Xiaoyao Xiaojunhou

Chapter 415 415. The Winter Solstice
Zhu Xiuyuan, who was uneasy, "escaped" all the way back to the city. Before he could return to his home, he met the eunuch sent by Emperor Chen and called him into the palace.

In fact, it was no big deal that Emperor Chen summoned him.

It's just "a big gathering for three days and a small gathering for two days", which shows that he attaches great importance to Zhu Xiuyuan, and during the dinner, he asked about the situation of Shenlei Square and the Shenlei Army camp...

After learning that everything was as planned, Chen Huang was very happy.

Concubine You, who was accompanying her, was also very happy.

When they are happy, they like to reward things...

To be honest, every time Zhu Xiuyuan came out of the palace, his hands were always empty.

The thing given by Emperor Chen and Concubine You may be just a small gadget, not expensive, but it is also a kind of honor.

This alone made the civil and military officials in the entire dynasty jealous.

However, they have no choice but to ask others to be favored...

Needless to say, all civil and military officials in the dynasty were not only afraid of Zhu Xiuyuan, but besides hiding from him, they were also jealous!

But speaking of this reward... Zhu Xiuyuan actually didn't want it. It was just a small thing, but it seemed like he had received a big gift.

Not worth it.

And Emperor Chen always thought about rewarding Zhu Xiuyuan with several palace dancers, and asking him to drag some of them home after drinking...

This has almost become an obsession of Chen Huang.

But fortunately, Concubine You was there and "the danger was saved" every time.

……

After returning from the palace, Zhu Xiuyuan had nothing to do, so he ran to help Dong Shuyu and Dong Shuzhen.

Prepare the food for the Winter Solstice, make dumplings, chaos and so on together.

It's quite fun when everyone does it together.

But as soon as he sat down, Zhu Xiuyuan left because King Zhenze and his eldest son Liu Wencai came to visit together.

As the master of the mansion, Zhu Xiuyuan naturally needs to entertain guests.

……

The gate of the uncle's mansion.

"Your Majesty is here. The humble abode is really full of splendor. It would be rude not to welcome him from afar."

Zhu Xiuyuan went out to greet him personally.

This King Zhenze is a prince, and Zhu Xiuyuan is an earl, and there is a marquis in the middle...

There was a huge disparity in status between the two, so Zhu Xiuyuan went out to greet him in person, which was the only way to treat guests.

"Nephew, you are too polite!"

King Zhenze has the belly of a general, and he is dressed in casual clothes, but it cannot contain his belly at all.

In addition, he was wide and fat, and when he waved his hand, he saw that the five thick fingers were covered with various gemstone rings, shining like stars.

He doesn't look like a military commander at all, but more like a rich man or something like a member of the military.

"Brother Liu!"

Zhu Xiuyuan bowed to Liu Wencai again.

"Brother Zhu!"

Liu Wencai returned the gift with a smile on his face, but he was much more reserved than before, probably because his father was here.

Zhu Xiuyuan personally took the distinguished guests to the flower hall of the main house, seated the guests and hosts separately, and served tea to the guests.

"In the court, I will take care of you. If the prince has anything to do, just send a letter or send a servant from the palace..."

"Your Majesty came to visit in person, and I was really frightened... But I didn't know that Your Majesty and Brother Liu came hand in hand. Could it be that there is something big and important that cannot be accomplished?"

Zhu Xiuyuan asked politely.

"Nephew Xian guessed well, there is indeed a great event..."

King Zhenze was only halfway through his words when he stopped, picked up the tea cup and took a small sip.

Then he sighed: "Haha, the tea at my nephew's house is delicious!"

After he finished speaking, he couldn't help but glance at his eldest son Liu Wencai.

But he saw Liu Wencai sitting there upright, motionless, his eyes unfocused, as if he was in a state of wandering.

When he saw Liu Wencai's ghostly appearance, King Zhenze frowned.

Boom!
He put the tea cup on the coffee table, stretched out his legs and feet, and kicked Liu Wencai's feet.

"Ah... Father King..."

