So what if I traveled through time? I'll continue to roll in another place

The discussion at the Autumn Banquet went on quickly, and Xiao Yueshan was finally freed from the days of being under house arrest by Chu Changning.

On the first day of the lecture, Chu Changning asked her to dress up as a personal maid and accompany the emperor to Fengtiantai to watch the ceremony.

The morning of the first day of the Autumn Banquet is the opening ceremony of the ancestral temple sacrifice. The royal family and all the civil and military officials in the court have to get up early to go to Fengtian Terrace to offer sacrifices.

Chu Changning was of high generation and respected status, and his position was also in the center and front. Xiao Yueshan followed Chu Changning, as if he was sitting in the front row of a concert, and could even see the patterns embroidered on the ceremonial officials' court robes clearly.

The opening scene is a sacrificial music performance. Although Empress Yang moved Confucian classics and court etiquette to the Zhao Dynasty, sacrificial ceremonies placed more emphasis on the inheritance of beliefs, so there are not many changes in this aspect, and many local characteristics are retained.

The ancestors of the Zhao Dynasty worshipped owls, and later Empress Yang introduced the concept of the Golden Crow. In short, they are all birds and look pretty much the same, so the instruments used in sacrificial ceremonies and the formal robes worn by ceremonial officials all have flying bird patterns.

The music performance during the sacrificial ceremony is equivalent to inviting gods to travel, and it is quite mythological and fantasy-like. After the priest has divined for good luck, the process of offering sacrifices to the heavens will officially begin.

According to the procedure, the emperor needed to deliver a sacrificial text to worship the heaven, but he was too young to do this, so the prime minister Song Pu did it for him, delivering a gorgeous parallel prose poem.

On the Fengtian Terrace, the little emperor wearing a golden dragon crown stood on the Tianxin Stone, and Song Pu stood on the steps and read the sacrificial text.

The Minister of Rites Huo Qian stepped forward and announced loudly: "Offer the sacrifices and wine!" A group of waiters came forward with trays containing various sacrifices. Then, the Minister of Rites led a group of officials to play music, and the music was solemn and dignified.

At this time, a ceremonial officer shouted: "Kneel——"

Including Chu Changning, everyone knelt down.

The ceremonial officer shouted: "Bai——"

After bowing three times, the emperor's childish voice rang out: "My dear ministers, please stand up."

Chu Changning straightened up and sat back in her seat. She looked at the little emperor, with a barely perceptible gleam in her eyes.

The sacrificial ceremony finally ended, and the emperor returned to the throne in the center of the viewing platform. On the Fengtian Terrace, the ritual officials and eunuchs had already set up the podium, and the autumn banquet lecture officially began.

The ceremony was really long. Xiao Yueshan's legs were numb from standing but she didn't dare to move, because Dong Lin's lecture was about to begin.

The Fengtian Terrace was built very cleverly. Not only is the terrain open, the stone slabs in the platform are arranged in sequence, and even the walls are made of polished bricks. The curvature of the wall is very regular, and the wall surface is smooth and tidy, which has a special and regular refraction of sound waves, making the voices of the people on the stage particularly deep and loud.

Dong Lin was naturally explaining the "Great Learning". Xiao Yueshan didn't understand much either and felt very tired listening to him. In addition, he had eaten very little since he got up early in the morning, so he was so hungry that his eyes were staring straight out. He didn't know when he would be able to finish eating!

The morning ritual and lecture had very little rest time. The viewing platform where Chu Changning and other royal family members were located was fully equipped with facilities, so it was convenient to use the toilet. The ministers lined up below were in great pain. Xiao Yueshan thought that there were no diapers in ancient times. Maybe being an official in ancient times not only required a good brain and the ability to read, but also a strong bladder...

I got through the morning in this wandering state. Due to the inconvenient transportation, I couldn't go back for lunch. The lunch was prepared by the Guanglu Temple and the official chefs of various departments, and delivered directly to Fengtian Terrace for consumption.

In the afternoon, the ministers above the fifth rank were given tables to sit down, while the officials below the fifth rank had to continue to line up. Xiao Yueshan thought of Zhou Yao, who was the sixth rank. Wouldn't the couple have to stand for three days as punishment?

Xiao Yueshan replaced Chu Changning's maid, so she didn't have any very good treatment. The Grand Princess's food was very rich and exquisite, so she could only take turns to eat dry food like other maids.

If you eat too much dry food, you will want to drink water, but you can't go to the toilet at will, so you can only drink less water. Conversely, you can only eat less.

