Empress Jinghua: The eunuch is nine thousand years old

Chapter 233
On the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, the heavy snow stopped for the first time, and the warm sun also came out from the clouds behind it, hitting people warmly.Because the end of the year is approaching, the inside and outside of the palace are busy. One is to prepare for the New Year's Eve banquet, and the other is to prepare for the royal family's ancestor worship.

The Xia family has also existed for hundreds of years. Whether it is the previous Jinlai Dynasty or the changed Dalai Dynasty, they all have the surname Xia. In the final analysis, they are a family.

After the Xia family was crowned with the imperial surname, the plaques and tablets of the ancestors in the ancestral hall were all moved to the Shouhua Palace next to the imperial mausoleum.Every New Year's Eve, members of the Xia family would go to this ancestral hall to worship their ancestors and gods of heaven and earth, in order to pray for their ancestors to bless the prosperity of the new year.

At the end of the new year, Xia Qin, who was originally banned, was also pardoned by Ming Shengdi, and he was able to lift the ban and worship ancestors with the royal family.After all, he is the prince of Dalai, and it is inappropriate for him not to be present on such a grand occasion as ancestor worship.

The ancestor worship ceremony was arranged on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month. Early in the morning, Ming Shengdi's luan car was ready, and other royal family members in the palace were also carried by the palace people to follow Ming Sheng Emperor's luan car. Moving forward, the long dragon-like team headed for the imperial mausoleum.

In winter, the wind is warm and warm, but it is cold and strong. The cold wind like a bayonet blows people's faces. The faces of the palace guards carrying the sedan chairs are flushed with cold, but they dare not neglect their steps at all. .

And the masters sitting in the sedan chair have a warm hand stove to keep warm, and there are exquisitely arranged pastries to enjoy. It's a world of difference.

A group of teams walked towards the imperial mausoleum through the white snow. On the way, they had to cross two small hills to reach Baihui Mountain where the imperial mausoleum was located.When the team arrived at the foot of Baihui Mountain, the vast mist on the top of the mountain was like a fairyland surrounded by vines around the imperial mausoleum, showing auspiciousness.

Royal people in the capital are most particular about grandeur and ostentation. Even if it is the place of burial after death, they must also pay attention to the direction of the mountains. among.

The Xia family's imperial mausoleum was chosen on Baihui Mountain, which is rich in fairyland.

The mountain is shrouded in white mist all year round, as if it were the top of a fairyland.And the trees are evergreen and the flowers never wither. Among them, the birds sing and the green forests, and the animals and birds are very lively. In the area around the back mountain, there are even more resources. The birch forests are naturally formed, which is a gift from the thick soil.

But in this mountain, no one dares to wander around. If one accidentally leaves the scope of the imperial mausoleum and enters the depths of this mountain, it will be unpredictable. It is hard to say what beasts you will encounter , and it is easy to get lost in the mountains.

The royal team walked for nearly an hour before climbing to the top of Baihui Mountain and stepping into the majestic arches of the imperial mausoleum.

The imperial mausoleum has a large area, and after the team enters it, they must first perform the ceremony on the altar of offering sacrifices to heaven.At the opening ceremony of the royal family’s ancestor worship, the women’s relatives stood on the right and the men on the left. Before everyone came, they all bathed and burned incense, then put on Chinese clothes, and stood solemnly in this row.

Headed by Ming Shengdi, everyone held incense candles, with a heavy heart, according to the royal ancestor worship etiquette, kneeled and kowtowed three times to the bronze tripod on the Temple of Heaven, and then held the incense and recited the ancestral instructions together to comfort the spirits of the royal ancestors in heaven .

"The ancestors and ancestors are above, and I am Xia Zhong. Today, I bring all the sons and daughters of the Xia family to pay homage to the ancestors and ancestors. May the ancestors bless me, bless my people, and bless the world with peace and prosperity every year, and good weather! "

Emperor Ming Sheng was wearing a yellow robe with dragon patterns for the sacrificial ceremonies. Although his voice was still vigorous and powerful, he could faintly hear the sign of Qi deficiency and physical fatigue. Emperor's body has declined a lot compared to last year.

The people followed Ming Shengdi's words in harmony. There are hundreds of people in the royal family, and the words are so broad. The majestic voices of the crowd resounded on the Temple of Heaven.

After the opening ceremony, Ming Shengdi took everyone to stay overnight in the palace on Baihui Mountain. Although Baihui Mountain is beautiful and there are many birds and animals, there are elite soldiers around the imperial mausoleum all the year round. Harsh, but also very safe.

There has always been a palace in the imperial mausoleum. As early as when Emperor Ming Sheng ordered the royal family to worship ancestors on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, the palace people stationed in the palace had already gathered up and down the palace. Cleaned spotlessly inside and out, waiting for the royal family to move in at any time.

Xia Zijin's residence is divided into the southwest corner of the palace, facing the west of the birch forest in Baihui Mountain.Because it is winter, the tops of those trees are covered with white snow, like cotton wadding from the sky covering them, it looks like a vast expanse of whiteness, like frost and snow urging the cold into silver bars, very elegant.

