Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 227: Wedding night, assassins reappear!
Beijing.

The whole city is decorated with lights and is filled with joy.

On the wedding day of His Majesty and the Empress, the whole city became bustling from the hour of Yin.

They gathered around the imperial road, stretched their heads, and waited for the arrival of the wedding carriage.

The Forbidden City is wide open.

Xu Wenbi, the Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, served as the chief envoy to welcome the bride, and Li Chunfang, a cabinet minister and Minister of Rites, served as the deputy envoy to lead the way.

Following that were carried the Dragon Pavilion which contained the Golden Book of Enthronement and the "Empress's Treasures", as well as the Empress's sedan chair.

At the end, followed closely by a ceremonial guard composed of officials from the Ministry of Internal Rites, Yiluansi, and Shufangzhai.

The chief and deputy envoys who welcomed the bride rode in front, and the musicians from Shufangzhai followed behind, playing "The Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix".

All the people went out from the Fengtian Gate to the Daming Gate and headed for the Queen's temporary residence in the capital.

The rituals along the way were no different from those of ordinary people's weddings. Officials from the Ministry of Rites threw copper coins and people in the streets and alleys rushed to welcome the wedding money.

On every street corner, twelve newly-made cannons from the Ministry of Works would fire into the sky, creating beautiful fireworks before dawn that illuminated the entire capital.

At dawn, the guard of honor arrived in front of the Queen's residence.

The Queen's father, the current emperor's father-in-law, Mr. Lin, knelt down to welcome the chief and deputy envoys into the palace.

Queen Lin Zhixi, wearing a phoenix coronet and a red robe, was kneeling in front of the incense table, accepting the worship of Xu Wenbi and Li Chunfang, and listening to the envoy reading out the imperial edict to enthronize the bride.

"I have inherited the order of heaven and carried on the great plan. The way to govern a country is to rectify the family. The relationship between husband and wife and the righteousness of heaven and earth are to respect each other in worshipping the ancestors and to be sincere in supporting and caring for each other. I only follow the will of my royal father and mother and send an envoy to hold the steps and select according to etiquette."

Li Chunfang, the deputy envoy who welcomed the bride, stepped forward to ask about the empress's correct name, and then announced: "I believe that the way of husband and wife is the foundation of the great relationship. To be in the right position within the family, one must have a good family. I have sent an envoy with a seal to ask for her name in a proper manner, and I am waiting for your reply."

The wedding ceremony is complete.

The auspicious time has arrived and the wedding sedan is lifted up.

The Fengyi female official of Kunning Palace respectfully invited the Empress to get on the sedan chair. After the Empress got on the sedan chair, the musicians from Shufangzhai led the way, while Xu Wenbi and Li Chunfang rode behind as the chief and deputy envoys to welcome the bride.

The loud music of "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" sounded, and the wedding sedan slowly moved forward.

In front of the wedding sedan, four emperors' ladies led the way, followed by seven ladies, then guards and other ceremonial guards.

Father Lin and the father-in-law knelt in front of the mansion gate and respectfully sent their daughter to become the queen mother of the world.

Lord of Heaven and Earth, personal teacher.

You are in front of me.

From now on, the Lin family will first have a queen, then subjects, and then father and daughter.

No matter when, where or who you are, you must pay your respects before seeing the queen.

In folk marriages, the way the bride comes and the way back cannot be the same, to express the meaning of "no turning back" and there will be no regrets in the marriage.

Only the way to welcome the queen and marry the queen, the way in and the way out are the same.

Under the whole world, could it be the king's land.

On the shore of the land, could it be the king's ministers?

The emperor and the empress have equal rank. All the land and subjects in the world belong to the emperor and the empress.

From the moment the edict of enthronement was read out, the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty became the empress's "home", and all roads were the empress's "roads", and there was no turning back.

Welcoming the empress into the palace is not called marrying, but is called "the empress returning to the palace."

The ceremonial procession passed through the Ming Dynasty's national gate, Daming Gate and Fengtian Gate and entered the palace.

at the same time.

The wedding sedans of the two imperial concubines and five noble concubines also entered the palace from Zuoanmen, Chongwenmen, Youanmen and Xuanwumen.

