Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 308 Visiting the Golden Gate Ceremony
March [-]th, Emperor Kangxi's Jiazi Wanshou.

To the east of Taihe Gate, there are "five chariots", namely jade chariots, large chariots, big horse chariots, small horse chariots, and incense-walk chariots.

In the center is a jade sash, pulled by a white elephant, with three layers of blue satin hanging down, with twelve garlands, embroidered with the sun, the moon, and five stars, embroidered with 28 mansions, embroidered with golden clouds, dragons and feathers, and colorful tassels hanging down.Surrounded by bead curtains and golden colors, is the Yunlong Throne with a tapestry.

On the east side is a large scorpion, also driving an elephant, with three layers of yellow satin hanging down, and two banners out of ten, each embroidered with golden dragons.Inside the covered pavilion is a gold bucket arch and a jeweled cover, which Huang Qi pretends to be, and it is called the Yellow House.In the yellow room, there are dragon chairs placed under the curtains of yellow silk, covered with red woven and golden mattresses.

The horse chariot on the west side is mostly decorated with eye-catching red decorations.Ten bay red horses of the same coat color drive the shafts, four horses are served, six are steered horses, rings and bells are set, and square pots with round covers are set up.There are three layers of red satin hangings, and there are two out of ten big red laces, each embroidered with a golden phoenix.Under the belt of the red section is a chariot pavilion surrounded by Zhulan, and inside the pavilion are soft seats covered with plain carpets.

The second east is a small horse chariot, which is decorated with black.Six yellow horses drive the shaft, two serving horses, four stall horses, rings and bells, round and square pots.There are three layers of black satin hanging down, and there are two out of ten big tails, each embroidered with martial arts.The black satin belt is the chariot pavilion, and inside the pavilion is the golden dragon seat covered with a red woven gold mattress.

The second west is the incense walking chariot, which is mostly decorated with white decorations.Four white horses drive the shafts, one serving horse and three stall horses. There are also rings and bells, a round cover and a square pot.There are three layers of white satin hanging down, and there are two out of ten large white satins, each embroidered with a golden tiger.Under the white satin lace is a chariot pavilion carved with agarwood color and gold cloud panels, and inside the pavilion is also a golden dragon seat covered with a red woven gold mattress.

At this time, it was just the beginning of Mao, the sky was twilight, and the sun had not yet risen, but inside and outside the Forbidden City, rituals and music were already singing.

Sitting on the imperial chariot carried by 16 people, Kangxi led the kings, Baylor, Beizi, Duke, Minister of the Interior, academician, Dutong, Shangshu, guards, etc., to the empress dowager's palace to salute.

After the ceremony, Kangxi came to court in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, all the kings Baylor, civil and military officials, and officials who have been appointed to restore the product, greeted the holy driver and gave congratulations.

In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the officials of the Ministry of Rites will roll their names, and it is nothing more than a certain noble or a certain person in a certain position to congratulate Wanshou.Then, the officials who were called came forward to kowtow.

Kangxi sometimes nodded, sometimes comforted him.

Quite a number of old ministers knelt in front of the emperor, weeping, choked up and unable to speak.

Cao Yong stood in the middle front position on the right side of the hall, looked at the majestic Emperor Kangxi on the dragon chair, and remembered what he said yesterday.Hey, speaking of being lonely and helpless is also a portrayal of an emperor.

In a blink of an eye, more than half an hour later, the officials of the Ministry of Rites were still singing their names at the top of their voices.Cao Yong thought under his heart, the palace is full of princes and officials, there are not a thousand people, there are eight hundred, if it is called one by one, how much effort will it take?It is estimated that after the master of the super-grade and the first-rank and second-rank officials are finished, it should be batched.

Sure enough, in the clan, Baylor and below all kowtowed in a row.Among the hundred officials, except for the Lord Chaopin and the Great Scholars, Ministers of the Interior, Ministers, Governors, and Dutong, the others also kowtowed in a row.

Even so, the congratulations did not end until early noon ([-] o'clock in the morning).Kangxi took a Luan to the Meridian Gate again, and received the blessings from the soldiers of the Eight Banners and the elders from all provinces in Zhili.

When Kangxi's chariot returned to Qianqing Palace, the ministers, guards, academicians, Imperial Academy, Ministry of Rites, Metropolitan Inspection Court, Taipu Temple, Zhan Shifu and other yamen officials attended the Qianqing Gate to salute.

Kangxi accepted the worship of everyone, and the Longevity ceremony was considered to be over.

Cao Yong stood in the crowd, already sweating profusely, and his legs were already weak.However, now is not the time for the courtiers to disperse.After Kangxi finished eating the imperial meal, he would also serve the Empress Dowager Xingchang Spring Garden.Prince Baylor, civil and military officials from the Manchu and Han Dynasties, senior citizens from various provinces still knelt and sent them off at the chanting places.

