RPAGF Chapter 271 Eight-Character Blessing for Husbands
Chapter 271 Eight-Character Blessing for Husbands
Chapter 271, A person's birth chart indicates they will bring misfortune to their husband.
Inside the magnificent palace, the sounds of string and wind instruments filled the air.
Tian Tian's family was seated below Prince An and his wife.
Although she had already been named the future Crown Princess, Lu Tao and Liu San Niang also held imperial titles, and Tian Xiang and Qin Youyou were also granted the title of County Princess, she was still unfamiliar with the other ladies and young women.
Fortunately, they had been in and out of the palace many times and had become accustomed to everything there.
Tian Xiang and Qin Youyou looked calmly at the other ladies and young women...
"Sweetie, all these ladies and young ladies have used products from Jiaoyan Pavilion..." Tian Xiang and Qin Youyou were happy for Tian Tian.
Tian Tian had already noticed this.
She admired these ladies even more; in just over a month, they had already figured out various ways to apply lip rouge.
For example, thin coating, thick coating, layering...
"The Emperor has arrived! The Empress has arrived! His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!!"
The palace servants announced loudly that Ling Yao and his family of three had walked up to the crowd.
Everyone stood up and bowed.
"No need for formalities, today is the New Year's banquet." Ling Jun took the main seat, Empress Li sat with him, and Ling Yao sat to the left of the Emperor.
From the moment he entered, his gaze remained fixed on Tian Tian, his eyes filled with tenderness.
Are there any tomatoes this year?
"Yes, I heard that the tomatoes were grown by our future Crown Princess."
"Really? Then the future Crown Princess is in the palace, there will definitely be tomatoes this year."
"I've been thinking about this tomato for a year now. I even sent someone to Yunzhou to buy a few bottles of tomato sauce."
"Since we're already in Yunzhou, why don't we buy some tomatoes?"
"I bought them, but I have to eat them within a few days. I can't bring them to Beijing at all."
"There will definitely be a lot of new dishes this year."
"I heard that the future Crown Princess has grown fresh vegetables in winter. Maybe we can benefit from that and eat fresh vegetables too."
"We should really look forward to it."
Madam Qi and Qi Wanqing were furious to hear everyone referring to her as the future Crown Princess.
But they endured it all.
Tian Tian also heard everyone's discussion, and she smiled slightly.
She provided quite a lot for this year's annual banquet.
Not only are there all kinds of fresh vegetables that everyone is looking forward to, but also a variety of fruits and snacks.
"Let's begin." Ling Jun didn't even say anything before ordering the palace servants to start serving the dishes.
He knew that Tian Tian had sent many things to the New Year's banquet and didn't want to waste time.
The first batch of dishes consisted entirely of cold dishes, including cucumber salad, pork belly with garlic sauce, preserved egg and tofu, hand-shredded eggplant, stir-fried shredded potatoes, fresh bean curd salad, pickled cherry tomatoes, blanched okra, spinach and enoki mushroom salad, and mint lemon chicken.
The Emperor, Empress, and Ling Yao's dishes were different from those of the officials below.
Therefore, when Ling Jun tasted a good dish, he would bestow it upon his ministers as a sign of favor.
"This mint lemon chicken is quite good, Brother An, you should try it."
So, a palace maid took the mint lemon chicken that Ling Jun had tasted and walked towards Prince An.
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace." Prince An stood up to express his gratitude.
Ling Jun nodded and continued to sample the other dishes.
Ling Yao called over a palace servant and asked him to give the cold bean curd salad in front of him to Tian Tian.
This scene, witnessed by the crowd, sparked another round of whispers.
"His Highness the Crown Prince is so good to Princess Fufeng."
"The imperial decree for the marriage was obtained by His Highness himself."
"Given the princess's contributions to Daqi, she truly deserves the title of Crown Princess."
"If it weren't for the princess, how could we eat such fresh vegetables in winter? And everything is so delicious."
