Jiuxi

Chapter 150 Chapter 149 [The Ceremony of Crowning]

The winter nights are long.

In Luzhai Xiyuan, the indoor temperature is as warm as spring, and the earth dragon is burning very hot.

Lu Chen was sitting next to the big desk by the window. He had a stack of military books in his hand and was writing the official military regulations and drill instructions of the Ruijie Battalion.

According to the emperor's will, the Ruishi camp has a total of 6000 people, half of them cavalry and infantry.In Lu Chen's idea, Ruishi Battalion should assume similar responsibilities as Jingzhou Feiyu Battalion. It can be responsible for rangers and scouts in peacetime, and form an unrivaled vanguard elite in wartime, appearing at the most critical position to provide enemy A head-on blow.

To cultivate an elite division, apart from strict military discipline and diligent training, the treatment of soldiers is the most important thing.

Lu Chen is not worried about this, because the Lu family really has no shortage of money, so he does not need to be greedy for military pay and blood of soldiers, he only needs to take good care of the generals below.

In future battles, the Rui Shi Battalion will most likely face the world-famous cavalry of the Jing Dynasty. This is what Lu Chen needs to focus on.

Time passed quietly. I don't know how long it took. He Yu walked over cautiously and said, "Master, it's time to rest."

Lu Chen put the brush back into the pen holder, turned around and asked, "Where is Song Pei?"

He Yu chuckled and said, "It's her turn to warm the young master's bed tonight."

Lu Chen nodded and said, "There is no need to sort out the things on my desk."

"Yes, Master." He Yu agreed obediently.

Back in the bedroom, Lu Chen raised his eyes and looked slightly strange.

Usually at this time, both Song Pei and He Yu were waiting indoors to help him undress, and the quilt had already been warmed.

Lu Chen didn't have to stretch out his clothes, and he was very adaptable. He naturally slept soundly on the bed filled with the fresh fragrance of the girl, and he could sleep peacefully in the wilderness under the cover of the sky, but he didn't think about deliberately changing anything.

For these eldest maids, maintaining the status quo would make them feel at ease, and Lu Chen was more willing to respect them accordingly.

But tonight he has come back, but the room is very quiet, and a figure can be vaguely seen under the quilt on the bed.

Lu Chen walked to the bed curiously and saw Song Pei huddled under the quilt, with only a waterfall of black hair and a smooth forehead exposed, so he asked softly: "What's going on?"

He thought the girl was asleep and yet to wake up.

However, a muffled voice soon came from under the covers: "Master."

His tone was slightly trembling, and there was no hint of confusion after falling asleep.

Lu Chen's mind was so astute that he quickly realized the problem. He immediately walked to the table and sat down, and asked calmly: "Did the master ask you to do this?"

"No...it's not..." Song Pei carefully revealed half of his face.

Lu Chen naturally didn't believe it.

The maids in Xiyuan are very sensible, and Song Pei is the most mature. How could she have made such a move if she didn't get some hints.

"Dad is really..."

Lu Chen could probably understand what Lu Tong was thinking. Now that Lin Xi was far away in the North, he wouldn't be able to see her for a while. The marriage might be far away, and he would turn 20 in two days. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was an older, unmarried young man.

What's more important is that most children from rich families in this era will experience human affairs early, which can be regarded as some kind of teaching from their elders to prevent them from being dazzled outside.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but laugh and said: "Didn't father tell you that I was injured in Beijing not long ago and I am still recuperating now?"

After hearing this, Song Pei said worriedly: "But the chief steward said that the young master's injury has been greatly healed. Is it possible that the young master is still a little uncomfortable?"

Lu Chen turned around and looked at her, Xiafei's cheeks looked as if she was tipsy, and secretly thought that this girl must have been mentally building up all night.

He smiled and shook his head and said, "Put on your clothes first."

Song Pei understood the deep meaning of this sentence and quickly got out of bed, put on his coat and said: "Master, maid..."

She was a little embarrassed.

