Time flickered, and it was March.

It's spring again, the grass grows and the warbler flies, and the spring is long.

Zhou Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites stepped into the Baohe Hall and reported to the Son of Heaven in high spirits: "...... Enlightening the emperor, the crown prince's canonization ceremony has been prepared, and it will be held in three days. ”

These days, in order to prepare for the canonization ceremony of the prince, everyone in the Ministry of Rites is busy with their feet on the ground. Especially Zhou Shangshu, in order to ensure that there are no omissions in the ceremony, he has rehearsed twice in private.

Zhou Shangshu served as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites and the Taifu, and did his best to teach the six princes. He was also one of the first courtiers to express his support for the Six Princes.

Emperor Xuanhe nodded slightly, and said with a smile: "It's hard work Zhou Shangshu." ”

"The old minister is responsible for it, and he doesn't dare to say that he is hard." Zhou Shangshu smiled and bowed his hand, and after being busy for many days, his old face was not tired.

After finishing business, Emperor Xuanhe casually smiled and quipped: "I heard that the Zhou family and the Ye family are married." With this happy event in front, the convention of civil and military non-marriage has been broken. ”

The Yasukuni Mansion came to propose marriage, but Zhou Shangshu refused to respond at first. Unable to bear the sincerity of the Yasukuni Mansion's proposal of relatives, the official media came to the door again and again, delaying for several months before the family affair was decided.

The Yasukuni Mansion is a hereditary dukedom, and of course this title will not be on Ye Lingyun's head. However, it was a common practice in the DPRK and China that the military generals did not marry, and this practice continued for many years with the tacit consent of Emperor Xuanhe, intentionally or unintentionally. Zhou Shangshu didn't nod for a long time, but he was also worried that the Son of Heaven would be suspicious.

In the past two years, Emperor Xuanhe's attitude towards the ministers has eased a lot, and the six princes who have been selected are also willing to get close to the ministers. The situation of the military generals in the court firmly suppressing Wenchen is no longer there.

Among the courtiers who have been in the court for many years, none of them are fools. Zhou Shangshu thought about it, but in the end, he still responded to this family business.

Emperor Xuanhe made fun of the marriage of the Ye family of the Zhou family, and Zhou Shangshu smiled calmly: "The old minister does not dare to hide it from the emperor." The old minister had been hesitant before, for fear that if he broke this precedent, he would arouse everyone's criticism. ”

However, the Yasukuni Mansion is quite sincere in getting married. The boy of the Ye family once had the courage to stop the old minister, pointing to the sky and vowing to treat his future wife wholeheartedly. Only then did the old minister relent. ”

Zhou Shangshu said as he noticed the change in Emperor Xuanhe's complexion.

What Emperor Xuanhe was thinking in his heart, of course, could not be seen from the face. However, Emperor Xuanhe was obviously in a good mood and was not unhappy.

Zhou Shangshu was completely relieved.

……

The ceremony of establishing the reserve is by no means a trivial matter. In the palace, in addition to the enthronement ceremony of the Son of Heaven, the most solemn is the ceremony of establishing the prince.

The Ministry of Rites sent the prince's dress a few days ago.

The sixth prince tried it on privately with great interest, and called his own guard commander in: "Commander He, come and see, how about I wear this dress?" ”

The bright yellow prince's dress reflects the tall posture of the six princes, his handsome face is radiant, and his black eyes are also extraordinarily bright.

He Qi looked at it for a while, and praised with a smile: "Your Highness Yuzhang has an outstanding demeanor and outstanding bearing. Wearing the prince's dress, it is a little more majestic. ”

That's right, He Qi is now the commander of the East Palace guards.

After the Shangyuan Festival, He Qi recommended himself to Emperor Xuanhe and automatically asked Ying to be the commander of the East Palace guards.

Emperor Xuanhe was a little surprised, and said with a casual smile: "He Qi, you have to think clearly." As the commander of the East Palace guards, his grade is one level lower than that of my imperial guards. ”

He Qi Zhengse responded: "The last general has already thought about it. His Royal Highness the Sixth is the Prince of Great Chu, and his status is precious, and he cannot afford to miss anything. The emperor has many imperial guards such as Captain Pei around him, and it doesn't hurt to have one of the young generals. The last general is willing to be the commander of the East Palace guards. I hope that the emperor can trust the last general and hand over the people who protect the safety of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to the last general! ”

I saw that people's heads were sharpened and they wanted to be promoted, and like He Qi, they would rather be demoted than go to the prince's side, which is really rare.

A smile flashed in Emperor Xuanhe's eyes, and he called the six princes over and asked the six princes in person: "Little Liu, He Qi wants to be the commander of your East Palace guards, can you trust him?" Are you willing to entrust your safety to him? ”

The sixth prince looked happy: "Of course I trust, of course I am willing." Father, son-in-law has actually thought about it several times in private, thinking about finding a suitable opportunity to open his mouth to his father. Unexpectedly, Captain He also had this intention. Erchen was very happy! ”

One is willing, the other is willing, Emperor Xuanhe has nothing to discourage, and quickly nodded.

The guards of the East Palace will be expanded from 1,000 to 2,000.

The first thing He Qi did when he took office as the commander of the guards of the East Palace was to select people.

According to the practice in the palace, most of the prince's personal guards were selected from the Imperial Forest Army. Most of them are the children of military generals, or soldiers with clean and outstanding skills. The guards of the East Palace have to protect the safety of the prince, and the prince has to accompany the guards when he enters and leaves the palace. This is also the strength that the prince can hold in his hands.

Therefore, we should be cautious in choosing people. We must not allow people with other intentions to get mixed in.

The sixth prince trusted He Qi very much, and said to He Qi in private: "Captain He, the matter of choosing the guards of the East Palace is up to you." My safety is entrusted to you. ”

The thirteen-year-old Sixth Prince, who has not yet been decisively killed by the superior at this time, has a convincing benevolent demeanor.

Looking at the pair of black eyes full of trust and Cheng Jinrong's rather Xiaoxiao, He Qi's heart swelled with a burst of heat, and he replied in a deep voice: "The last general will definitely live up to His Highness's trust." ”

In more than two months, He Qi selected 3,000 soldiers from the Imperial Forest Army. After layers of screening, only one of the three remained, and the final selection of 1,000 guards were all elites in the army.

Together with the original 1,000 guards, there were 2,000 people in total.

The two thousand guards were divided into ten battalions, and practiced martial arts and arrows in the martial arts arena every day. Only those who perform best are eligible to be selected as real entourage.

The six princes lived in the palace, and the battle should not be too big when entering and leaving, and there were only twenty personal guards accompanying them. It can be described as one in a hundred. The twenty guards selected in the end are all masters who can be ten with one.

He Qi has good intentions, and the six princes know it, and they are getting closer and more close to and trusting He Qi.

There are more than ten chamberlains around the six princes.

These attendants are carefully selected. One by one, they act carefully and smartly. Two of the chamberlains served the six princes closely, and they were also the most trusted by the six princes.

No one expected that among these inner servants, there would be internal ghosts.

The night before the ceremony, the six princes and Empress Xuanhe Emperor Pei had dinner together.

Gonggong Zhao, who has always been calm and dignified, suddenly walked in with a different complexion, and glanced at the six princes first. The six princes sighed in their hearts.

I only heard Zhao's father-in-law report in a low voice: "...... The attendants around His Highness came to report that His Highness's dress had been cut by someone. ”