0p0 Chapter 496 [The Legend of Zhen Huan 31]
Chapter 496 [The Legend of Zhen Huan 31]
The emperor's wedding has a lot of procedures to go through. After all, he is the king of a country, so marriage is a big deal. The emperor loves Youyou deeply, and he doesn't want to treat her badly in this regard. Therefore, Yinzhen wants to arrange all the necessary etiquette for Youyou; even if some steps are not necessary for the traditional etiquette, he is willing to do it as long as it can make Youyou happy.
The procedures of a grand wedding are complicated and solemn, and can be roughly divided into a series of important rituals, such as the offer of betrothal gifts, the grand betrothal, the enthronement of the empress, the welcoming ceremony, the wedding ceremony, the audience, the celebration and the issuance of the imperial edict, and the banquet. Each of them represents the majesty and dignity of the royal family, and also reflects the importance the emperor attaches to this wedding.
First, the emperor would present an engagement gift to the empress's family, a process known as "nacai". The so-called gift included a large number of precious items, such as horses, armor, silk, etc. These gifts all demonstrated the wealth and power of the royal family.
Yinzhen specially ordered Prince Guo, Minister of Rites Zhang Tingyu and Vice Minister of Rites Zhangjia Akdon to serve as special envoys for the wedding, and personally led the team from the Hall of Supreme Harmony, through the middle gate of Taihemen, and headed straight to Youyou's parents' home with great fanfare.
Youyou's father and brothers had been waiting outside the door for the arrival of the royal guard. When they saw the envoys arrive, they knelt down and kowtowed to express their gratitude.
After completing all the ceremonies, the envoys returned to the palace to report the situation to Yinzhen and hand in their work.
Before the wedding, a grand ceremony of conscription was required. In addition to the saddle and horse, two hundred taels of gold, ten thousand taels of silver, one thousand rolls of silk, and practical and precious items such as gold and silver tea sets and silver basins were also added. In addition, a dowry weighing three hundred and sixty loads was also prepared.
After distributing the dowry, Yinzhen sent two envoys to confer the title, one as the chief envoy and the other as the deputy envoy, to carry the imperial edict and the "Empress's Treasure" to Niuhulu's residence to hold a grand ceremony of conferring the title. At this ceremony, they officially announced the conferment of Youyou as the empress, and handed over the golden seal and golden book awarded to the empress to the special envoys.
After accepting the mission, these messengers would escort the queen's golden seal and golden book to Niuhulu's residence. First, they would read the edict to the queen's father and brother, expressing their respect and gratitude to their family.
When all the ceremonies were completed, the moment of the wedding finally arrived. On this day, the whole capital was immersed in a festive atmosphere, and people came to congratulate and witness this grand wedding.
The reception is the most important and complicated part of the imperial wedding ceremony. The day before the reception, the entire Forbidden City was immersed in a festive atmosphere. The front three halls and the back three palaces of the palace were carefully decorated, with gorgeous colorful frames built with bright silks, and bright red "囍" characters and various auspicious phrases everywhere. The blue-white stone imperial road extending from the Daqing Gate to the Kunning Palace was covered with bright red carpets, like a festive red dragon. Four hundred pairs of bright street lamps and thirty pairs of various colored lanterns were arranged on both sides of the imperial road, like a magpie bridge across the Milky Way.
At this time, Yinzhen issued an edict to send a carriage to Niuhulu's residence to welcome Youyou. The special envoys responsible for welcoming the bride were the first wives of the two princes and eight young first-rank ladies. Since this was a wedding of Manchus and Han people, the welcoming ceremony was dominated by Manchu customs. The two wives and eight ladies had to ride horses to Niuhulu's residence in accordance with the traditional customs of the Manchus.
When the welcoming team arrived at Niuhulu's residence, the two wives and eight ladies first entered the main room to pay respect to the queen, and then helped her dress up. At this time, Youyou still kept the hairstyle of a young girl - double phoenix bun, and wore two double happiness jade hairpins on her head, which made her look particularly beautiful.
When the wedding took place, officials from the Imperial Observatory carefully calculated an auspicious time and reported it to everyone as soon as the auspicious time arrived.
At this time, the chief eunuch asked Youyou to set off and asked Youyou to take two apples that symbolized peace. Then, the prince's wife put a red veil on Youyou's head, put the word "dragon" written by Yinzhen and a golden ruyi into the wedding sedan, and finally, respectfully sent Youyou to the sedan.
