li Qing.
He stepped forward quickly, and when he saw Li Qing's appearance, he couldn't help but be startled, "Sir, this is..."
Li Qing cleared his throat and puffed up his chest, "I am the wedding envoy!"
Yu Qian: "..."
"In that case, sir, you'd better stand in front." Yu Qian suppressed a smile and said, "The wedding time is coming soon, so don't delay."
"That's fine."
Li Qing walked out of the crowd and came to the front, parallel to the British Duke Zhang Fu and the cabinet scholar Yang Pu.
"My lord, Grand Scholar Yang, you are courteous as a subordinate." Li Qing greeted.
Yang Pu returned the favor with a smile, and Zhang Fu glanced at Li Qing. Although he knew he was not the same person, every time he saw Li Qing, he couldn't help but think of another Li Qing.
"The emperor has already told the prince about Li Duge's role as the envoy to welcome the bride." Zhang Fu said with a smile, "No wonder the emperor wants to use Li Duge as the envoy to welcome the bride. We old men are really bad at showing off. .”
Yang Pu stroked his beard and laughed, joking: "When the British Lord said this, he actually brought the subordinates in."
"Oh? Haha... Don't blame me, don't blame me." Zhang Fu smiled heartily, and his attitude was much more relaxed than before.
It was mainly because Yu Qian told him about Yang Pu's change that Zhang Fu felt good about him.
"When will we set off?" Li Qing asked.
This is also the first time in his life for a big girl to get into a sedan chair.
He didn't even know where the queen's natal family was.
Zhang Fu said with a smile, "Don't worry, the ceremony guard Da Le and the Long Pavilion where the Queen's treasures are placed are not ready yet. We will wait until they come over before setting off."
Li Qing nodded and said no more.
The crowd murmured that Li Qing, a seventh-level official, was actually standing together with big guys like Zhang Fu and Yang Pu, talking and laughing, which made many people jealous.
The emperor appointed him as the envoy to welcome the bride, which shows his favor.
The official position of the seventh rank is really at the bottom of the crane in the capital, and it belongs to the lower-level officials.
Breaking through barriers at the bottom level is often the hardest to accept.
Li Qingcai couldn't be bothered to pay attention to these people. There were lemon essences everywhere. If he couldn't do it, he couldn't see others doing it. He was just looking for trouble for himself by arguing with such people.
After a while, a group of ladies came to the square under the guidance of the Ministry of Rites.
Then, Queen Mother Sun also came.
But he only showed his face, met the concubines, enjoyed the salutes of the ministers, and left with satisfaction.
Li Qingxin said: "This girl is really capable, and she even came here to show off."
Power is indeed tempting. When he first entered the court, he quite enjoyed the feeling of being worshiped by others.
If time had not left its mark on him, Li Qing would not be able to guarantee that he would not be tempted by power.
Holding a murderous sword while awake and lying on a beautiful woman's lap while drunk is a man's lifelong pursuit.
Even women cannot withstand the temptation of power.
Not to mention Wu Zetian, who was an emperor, are there still few examples of harems intervening in politics throughout the dynasties?
After all, the temptation of power is still too great.
…
About a quarter and a half later, the honor guard arrived in formation, along with a phoenix chariot and a long line of wooden boxes.
When the emperor gets married, how can the betrothal gift be less? This is it, not counting the gifts given before.
It's so impressive... Li Qing sighed.
After coming to Ming Dynasty for so long, this was the first time for him to catch up with the emperor's wedding.
Seeing that they were ready, Zhang Fu and Yang Pu made a gesture of invitation.
"Envoy Li Zheng, please."
Li Qing smiled and rode on the middle horse without hesitation, the tallest and most powerful horse with a big red flower on its head.
Zhang Fu and Yang Pu, one on the left and one on the right, mounted shorter horses.
Li Qing moved forward in the middle, and the two of them were slightly behind by half a horse's length, followed closely behind by Da Le, the guard of honor.
~
Qian Mansion.
The whole house was filled with joy.