For some reason, the newly promoted Imperial Noble Consort and Noble Consort both opened the windows of the wedding sedan and looked at the royal carriage walking on the imperial road and in the front, their eyes full of envy.

Seeing such a grand occasion, many concubines in the Forbidden City walked out of the empty and lonely palaces and looked at it from a distance.

Concubine Shen and Prince Jing's mother, Concubine Jing Lu, looked at the concubines' actions and smiled knowingly.

Then, my heart ached again.

Just for the wedding procession, the empress and other concubines were separated. The solemn and dignified Daming Gate was something that the beauties in the harem had been worried about for countless days and nights.

Throughout the ages, the phrase "You were not carried in from the border of the country" has crushed countless concubines to death.

In the Ming Dynasty, the phrase "You were not carried in from the Daming Gate" broke the hearts of countless Ming concubines.

Even if an ordinary concubine gave birth to a royal heir, and the heir was lucky enough to ascend the throne in the future, the mother would be honored as the empress dowager because of her son. However, it could not change the fact that she did not enter the palace through the Daming Gate, and she would never be able to enter and leave the palace through the Daming Gate for the rest of her life.

The Daming Gate was the exclusive gate for the Emperor and Empress of the Ming Dynasty to enter and exit.

Even if the concubine was promoted to queen later, she was not allowed to enjoy it.

Marrying into the imperial palace is a joy, being a concubine or imperial concubine is even more joyful, it is just like flying onto the tree and becoming a phoenix.

But if you compare yourself with the Queen, you are only asking for humiliation.

The Imperial Consort and Noble Consort withdrew their hands one after another.

A faint sigh was heard from the wedding sedan.

The ceremonial procession reached the Meridian Gate, and the imperial carriage stopped.

Civil and military officials dressed in court robes, divided into two groups, knelt on both sides of the imperial road, respectfully welcoming the Queen into the palace.

A nine-phoenix curved-handle umbrella was held up on the empress's wedding sedan as the guide into the Meridian Gate.

Walking along the Imperial Road, the red carpet from the ancient country of Persia stretches from the Fengtian Gate, the Zhongzuo Gate, the Houzuo Gate, all the way to the gate of the Qianqing Palace.

After the Dragon Pavilion was lowered, the chief envoy Xu Wenbi and the deputy envoy Li Chunfang reported the details of the wedding to His Majesty.

At this time, the Yiluansi and other ceremonial guards quietly withdrew, leaving only the Shufangzhai to play the imperial music for the emperor and empress's wedding.

When the empress's sedan chair descended, Lu Fang, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, knelt to greet her. Then, as a guide, he led the empress to walk from the Qianqing Palace to the back partition, and then to take an eight-person peacock-topped sedan chair to the Zhongcui Palace.

In this hall, the emperor Zhu Houcong and the empress Lin Zhixi changed into their robes.

In terms of etiquette, there is little difference between the imperial robes and robes of the emperor and empress, except in form that there is a distinction between men and women.

After putting on the imperial robes, Zhu Houcong and Lin Zhixi took the ceremonial sedan chair to the Fengtian Hall, where they worshipped heaven and earth and paid tribute to their ancestors.

Heaven, earth and ancestors all bear witness to this.

Led by the female official Fengyi, Lin Zhixi entered the Kunning Palace, where twelve palace lanterns were hung in front of the palace gate and the doors and windows were covered with large gold-plated characters.

Above the palace door is a very eye-catching cursive Chinese character "Shou". Upon entering the door, there is a wooden greeting wall with a bright red pattern inlaid with gold double happiness, which means "happiness comes when the door is opened".

The queen entered the bridal chamber.

Zhu Houcong changed out of his imperial robes and into auspicious clothes, then entered the bridal chamber.

The wedding banquet was completed.

The ceremony is completed.

All the female officials, palace maids, and eunuchs of Fengyi Palace left Kunning Palace, and the palace door closed slightly.

Zhu Houcong lifted the queen's red veil, and her naturally beautiful, gentle, graceful, and stunning face immediately appeared in his eyes.

Lin Zhixi raised her eyebrows slightly, with indescribable charm, looking at the holy face, with a light seeming to be moving in her eyes.

