First Prince of Ming Dynasty

  Chapter 177 Prince's wedding

  Zhu Biao returned to the East Palace, where Yun Jin led the maids to make arrangements, and the maids beside his mother were also helping. Zhu Biao looked familiar, and she should be the original maids of Kunning Palace.

  Empress Ma doesn't like to keep her personal maids for a lifetime, and usually marry them to a good family when they are in their twenties. With the queen's face, they can live a good life.

  Therefore, there are very few older maids around Empress Ma, and Zhu Biao doesn't bother to remember if there are too many of them. What he cares most about is Ruyi who accompanied him for five years when he was just born.

   I heard that she was betrothed by Empress Ma to Zhu Yuanzhang's pro-military general, and later transferred to another place. Zhu Biao only knew that she was doing well.

  When the maids saw Zhu Biao came back, they all respectfully saluted and greeted him. Zhu Biao nodded casually and walked back to the Wenhua Palace. Only here is the quietest place.

  Liu Jin poured him a cup of tea and said, "Tomorrow there will be a lot of wedding affairs, so you should rest early today."

Zhu Biao nodded. The big wedding actually started yesterday, and everything outside the palace has been properly arranged. On the road from the palace gate to the Kaiping Palace, the loess padded road, Jingshuipo Street, and ribbons of various colors on both sides of the road are also arranged. Well, in short, it is extraordinarily festive.

  It wasn't until night that the East Palace was fully furnished. Both Yunjin and Nuanyu came in to report. Zhu Biao put down the book in his hand and glanced at them, and he could tell that they were very tired.

  Zhu Biao said softly: "Go back and have a good rest, don't think too much, you will still be my personal girls when the princess comes, as long as you follow the rules, no one can do anything to you."

  Zhu Biao said this to comfort them. They have been used to a simple life of only serving Zhu Biao since the Wu Palace, but tomorrow everything will be different. Their nest will soon welcome another owner.

   After all, they are just girls in their teens. Except for the mature Yun Jin, the other three probably didn't secretly shed tears, and it's normal to be anxious about the future.

  Yun Jin led them to salute, and then withdrew. Zhu Biao also read for a while before going to bed. He didn't sleep well that night. He was about to get married.

In the early morning of the next day, Zhu Biao took a bath and changed his clothes. The officials from the Ministry of Rituals who came to greet him early in the morning received a sacrificial offering in the Danqi set up in the East Palace. , and then out of the East Palace, all the palace people knelt on both sides of the road along the way.

Walking to the gate of Fengtian Hall, the wrestlers who had been waiting for a long time beat the big drum. Zhu Biao entered from the left side of Fengtian Hall, and came out wearing a crimson gauze robe with a Tongtian crown. When he entered Fengtian Hall, civil and military officials kowtowed , and then lined up on both sides, all of this does not require the prince to speak out, there are officials from the Ministry of Rites to speak.

  When he got to the front, Zanyin poured wine for the prince, Zhu Biao knelt down towards his father, the emperor nodded, and the Minister of Rites came out to read auspicious words. After finishing speaking, Zhu Biao took a sip of the wine in his glass.

  Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Go to greet you, inherit my family affairs, and respect you as Commander Xu." "

  Zhu Biao replied: "I would like to accept it."

Then I went out of Fengtian Palace, changed clothes in another house, got into the car and joined the wedding party at the gate of the palace under the guard of Xu Da. As soon as Zhu Biao's car arrived, there was the sound of ritual and music, Hao Out of the palace mightily.

And the incense table was set up in front of the Kaiping Prince's Mansion, and Chang Luohua in the inner courtyard was wearing the Yanju Crown Clothes, and followed his father and brother to offer incense in front of the ancestors. After the ceremony, he drank the wine in the glass and ate the food on the plate As soon as the ceremony was completed, Chang Luohua changed into another set of clothes and went to the main hall to worship his parents, while officials from the Ministry of Rites took a pen to record.

  Chang Yuchun was wearing court clothes and said, "Go to Da Nei, be careful all day and night, and don't disobey your orders."