Lu Chen said gently: "You should know my temperament. I don't like to force others to do things against their will. The Lu family can't do the behavior of bullying men and dominating women. As far as I am concerned, if you serve me, there is a word of friendship. I will definitely give you a good result in the future. I originally thought that I would release you in two years and prepare a dowry so that you can leave the palace in glory. Now it seems that my thinking is a bit simple, so now I will Let me ask you, are you willing to stay and become a member of the Lu family?"

He knew that Song Pei was soft on the outside but strong on the inside. If she had not been willing to do so, she would never have done such a thing by recommending herself to a pillow with just a few hints from others.

Song Pei felt like her heart was beating like a drum. When she heard Lu Chen's last words, a soft joy bloomed in her eyes. She lowered her head slightly and said, "My maid is willing."

"Okay, I will tell my father tomorrow."

Lu Chen made a quick decision, and then said: "But before I get married, there are some things that you don't need to mention again, and don't tell other maids. In case others make weird remarks to you, I don't have the extra energy to deal with this kind of thing, so you can take care of it for me with peace of mind. Just take care of the chores at home."

Song Pei's eyes were shy and he said softly: "Master, I just...haven't thought about anything."

"Really?"

Lu Chen joked. Seeing that the slender and beautiful maid was becoming more and more shy, he stopped smiling and walked to the bed.

Song Pei stared at his figure, feeling extremely sweet in her heart.

A night without words.

A few days later, it was the 25th of the twelfth lunar month.

After holding a flowing banquet for three days, the Lu family welcomed another group of distinguished guests.More than a dozen officials headed by the prefect Zhan Hui, famous squires from Guangling City represented by Xu Jingsheng, the old man of the Xu family, and people from the Lu clan who came from Shanyang County.

At three o'clock in the morning, a group of people arrived at Lu's family temple.

Lu Chen has been waiting here for a long time.

In the lobby of the family temple, a group of guests looked at Lu Chen who was walking slowly with gentle expressions, and then heard Lu Tong say: "Today the dog is holding the crown ceremony, Lu Mou sincerely thanks all the sages who came to watch the ceremony."

Everyone returned the courtesy and sat down again.

Lu Chenxing went to the center of the hall and stood there. In front of him stood the guest of honor, Xue Huaiyi, who was responsible for presiding over the ceremony, and next to him was Zhan Hui, the prefect who was responsible for assisting.

At the prompts of the two elders, he first knelt down and bowed to the portraits of the Lu family's ancestors, and then bowed to Lu Tong and other guests in turn.

Zhan Hui pointed to the mat in front and said with a gentle smile: "Sit down."

Lu Chen sat on the floor, and Zhan Hui stepped forward to untie his bun, comb his hair again, then wrapped it in a hair scarf and fixed it with a jade hairpin.

Xue Huaiyi went down to clean his hands, then went back to the hall and raised his hand to symbolically straighten Lu Chen's bun.

After completing this procedure, Xue Huaiyi took the cloth crown from Zhan Hui and walked towards Lu Chen. At the same time, he chanted softly: "On the auspicious day of the month, you will start to add yuan clothes. If you abandon your child, you will be virtuous. Longevity. Examine Weiqi and introduce Er Jingfu."

Lu Chen changed to a kneeling position, Xue Huaiyi put the silk cloth crown on his head, and Zhan Hui then tied the laces under the crown.

After the first ceremony was completed, Lu Chen returned to the side room, changed into a black top and bottoms, and then returned to the lobby.

The second ceremony was roughly the same, with the difference being that the cloth crown was replaced by leather Bian, and the clothing was a plain top and bottoms. Xue Huaiyi looked at Lu Chen, who was upright, and said with expectation: "The auspicious month is the day. Show your obedience, respect your majesty, and be virtuous. My eyebrows will live for thousands of years and you will be blessed forever."

The last ritual is a reddish-brown Jue Bian, paired with a black silk top and red silk bottoms.

Lu Chen, who put on this suit of clothes, made all the guests present shine. He was already tall and dignified, and now he had a title. At first glance, he looked handsome and distinguished.

Xue Huaiyi recited for the third time: "With the correctness of the year, with the order of the month. Xian Jiafu. Brothers are here to achieve great virtue. Huang Lao has no boundaries and is celebrated by heaven."