Liu Wencai came back to his senses, stood up in a hurry, and stood in front of King Zhenze.

And with a flattering smile on his face, he said: "Father...what are your orders?"

When King Zhenze saw Liu Wencai's flattering smile, he felt very angry.

His thick fingers were "starry", but at this moment they grasped the clothes on his knees, clenched them into fists, and were eager to try...

However, King Zhenze also knew that this was not a good place to teach the prince a lesson, so he endured it.

Just stared at him with a pair of eyes, hating that iron could not become steel.

Liu Wencai was naturally alert, so he quickly took a step back and distanced himself.

Then he looked at his father cautiously, with a bitter look on his face. He didn't know what had happened, but he had made his father unhappy again...

King Zhenze glared at Liu Wencai again, feeling tired.

"My dear nephew, I was lucky enough to win a set of purple clay teapots at yesterday's auction..."

Helpless, King Zhenze had no choice but to speak by himself.

……

The purple clay teapot auction in Beijing that was so noisy ended yesterday!
The auction site was really lively!

The competition was extremely fierce. The young men in various high-ranking government offices were fighting and spending a lot of money.

Ten sets of purple clay teapots, each time the transaction price is pushed up a level...

Through this auction, Dong's Tea House naturally made a lot of money.

Those high-ranking officials who took pictures of a set of purple clay teapots were naturally satisfied...

There are only ten sets in the whole world, but they can own one. This is a great honor and a symbol of status...

And the people who came to watch the excitement were also happy. This was simply a grand event, good news for those who love to join in the fun!

……

Liu Wencai was not an idiot either. He immediately remembered the words "purple clay teapot" when his father mentioned it.

He and his father came to visit Zhu Xiuyuan. What was going on?
He cursed himself silently and took up the topic.

He smiled at Zhu Xiuyuan and said, "Brother Zhu, when my father and I come to visit you, we go to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing! There is a business and we want to cooperate with Brother Zhu."

"Business... cooperation?"

A big deal?

At this time, Zhu Xiuyuan came back to his senses from his confusion.

The father and son, King Zhenze and Liu Wencai... are really a top-notch father and son!
"Yes! The purple clay pot is as beautiful as jade and beautiful in shape. My father likes it very much. The whole night last night, my father slept with the purple clay pot in his arms..."

Snapped!
Suddenly there was a green sound, which was particularly clear in this flower hall.

But it turned out that it was King Zhenze who waved his "starry" palm and hit Liu Wencai on the back of his head.

"Ah... Father King..."

Liu Wencai covered the back of her head and hurriedly took several steps away...

Zhu Xiuyuan sat there, completely petrified.

He stared blankly at this pair of top-notch father and son.

"You bastard, what nonsense are you talking about!"

King Zhenze slapped Liu Wencai, but he was still angry and wanted to catch up and continue beating him.

But he is wide and fat, and he can't outrun the lean Liu Wencai...

As a result, this funny scene appeared in the flower hall of Jiangcheng Bofu.

"You beast, how dare you say this to me? I am also a prince guarding a certain place, so how can I be so unbearable?"

King Zhenze continued to chase, while Liu Wencai covered the back of his head and ran away with his hands.

"You little beast, you talk nonsense and speak nonsense. Last night, what I held in my arms was obviously my concubine..."

After all, King Zhenze was too lively and soon became out of breath.

He held the backrest of a chair, stretched out a thick finger, and pointed at Liu Wencai, panting.

And Zhu Xiuyuan was sitting there, so embarrassed!

But King Zhenze must be tired from running.

Zhu Xiuyuan saw that the time was ripe, and hurriedly stepped in, pretending that nothing happened, and asked Liu Wencai:
"Haha, Brother Liu, does your family want to cooperate with me on the purple clay pot? That's great, that's what I have in mind!"

Zhu Xiuyuan laughed and tried to resolve the embarrassment.

Liu Wencai showed his filial piety and helped the panting King Zhenze sit down on the chair.

Then he smiled at Zhu Xiuyuan and said, "Really? That's great..."

At the moment, the two parties started a discussion on the cooperation of Zisha teapot.