After the first day of the imperial lecture, she was thirsty, hungry and tired, and she had to walk back to the Grand Princess's Mansion. This day was simply tiring and numb. God, working in ancient times was much more tiring than working in modern times!

Unexpectedly, when she returned home, the Grand Princess asked her to go and comment on today's lecture.

Dong Lin is orthodox, Huo Qian is mature, and Xiao Zheng is easy-going. They all have their own characteristics.

However, her understanding of The Great Learning and The Book of Rites was limited. Fortunately, Dong Lin chose the sentence "To acquire knowledge, we must investigate things. To acquire knowledge, we must investigate things and exhaust their principles." The practice of investigating things to acquire knowledge is the only criterion for testing truth. This is within her understanding, and she can have a good chat with Chu Changning. Her argument is also fresh, and Chu Changning is very satisfied.

The second day's lecture was easier to understand than the first day. Ye Shaojun's lecture on the Book of Songs was very elegant, and he also composed several poems on the spot, showing his strength as a leader in the literary world. Huang Chunru and Lin Guorui both talked about specific matters. Xiao Yueshan found it quite interesting, but Chu Changning found it boring. The last person was the most anticipated "Meng family's new son-in-law", Yang Wanfan. This young man was thin and had a slightly pale face, exuding a kind of weak air.

Xiao Yueshan was close to him. She looked around and felt that Yang Wanfan was very ordinary in appearance and temperament. He also spoke in a very ordinary way. He lectured on the Zhao Law and it sounded like he was explaining the law. Although there was nothing wrong with his lecture, it was indeed mediocre. Everyone secretly wondered why the Meng family wanted to promote such a young man.

When she returned home in the evening, Chu Changning also summoned Xiao Yueshan to chat. She still remembered the poem "Rogue" that Xiao Yueshan talked about last time, so she asked about it. "The poem that Madam Xiao talked about last time sounded very similar to the Book of Songs that Lord Ye talked about today. I wonder how Madam Xiao got the idea?"

Here she goes again, saying one wrong thing requires thousands of sentences to make up for it. "It's just women's casual conversation, because poetry is easy to recite and sounds very similar," she said perfunctorily.

"Oh? This sounds very meaningful to me. I wonder if Madam Xiao knows anything else?"

It seems that the eldest princess likes poems about abandoned wives very much... This is a complete test of my knowledge reserves. Xiao Yueshan doesn't know which parts of the Book of Songs are included here and which ones are deleted. He doesn't dare to answer casually, for fear of exposing the fact that he is not as familiar with the scriptures as the original owner.

"There is one poem, which was written by a woman after her husband betrayed her. It goes, 'As white as snow on the mountain, as bright as the moon between clouds. I heard that you have two minds, so I came to break up with you...'" Xiao Yueshan thought for a while and decided to write a poem "Song of the White-haired Girl" to divert the attention of the Book of Songs.

"You have two minds, so I come to break up with you..." Chu Changning murmured to herself, and suddenly she flew into a rage and overturned the food and tea on the table. Xiao Yueshan couldn't dodge and was splashed all over.

"Is there really such a poem? Or did you write it to fool me?"

Xiao Yueshan was in such a mess that he couldn't help but have a puzzled look on his face. I? Can I write it? You think too highly of me.

"I dare not, it's just a folk song." She bowed down hastily. What a mistake! This "Song of the White-haired Girl" was too similar to Chu Changning's own experience. No wonder she felt so sympathetic for a moment.

“Sad and sad, there is no need to cry when getting married. I wish to find a person who loves me and we will be together till we grow old…” Chu Changning’s old eyes could not stop shedding tears, “Great, it’s really well written!”

"Someone, bring some wine!" Chu Changning ordered the maid to bring some strong liquor and forced Xiao Yueshan to drink with her to relieve her sorrow and sing poems. Xiao Yueshan was speechless. She sat with her all night with stains all over her body. She recited countless messy things to appease Chu Changning until she calmed down.

This has been the work rhythm for the past two days. I have to get up early in the morning, stand and serve all day, and can only go home in the evening. I cannot rest when I get home. I have to chat with the Grand Princess, and I can only go back to my room and lie down when the Grand Princess is tired.

Xiao Yueshan felt like she was about to die suddenly. It was really hard to be a maid in the Grand Princess's mansion. No wonder palace maids had to be sent out when they turned 25. Slaves in ancient times were really consumables.