Chapter Five Hundred and Thirty Eight: Suburban Welcome
October in Beijing is already the winter season.
Unlike last year's continuous rain and heavy snow, this winter, until now, there has been no snow.
As the old proverb goes, auspicious snow heralds a good year.
There will be no snow in winter and there will be drought in spring. This is something that farmers who rely on the weather never want to see.
This morning, the deep bell rang, and the people opened their hazy sleepy eyes and looked out of the window. They were surprised to find that the snow had fallen a foot thick.
The sky was covered with thick dark clouds.
Snowflakes like goose feathers began to fall down one after another without knowing when, turning the capital into a beautiful snow country.
The people were overjoyed, but Shuntian Mansion was extremely busy.
Mr. Fuyin Wang was called out of bed in the middle of the night. Looking at the thick snow on the ground, he suddenly felt like crying without tears.
It's going to snow sooner or later, but it just happened to be perfect on this day.
So, he had no choice but to coordinate with the Military and Horse Department of the Five Cities overnight and dispatch government and military officials to clear the snow!
Of course, this is not because the governor is worried about people slipping, but because...
Today, the Supreme Emperor returns to the capital, and the Emperor, with all his civil and military officials, will go out to the outskirts of the city to welcome him!
Shuntian Prefecture has been busy for half a month, cleaning up all kinds of scoundrels, then pouring clean water on the streets and paving the roads with loess. Now, it's all in vain.
Not only that, there was a thick layer of ice forming on the street because of the water that had just been splashed across the street. When the emperor's guard of honor passed by, if something happened, he, the governor of Shuntian, would definitely be done for.
So, we cleared the snow and ice all night, and re-paved the road with loess.
I kept busy until the sky became dark, and finally I saw results. The ice on the ground was completely removed, but the snow continued to fall...
As the deep bell rang, the whole city was under martial law.
In particular, the avenue from Gongcheng to Zhengyangmen has been guarded by the army for a long time.
A long procession came out from the Meridian Gate, vast and endless. At the front were the guards in royal robes on guard, followed by the red flags and yellow dragon flags fluttering in the wind, and countless palace servants, all gathered in an orderly manner.
He drove forward slowly in his spacious chariot.
Following behind were dignitaries who were rarely seen by ordinary people. They wore scarlet robes, green robes, and green robes. The long queue stretched continuously.
In addition to the necessary officials who stayed behind at the yamen and those who were in charge of the ceremony, all the civil and military officials in the capital, whether they were main officials, assistant officials, or officials waiting for election, were all out to welcome him!
Doesn’t the Supreme Emperor like big scenes? Today, this face will be enough for him!
Not long after, when they arrived outside Zhengyang Gate, Zhu Qiyu stepped down from the chariot with Cheng Jing at his side.
Today, he is wearing a black robe with twelve chapters of dragon pattern, with the sun and moon hanging on his shoulders, a large ribbon on his waist, and twelve crowns on his head, which is the emperor's crown.
The north wind is howling and the sky is getting brighter.
Goose feather-like snowflakes fell on his shoulders, and two completely opposite colors, dark black and snowy white, reflected each other on his body.
For such an important ceremony, the time has naturally been calculated in advance.
In fact, the Emperor's car had already arrived at the inn ten miles outside the city yesterday. It was precisely for today's welcoming ceremony that he did not enter the city directly.
By the time the Emperor's Holy Chariot arrived outside Zhengyang Gate, the Supreme Emperor's chariot had already set off.
Not long after, a fast horse came from afar to announce that the carriage had arrived.
So, in the heavy snow, a lonely team slowly appeared in front of everyone.
The curtain of the carriage was opened at a corner, revealing a complex look.
Different from Zhu Qiyu who wore black clothes, today's Zhu Qizhen is wearing a bright yellow pipa-sleeved robe with twelve chapters of dragon and cloud patterns. On his head is a black winged crown with two golden dragons circling up.
It is a shining pearl.
Through the opened curtain, Zhu Qizhen finally saw once again the city of Beijing that he had regarded as a cage for countless times, and the civil servants who had once made him feel nagging and useless.
I also saw, among the white snow, the tall and tall young man in black clothes.
His younger brother, the current...emperor of the Ming Dynasty!
The mighty car stopped in front of Zhengyang Gate, and the official of the Ministry of Rites blew his whip three times in a loud voice according to the etiquette that had been discussed long ago.
"kneel!"
So, all the civil and military officials present bowed down.
Considering that there will be sacrifices to heaven and ancestors later, it would be disrespectful to have dust on clothes, so the Ministry of Rites spent a lot of money this time (the Ministry of Husband???) and laid a thick blanket outside the entire Zhengyang Gate.
Because it snowed at night, two layers of tarpaulin were temporarily laid out to prevent the blanket from getting wet.
Therefore, the elders did not have to worry about the mud on the ground. After prostrating themselves, they shouted in unison, saying:
"My lords, please pay homage to the Supreme Emperor. Long live your Majesty! Long live your Majesty!"
The voice was loud and loud, ready to break through the sky.
The elders are used to participating in all kinds of ceremonies, so naturally they won't miss it.
However, after bowing down, they discovered that the etiquette officer, who was always the most demanding of etiquette, had made a mistake at this time.
They knelt down and shouted, but the ceremony official never shouted.
As a result, many elders raised their heads in confusion.
Of course, they also saw the emperor standing tall in the wind and snow, not moving at all, while the ceremony officer on the side was obviously at a loss for this situation.
Otherwise, according to the ritual notes drawn up by the Ministry of Rites, at this moment, the emperor should kowtow three times to the Supreme Emperor.
However, this young Majesty obviously does not have this intention now.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the ceremony officer didn't know what to do for a moment, so the whole ceremony was stuck here.
Fortunately, Mr. Hu Hui from the Ministry of Rites made a quick decision and quickly gave the officer a continuing look.
Therefore, the official seemed to have found his backbone and continued shouting.
"rise!"
The elders completed the three prostrations and five prostrations meticulously, but the emperor at the front seemed to have roots under his feet and did not move at all.
No matter what the ministers below are thinking at the moment, but in this kind of ceremony, they cannot be allowed to speak carelessly.
After all, it is true that the ceremonial officials dare not take care of the emperor, but if these ministers dare to exceed the rules in the slightest, the whip in the hand of the censor is not for show.
Then, all the ministers finished their ceremony, and countless eyes fell on the emperor.
At the same time, what fell was the gaze of the Emperor in the car.
So, with everyone watching, the emperor finally moved.
Zhu Qiyu's eyes were clear and his face was calm. The curtain of the carriage in front of him had already been opened.
He raised his head slightly, and what came into his eyes was the extremely familiar face in his memory.
The two people's eyes met in the air for an instant, and countless emotions were brewing in them, all of which were extremely complicated.
So, outside the Zhengyang Gate, the brothers finally met!
Still one person sits and the other stands.
However, everything is different from before.
At this moment, the person sitting in the bright yellow robe is warm and comfortable in the spacious car, and the person standing in the bright yellow robe is standing in the wind and snow in the sky, carrying the sun and moon on his shoulders.
His eyes closed as soon as he touched them, Zhu Qiyu raised his hands and bowed his hands, and said in a calm voice.