Zhu Xiuyuan also invited Dong Shuyu over. After all, she was the real "keeper behind the scenes", and it was Dong Shuyu who would handle future cooperation matters.

……

Half an hour later, King Zhenze laughed and left.

The cooperation has been negotiated.

The place where King Zhenze was stationed was Taihu Lake, and the common purple sand mines were distributed around Taihu Lake.

For example, Huanglong Mountain in Yixing County, which the Dong family bought earlier, is located on the west bank of Taihu Lake.

King Zhenze was indeed worthy of being called a "member outsider" and a "local rich man", and he had a great sense of business.

He bought a set of purple clay teapots yesterday. He couldn't put it down and sent someone to find out the general background of the purple clay teapots.

Because Huanglong Mountain in Yixing County is within his garrison range.

In fact, he already knew that the Dong family was digging something called "purple sand mine".

I just don’t know what to use it for…

King Zhenze made a quick decision and went back yesterday to buy all the hills near Taihu Lake. He bought as much as he could.

……

After half an hour of "negotiation", the two parties reached an agreement: King Zhenze was responsible for supplying raw materials and providing a "protective umbrella", while the Dong family was responsible for firing the finished products, and the sales proceeds were divided in proportion!
……

……

The next day.

Today is the winter solstice festival.

Early in the morning, everyone in the Bo mansion had already woken up.

Before daybreak, Zhu Xiuyuan and Dong Cheng had already put on their court clothes and boarded a carriage outside the palace gate, preparing to rush to the palace to participate in the annual Winter Solstice Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony.

"Dad, Xiuyuan, the ceremony of worshiping the heaven is no small matter. You must treat it with caution and be careful with your words and deeds to avoid mistakes." Dong Shuyu warned.

"Dad, husband, please come back soon. When you come back, you can eat Chaos!"

Dong Shuzhen stared at Zhu Xiuyuan's carriage. She wanted to go with it, but she also knew how powerful it was. Sacrifice to heaven was no better than other things, so she didn't dare.

He only looked at Zhu Xiuyuan eagerly, hoping that they would go home soon.

"Oh, I see……"

Dong Cheng and Zhu Xiuyuan both nodded, entered a carriage each, and waved their hands outside.

...Walking all the way to the Chengtian Gate in the Imperial City, the carriage stopped, and Dong Cheng and Zhu Xiuyuan got off one after another.

At this time, the sky is still not bright.

The sky is filled with fish belly.

However, the lanterns up and down the imperial city were like fire, illuminating the land in front of Chengtian Gate.

When Zhu Xiuyuan and others arrived, there were hundreds of officials here.

They gathered here, all going to the southern suburbs to participate in the heaven-sacrifice ceremony.

Zhu Xiuyuan and Dong Cheng had "isolation attributes", and all the officials avoided them automatically.

Wu Zi talked quietly in twos and threes, but no one paid attention to the two of them.

Zhu Xiuyuan and Dong Cheng didn't care and waited quietly.

Later, they met Prince Zhenze and his son, but at that time, they were getting ready to leave. Before they could say a few words, they were led to different locations by the little eunuch.

Zhu Xiuyuan has a title and is slightly ahead in the ranking of generals.

As a civil servant, Dong Cheng's rank was lower, and he didn't even know where he was ranked...

Anyway, he didn't see Dong Cheng until the entire heaven-sacrifice ceremony was over.

"Your Majesty is here, your concubine is here!"

As the eunuch shouted at the top of his lungs, an honor guard had already walked out of the imperial city.

Zhu Xiuyuan's location was not very good. Looking from a distance, he could clearly see Emperor Chen wearing a crown and sitting on a dragon chariot, but his face and expressions could not be clearly seen.

Immediately afterwards, there was Concubine You.

Concubine You was also dressed up, but because of the distance, her face and expression could not be seen clearly.

Looking at Concubine You's carriage, Zhu Xiuyuan couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

This Concubine You... no matter how favored she is, she is still just a concubine.

Zhu Xiuyuan knew that there was actually a queen in the palace, and that she was the main empress.