In the past few years, there was no banquet on the Longevity Festival; today's is the same.Now the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are busy with the Thousand Seniors Banquet in a few days.

It was sent by Kangxi yesterday when he saw the elders and concubines from various provinces who came to celebrate his birthday. It means that all the old people in the world crawled from thousands of miles away.Investigate the Eight Banners of Manchuria, Mongolia, Han army, Han people, except domestic slaves, people under the bachelor degree and above, and the elderly over 65 years old, whoever is able to come, all are ordered to come.Then check the Eight Banners Manchuria, Mongolia, Han Army, and Bao Yi Zuo led, regardless of officials, idlers, etc., old women over [-] years old, after the old people give a banquet, they will be sent to the Empress Dowager Palace for a banquet on another day.

Because Kangxi said that he would choose a day to give a banquet within three or two days on the 22nd of this month, and the time was tight, all the officials circled around that.

At the chanting place, Cao Yong helped his father, seeing that his head was covered with sweat, he was a little worried, and asked in a low voice: "Father, do you want to go back and find a place to rest?"

Cao Yin wiped his forehead, looked around, everyone was standing, fully dressed, waiting for the holy driver, and said: "No need, being a father is not in the way, don't read it, son!"

It happened that Li Xu was nearby, and when he heard the two men talking, he felt a little envious.No matter how Cao Yong behaves, he really deserves the word "filial piety".

However, thinking of the upcoming Banquet of Thousands of Seniors, Li Xu said to Cao Yin with regret: "Dongting, it seems that we are still young and can't keep up with this feast. From the eyes of the elders and grandchildren, how big is this?" It's decent. If we want to participate, we have to wait for the master's [-]th birthday!"

Cao Yin stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Long live God is blessed, as long as we can survive until that day, we will always catch up."

At this time, the sound of rites and music was heard, and Kangxi's imperial chariot was approaching.Everyone bowed their heads and knelt to see off the holy driver.After Shengjia was far away, everyone got up, all looking relieved.

Li Xu wanted to drag Cao Yin to have a drink, Cao Yin waved his hand and said: "Brother, today is not going to happen, get up when you are ugly, you have to go back to take a rest!"

Seeing Cao Yin's thin body, Li Xu frowned slightly and said, "You have been idle for the past two years, how did you manage to make your body look like this? Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, I will hand over the sign to say goodbye to you, or you can rest in Beijing for a while. Let’s set off again in the next day, so as to save the fatigue of the journey.”

Cao Yin shook his head and said: "It's more than that! The younger brother also wants to make sure that the brand will be delivered in the future. If there is no accident, he will return to the south before the 25th. If the elder brother is not staying in the capital, we can travel together."

Li Xu said with a smile: "If so, you're right with me. To save the boat from getting bored, you can just come and have a few games with Dongting."

While speaking, the young servants of the two families had already brought their horses over.Li Xu clasped his fists at Cao Yin, then smiled at Cao Yong: "I heard that Fu Ruo's errands were handled very well. I think I will stay in Beijing this time. I will trouble you to take care of your cousin in the future." two."

It's really not bad, Cao Yong secretly laughed in his heart, and didn't let those spectators catch the handle, and his errands these days became "extremely appropriate".

On the surface, he still replied respectfully: "Uncle, you are too polite. Whether you can stay in Beijing or not depends on Long Live's will. Maybe there are other suitable people to take over."

Li Xu got on his horse, and after listening to Cao Yong's words, he said with a smile: "You know you don't want to show off, you are a smart boy, and you will have great promise in the future. Uncle is waiting to borrow your money!"

Cao Yong had to say a few more words of modesty, and sent Li Xu away.Cao Yin is also riding a horse today, not in a car.Because there were many honored and veteran ministers this time, he was not yet sixty, and it seemed a bit overwhelmed to make a cart, so he had to ride a horse.

Cao Yong helped Cao Yin onto the horse, and he himself called Xiaoman to lead the horse and get on the horse to accompany him.

Seeing this, Cao Yin frowned and asked, "Aren't you going to the Yamen of Taipu Temple?"

Cao Yong took out his pocket watch and saw that it was already Shenchu ​​(three o'clock in the afternoon), so he replied with a smile: "Father, it's already noon, even the yamen is about to close, so my son will not bother!"

Father and son walked side by side, Cao Yin thought for a while, then turned his head and asked: "Yong'er, didn't you say that you missed Beijing before you entered Beijing, why are you not happy now?"