The second wave of dishes consisted of hot dishes, including stir-fried abalone with lettuce, steamed mandarin fish, steamed quail eggs with mushrooms, stir-fried hand-peeled river shrimp, crispy roast duck, braised pork ribs, seasonal vegetables in broth, braised pork intestines, braised tofu with scallions, sweet and sour spare ribs, chicken soup with crispy pork and green beans, blanched lettuce, and more.
The third wave of pastries includes brown sugar glutinous rice cakes, crystal glutinous rice balls, and red bean paste with dried tangerine peel.
"Today's New Year's banquet features dishes I've never had before."
"Anything I've never eaten or seen before was grown by the future Crown Princess."
After Emperor Lingjun bestowed more than a dozen dishes upon them, those who received the dishes were all in high spirits, which showed that the Emperor was very satisfied with their performance this year.
Ling Yao kept an eye on the table on Tian Tian's side.
Seeing that she didn't have much food, they asked someone to take the dishes in front of her away...
"His Highness the Crown Prince truly dotes on the Princess."
Tian Tian got up and curtsied, just about to sit down.
Suddenly, Princess An's voice rang out, "Speaking of which, the wedding date for Princess Fufeng and His Highness the Crown Prince hasn't been set yet, has it?"
The hall fell silent instantly.
Tian Tian sat down again...
The Ministry of Rites has already set the date, but the Emperor has not yet issued an edict, and apart from these few people, no one else knows about it.
Empress Li chimed in, "Indeed, but the Ministry of Rites has already set a date, it will be..."
"The date has been set?" Before Empress Li could announce the date, Princess An raised an eyebrow meaningfully. "Has the Imperial Observatory checked the Princess's birth date?"
Empress Li shook her head, "No need..."
Princess An blinked, "But I heard... Princess Fufeng's birth chart... is bad for her husband."
"Your Majesty, this cannot be taken lightly. His Highness the Crown Prince is, after all, our future heir apparent."
This statement is like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples all around.
The hall fell silent instantly, and all eyes were on Tian Tian.
Tian Tian frowned. It seemed that the matter of marrying into the Cheng family was going to be brought up again.
When Ling Yao heard Princess An bring up the matter in public, he prepared to stand up.
Fortunately, Empress Li stopped him in time.
Empress Li looked at Princess An and said, "Sister-in-law, be careful what you say!!"
Princess An calmly replied, "Your Highness, as the Emperor's aunt, I am only thinking of His Highness's best interests."
“Princess Fufeng’s business is very large, and many merchants know her.”
"The princess was married in Baishi County, but her husband died before she even stepped into the house."
“Princess Consort An!” Empress Li spoke, her voice still gentle, “Don’t you even consider the occasion? How dare you bring up such nonsense in public!”
"Your Majesty is right, but I am also worried, what if..." Princess An pretended to lower her head.
“There’s no room for ‘what ifs’!” Ling Yao said firmly. “Princess Fufeng is already my fiancée and the future Crown Princess. Who dares to speak ill of her?!”
There was dead silence in the hall.
Ling Jun looked at Ling Yao in surprise; he had never seen Ling Yao angry before.
Tian Tian smiled at Ling Yao, looking at him gratefully.
"Your Highness, why are you angry? I was merely concerned because I heard it from others..."
"Oh dear, since Your Highness forbids me to say it, then I will not say it."
This concession, however, left Tian Tian stuck in place, making it difficult to explain herself.
Tian Tian looked up at Princess An and said, "Since Princess An has heard so much from others, she should also know that I have no marriage certificate with that family, nor have we exchanged betrothal gifts."
"This so-called marriage is completely unreliable."
Without a marriage certificate or exchanging birth charts, it certainly doesn't count.
Princess An replied vaguely, "Is that so? Then I don't know."
"I just heard that the marriage was arranged by your grandparents... Isn't it common practice in folk tradition to arrange marriages by parents and matchmakers?"