Originally, the most important ritual was to select the Chinese character, but since Lu Chen had already been given the Chinese character "Jing'an" by the Emperor when he was in the capital, this procedure could be omitted.

"The reason why ordinary people are human is etiquette and righteousness. The beginning of etiquette and righteousness lies in the correct appearance, correct color, and smooth speech. The appearance and body are correct, the color is correct, and the speech is correct, and then the etiquette and righteousness are prepared. To correct the king and his ministers, the father and the son, the elders and the young. , the ruler and ministers are upright, father and son are close, elders and young are harmonious, and then etiquette and righteousness are established. Therefore, the crown is followed by service and preparation. After service and preparation, the appearance and body are upright, the color is uniform, and the speech is smooth, so it is said that the crown is the beginning of etiquette."

Xue Huaiyi spoke unhurriedly, while Lu Chen stood and listened calmly and calmly.

Lu Tong, who was standing on the side, looked at this scene, his eyes slightly moist, and there was an expression of admiration and relief that was difficult to describe in words.

Xue Huaiyi continued: "...those who are adults will be responsible for the etiquette of adults. Those who are responsible for the etiquette of adults will be responsible for the etiquette of being a son, a younger brother, a minister, and a young man. He will be responsible for the behavior of the four. People should be polite and don't value giving. Therefore, if you practice filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, and obedience, you can be a good person. If you can be a good person, you can then govern others."

"Licheng!"

As the words Xue Huaiyi came out, Lu Chen pressed his right hand with his left hand, put his hands in his long sleeves, raised his hands and raised his forehead, bowed ninety degrees to him and Zhan Hui, then stood up, and at the same time, his hands reached his eyebrows again, and then Hands down.

This is the end.

From today on, he is no longer a young man relying on the wings of his elders, but a man who walks the world on his own.

The guests congratulated Lu Tong and Lu Chen's father and son one after another. The biggest difference from before was that now they did not look at Lu Chengao because of Lu Tong. In other words, the entire Guangling Mansion's nobles gathered here today, and there were many. A large part of the reason is Lu Chen's own identity and status.

In the following New Year's Eve, Lu Tong rarely enjoyed a leisurely life at home, leaving many greetings and farewell matters to Lu Chen, while he played chess and admired flowers with friends such as Xue Huaiyi and Zhan Hui, which seemed extremely comfortable.

Lu Chen didn't complain at all about this, because he knew that there wouldn't be many opportunities like this in the future, so he cherished the time he still had at home even more.

Time flies by in a blink of an eye, and the 13th year of Jianwu in Southern Qi Dynasty has quietly arrived.

After spending a perfect New Year's Day, on the morning of the [-]th of the first lunar month, Lu Tong and his servants came to the north gate of Guangling in person to see him off.

"The child cannot serve at home, and I feel extremely guilty. I just hope that my father will take care of his health!"

Lu Chen bowed and saluted, and said sincerely.

Lu Tong smiled, raised his hand and patted his shoulder, gently comforting him: "Go ahead and take care of yourself."

Lu Chen nodded, then glanced at Song Pei who was standing behind him, nodded to her, then saluted Lu Tong again, and said with complicated emotions: "Father, stay here, the child is gone."

Lu Daotong: "Don't worry about being a father. If you are not too busy with military affairs, remember to take time to go home and visit."

Lu Chen saw that his old father couldn't help but say this in the end, so he solemnly agreed, then turned and walked towards the soldiers of the Thousand Rui Battalion waiting on the official road.

He took the reins of his mount from Li Chengen, got on the horse neatly, waved to Lu Tong and others, and then turned the horse's head to face the north.

"drive!"

Qianqi mobilized and rode away on the clouds.

Lu Tong stood there, quietly looking at the group of thousands of riders heading north. Only when they could no longer be seen in his sight did he turn around and board the spacious carriage.

After a while, a person came to the carriage, stepped into the moving carriage vigorously, and said, "Master."

Lu Tong was silent for a moment and said slowly but firmly: "After Shen'er goes to Lai'an, the Governor's Mansion will begin preparations for the Northern Expedition. Please inform our family members who stay in the north to make all preparations as soon as possible."

The visitor lowered his head and said, "As you command!"

(End of this chapter)