But for such a big thing as offering sacrifices to heaven, Emperor Chen only brought Concubine You, but left the queen in the palace...

Zhu Xiuyuan tasted it secretly. There might be a terrifying light and shadow of swords hidden in it!
Especially the Prime Minister Li Zhong. Just now, Zhu Xiuyuan caught a glimpse of Li Zhong's face. It was really gloomy and scary!

Why does Prime Minister Li Zhong look gloomy?
Because the real queen in the palace is his daughter!

When Emperor Chen offered sacrifices to heaven, he did not bring the queen, but brought a noble concubine. What did Li Zhong, the queen's father, think?
Zhu Xiuyuan estimated that Li Zhong might be ready to poke a hole in the sky.

After a second thought, Zhu Xiuyuan began to think about his position again.

It seems that... he has been classified as a member of Concubine You's side...

With these thoughts in mind, he silently followed the generals in front and behind, following the crowd, starting from Chengtian Gate and walking outside the city, passing through the Qianbu Corridor, out of Hongwu Gate, and then out of Zhengyang Gate.

After leaving the city, go south for about two or three miles.

This is the place where sacrifices are made to heaven.

This location has been prepared a few days ago.

As an earl, Zhu Xiuyuan's status was actually not high, he was in an upper-middle position.

But given the size of the imperial court, even if it was in the upper middle, it was still quite far away from the altar, and some details could barely be seen clearly.

"Welcome God!"

Zhu Xiuyuan looked around and heard a eunuch yelling. Because it was too far away, the sound was not so clear.

Zhu Xiuyuan knew that the sacrifice to heaven had begun.

He looked from a distance and saw Emperor Chen wearing a crown, walking to the tablet of "God Haotian" and kneeling in worship.

At the same time, fireworks rose from the burnt wood stove on the altar, and smoke rose into the sky.

The rising smoke means conveying the "reverence to heaven" from the human world to heaven.

After the ceremony, Emperor Chen went to the ancestral tablet to burn incense and kowtow.

Finally, kneel down three times and bow nine times to the gods.

"Dian Yubo!"

The second step of offering sacrifices to heaven has begun.

There was only a ceremonial officer, who first guided Emperor Chen to wash up, then walked to the altar and performed the ritual of "three offerings of incense."

Then a eunuch presented the jade silk to Emperor Chen.

Holding the jade silk in both hands, Emperor Chen walked to the tablets of the gods and ancestors, offered the ceremony and bowed.

"Come in!"

……

"First Presentation"

……

The entire ritual of offering sacrifices to heaven is lengthy, complicated, and time-consuming.

When the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven had just begun, Zhu Xiuyuan was still watching attentively and with great interest.

After all, it was a great gift to worship heaven. I had never seen it before.

But by the time he got there, he was already drowsy, his legs and feet were sore, and he just wanted to end it soon.

On this beautiful day, during the winter solstice festival, I accompany my wife at home and eat all kinds of delicacies. Isn’t it delicious...

It's enough to suffer here.

After finally getting to the end of the ceremony, the time has reached the first quarter of noon, which is around [-] o'clock noon.

I can finally go back.

Zhu Xiuyuan suddenly became energetic.

But I can’t go back home yet because there are still “activities” later.

……

Forbidden City.

In the Fengtian Hall, and in a large open area from the Fengtian Hall to the Fengtian Gate, tables were filled with extravagant banquets.

This is a banquet given by the emperor.

But you can’t eat it yet, and you have to have a “Winter Solstice Meeting” first.

The first step in the court meeting was for the main officials to present their congratulations. Most of them were just words to whitewash the situation, which is not worth mentioning.

Then, Emperor Chen announced a general amnesty for the whole country.Officials across the country take a seven-day holiday, which is called the "Winter Solstice Golden Week."

The civil and military affairs of the entire dynasty were naturally in a state of excitement.

Because during the year, apart from the New Year’s Day, only the Winter Solstice has such a long holiday!

Zhu Xiuyuan was naturally very happy.

Because the Divine Thunder Army has not yet been formed, he doesn't have to go there every day, so he can be said to be free.