Sixteen people carried Youyou's wedding sedan, surrounded by flags, fans, gold-embroidered phoenixes, and three hundred pairs of palace lanterns. These items were held by a lieutenant wearing a red satin embroidered jacket, who walked at the front of the procession. The imperial guards supported the sedan chair poles and escorted it on both sides, while the two wives, eight ladies of state, and the princes and ministers who accompanied them followed closely behind the sedan. The wedding procession stretched for several miles and entered the Daqing Gate with great fanfare.
When the phoenix carriage slowly drove into the Daqing Gate, the bells and drums on the Meridian Gate Tower rang together, solemn and dignified. At this time, the chief eunuch reported to Yinzhen that the queen had entered the palace. Hearing this news, Yinzhen was excited, he knew that this moment had finally arrived.
Led by eight young nobles holding palace lanterns, Yinzhen walked through the palace with firm steps and came to the front hall of the East Warm Pavilion of Kunning Palace, the wedding chamber. The ministers and guards of the imperial court followed closely, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites took care of everything carefully to ensure that the entire wedding ceremony went smoothly.
At the same time, the phoenix carriage stopped at the south direction of Tianxi. Surrounded by the two wives, eight ladies and palace maids, Youyou stepped out of the sedan carefully. She held two apples tightly in her hands, which meant "peace and safety".
Then, the prince's wife took the apple and handed the vase filled with pearls, gems, small ruyi of gold and silver, and rice to Youyou. Youyou held the vase, which symbolized "good luck and good fortune", firmly, with her heart full of expectations for her future life.
Under the gaze of everyone, Youyou walked along the imperial road, passed through the passage between the Qianqing Palace and the Zhaoren Hall, and finally arrived at the Jiaotai Hall between the Qian and Kun Palaces.
This palace is a place specially used for the wedding ceremonies of emperors and empresses. It is solemn and dignified, and has witnessed the wedding ceremonies of countless emperors and empresses.
Youyou walked slowly into the palace, and saw a vermilion saddle placed horizontally in front of the palace gate. Under the saddle were the two red apples she had held in her hands, and above the saddle was a bright red carpet.
Led by six palace maids holding Tibetan incense burners, Youyou lightly stepped over the apple and saddle, which symbolized "peace and safety", and was then taken to the first standing position on the west side of the palace, waiting for the ceremony of worshiping heaven and earth that was about to begin.
The timing was just right. Just when Youyou had just gained her footing, Yinzhen happened to walk out of Kunning Palace. He stood in the first position on the east side and looked at Youyou face to face.
Amid the joyful drum music, they bowed down together, completed the nine-knock ceremony, and finally officially became husband and wife. This scene moved everyone present, who witnessed their happy moment.
After paying homage to heaven and earth, Yinzhen and Youyou were led to the eastern warm room of Kunning Palace and began the sitting-in-tent ceremony.
Yinzhen looked at Youyou and asked softly, "Are you tired, Qingqing? Do you want to eat something to fill your stomach?"
Youyou smiled and nodded, and replied, "Okay."
Yinzhen turned to the palace maid beside him and said, "Come here, prepare some easily digestible food for the queen."
The maid responded respectfully: "Yes."
After a while, Princess Li came in with a bowl of steaming dumplings and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, please have some."
Youyou picked up the chopsticks, picked up a dumpling, took a bite, looked puzzled, and asked, "Why is this raw? Is it not cooked?"
Prince Li's wife asked quickly, "Madam, are you sure it's a baby?"
Youyou nodded affirmatively and said, "It is raw, Yinzhen, I didn't eat it wrong, it is raw."
Prince Li raised his lips slightly and said with a smile: "This is the baby. Your Majesty said it three times just now. Congratulations, Your Majesty."
Youyou suddenly realized, that's it! Her face flushed and she smiled shyly, like a blooming peach flower.
Everyone present congratulated You You, and the whole room was filled with a festive atmosphere.
Seeing this, Youyou gently pinched Yinzhen's waist and signaled him to speak.
Yinzhen felt a pain in his waist and couldn't help frowning, but he still cooperated and said, "Well...you all go down, and I'll serve Fu Jin a portion of easily digestible food later."
The palace maids answered in unison, "Yes," and then filed out of the room.