The housekeeper stood guard at the door before dawn, watching for fear of losing etiquette.
This is a big deal.
Finally, after hearing the long-awaited music, the housekeeper perked up and quickly ordered: "Quickly, hang up the firecrackers and light them when the bride-to-be is fifteen feet away from the gate. Remember, not too early and not too late."
"yes."
The old housekeeper ordered again: "Go and call the master quickly."
"No need to call, sir, I'm here." Qian Gui walked out, his face full of excitement.
Happy, yet nervous.
Those who didn’t know, thought he was getting married.
How could he not be excited that his daughter was going to be a queen? To him, this was like pie in the sky, a huge pie in the sky.
Relatives of the emperor and the country, who wouldn’t be happy?
The sound of ritual music came from far away, and the wedding procession came into Qian Gui's field of vision. He tried hard to calm down the excitement in his heart, but he still couldn't stop trembling slightly.
"Quick, fire off the cannon...!"
"Master, the distance is not enough..."
Before the housekeeper could finish his words, he was drowned out by the crackling sound of firecrackers.
Li Qing looked at the opponent who was still some distance away and had already fired the cannon. He said to Yang Pu, "Grand Scholar Yang, did they fire the cannon too early?"
"It's a little early, but it doesn't hurt." Yang Pu said with a smile, "The more you pay attention to it, the easier it is to make mistakes."
Zhang Fu also said: "Indeed, but it is also a matter of fate. Okay, I will see you soon."
"Hey, okay." Li Qing nodded in agreement. For some reason, he was a little nervous.
Half a quarter of an hour later, the wedding procession stopped, and Li Qing and the others got off their horses.
Li Qing took out the imperial edict that he had prepared and said loudly: "Qian Gui takes the edict."
Qian Gui hurriedly stepped forward and said, "I will accept the order."
Lao Taishan knelt down with his son-in-law. To be precise, he knelt down in handwriting to his son-in-law. If this was recorded in future generations, it would definitely shock everyone.
But at this moment, it is something that everyone takes for granted.
Even Li Qing didn't think there was anything wrong.
"The emperor is destined to be transported by heaven and summons:
The Qian family has been loyal for generations. Qian Aiqing accompanied Taizong and Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty on many northern expeditions. He was loyal and had great military exploits. The Qian family had a very strict upbringing and taught their daughters well...
With the current order, Qian is commanded to serve Qian Gui and be promoted to the rank of Governor and Tongzhi of the Central Government;
Admire this! "
"Your Majesty, I accept the order and thank you for your kindness." Qian Gui's face turned red and he knelt down to thank the Holy Grace.
Li Qing hurriedly stepped forward and handed him the imperial edict, helped him up, and asked with a smile: "Abbott, my Majesty... don't miss the right time."
"Ready, everything is ready." Qian Gui said hurriedly, "Please, please."
"The head of the country invites you first."
…
After leaving Qian's Mansion, Li Qing handed out books as a welcome gift.
After a long ceremony, under the respectful welcome of Li Qing, Zhang Fu, Yang Pu, and the guard of honor, the sixteen-year-old Qian wore a crown of nine dragons and four phoenixes, a true red robe with large sleeves, and a long red skirt. The young lady, wearing a red robe, was supported by a servant and walked onto the phoenix chariot.
Then, firecrackers went off, and a group of people rushed to the Forbidden City amidst the music of Xuantian drums.
At this point, Li Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his role as the envoy to welcome the bride was finally completed.
Next, it’s time to go back and have a meal.
The two old men Zhang Fu and Yang Pu were also relaxed. Even though they were accustomed to big scenes like this, they were also very nervous, for fear of being rude.
~
In the Palace of Qianqing, Zhu Qizhen was looking forward to seeing him. He was extremely anxious, but he couldn't show it on his face. On the other hand, Wang Zhen beside him was scratching his head and ears in anxiety.
After a while, someone was sent to see if the queen had returned. She was as diligent as if he was marrying his wife.
True to the saying: The emperor is not in a hurry, but the eunuch is.
