Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 367 Crown

After just a short nap, around the hour of Chou, Cao Yu, Feng Ziying and Situ Sheng quietly got up, brushed their teeth, washed their faces, tidied their clothes, and rushed to the Xuan Zheng Hall of the Daming Palace.

Cao Yu was holding a mahogany box in his arms.

Feng Ziying leaned over to take a look curiously: "What good stuff is that? Let me see it!"

"A confiscated banned book. The kind that would have your eyes gouged out if you read half a line." Cao Yu handed the box over.

Feng Ziying quickly sat up straight: "Why would I, an illiterate person, look at that!?"

"Brother Feng, the books on the list are enough for him to read for two or three years, so forget about the others." Situ Sheng smiled and shook the reins, "Hurry up! If we miss the time, once His Majesty starts the sacrifice, we won't be able to join the entourage!"

The three men ran away.

As for everyone in Yanjia Palace, they slept soundly until the beginning of the morning.

Outside the palace, all the necessary equipment and personnel were ready. Dai Quan and Cheng Qian, who had hardly slept all night, went to wake up the Supreme Lord and the Queen Mother respectively.

The emperor was still a little confused. He sat on the bed and squinted his eyes and asked, "Have you told the emperor?"

"Yes. I have informed His Majesty that this year's visit will be held in the Yanjia Palace." Dai Quan smiled and brought the crown and robes of the retired emperor over, and put them on the retired emperor piece by piece. "His Majesty is very happy, saying that the retired emperor and the queen dowager love him so much that he and the queen can go to the same place less often."

Tai Shang snorted, "What's the point of me loving him!?"

"It's the first day of the new year, why are you saying such angry words?" The Queen Mother got up before the Lord Supreme. She was now sitting in front of the dressing mirror while Zijuan was combing her hair. She glared at him when she heard what he said.

"Being happy and having a good start to the new year, what else matters?

“This year is different from previous years, you are on my territory!

"You are not allowed to bully the emperor!"

The Queen Mother protected her protégé more and more with every word, and in the end she almost pointed at the Emperor's nose and spoke.

Just then, Zijuan turned around, straightened the Queen Mother's head, and began to comb the side of her hair. Not only did she block the Queen Mother's sight for a moment, she also gently pulled her hair.

"Ouch!" The Queen Mother cried out in pain and gave Zijuan a look of dissatisfaction. Then she reacted and threw the hairpin she was fiddling with back on the table in an unpleasant manner, "Okay, okay! I won't lose my temper today, okay?"

Zijuan pursed her lips and smiled softly, whispering softly, "Just now I heard that the princesses and county ladies of the two side halls got up and discussed asking the two saints for red envelopes. They said that they were so busy paying New Year's greetings at night that they forgot about it!"

"Oh! I really forgot!" The Queen Mother was immediately distracted by this and said to the Supreme Lord, "The children paid New Year's greetings at midnight, and we actually forgot to give the red envelope reward!"

The Emperor had just been upset by the Queen Mother's nagging, but when he heard this topic, he quickly clapped his hands: "Really! I forgot about it when I was so happy!"

He hurriedly ordered Dai Quan to prepare it: "The red envelope is just a token of appreciation. For these good children, rewards are indispensable!

"I'm free today, so go to my storeroom and look for a few things and quietly give them to them. Don't let those who are not involved hear it, or they might get jealous and cause trouble again."

The Queen Mother was satisfied and smiled at Cheng Qian, saying, "We should do the same here. Don't differentiate them. Treat all six children equally."

Cheng Qian and Dai Quan smiled at each other and nodded in agreement.

After chatting and laughing like this, she finished dressing up, chewed on purple ginger, and drank ginseng soup. Then news came from outside: the emperor and empress, along with the concubines and princes, had arrived at the main gate of Taiji Palace.

"Half a minute more." The Queen Mother saw that she was not in a hurry, so she ordered Daiyu, Hongchang and Tanchun to come and take a look.

The three girls wore formal gowns according to their ranks, with seals and ribbons around their waists and imperial crowns on their heads. Daiyu in particular had a crown with two layers of gold and nine round, shining pearls.

The Queen Mother looked her up and down, and pointed to the Emperor with satisfaction: "Look at my girl's outfit, how beautiful it is!"

The Supreme Lord took a look and suddenly remembered, so he turned around and asked Dai Quan: "I remember that the clothes worn by the prince's wife and the princess are similar?"

"Yes. Almost." Dai Quan smiled and said nothing more.

According to the rules, the crown of a princess should have five golden peacocks, each with five oriental pearls. But the crown of the crown of the crown of the crown prince's wife had six oriental pearls.

The Grand Master frowned, turned around and ordered Daiyu, "Take off this crown." He then asked Dai Quan, "Go to the Shangyi Bureau and ask for a princess crown as soon as possible."

Daiyu and the others' hearts skipped a beat, they looked at each other, and couldn't help clenching their hands under their sleeves.

Tai Shang did not explain, but walked away, rubbing his nose and drinking tea.

The Queen Mother understood, smiled, waved to her three sisters, and explained in a low voice:

“Prince Zhongshun has just married the Crown Prince’s Consort, so she must come today.

"Last night, you all wore auspicious clothes and caps, there was no difference. So no one paid any attention.

"But today he has to wear court robes and a crown, which makes it obvious that he has one more pearl than our Zhaoqing!"

So, just because the Highness was not happy to let the Crown Princess Xue overshadow Princess Zhaoqing, he simply gave her a princess' crown?

"This... I'm afraid it's not in accordance with etiquette." Daiyu stammered, not knowing how to refuse.

The Queen Mother smiled and waved her hand: “Your Majesty’s words are the greatest gift!

"Don't refuse!

"Tomorrow the Queen Mother will be angry and insist on recognizing you as her daughter and giving you the title of the eldest princess. Let's see what you can do!"

Daiyu put her hand over her heart and said, "I will never be modest and will never refuse!"

If I really become the eldest princess, then the task of marrying a foreign prince will definitely fall on me, no matter how unwilling I am!

The princess's imperial crown was delivered, and Daiyu combed her hair again and put it on. Then the voice of Shangyi came from outside, inviting the emperor and the queen mother to take their seats.

Dai Quan and Cheng Qian helped the two saints solemnly to the steps of the main hall of Yanjia Palace and sat down.

Daiyu and the other two took advantage of this time and, under the guidance of Aunt Meng, quietly stood behind the princes and in front of the concubines.

Jia Yuanchun watched herself being pushed back three places, and then looked carefully at who was standing in front of her, and her face froze.

"The new year begins with a new beginning. May His Majesty the Emperor and His Majesty the Empress Dowager live forever!

"kneel!

"knock!

"prosper!"

Shang Yi shouted and everyone knelt down.

Everyone kept their heads down and followed the rules.

Only Jia Yuanchun could not control her eyes and secretly looked at Daiyu - her court crown was the style for a princess? But why was her court dress the style for a princess?

Jia Yuanchun was puzzled and lost her mind.

As a result, his movements were not as smooth as others, and he was a moment slower when he stood up.

The concubines behind her naturally saw it.

But last night in the Linde Hall, everyone heard the chaos.

Such an important case may cost countless lives.

No one is stupid. Why would anyone want to bring up such a trivial matter at a time like this, which would harm others and not benefit themselves?

But unfortunately, something went wrong in the orderly team, and the person sitting on the platform saw it clearly.

Tai Shang's expression suddenly turned cold.