Tian Tian smiled and said, "Princess An is right. But in addition to the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words, there should also be the three letters and six rites, and a proper marriage."
"How could the Princess not understand?"
"Princess Fufeng!" Prince An spoke up at the right moment to protect his wife.
"Prince An!" Ling Jun exclaimed, "Princess An is drunk!!"
These words, though seemingly casual, turned Princess An's face deathly pale.
To lose one's composure at a palace banquet is a grave offense of disrespect.
Prince An was also stunned.
"Your Majesty, I did this for..." Princess An tried to explain.
Ling Jun had already instructed the musicians, "Continue playing the music."
The sounds of string and wind instruments resumed, but the atmosphere inside the hall was completely different.
Tian Tian knew that from today onwards, rumors about her being a jinx to husbands would spread throughout the entire capital.
Ling Yao looked at Tian Tian...
Tian Tian met his determined gaze.
On this New Year's Eve, the Tian family members were all preoccupied and lost all interest in staying up late, so they all went to bed early.
*
really!
The next day, the first day of the Lunar New Year, all sorts of rumors spread throughout the capital.
Some say that Tian Tian's fate was too strong, and that she caused the death of her previous husband.
Some people say that Tian Tian is a second-marriage woman, and the Crown Prince is at a great disadvantage.
Some say that the Imperial Astronomical Bureau re-analyzed Tian Tian's birth chart and found that it was indeed incompatible with the Crown Prince's.
Some people say that the emperor is already preparing to issue an edict to cancel her marriage to the crown prince.
Ling Yao was furious and ordered a thorough investigation into the source of the rumors.
But rumors are like wildfire; the more you try to put them out, the more they burn.
On the contrary, Tian Tian acted as if nothing had happened.
Every day, I still go to the shops as usual, either to Chaxiangzhai or Jiaoyan Pavilion.
The businesses of Chaxiangzhai and Jiaoyan Pavilion were not affected in any way.
“I thought you would stay at home and never go out,” Wan Xinran said, raising her eyebrows.
Tian Tian shrugged. "The more we hide, the more guilty those people feel."
Wan Xinran thought it made sense. "Right!! Anyway, whatever you say or do at this time is wrong, so you might as well just do your own thing and ignore them."
"Right now, the people who should be most worried are the Emperor, the Empress, and His Highness..."
Tian Tian smiled.
*
Ling Jun looked at the thick stack of memorials on the table.
Almost every memorial, after stating the main matter, would mention requesting the Emperor to cancel the marriage between Princess Fufeng and His Highness.
Are you feeling annoyed?
Annoying.
But then I saw the box that the Empress had sent.
Ling Jun couldn't stand the slightest annoyance.
A jinx? That means your life isn't tough enough.
His son, however, was the emperor's son, the future monarch, and was very fortunate.
“Father.” Ling Yao came over.
Ling Jun pushed the memorial forward, "These are all requests for the Emperor to cancel your marriage with Tian Tian. Take a look."
Eunuch Yin moved the entire stack of memorials onto Ling Yao's desk.
Ling Yao sat down and looked at them one by one...
Eunuch Yin stood to the side, a broad smile on his face.
These idiots!
The Emperor, the Empress, and His Highness are extremely pleased with Princess Fufeng, but instead of obeying their three masters, they insist on going against them.
Now that the Emperor is directly showing the memorials to His Highness, these people... their official positions are essentially finished.
However, those who blindly follow the crowd and lack a broader perspective are not qualified for promotion!
ass!
Ling Jun looked up at Ling Yao, who was intently reading the memorial, and asked, "Are you really not afraid?"
Ling Yao said firmly, "I'm not afraid."
After a moment, he added, "I'm just afraid that Tian Tian will back down."
Afraid of losing her!
Ling Jun smiled and said, "That girl isn't that kind of person."