This time she went out of the palace with Xiaohuanzi and Xin'er who had just arrived by her side.Because of her young age, Xin'er is always a bit timid in her actions, and she always timidly looks left and right when she follows Xia Zijin.

After entering the residence in the palace, Xia Zijin first asked Xin'er to help Xiao Huanzi unload the luggage, sat on the soft couch to rest, and then ordered her to come forward and rub her legs.

Looking at Xin'er's timid look, Xia Zijin raised her hand and rubbed her forehead and said: "Don't be afraid, although this princess is sometimes strict, she is also very kind. As long as you are loyal to this princess, you can do things safely." Some, this princess will not be harsh on you."

Xin'er nodded, blinked her watery eyes twice, looked up at her master, then lowered her head timidly.

Xia Zijin shook her head and sighed. These days, she did not know how many times she had trained Xin'er, but this girl seemed to have had a bad experience before entering the palace, and she was always untrustworthy, even if she was gentle and cheerful every day. Talking to Xin'er, this girl still looked timid.

Although Xiaokui was a timid girl in the past, but fortunately Xiaokui has a lively temper, and she let go of her temper after being with her for a short time.

Thinking about it this way, Xia Zijin began to miss Xiaokui again.

Ever since that girl Xiaokui married Ah Wei, the two have been in perfect harmony, like glue.

Although Xiao Kui often visited Xia Zijin in the palace after she got married, she was not by her side every day after all. Ah Wei also needed her as the hostess to take care of the house. Ri enters the palace to accompany himself.

Fortunately, Awei is very kind to Xiaokui. Whenever Xiaokui enters the palace to accompany her, Awei must personally guard her at the gate of the palace when she leaves the palace, waiting to pick her up. Xia Zijin is very pleased to see In the eyes, blessings in the heart.

It's just that Xia Zijin can't see Xiaokui in the imperial tomb right now, so it's okay to think about it.After Xiao Huanzi arranged the luggage and moving in for Xia Zijin, he stood guard outside the house and knocked on the door.

"Princess, we've settled down here. The New Year's Eve banquet, ordered by the emperor, will be held at the third quarter of Mao hour. You have to prepare first. It's already halfway through the Yin hour."

That was less than an hour before the banquet.Xia Zijin looked at the sky, and said to the outside of the house: "My princess understands, you go down and prepare the sedan chair, my princess washes up and takes a bath, then puts on palace clothes and goes to the main hall for the banquet.

Xiao Huanzi responded and went down to do it, while Xia Zijin also started to take a bath and freshen up, but Xiao Huanzi left with his front feet, and someone slapped on the door with his back feet.

"Princess Mingzhu, is this the residence of Princess Mingzhu?" A high-pitched voice sounded from outside the room, "The young one is the person next to Director Xia, and he is here to deliver things to Princess Mingzhu under the order of Director Xia."

People around Xia Shengqing?Xia Zijin paused in her thoughts, they had just met before leaving the palace, and Xia Shengqing didn't say that she had anything to give her, so why did his son send a little eunuch to say it now.

Xia Zijin winked at Xin'er, signaling Xin'er to go outside the door to make friends with her.Xin'er nodded, opened the door with a squeak and went out, only to see the little eunuch standing outside the house nodding slightly towards her, then took out a thing tightly wrapped in a handkerchief from his sleeve pocket , and handed it to Xiner.

"Boss Xia ordered the servants to deliver this item to Princess Mingzhu. Please pass it on for me." Xin'er took the item, and the little eunuch immediately blessed Xia Zijin who was in the room, and said: "Princess Mingzhu , Director Xia said, I want you to remember to bring the things he gave you to last year's sacrificial banquet later."

After all, the little eunuch didn't wait for Xia Zijin to say anything, so he saluted and left in a hurry.

Xia Zijin felt that the little eunuch was behaving suspiciously, and seemed to be ignorant of palace rules, so his attitude of spreading the news was rather casual.She took the things that Xin'er brought over, and with her onion-like fingertips, she gently opened the tightly wrapped veil, only to see that there was nothing else inside, but a green and clear hairpin.

This hairpin ring is bright in color, embellished with emerald enamel, and strings of plump South Sea pink pearls are hung on it, making the tentacles very warm and moist.There are gravel tassels hanging down from the silver hairpin rod, and when you put it in your hand and shake it lightly, there will be a jingling sound.

This thing looks exquisite, and Xia Zijin looked around and didn't find anything inappropriate, but Xia Zijin was curious about what Xia Shengqing was doing in such a good way to give her a hairpin ring.He also ordered her to bring it to the ancestor worship banquet, which is really strange.

And this thing looks like it's used by a married woman.
In Xia Zijin's previous life, she was the concubine of Prince Lin, so she naturally knew that the jewelry worn by the married woman was different from the jewelry worn by the young lady who had not left the court. Although it looked the same from a distance, the emerald enamel was the favorite style of the married woman.

(End of this chapter)