The young man's appearance surprised Lin Zhixi so much that her lips opened slightly.

Zhu Houcong was tempted.

Xiuxiang lives in Taohuajing.

He is as talented as a god.

The waves are like bright eyes, and the neck is as round as jade. She loves to sing as if it were a feast.

The sky is blocked, and chaotic clouds are condensed.

The words are like the chirping of a nightingale, each one pleasant to hear.

The bridal chamber is quiet after drinking. Embracing the scented quilt, I feel happy.

The golden censer emits green smoke, and the candles in the phoenix tent sway in red shadows.

The infinite wildness of the heart is driven by the excitement of drinking.

This joy gradually turns into a beautiful scene. But I still complain about the neighbor's chickens, saying that the autumn nights are not long enough.

……

Baoding Prefecture.

It was first built in the third year of Chunhua in the Song Dynasty. Li Jixuan was the governor of Baozhou. He built city gates, dredged the outer moat, repaired barracks, dredged the Yimuquan River, and built ships to transport grain. Baozhou began to become a city.

From the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, it has always been an important town to protect the capital.

In the Yuan Dynasty, it was called Baoding Road and belonged to the Secretariat.

In the first year of Hongwu, Baoding Road was changed to Baoding Prefecture, which belonged to Henan Province.

In the second year, it belonged to Beiping Province.

The first day of the first lunar month in the nineteenth year of Yongle belonged to the capital.

The capital of Baoding Prefecture was Qingyuan, and it governed three prefectures: Qi (governing Shenze and Shulu counties), An (governing Xin'an and Gaotian counties), and Yi (governing Laishui county).

Twelve counties: Qingyuan, Mancheng, Ansu, Dingxing, Xincheng, Xiong, Rongcheng, Tang, Qingdu, Boye, Li, and Wan.

Qingyuan then became the gateway to the capital and the first metropolis in southern Yan.

Baoding Prefecture was not luxurious, but it had a prefectural school, and also built the Ercheng Academy, Jintai Academy, and Shanggu Academy.

Especially the Ercheng Academy, where all officials and Neo-Confucian disciples who came to Beijing would stop and pay a visit.

Cabinet Minister Chen Yiqun was no exception. Since it was the first time for the elders of the Chen family to come, they also wanted to take a look.

So, after declining the invitation to a banquet from the prefect of Baoding Prefecture, the Chen family and their group drove towards the academy in the twilight.

At night, they probably rest there.

Beicheng is where the Ercheng Academy is located.

The smell of fireworks gradually disappeared, replaced by countless magnificent mansions with carved railings and jade pillars, as well as ancient restaurants and music shops, and the sounds of stringed instruments and orchestras entered the ears.

"Whoosh!"

At this moment, a sound of breaking through the air was heard!

The yamen runner sent by the prefect of Baoding Prefecture to accompany him was hit and fell on the spot.

"There are assassins!"

The Jinyiwei guards on the left and right sides of the carriage of the Lord quickly raised their shields, surrounded the carriage in the center, and blocked one flying crossbow arrow after another!

The unprepared Baoding government servants were killed one by one under the rain of crossbow arrows.

"kill!"

The crossbow arrows failed to work, and a murderous voice was heard again. The roofs of nearby houses and windows of restaurants were all opened, revealing countless masked men in black, flying towards the elder's carriage.

The Jinyiwei drew out their Embroidered Spring Swords and chopped at the chest of the flying black-clad assassin, then they transformed their left hands into palms and hit him hard, sending him flying.

But the black-clad assassin had just landed when black blood began to ooze out of the corners of his mouth. It was obvious that he had committed suicide by taking poison.

"Oh no, it's a killer!"

Such a decisive death made the Jinyiwei feel nervous and they looked towards the direction of the elder's carriage.

What shocked the Jinyiwei was that the black-clad assassins were ready to trade their own lives for others. In a very short time, a black-clad assassin with great martial arts skills crossed the Jinyiwei defense line and arrived in front of the carriage.

Just when the black-clad assassin was about to jump onto the carriage of the elder, Zhu Qi, one of the Thirteen Guards of the Imperial Guard, finally took action.

Zhu Qi's embroidered spring sword chopped down in front of him, and the black-clad assassin had to stop his action and take the blow head-on.

