ebookland Chapter 114 Li Jingshu's Coming-of-Age Ceremony
Chapter 114 Li Jingshu's Coming-of-Age Ceremony
As soon as the empress entered the prime minister's residence, she heard a burst of loud shouts:
"His Royal Highness is here!"
"The third prince has arrived! The fourth prince has arrived!"
"The fifth prince has arrived!"
"The virtuous king and his wife are here!"
"Prince Xiao is here!"
"The Sixth Princess and the Prince Consort are here!"
"Lord Luo is here!"
......
At that moment, guests came in droves, making the already bustling Prime Minister's Mansion even more noisy. Every guest who arrived had a smile on his face and sincere blessings, making the whole scene full of festive atmosphere.
After all the guests arrived, the host stood up and recited aloud a solemn and beautiful speech: "On this auspicious day of the month, you are wearing your first clothes. Let go of your childish ambitions and become virtuous. I wish you a long and healthy life and great happiness." His voice was loud and melodious, as if traveling through time and space, conveying these beautiful wishes to everyone present.
At this time, the praiser came forward, took the exquisite and gorgeous hairpin from the official, carefully combed Li Jingshu's hair, and gently inserted the hairpin into her hair, performing a simple and symbolic fixed action. This simple ceremony means that the girl has become an adult and can perform the ceremony of adulthood.
After finishing all this, Li Jingshu smiled at everyone, turned back to the inner room and changed into the plain skirt that had been prepared long ago. In a moment, she appeared in front of everyone again with a brand new look - the simple and fresh dress made her temperament more outstanding and gentle.
Then came the kowtow to parents. Li Jingshu knelt on both knees and kowtowed three times respectfully to express her gratitude to her parents for raising her. It also meant that she had grown up and would take on more responsibilities and obligations in the future.
After paying respects to her parents, Li Jingshu sat facing east, and the host chanted a blessing in a loud voice: "In this auspicious month and day, I will wear your best clothes. I will respect your dignity and be prudent in your virtue. May you live a long life and receive blessings forever."
The promoter stepped forward and pulled out Li Jingshu's hairpin, and the Queen Mother personally put it on for her.
Afterwards, Li Jingshu returned to the inner room, changed into formal clothes, and put on various jewellery. Then, she came out and knelt down to pay respect to the elders, expressing her respect and gratitude to them.
The main guest chanted the blessing in a loud voice: "In the right year, in the order of the month, all are blessed. Brothers are here to complete their virtue. Huangdi has no boundaries, and receives the blessing of heaven."
The sponsor walked forward and carefully pulled out the hairpin on Li Jingshu's head. The Queen Mother smiled and took the hairpin from the servant beside her, preparing to put on Li Jingshu herself, the headdress that symbolized her status and honor.
At this moment, something strange happened! Two figures suddenly jumped out from the side like ghosts. They were actually two maids covered in blood! They looked panicked, with despair and fear in their eyes, as if they had encountered something extremely terrible.
This scene shocked everyone present, and the guards in charge of protection were even more shocked. They hurriedly shouted loudly: "There is an assassin! Protect His Majesty!" For a moment, the scene became chaotic and the originally solemn atmosphere was instantly broken.
The two maids screamed in fear: "Empress! Please save the Eighth Princess as soon as possible! Empress! The Eighth Princess has been framed by the Third Prince! The Third Prince actually ordered Zhang Ji to give the Eighth Princess an aphrodisiac! This is really abominable!"
They then turned to the Crown Prince, kowtowed and cried, their voices extremely miserable: "Your Highness! The Eighth Princess was wronged! The Eighth Princess was completely harmed by the Third Prince! Your Highness! The Eighth Princess is your biological sister! You absolutely cannot sit back and do nothing! You must seek justice for the Eighth Princess!"
When the Third Prince heard this, he was so angry that his eyelids twitched! He roared with anger: "What a bold lunatic! How dare you act rashly in front of the emperor! Someone, come! Take him down immediately and execute him in public!" After that, the guards responded.
However, at this moment, the prince's dark eyes were staring at the third prince, without any fear. He said righteously: "This prince is here, let's see who dares to take action! These two maids are the personal maids beside Caiwei, how could they be in such a state now? Moreover, this prince's sister has always been gentle and virtuous, with good character. If she had not been framed, how could she do such a ridiculous thing? It's all my fault that I was so angry at the time that I failed to find out the truth and hurriedly let my sister marry into the Zhang family mansion!"
When Crown Prince Chu Chengli heard the two maids accusing the Third Prince of being the one who did it, he knew in his heart that there was a lot to be done with this matter, and he could use this opportunity to severely strike a blow against the Third Prince!
When Emperor Wen saw the situation, his face became extremely gloomy, as if water could drip out of it. He thought to himself: Could it be that all this was a conspiracy carefully planned by the crown prince? The purpose was to implicate the third prince.
However, when he looked at the queen and the prime minister again, he found that they were also shocked and showed no signs of knowing about it in advance. Then, Emperor Wen turned his eyes to the crown prince, who was so excited that he could not hide his excitement. It was obvious that he had just learned about it!
Who is behind all this? If we get to the bottom of it, it will probably deal a heavy blow to the Third Prince's power.
Emperor Wen knew very well that he did not want to see the prince's monopoly on power. At this moment, Emperor Wen said, "Today is Jingshu's coming-of-age ceremony. Let's put other matters aside for now and discuss them later! Take the two maids away quickly and ask the imperial physician to treat them!" His voice revealed an unquestionable majesty!
At this moment, the virtuous king slightly turned his head and quickly glanced at the imperial censor Sun Zhi standing beside him. Sun Zhi understood what he meant and immediately stepped forward, kneeling down and kowtowed to Emperor Wen respectfully: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you! Your Majesty, this incident is of great importance. It involves the crime of murdering the heir to the throne, which is truly treasonous! The Eighth Princess's personal maid has been beaten to a pulp and is on the verge of death. I wonder how the Eighth Princess is doing now? I am really worried, and I beg Your Majesty to investigate!"
At the same time, Li Mingfu also keenly caught the hint from the prince's eyes. He took a step forward without hesitation and said loudly: "Your Majesty is wise! Long live the Queen! The Eighth Princess is the flesh and blood of Your Majesty and the Queen, and her status is so noble! Although I am not talented, I am also a father, and I know that parents care for their children. Anyone who dares to hurt the princess should be severely punished! I firmly believe that Your Majesty will thoroughly investigate this matter and give justice to the Eighth Princess to comfort the hopes of the subjects of the world!"
The Queen Mother gently placed the gorgeous hairpin crown on Li Jingshu's hair, her movements were gentle and graceful, but her eyes were full of sharpness and determination. After completing this action, the Queen Mother straightened her body and stared ahead with a sharp gaze, as if to penetrate all obstacles.
Her brows were slightly furrowed, with sparks of anger flashing in her eyes. She gritted her teeth and said, "I want to see for myself how Minister Zhang and his family treat my legitimate princess!" Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth, revealing her uncontrollable anger.
Seeing the tense situation, Emperor Wen's face became extremely gloomy. He glanced at the Third Prince standing beside him coldly, and his cold eyes pierced people's hearts like a sharp blade. Then, he shouted in a voice full of majesty and anger: "Wise King! Lead the guards to Zhang's house immediately and bring Caiwei back! There must be no delay!"