Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 634: Crown and Clothes
"A-choo, a-choo a-choo a-choo!"
The fourth prince sneezed more than a dozen times in a row, and tears immediately flowed down his face. Concubine Jiang heard the noise and rushed over, thinking that he had caught a cold. After asking carefully and testing the temperature of his forehead, she was relieved when she found that everything was normal, but she turned around to arrange the crown and clothes for the fourth prince.
As for the fourth prince, this was the first time he knew what the crown and robes were. After all, he was still young before, so he was not needed to help with the temple sacrifices, and it was not his turn to receive the imperial edict, and it was even more impossible for him to be congratulated. Even at the New Year's Day grand court meeting, he and the third prince were not required to participate. So, whether it was a crown or a leather hat, it was not that he had never worn it, but that he simply... didn't have it!
That's right, he and the third prince had never even worn real formal dresses or ceremonial robes, and in occasions like ordinary royal family banquets, the brothers' casual clothes were similar to those of ordinary noblemen, and even the materials were not top-notch.
The fourth prince had originally thought that he and his third brother did not attend court or visit the temple, which was very different from the treatment of the first and second princes, and that they did not even make a set of clothes, which made him look down on them. He had always believed that it was the Queen's fault, and he was resentful in his heart. Now, seeing Concubine Jiang busy preparing clothes for him, he felt that new and old hatreds came to his mind at the same time, and he could not help but snorted.
"You were reluctant to even make me a set of clothes in the past... Tomorrow my third brother will be crowned the crown prince and be congratulated in the East Palace, but you won't be able to see it, and your son will be even less likely to see it. Humph!" You and your son bullied my third brother and me in the past, and now you deserve it!
Concubine Jiang heard the Fourth Prince mumbling, and she was adjusting her sleeves when she said angrily: "After Sanlang is crowned as the Crown Prince, maybe it will be your turn to be crowned. Since you are an adult, you should be more open-minded and stop remembering these things from the past."
She has always been gentle, shy, and kind to others. Even when the queen made things difficult for her in the past, she never complained. Now that the queen has been deposed as Concubine Jing, she has not said a bad word either. Instead, she tried to persuade the fourth prince, who was angry about the dress: "Besides, although it was Concubine Jing's suggestion not to make dresses for you, the emperor agreed."
"The Emperor said that because you are still young and growing fast, a set of children's clothes is no easier to weave than an adult's, but you can only wear it for a year or even half a year. It's a waste. Silang, you see, just to weave such a pattern, it takes many skilled weavers to work for a long time, and it takes a long time to cut the woven cloth into clothes."
"In fact, we were in such a hurry this time that the formal dress was not ready when we rehearsed the etiquette before, so we can only give it to you to try on for the first time today. This imperial robe is originally for adults to wear. You and Sanlang have not worn the crown yet, but you have to wear it tomorrow. So we can only make do with the emergency for now."
If it were in the past, the Fourth Prince would have yawned and complained when he heard such a nagging lecture, but he has not forgotten the pain of being spanked on his palms so quickly, nor has he forgotten the slap from the Third Prince so quickly. In addition, he had also visited the underground workshop in Zhang Shou's house. At this moment, he thought of the working principles of the looms and spinning machines, and thought of Zhang Chen's words, and was suddenly shocked.
He nodded solemnly: "Mother, I understand. I will never say such things again."
Seeing that Concubine Jiang was relieved, she personally took the palace maids to try on the blue robe and purple skirt for him. Although the Fourth Prince felt it was troublesome, he couldn't argue with his mother because of this, so he had no choice but to do it. However, when rehearsing the etiquette before, he always wore casual clothes. When he put on the heavy robe, his face changed.
Because the wide-sleeved long gown was made of the best material, but the best material meant it was thick, and wrapping it around the body layer by layer, the feeling was really extraordinary and subtle. He wanted to complain but he was speechless when he thought of what he had said before.
When wearing such a dress, one has to be very careful with every move, otherwise it is easy to trip over oneself. Moreover, he has an even bigger feeling, which is the heaviness!
The nine-tasseled crown, made of rattan strips and silk lining, with a gold ring and gold border, was extremely tall and looked a little unstable when worn on the head. In addition, there were a lot of gold ornaments, which added to the weight. He had not yet tied his hair up, and although he rarely cut his hair according to the custom of inheriting his parents' hair, his hair was still not much, and after tying it into a bun, it was a little difficult to support the crown.
Apart from the gold ornaments, what made him dizzy the most were the nine strings of red, white, green, yellow and black jade beads on the front of the crown. Although they were far from affecting his vision, according to Concubine Jiang's requirements, when he walked with such a crown on, he had to hold a heavy jade sceptre that was nearly one foot long in his hand. While walking, he had to do his best to ensure that the jade sceptre and the jade beads did not shake!