Cao Yong said: "My son has encountered a lot of things in the past year. I understand that there is no difference whether it is in the capital or outside." Speaking of this, he said with a sad look: "Father, it is you, it is you. Don’t you want to think of a way to return to Beijing? Although Jiangnan is good, our family has been in business for 50 years, and we have never stayed there again!”

Cao Yin smiled wryly when he heard the words, and lowered his volume and said: "Long Live Lord is getting older and looks better than before. He appointed our Cao family to be 'Yourong' to the end. Besides, Jiangnan is rich, and half of the tax in the world is taken from Jiangnan. After all, it is the father. It is the old official he is used to, so he still has some trust; if he is replaced by other officials, he may not be able to rest assured. What your uncle did a few years ago hurt the heart of Long Live Lord, but you see, it is not used anymore. "

Cao Yong is also speechless, Cao Yin is telling the truth.The reason why Kangxi kept old ministers instead of new ones was to guard against his sons.I am afraid that the new minister has another master behind him, and he is not dedicated to him, the emperor's master.

When mentioning Li Xu, Cao Yong remembered something, and said to Cao Yin: "Father, my son heard that my uncle is in Beijing recently and frequently goes to and from the mansions of the rich and powerful. This...is this something I should persuade?"

Every time he gets along with Li Xu and his son, Cao Yong can detect the other party's intention to inquire.To be honest, it's not that he's cold-blooded, but he really doesn't have any affection for this uncle and cousin.The reason why I was thinking about them, worrying about their father and son, was just because they were afraid that something wrong with them would hurt the Cao family.

Cao Yin pondered for a while, sighed, and said, "Didn't you say that you want to marry your second cousin before going south? Maybe it's for this reason!"

Having said that, he himself didn't believe it, but it was hard to say Li Xu's right and wrong in front of his son.

Li Ding wants to get engaged?Cao Yong recalled yesterday when Chu Yu mentioned that Dong E Jinghui came to visit with her grandmother.When Li Ding's marriage is settled, I don't know how the young lady of Dong E's family will deal with herself.

Back in the mansion, Cao Yong and Chu Yu mentioned Li Ding's engagement.Although Chu Yu is closer to Dong E Jinghui, but because Li's family is Cao Yong's father, it's hard to say anything, so he can only sigh.

*
After dinner, Hong Shu brought his two younger brothers to visit, and they came to send invitations to Cao Yin and his wife, sister and brother-in-law.King Chunjun and Fujin will entertain their in-laws, daughter and son-in-law at the palace tomorrow.

Welcoming the young elder brothers to the living room, Cao Yin and his son all came out to meet the guests.Cao Yin came out to socialize for a few words, and saw that the younger elder brothers were also cautious, so he left Cao Yong here and left first.

After Cao Yin left, the elder brothers all had smiles on their faces, and they didn't sit upright like they did just now.

Seeing that Hong Zhuo and Hong Xin were both grinning from ear to ear, Cao Yong asked: "What's so happy about this? Come and listen."

Hong Zhuo scratched his head with a smile, but Hong Xin clapped his hands and said, "Brother-in-law, my second brother and I were selected by the clan's mansion, and we will be going to hold the title at Huang Mafa's birthday banquet in a few days!"

"Oh, it's a good thing. It's very honorable to be able to participate in such a grand ceremony!" Cao Yong said.

Hong Xin nodded triumphantly, and said: "That's right, Hong Xi from the third uncle's family was not selected, so I didn't cry, but seeing Hong Shi from the fourth uncle's family was so happy, I almost rolled up my sleeves."

Hong Zhuo curled his lips disapprovingly, and said: "The children don't understand anything, why are you so happy! It's just pouring wine for a bunch of old men, just pretend to be so happy?"

Hongxin glanced at his brother, and muttered, "Why are you unhappy? We only choose fifty in total. Not everyone can go."

Hong Zhuo is not happy about the Banquet of Thousand Old Men, then there must be other good things.Cao Yong glanced at Hong Shu suspiciously, saw Hong Shu nodded, and said with a smile: "Forget about finding someone for Fujin. Tomorrow is a good day, and I want to hold a happy event for my second brother."

Cao Yong smiled and said to Hong Zhuo: "That's really congratulations to the second brother. If you don't think your sister and brother-in-law are making trouble, then we must ask for a glass of wedding wine."

Hongzhuo was a little embarrassed, blushed and laughed a few times and said, "Of course, even if no one else is invited, my sister and brother-in-law will come too! Just say it first, this gift can't be If it’s less, even if it’s not as good as my brother’s sister-in-law’s years ago, it can’t be too bad. Otherwise, I won’t follow!”

Cao Yong nodded and said: "Well, well, it's easy to save, I will talk to your sister in a while, and designate a big gift for the second brother and younger siblings!"
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(End of this chapter)