His body was as if he had been hit hard and he fell on his back with his hands trembling slightly. Zhu Qi was about to give chase when he saw several black-clad assassins appear in the restaurant on the right side of the street again.

But unlike those black-clad assassins who were holding crossbows and knives, these black-clad assassins were holding grappling hooks.

The hook accurately hooked onto the roof of the elder's car frame, and using all his strength, he suddenly pulled the heavy roof open.

For a time, dust was flying.

The Jinyiwei could not fly, and without the protection of the roof of the car, the black-clad assassins armed with bows and crossbows in the restaurants on both sides of the street opened fire without hesitation.

"Kill without mercy!"

To everyone's surprise, Zhu Qi only glanced at the carriage frame covered with arrows and crossbow bolts, then waved his hand to kill the enemy in front of him and gave orders to the Ti cavalry.

If the murderer was nearby, the Jinyiwei Tiqi would kill him with the Embroidered Spring Sword. If the murderer was at a distance, the Jinyiwei Tiqi would simply pull out the Jinyiwei's newly made arm crossbow and pull the trigger at the black-clad assassins.

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

The right distance allowed the new arm crossbow to reach its peak power. The crossbow arrows shot out continuously were like the god of death's scythes, ignoring the thin armor on the black-clad assassins and taking the lives of one assassin after another. The crossbow arrows pierced through their hearts, and even gods could not save them!

The ruthless harvest frightened all the black-clad assassins, but the Jinyiwei did not give them a chance to react, and another round of crossbow arrows broke out.

All the assassins fell to the ground!

Based on the Jinyiwei's many years of experience, these fallen warriors were all dead. Either they were shot to death by the new crossbows, or they committed suicide by taking poison because they were unable to continue their mission.

When the assassins died, there was no fear in their eyes. They tilted their heads to look at the carriage of the elder, with only joy of completing the mission.

The dust has settled.

There was no one in the elder's carriage, and all the arrows and crossbow bolts missed.

The black-clad assassins in the restaurant were horrified, they had fallen into the trap!

"escape!"

The black-clad assassins immediately dispersed and fled in an orderly manner according to the predetermined plan. They climbed out of the back window of the restaurant and saw a street. After taking off their black clothes, they disguised themselves as ordinary people.

However, the Jinyiwei hidden in the dark locked onto the escaping assassins. A slight sound of breaking air was heard, and the assassins fell down.

"Clean up the bodies!" Zhu Qi gave the order again.

No matter whether he is dead or alive, if the assassin falls down, stab him twice in the vital parts to prevent him from "coming back to life".

As for the dead Baoding government officials and innocent civilians, the Jinyiwei ordered the Baoding prefect who rushed to the scene after hearing the news to collect the bodies and provide them with compensation.

In front of the gate of Ercheng Academy.

An unremarkable carriage arrived.

"Mr. Lord, how are you?"

Zhu Qi, who had changed out of his bloodstained clothes, rode his horse forward and asked respectfully.

The curtain of the carriage was lifted, revealing Chen Yiqin and several elders of the Chen family sitting inside, safe and sound.

Elder Chen was holding a copy of "Spring and Autumn Annals" in his hand and reading it with great interest.

"I'm fine!"

Elder Chen put down the book in his hand, got off the carriage first, then helped the elders get off the carriage. Looking at the street filled with blood, he said coldly, "Have you found out the source of the assassin?"

Since the implementation of the national policy of "surveying the land and distributing it equally to the people", Chen Yiqin has lost count of how many times he has been assassinated. He has seen too many pools of blood and his heart, no matter how passionate it is, has long been cold as iron.

Assassins are common, but suicide bombers are rare. Chen Yiqin can foresee that someone's entire clan will be exterminated.

"The Lin family of Linpu." Zhu Qi replied.

The elders of the Chen family were stunned. After they came to their senses, they sighed and said nothing more.

Chen Yiqin smiled without comment, and helped the oldest elder of the clan into the academy that represented this palace of Neo-Confucianism.

The frame and wheels rolled away, and one could vaguely see the coagulated blood stains on the wheels. It had been an easy journey for no one.

(End of this chapter)