The fourth prince was dumbfounded by such a request. Thinking of his third brother who was even better than him, and as the center of everyone's attention, he couldn't make any mistakes, he couldn't help but become more worried.
So, when he went to the Qianqing Palace at dusk, he saw the third prince was there. The emperor was instructing him on certain matters to pay attention to in tomorrow's enthronement ceremony. He could not help but express his concerns in front of his father.
" Father , this is the first time I've worn that formal dress. I feel the dress is tight and the hat is heavy. Third brother has so many ceremonies to perform tomorrow. Can he handle it?"
The emperor felt that things had been going on a lot recently , not to mention being extremely anxious, but all of them were crowded together on the eve of the crown prince's appointment. He was in a bad mood, and when he heard what the fourth prince said, he burst into laughter.
The Third Prince could only smile bitterly, but he had to thank his brother for his concern, and he explained softly, "Fourth brother, you think too much. No matter how hard and tiring it is, can it be harder than farmers working in the fields, more tiring than weavers and spinners weaving, more tiring than scholars studying hard, or more dangerous than soldiers fighting to the death? It's just the heavy crown, just bear it and it will pass."
After a pause, he smiled and said, "I heard that on the day of the bride's wedding, the various gold and silver ornaments and hairpins on her head and body will not be much lighter than our crown and clothes, but the joy of marriage outweighs everything, so don't we just grit our teeth and get over it?"
The emperor was immediately amused by the Third Prince's analogy, who was not good at joking. Looking at the stunned Fourth Prince, he just thought it was very funny, and said slowly, "Not only girls have to endure the heavy wedding dress when they get married, but your teacher who doesn't usually attend court tomorrow, Sister Yingying, who hates wearing a crown and clothes, will also have to wear it like this."
"Your teacher's outfit is based on his rank. He has worn it several times, so he is used to it. Plus, he doesn't have that many accessories, so he has no problem wearing it for this ceremony. He is much better than you two, but Yingying... hehe!"
While the emperor was gloating over other people's misfortune, Zhu Ying, who was feeling proud, was actually worried at home, as he was taking advantage of Chu Kuan's illness to find the list in the Imperial Household Department.
"What is this? Why would I wear something like this? I'm not a princess!"
Other girls would have been dazzled and unable to resist seeing such a dazzling crown and clothes, and realizing the symbolic meaning behind them. But who was Zhu Ying? She had seen all kinds of fine materials and worn all kinds of fine jewelry. Why did she want the nine-Di and four-Phoenix crown that only princesses could wear? Was it the Di hairpin with pearls in its mouth that she didn't have, or the ornaments like the kingfisher peony that she didn't have?
Seeing that Zhu Ying was unhappy, the lady could only wink at Jiu Niang and ask her mother to come forward and explain to Zhu Ying. However, Jiu Niang, who had been trying her best to make up for what she owed to Zhu Ying since she returned home, could not help but hesitate for a long time this time, and then said something very reluctantly.
"Yingying, it is reasonable that ladies of high rank and daughters of rich families are not allowed to attend the ceremony of enthroning the crown prince. After all, this is not the enthronement of the empress of the imperial palace. If you want to go, judging from the emperor's intention, he should let you go as a princess."
"He doesn't think about how Mingyue will react when she sees me in this crown and clothes!" Zhu Ying was so annoyed that she wanted to smash the Nine Di and Four Phoenix Crown, but after all, she didn't have the habit of wasting things like that, so she could only lose her temper and said, "Rules are made by people. Besides, it doesn't matter if I hide at the corner gate of the Fengtian Palace and take a peek later!"
"Although my background was unknown at the beginning, Mingyue was raised in the palace, so she was a princess. I was raised in the Zhu family of the Duke of Zhao's mansion, so I am the daughter of the Zhu family. Now even if the emperor has made it clear, isn't it better to maintain the status quo? Why do we have to make trouble for no reason!"
At this point, Zhu Ying made the final decision, "Grandmother, send someone to deliver a letter to the palace, saying that I have accepted the crown and clothes, just as a keepsake. I will definitely not wear them tomorrow! I know that this set of clothes can be worn in time for the crown prince's enthronement ceremony. It is definitely impossible that some weavers and embroiderers worked day and night to make it. It must have been prepared long ago. I can understand your kindness, but being grateful does not mean I value it."
"In short, this is only the first time, there won't be a next time! If the emperor still wants to confer the title of princess on me, I won't go to the palace anymore! If he and the queen mother want to see me, they can just leave the palace!"