*
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Emperor Ling Jun, as the Son of Heaven, would offer sacrifices to Heaven to pray for blessings, ensuring favorable weather and a prosperous nation.
Three days in advance, Ling Jun would begin fasting, abstaining from meat and fish, avoiding women, and bathing and changing clothes to show his piety.
The Ministry of Rites was responsible for preparing the sacrificial offerings, including three kinds of sacrificial animals, five kinds of grains, jade and silk, wine and spirits.
However, Ling Jun had already issued an imperial decree that this year's sacrificial ceremony to Heaven and pray for blessings would be performed by Crown Prince Ling Yao for a few days.
On the morning of the fifteenth, Ling Yao, dressed in imperial robes and wearing a crown, rode in the Crown Prince's carriage, escorted by the Imperial Guards, and departed from the palace.
Meanwhile, the civil and military officials were already waiting at the altar in the suburbs.
When Ling Yao's imperial carriage arrived, all the civil and military officials knelt to greet it...
Ling Yao stepped down from the carriage and, guided by the master of ceremonies, slowly ascended the altar.
Tian Tian stood below the altar, her eyes following Ling Yao's footsteps.
For some reason, she felt that today's sacrificial ceremony was not a simple matter...
The Emperor is neither sick nor suffering from any calamity; there's no reason for him to suddenly order Ling Yao to perform the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven.
The master of ceremonies shouted, "First offering!"
Ling Yao stepped forward and personally offered the jade and silk to the altar to show his respect for Heaven.
Then, they offered fine wine and sacrificial animals to the altar.
The Minister of Rites then read the sacrificial text, which prayed for favorable weather, national prosperity, and peace.
Ling Yao stood still the entire time, his expression solemn.
After the eulogy was read, Ling Yao, guided by the master of ceremonies, performed the grand ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows.
Once this step is completed, the sacrificial ceremony to heaven is finished.
As Ling Yao stepped down from the altar, the people shouted "Thousand!"
Tian Tian was puzzled. That's it?
Is that all?
"Amitabha!" Suddenly, a loud and deep Buddhist chant rang out.
Ling Yao turned around and saw an old monk wearing a golden kasaya walking slowly towards him!
He had white hair and beard, a kind face, and held a string of crystal-clear Buddhist beads in his hand.
"Master Huijue!" Ling Yao clasped his hands together in prayer. "Amitabha! When did the Master travel here?"
Master Huijue was a renowned monk in Daqi who traveled extensively and rarely appeared in the capital.
His appearance surprised everyone present.
Master Huijue did not answer Ling Yao directly, but instead turned his gaze to Tian Tian, who was standing right behind Ling Yao.
His gaze was deep and gentle. "This female benefactor, may I have my face examined?"
After a slight pause, Tian Tian stepped forward and looked calmly at Master Huijue, "Master, please."
Master Huijue carefully examined Tian Tian's face, and after a moment, a gratified smile appeared on his face. "God bless Daqi! God bless Daqi!!"
“Master Huijue? What do you mean by that?” Ling Yao asked.
Master Huijue clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and said, “Your Highness, this female benefactor is a lucky star descended to earth, with an auspicious destiny.”
As soon as this statement came out, the whole place was in an uproar.
The officials whispered amongst themselves, discussing the matter animatedly.
"Is what you say true, Master?" A hint of joy flashed in Ling Yao's eyes.
“This old monk dares not speak presumptuously,” Master Huijue said solemnly. “This female benefactor is born with auspicious purple energy; she is truly a phoenix in destiny.”
"With her by His Highness's side, the Great Qi Kingdom can be guaranteed to prosper and the world to be at peace."
Ling Yao was overjoyed upon hearing this.
However, some people in the crowd had a sudden change in expression.
Princess An stood not far away, also displeased.
“Master Huijue,” she stepped forward, “you said that Princess Fufeng is a lucky star descended to earth…how do you know that?”
"Everyone's saying now... she's cursed to bring bad luck to her husbands."