The grand procession set off from the imperial city, led by an honor guard.
At the very center of the procession was, naturally, Zhu Yunying's imperial carriage. Zhu Yunying, clad in his crown as crown prince, sat in the carriage alongside Xu Miaoqing, who was dressed similarly solemnly. As for little Zhu, he should have been with Zhu Yunying, but the little one had been taken away.
At the altar in the southern suburbs of Yingtian Prefecture, when the emperor arrived, all the civil and military officials naturally kowtowed.
Old Zhu reminisced, holding Little Zhu's little hand, "We ascended the throne here before, but in the future, our Yin'er will probably ascend the throne in Beiping. When that time comes, you don't have to follow our rules, you can just ascend the throne in Fengtian Hall."
Confused and clueless, Xiao Zhu simply skipped and hopped along beside Old Zhu. The lessons of propriety and seriousness he had been taught were, in fact, of little use. He might have remembered them at the time, but he'd forgotten them in an instant.
After shouting "Long live the Emperor!" three times, Old Zhu went up to the altar to worship Heaven and Earth.
Then, Zhu Yunying looked down from the altar and said loudly, "The Crown Prince Zhu Yunying is both learned and skilled in martial arts, wise and intelligent, and shall ascend the throne!"
With a solemn expression, Zhu Yunying slowly walked towards the altar under the watchful eyes of civil and military officials, relatives, and common people. He solemnly took the incense, lit it, and bowed three times in silence, praying to Heaven.
Just then, Old Zhu waved his hand, and Wang Chengen and others immediately appeared holding the crown.
Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunying with satisfaction and smiled as he removed Zhu Yunying's nine-tassel crown. The twelve-tassel crown was naturally the emperor's crown.
The six symbols of the sun, moon, stars, mountains, dragon, and pheasant are woven into the clothing, while the six symbols of ancestral vessels, waterweed, fire, rice grains, axe, and embroidered pattern are embroidered on the skirt.
The shoulders are woven with the sun and moon, the back with stars and mountains, and the sleeves with pheasants. Six types of patterns, including zongyi (sacred vessels), waterweed, fire, rice grains, axe, and fu (a type of embroidered pattern), are arranged on both sides of the round dragon on the front and back of the garment, totaling twelve patterns.
At this moment, the civil and military officials naturally shouted "Long live the Emperor!" three times again!
Old Zhu laughed heartily, looking at his eldest grandson before him, and said, "Ying'er, you have also ascended the throne! Ascending the throne, proclaiming yourself emperor, and offering sacrifices to Heaven—it's all done!"
Zhu Yunying smiled slightly, then said with utmost seriousness, "Grandfather, please rest assured, your grandson will certainly be diligent in governing and love the people. The Ming Dynasty and its people will always be the most important thing in your heart!"
"I trust you to handle things!" Old Zhu said with a smile to Zhu Yunying. "If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have abdicated! Let's go back. You'll be busy tomorrow and the day after."
Offering sacrifices to Heaven was only the first step in his ascension to the throne. The next day, Zhu Yunying would receive the homage of all the officials in the Fengtian Hall, which would truly establish the relationship between the emperor and his subjects, and would be the real coronation ceremony in the eyes of many.
"After tomorrow's court audience, Grandfather, please don't forget to go to the Hall of Diligent Conduct. I will be appointing the Empress and the Crown Prince there." Zhu Xiong Ying supported Old Zhu's arm and slowly walked down from the altar. "That brat Yin'er is the most detestable. I was probably already ten years old when I wanted to be the Crown Prince. But he's always talking about wanting to pass on the Crown Prince's crown."
Old Zhu glanced at his chubby great-grandson below the altar and said with a smile, "Him? Everyone in the palace knows he's the most haphazardly dressed. If it weren't for the lack of smaller-sized dragon robes, we'd see him running around in them."
Zhu Yunying could no longer agree with this, and whispered, "I saw Yunyi a few days ago, and Yin'er insisted that his uncle's python robe was no good. I guess it's missing a claw, and he said that his uncle can't even afford clothes anymore."
There's his great-grandson, a real character, and of course, his grandson, not to mention his troublesome fifth son. Old Zhu thinks there are quite a few clowns in the family, and their presence certainly adds a bit of fun to his life.
However, this only happens when you're in a good mood and think the clowns are just being funny. If it were any other time, they might actually make you furious.
When leaving the city, Zhu Yunying rode in the imperial carriage reserved for the Crown Prince. But upon returning, he naturally traveled in the imperial carriage. Many things are like this: once the official titles are established, many things fall into place naturally.
For Zhu Yunying, ascending the throne seemed as ordinary and simple as ever. Everything went so smoothly because of the thorough preparations made beforehand. Most importantly, he had the unwavering support of his father, Zhu Yuanzhang, which was the key factor in his successful ascension.
Zhu Yunying returned to the capital, and now he was also entitled to walk on the imperial road in the center of the Five Dragon Bridge. This was the road reserved for the emperor's carriage and himself. To the east and west of the imperial road bridge were bridges for princes and ministers, and further to the sides were bridges for officials of the third rank and above.
Zhu Yuanzhang's carriage was in front, and Zhu Yunying's carriage was behind. The Ming Dynasty now had two emperors.
Although the previous political structure was that the emperor, the crown prince, or the emperor and the grandson of the emperor handled political affairs, and even long ago, all civil and military officials would first report political affairs to the crown prince or the grandson of the emperor, and then submit them to the emperor for review after the crown prince or the grandson of the emperor had dealt with them.
But now, everything seems legitimate. Zhu Yunying, the new emperor, has ascended the throne and will be ruling from behind the curtain. He has now become the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
Let the civil and military officials disperse for now. They can receive the court congratulations from the officials tomorrow. There's no need to rush.
The Eastern Palace has completely changed. Although there were some renovations before, many things were not perfected until the last minute. The necessary rules and regulations still need to be observed.
While Zhu Yunying went to the southern suburbs to offer sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, Consort Guo Ning directed her maids and eunuchs to immediately replace the prepared items with the new ones. Needless to say, the dragon bed and many other utensils were replaced with those reserved for the emperor. The items previously used by the Crown Prince and his grandson were no longer suitable.
"This maidservant greets Your Majesty the Emperor."
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