However, if there is a long period of seven consecutive days, it is naturally worth celebrating.

The last item of the court meeting is to reward the ministers.

The vast area of ​​​​the rewards and the rich content of the reward items are overwhelming and astonishing...

Naturally, this reward has been "planned" for a long time.

Otherwise, I really wouldn’t be able to get so many rewards at once.

But who received the most rewards among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty?
It’s Zhu Xiuyuan!

Some only received a pair of shoes and socks, some were better off and received some rice, flour and food, and some even received some silk and cloth.

But Zhu Xiuyuan "sparkled", he received all kinds of rewards, no matter how small the number, but the types were very complete...

He alone accounts for one-third of all reward items!

It can be seen that Emperor Chen favored him.

He also envied the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty!

...Naturally, in this happy festival, no one jumped out to make trouble, and everything went on peacefully.

Even Li Zhong, who wanted to poke a hole in the sky, behaved himself, let alone others.

Zhu Xiuyuan's plan to show off with his belt naturally failed...

With the rewards completed and the court meeting over, it was finally our turn to enjoy the emperor’s banquet!

……

……

The whole process of offering sacrifices to heaven, meeting in court, and giving banquets is really lackluster.

But it took a long time.

By the time Zhu Xiuyuan and Dong Cheng returned to the uncle's house, the time had already reached Shen hour, which was around three or four o'clock in the afternoon.

After returning home to rest for a while, Zhu Xiuyuan and Dong Cheng went back to their rooms, changed into casual clothes, and hurried out again carrying gifts.

What are you going to do?
Naturally, it's to visit teachers and friends.

Dong Cheng went to visit the governor of Runzhou Prefecture, while Zhu Xiuyuan went to visit Yang Tingyu and King Zhenze.

……

By the time the two of them returned from their visit, it was already late in the afternoon, almost six o'clock in the afternoon.

Let’s not talk about Dong Cheng, just Zhu Xiuyuan.

He came back from Prince Zhenze's Mansion. As soon as he got off the carriage on the street in front of the Prince's Mansion, a small figure jumped towards him and shouted happily: "Husband..."

"Hey, be careful!"

Zhu Xiuyuan was startled, afraid that Dong Shuzhen would fall, so he subconsciously put one hand around his waist and the other around his legs.

Dong Shuzhen's hands went around Zhu Xiuyuan's neck.

Change into a princess hugging position.

"Have you finished your work, husband? You won't be leaving this time, right? My sister and I have prepared a large table of delicious food, and we are waiting for husband and dad to come home and eat together!"

Dong Shuzhen put her arms around Zhu Xiuyuan's neck, put her face close to her husband's chest, and stared at him from bottom to top, with her big round and bright eyes.

There is joy in it, but also a hint of worry.

On the street, Zhu Xiuyuan hugged Dong Shuzhen for a while. After noticing the strange looks in the eyes of the coachman and Yan Dashan, he couldn't help but smile and said, "You are really getting smaller and longer. I will let you down for my husband."

"No, no!"

Dong Shuzhen tightly hugged his neck and refused to come down, and acted coquettishly in public.

Her little face was already red, and she actually knew that it was embarrassing to be seen by others, but she just wouldn't come down.

"Good good..."

Zhu Xiuyuan had no choice but to hug his wife and quickly return home.

Due to the fact that Dong Shuzhen was "waiting specifically at the door of the house for him to return home", Zhu Xiuyuan was not afraid of other people's strange looks.

But it is a moment to be less "exposed" to the outside world.

"Have you finished your work, husband?"

Dong Shuzhen asked again with a victorious smile on her face.

"I'm done with my work. I'm done with my work. Now I can stay with you all the time..."

Zhu Xiuyuan held Dong Shuzhen in a princess hug and ran quickly towards the main house. He was a little tired, but he answered her questions.

"Okay, okay, I've been waiting from morning to night, and finally I've waited until this moment, but it's almost dark!"

Dong Shuzhen laughed, and the worry in her eyes completely disappeared.

【Ask for a recommendation ticket, ask for a monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)