0p0 Chapter 255 Imperial Edict
Chapter 255 Imperial Edict
"Hey! Grandma, don't worry!" Xia Zhenying said in a clear voice, winking at Jiang Shangxian: "Cousin, you must thank me well when the time comes!"
Jiang Shangxian said proudly, "Come to my place later and choose a good piece of brocade for your clothes!"
The good relationship between the cousins was something Old Lady Xia was pleased to see. Just as she was about to discuss the menu with Jiang Shangxian, Old Fan ran in, his face filled with astonishment: "Old Lady, someone's coming from the palace!"
"what?!"
"Oh my God!"
"Palace, palace? Which palace?" Jiang Wangri asked blankly.
"Oh my, which other palace could it be?" Old Fan slapped his thigh and said, "This is incredible! There are so many people here, and they're bringing a lot of stuff!"
Even though he was mentally prepared, this was the first time in his two lifetimes that he had encountered such an honor from a feudal dynasty. Jiang Shangxian was stunned for a moment before reacting and speaking quickly, "Li Wuniang helped me submit a few food recipes to His Majesty. She said there would be a reward, so that's it!"
"Oh, child, why didn't you tell me about such a big thing?!" Old Madam Xia blushed anxiously, "We haven't made any preparations at home."
Mother Jiang touched her head and clothes helplessly: "It's such a big deal, that's a reward from the palace! Oh, Old Fan!"
She immediately turned her gaze to Old Fan, the only knowledgeable person present: "You've seen a lot in the Cui family. What should we do now?"
Old Fan scratched his head. He was a backdoor person. Even if there was an imperial decree from the palace, no one would go through the back door. Others would go through the front door openly. How would he know?
But now the Jiang family is watching him, what can he do?
"Well, there are no rules. Just go out and kneel down and accept the order!"
"Well, isn't that too disrespectful? We haven't even cleaned up yet. Do you want to change clothes?" Old Madam Xia had never seen such a scene before. Her two wrinkled hands were randomly groping at the hem of her skirt, trying to smooth out the wrinkles.
Everyone's already at the door, what's there to clean up? If we really follow the highest rules, wouldn't we have to take a shit, take a shower, wash our hair, recite the Pure Heart Sutra a few times, and then carry the incense table out?
Jiang Shangxian hurriedly said, "Mother, take a purse and put five taels of silver in it!"
It's shown in the TV series. These eunuchs have to be given silver. Too much is not appropriate, and too little will make them look down on them. Five taels of silver is just right, which is in line with the living standards of ordinary people in their family and is slightly higher.
Seeing that they had already started moving, Old Fan hurried out to open the door and welcome the palace maids.
When Jiang's mother heard the five taels of silver, she instinctively felt a little distressed. Five taels of silver! But she couldn't bear to feel distressed for long at this time. She turned around and went to get the silver. Xia Zhenying and Jiang Wangri's faces were full of excitement: "Sister, His Majesty has given you a reward! It's amazing! You are so amazing!"
"Cousin, His Majesty has given you all the rewards. When the Cui family comes in a few days, won't we be able to hold our heads high and be proud?"
Jiang Shangxian smiled at them, proud indeed, but not in a boastful way. Even the bloodline of the Old Li family was looked down upon by the Five Surnames and Seven Families. Living a simple life with Cui Bianxu in Chang'an was simple, but if something unexpected happened and they had to return to the Qinghe Cui clan, that wouldn't be enough.
This is just like in Dream of the Red Chamber, when the food was good, the masters of the Jia family would often reward the cooks with money. This was respectable, but in the end, the servant was still a servant.
"The imperial edict has arrived!"
The person who was speaking had obviously repeated these words countless times. Not only was every word pronounced clearly, but the tone was also long and sharp. Not only could the Jiang family members in the house, but the neighbors in front, behind, and on both sides could hear it.
Jiang Wangri raised his head abruptly and ran out: "Sister! Hurry!"
Madam Xia trembled again and again, but finally she calmed herself down with a breath and placed her hand on Xia Zhenying: "Let's go out and receive the imperial edict!"
Jiang Shangxian's heart was actually already spinning with excitement. If she wasn't such a good pretender, she would probably be shaking with excitement right now - after all, some people get nervous when giving a speech in front of the entire school.
The Jiang family members knelt in the yard in an orderly manner, not daring to make any sound. Wang, the eunuch who took on this job early in the morning, felt relieved when he saw the six black heads. Although he was not the one kneeling, he was standing at the front.
Normally, issuing imperial decrees to bestow rewards was something everyone was eager to do, but when it came to ordinary people... there were no actual benefits, and no favors to be gained, so who would be willing to do it? He was simply sent here unwillingly.
If Wu Cairen hadn't seen him and mentioned casually: "I heard that the young lady of the Jiang family is getting engaged to Cui Shaoqing from the Dali Temple," he probably wouldn't have been happy to meet this family. Now...
"Which one is Miss Jiang?" He glanced around and found two young ladies. One was dressed better and looked rounder, while the other was thin but also dressed neatly. He was a little confused as to which one was so lucky to be engaged to Mr. Cui.
Jiang Shangxian was called, and he took a step forward on his knees and stood up slightly, his eyes still fixed on the ground: "To answer the eunuch, it is me."
Wang Nei Shi glanced at her several times, still unable to see her face clearly. However, seeing that although her manners were not very good, her voice was steady and her breathing was even, he could not help but nod slightly, and then said loudly: "There are rules!"
The Jiang family members immediately lowered their heads.
"The eldest daughter of the Jiang family in Chang'an County is a woman of noble character and a kind heart... On April 28th, the 12th year of the Zhenguan reign, the Minister of the Central Secretariat... approved the decree..."
Unlike the imagined bunch of compliments, this imperial edict was very short. The praise for Jiang Shangxian probably meant that she was very skillful and quick-witted, and that she made delicious food that made His Majesty very satisfied, blah blah.
As for the "Emperor's edict by Fengtian Chengyun" mentioned on TV, there is no such thing. The imperial edict at that time was not like that. The imperial edict at that time was generally reviewed and issued by the Menxia Province. The first two words "Menxia" mean that the Zhongshu delivered it to the Menxia Province, and the following "Zhongshu Ling", "Zhongshu Shilang" and "Zhongshu Sheren" were all their signatures.
"Zhi Ke" means that they had read the imperial edict, copied it, and then wrote it down. After copying it, they showed it to Li Shimin. After reading it, Li Shimin would use cinnabar to mark the number before the date to indicate that he had read it. This step is called "painting the date".
(The writing of imperial edicts in the Tang Dynasty was very rigorous. Not only was the content required to be rigorous, but it also had to have a certain literary quality to reflect the style of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. I compiled this myself and it is not accurate. If you are interested, you can study the unearthed imperial edicts of the Tang Dynasty on your own.)
After listening to him finish reading, Jiang Shangxian stood up slowly, lowered her head, and respectfully stretched her hands above her head. When she felt a hard object and weight in her palms, she knelt down again, placed the tray in her hands on the ground, and then knelt down and bowed according to the three kneelings and nine kowtows taught by Li Xueyan.
At this point, the process of receiving the imperial edict is completed.
(The Tang Code stipulated that when issuing imperial edicts, all civil and military officials must perform the three-kneeling and nine-kowtow ceremony, demonstrating respect for imperial power. It also standardized the etiquette of "subjects towards the monarch" and demonstrated the supreme status of imperial power.)