   Lan Shi on the side said: "A loving father has taught you, you should respect it."

  Chang Luohua kowtowed and promised, then stood up with the help of the maid, went back to her room and changed another set of clothes, and waited for her husband to greet her.

  Zhu Biao was still a little dazed sitting on the carriage. When the carriage stopped, someone knelt outside and asked the prince to get off the carriage. Zhu Biao cheered up and got off the carriage, and stood facing the gate of the palace.

  Xu Da wore court clothes and walked to the incense table arranged in the Kaiping Palace, stood west and said to the east: "The Crown Prince will perform a greeting ceremony in accordance with the order."

  Chang Yuchun led his sons to welcome the crown prince, walked into the palace hall, Xu Da and Princess Kaiping stood facing each other, the internal officials read out the imperial decree, and then a maid sent by the queen went to invite the crown prince.

  Princess Feng Guanxia was as dazzling as a red lotus, and Zhu Biao couldn't help his eyes shining. Although he couldn't see her face clearly, Zhu Biao suddenly felt that the sins of the past few days were not in vain.

Then under the guidance of officials from the Ministry of Rituals, the two completed a series of etiquettes. Finally, the internal officials knelt down and begged, Zhu Biao stepped out of the Kaiping Palace, and Chang Luohua, who was behind, entered a wind sedan chair carried by a female bearer. The people of Kaiping Palace kneel down to send him off.

  The phoenix sedan chair is made of wood as a whole, covered with vermilion lacquer and decorated with gold leaf decals. It looks like a small golden palace from a distance.

  The top of the sedan chair is a pewter lotus flower in full bloom, surrounded by gold carvings, pearls, tassels, emerald pearls, and white jade. The body of the sedan chair is carved with many lifelike dragons and phoenixes.

  The Crown Princess can neither turn her head nor cry. At this time, every move will be recorded by the Ministry of Rites. The same is true for the people in the Kaiping Palace. Everyone’s face is filled with joy, and no one dares to cry at this time.

   After everything was ready, the carriage of the prince moved first, followed by the guard of honor of the princess, and the people watching from a distance were also talking excitedly. Several female officials of Kunning Palace distributed auspicious fruits to the people.

  After the carriage left, the Kaiping Prince’s Mansion also became lively. Not only was there a big banquet inside, Chang Yuchun also ordered a running water mat to be set up outside the mansion. No matter rich or poor, high or low, everyone could eat and drink as they wished. The feast lasted for three days.

The mighty procession returned to the palace, the internal officials knelt down and begged Zhu Biao to get off the shelf, and the princess's phoenix sedan chair behind also stopped, Zhu Biao walked to the phoenix sedan chair, and the maids at the side knelt down to beg, the prince stretched out his hand and opened the curtain, The princess gets out of the sedan chair.

  The two of them could not speak at this time, Zhu Biao turned around and walked towards the East Palace, while the Crown Princess wanted to walk through the Zuo Shun gate, and then the two of them took sedan chairs and met in front of the East Palace.

Then there was another set of cumbersome rules, and finally they could enter the main hall. The two sat opposite each other, and the ceremonial officer began to sing. The concubine bows twice, and the prince accepts.

The ceremony official announced the completion of the ceremony, and then withdrew, and the female officer sent by the queen took over the etiquette. First, the female official helped the princess, and the female official poured the wine into two identical water ladles, and the two drank separately. After taking a sip, the palace people exchanged the ladles, and finally the two became one, which symbolized that the husband and wife could share joys and sorrows and be united forever.

Then the two returned to the inner hall, the crown prince was honored to change his clothes first, the crown princess and the female officer waited here again, and when Zhu Biao came back, the crown prince went to change again, and after both of them came, it was another complicated set In the end, everyone belonging to the East Palace knelt down outside the palace: "Slaves and servants pay homage to the Crown Princess."

  Even if the ceremony is completed, the maids of Kunning Palace will also bow and stand there. After that, Chang Luohua will be the second most noble woman in the world.

  ...

  (end of this chapter)