Mother Li, who was standing beside the lady, took a deep breath and had only one thought in her mind - the eldest lady is the eldest lady after all, she is very smart and would not want to be a princess even if she was changed!
When the Madam saw that Jiu Niang immediately kept silent, she immediately shook her head and smiled, "Well, Yingying, you have said everything your mother and I can say, what else can we say? In this case, you should wear the same clothes you usually wear when you go to Qingning Palace for New Year's Day, Winter Solstice, or the Queen Mother's Thousand Years' Day. Although it is a loan from your mother and me, it is what you are used to wearing after all!"
"Grandmother and mother are the best!" Zhu Ying smiled and agreed without saying anything. When she left Qing'an Hall briskly without even looking at the princess dress that others wanted, the lady shook her head and said to Jiu Niang: "You should talk to Yingying's father and eldest brother in person. This girl has a righteous heart and bright eyes. She knows clearly what she wants and what she doesn't want."
"So she is the one and only Yingying." Jiu Niang's face was full of smiles, but she glanced at the Nine-Di and Four-Phoenix Crown that was shining brightly under the light, bent her knees and left.
When Zhu Jing and Zhu Tingfang in the study learned from Jiu Niang that Zhu Ying accepted the dress given by the palace but refused to wear it tomorrow, they looked at each other for a long time, and Zhu Tingfang smiled and said, "Looking at your mother, you must agree with Yingying's behavior? Me too. No matter what happened in the past, what is happening now, and what will happen in the future, Yingying is my sister."
Zhu Jing glanced at his eldest son, thinking of how he had always protected Zhu Ying since childhood. His face was stern, but his words were unusually disrespectful: "The emperor has enough children, and Yingying has always been close to him. This is really unnecessary."
Jiu Niang could hear a strong hint of jealousy in her husband's words and couldn't help but smile. Then she said briskly, "Anyway, if you don't want to wear it, then don't wear it. But you have to inform the emperor in advance."
Although the actual day for enthroning the crown prince was October 15, many matters had already entered the intensive preparation stage on October 14. From the incense table and treasure table set up in advance in the Fengtian Hall to the positions of various officials attending the enthronement ceremony on that day, the Ministry of Rites and the Ruiqi Battalion were busy all night to ensure that there were no mistakes in every link.
The next morning, before daybreak, the Fourth Prince, who had not slept well all night, was pulled out of bed by Concubine Jiang to wash. He was a little sluggish at first, but after washing his face with cold water, he finally felt a little more energetic. But when he put on the imperial robe and red skirt, he shook his head and felt very uncomfortable.
But no matter how sullen he was, he knew that today was not the time to lose his temper, so he could only yawn while trying to fill his stomach. However, there was no time for him to go to the toilet during the ceremony, so even if he was choking, he could only try his best to eat something dry to fill his stomach. When Concubine Jiang, who personally carried a lantern, sent him to the palace gate, he saw that the eunuch Lu Chan was waiting there, and he lost his sleep.
"Eunuch Lu?"
"The Emperor has ordered that I serve the Fourth Prince today, so I can fill in the gaps."
Although he said this, Lü Chan knew very well that the so-called "filling up the gaps" only meant the end of the class, so he repeatedly told the Fourth Prince about various etiquette procedures along the way. As a result, he wanted to hurry up and tell him again, but the Fourth Prince got annoyed.
"I have seen the ceremony of enthroning the Eastern Palace presented by the Ministry of Rites with my father. I can recite it by heart. How can I make a mistake? Don't look down on me. It's such an important day for my third brother. It won't be me who will make trouble! If you have time to talk nonsense with me, you might as well go and see how Chu Kuan is doing. He is as strong as a cow, how can he get sick?"
Lü Chan was so shocked by what the Fourth Prince said that he could only smile bitterly, but he couldn't refute him. After all, it was strictly speaking the matter of the Imperial Household Department that caused the Fourth Prince to be punished. So, he could only keep silent for the time being, until he saw the royal family's team from afar, and then he couldn't help but say, "Fourth Prince, Eunuch Chu was also very angry about the previous incident, and he is ordering people to investigate..."
“Stop talking!” The fourth prince interrupted him with a fierce look on his face, then straightened his clothes and said seriously, “Today is the ceremony of the enthronement of the third brother, I don’t want to talk about these messy things! Anyway, you step down, my uncle, the King of Jiangdu, will take the lead. I can ask him if I don’t understand anything, don’t worry!”
At this point, the fourth prince took a step forward with his short legs and rushed towards the King of Jiangdu. He was the youngest in the palace, and soon he would have another brother or sister, and he would no longer be the youngest. Now the King of Jiangdu was about to take over as the head of the clan, and in twenty or thirty years, maybe the position of the head of the clan would be his, so he had to learn from others!
