Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1692 Pharaoh

The Latin word for king is REX. One cannot be a Latin REX, but it doesn't say one cannot be a Greek Basilius, the Supreme One, the First Citizen, the Son of God, the Triumphant General, or the Chief Consul.

However, in other words, it was precisely because of this ancestral precept that the titles of Roman emperors remained fragmented. These titles could appear simultaneously on an emperor, or they could not appear at the same time.

Because there was no grand and elegant title to encompass the titles of Roman emperors, there was naturally no room for princes here either.

In the Roman system, the emperor's successor was called a "purple-robed nobleman," literally meaning one born in a purple chamber.

"What's the logic behind this?" Fu Yuanshan asked.

The reasoning is that the Romans implicitly accepted that when the emperor was still in his pre-emperor's residence—his private home before becoming emperor—no rules were clearly established. Therefore, children born in this residence had lower inheritance rights. Only children born in the palace after the emperor became emperor had higher inheritance rights. This was called the 'purple-robed nobility'. Victoria was born in the purple chambers, and as an only child, her accession to the throne was undisputed.

"So you can't find the Crown Prince after all." Fu Yuanshan shook his head. "Such a thing has happened. Shangluo, what are your thoughts on this situation?"

"what?"

“You’re playing dumb, aren’t you?” Fu Yuanshan thought for a moment. “This sounds like some kind of witchcraft. Actually, if you really want a child, this ‘nightmare spell’ isn’t impossible to break.”

"Really?" Victoria asked. "Can it be untied?"

"At least we can give it a try. So the key is not the rule itself, but whether you, Shangluo, truly want to break it."

"Shangluo! Do you want to give it a try?"

"Oh, this is such a hard decision. Isn't it too early?"

“I can see that.” Fu Yuanshan shook his head. “Like your father, you both have a procrastination problem. You like to put off problems that can’t be solved, and avoid them if you can’t solve them, right? It’s not that it’s bad, after all, your main job now is to serve the court.”

"Ah, that's right!" Shangluo exclaimed as if he had grasped a lifeline. "I need to focus my energy on military affairs! That's absolutely right."

"When I went back, I relayed the exact words to the Emperor, saying that you should focus your energy on military affairs."

[Tsk, you got away with it again. But you'll have to make a decision sooner or later.]

Shangluo did not make a decision that day because he had other things to do.

The chief priest of Thebes was invited by Shangluo that very day to view the portrait of the emperor.

The portraits were placed in the inner chamber of the temple. As before, all the statues were covered with black cloth, because no one could be more conspicuous than the emperor on such an occasion.

The portraits of the two founding emperors, Taizu and Chengzu, were placed in the highest and most central position. Taizu was in the center, with Chengzu and Shizong (also known as the Jiajing Emperor) on either side. Below were portraits of the other emperors. Although arranged chronologically, Chongzhen's portrait was placed precisely in the center, directly below Taizu.

At the very bottom, in a separate row, is a portrait of Zhu Xianxi himself. Of all the people in the portrait, he has the brightest smile.

All the emperors in the portraits are dressed similarly. All wear ochre-yellow round-necked robes and winged crowns. The styles of the winged crowns vary slightly; for example, the winged crowns during the reign of the Taizu Emperor were very simple and elegant, while later ones became increasingly ornate. From the Jiajing to the Wanli reigns, the winged crowns began to rise sharply, with the sloping top becoming extremely tall and imposing. They were briefly shortened during the Chongzhen reign, but were then heightened again during the Yongqing reign.

Zhu Xianxi's winged crown was not the tallest among all the emperors' crowns, but it was still considerably taller than that of Emperor Taizu. His winged crown was decorated with gold wire and gemstones, and it was also much more ornate than Emperor Taizu's crown.

Upon seeing this official robe, the high priest's first reaction was to immediately prostrate himself in worship.
"This is...this is the Pharaoh's attire! This is the Pharaoh!"

“Huh?” Victoria was taken aback. “Look closely, this is the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.”

"Pharaoh! This is the Pharaoh! Look at their hats!"

[Ah, I forgot about that. Yes, the Pharaoh's hat is very similar to the winged crown. It features a raised peak at the back. Although no Pharaoh's hat has survived, the hat of the Doge of Venice, made directly based on the Pharaoh's hat, can still be seen today. Yes, they are basically the same.]

This was a bizarre coincidence, but for the high priest, it was no coincidence at all. Although Victoria was considered the pharaoh's successor, her attire had nothing to do with the pharaoh's. And the new ruler of Egypt was wearing the pharaoh's robes.

"I never imagined the Pharaoh was still alive!"

“You’re confused,” Shangluo said, pressing his forehead. “This is the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty, and has nothing to do with Pharaoh. And even if he were, you can’t call him that. As we said before, you can’t address the Emperor in your own way. So, speaking of which, what does Pharaoh mean in your language?”

"It means 'a huge palace,' and we use 'palace' to refer to a monarch."

"That actually means palace." Using palace to refer to the emperor is not entirely wrong, "but you should just say Your Majesty."

"What does this word mean?" the priest asked.

"It means that when the emperor is too revered, you cannot address him directly by his name. You must refer to other objects beside him—just as you use the palace to refer to the monarch. Your Majesty means 'the emperor's retinue.' Because looking up at the emperor is tantamount to assassinating him, you can only speak to the emperor's retinue."

Simply put, sometimes when couples show mutual respect, they don't address each other directly, but rather as "the father of our child" or "the mother of our child," using the child as an intermediary. This is a very respectful form of address used within the family. Of course, the main message conveyed at home isn't just respect, but also affection.

“I completely understand that title,” the priest replied. “Then, Your Majesty, may I keep one of them for worship?”

“Alright,” Shangluo nodded. “The one at the very bottom, closest to you, is to be kept here for you to worship. You should treat it with the rites due to an emperor—not a pharaoh.”

"Could I make a copy of this portrait and hang it in everyone's office? Could I make a miniature version and wear it around our necks? That way, we can keep His Majesty in our hearts as if we were looking up at the sun."

(End of this chapter)