Chapter 048 The Luxury of the Royal Palace

We stayed in a special post hall for foreign ministers. Nothing to say all night.

Get up early the next morning. After bathing, change your imperial clothes and go to the palace to worship.

The welcome and ascending to the throne has been done before. So today we entered the palace to worship the courtiers. Although there are many etiquette, the time is not long. After Huan Xuan received the gift and the reward was completed, the foreign ministers went out of the palace to rest in a sedan chair under the arrangement of the ceremonial officer.

Huan Xiu has his own royal palace in Jiankang. He invited me to live in his house, but I politely declined. I stayed in the post house I lived in the first day according to the arrangement of the Ministry of Ceremonies.

This post hall is specially designed for foreign ministers. Unlike ordinary post houses, it is built according to the specifications of the mansion. It is no less luxurious than the state hotel for foreign leaders and envoys. Every guest in the post hall enjoys a courtyard. Although the courtyard is small, it is fully furnished and equipped with servants in charge of reception, which takes good care of us officials in Jinjing.

As soon as I arrived at the post office and changed my casual clothes, officials visited one after another. Large and small officials came one after another, and even some positions and ranks much higher than me. It surprised me very well, and I don't know why. Fortunately, with the promotion of my position, I am relatively familiar with the etiquette of the capital, and with the tips of the servants, I am not rude to these visiting officials.

Lunch opens late. After the meal, I was taking a nap in the post hall. People from the palace came to the post hall to pass the decree that made me bathe and change my clothes and then go to the royal palace of Chu for a banquet.

After Huan Xuan ascended the throne as emperor, he still kept the royal palace of Chu where he had lived before and used it as a palace, and the name of the house has not been changed. Today, Huan Xuan entertained Huan Xiu, Huan Qian and other relatives of the Huan family, as well as Yin Zhongwen, Bian Fanzhi and other close ministers in the dynasty. I am also invited.

Before entering the royal palace of Chu, I always thought that the reason why I was invited was probably as Huan Xiu's vice general or even a follower. The other people invited by the ceremonial officer are either imperial relatives or ministers. I, the governor of the state and the officer of the North House, are just better than those officials and soldiers.

Sitting in the sedan chair going to the king's palace of Chu, I have been thinking: What does this palace of Chu look like? When I was in Jingkou, I heard that Huan Xuan's Chu Palace was luxurious and built to be comparable to the palace. I went to the palace once when I was rewarded after pacing Sun En. That time in the palace, I sighed: the emperor is very human! No wonder throughout the ages, countless people have coveted the throne and did not hesitate to bully their friends and destroy their relatives. No wonder the distant ancestor Liu Bang sighed when he first ascended the throne: "I know that I am the noble emperor today."

After arriving at the palace of Chu, I had an indescribable feeling: this palace of Chu is not only comparable to the palace, but also comparable to the palace.

The first two stone lions in the royal palace are carved with pure white boulders, more than eight feet high. The door is about six feet wide and the door hole is about one foot deep. The wall is about ten feet long and about 1.5 feet high. Nine white tigers are painted on the wall, with various shapes. Sixteen rosefinch hovered around the nine tigers, showing the direction of gossip. In the distance, the mountains and forests are deep and surrounded by smoke and clouds. The huge grass cover a quarter of the area of the wall.

Although I don't know much about pen and ink, I was shocked when I saw this photo wall for the first time. The servant who received me said that the mad grass on it was written by Wang. I often see the banners of Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi, Wang Ningzhi and others everywhere, and the words on them are indeed very similar to their techniques. I can't say whether the words are good or bad, but standing in front of these words, I have a strange and unspeakable feeling.

As the servant bypassed the wall, he saw a blue lake. Three stone bridges on the lake lead to an island in the middle of the lake. There is an eight-sided pavilion on the island. That's where guests rest before entering the house.

There are several servants holding long fans or hand stoves outside the pavilion. In such a season, long fans are naturally useless, but these servants still hold these things solemnly. After the guests in the pavilion ordered, these servants entered the pavilion to fan or serve the stove. There is a long table with a strange shape in the pavilion, and there are countless refreshments on the table. Although there are only a few guests in the pavilion, there are more than a dozen maids standing at the table responsible for entertaining the beautiful faces.

There are wooden chairs by the window for guests to rest. Sitting in the pavilion, you can enjoy the scenery in the lake.

There is a rockery on one side of the lake, made of Taihu stone. The colorful corals decorated on the mountain are nearly three feet tall. Several white cranes stand still or grow in the rockery. This is the crane pool.

There is a monument on the other side of the lake, and some words on the monument can't be seen clearly. The bottom of the pool is paved with ancient copper coins and iron coins, which look like turtles. Several thousand-year-old turtles swim between microwaves. Or lurking at the bottom of the lake, or looking up. This is the turtle pool.

The opposite side of this lake is the main hall and wing of the royal palace. In addition, the ancient trees in the east and west walls are towering, and there is a garden.

Huan Xuan received officials in the hall. The hall is divided into three entrances: the council hall, the public hall and the apse. Ordinary people generally meet in the council hall; when they are involved in important affairs or receive important ministers, they are usually received in the meeting hall; only close friends can have the opportunity to enter the last apse.

The invited guests gathered one after another, about a dozen people. We were invited into the apses together.

After passing through the public hall from the council hall, he arrived at the apse. The apse is far less magnificent than the two halls in front of it, but it is the most luxuriously decorated one. The carved beams and painted buildings in the hall are outlined with gold and silver threads, shining brightly. Even if you don't use too many candles, it will be extremely bright here.

We stood in the hall for a long time, and Huan Xuancai was surrounded by a group of waiters and palace people. Under the instructions of the ceremonial officer, we knelt down to him together.

After Huan Xuan made everyone flat and gave preferential treatment to several old ministers of the previous dynasty, he said something that shocked everyone: "Give Jingkou Deyu General's seat."

Huan Xuan's attitude towards me was extremely enthusiastic, which was what I expected. Since Huan Xuan became emperor, Huan Qian and Huan Xiu gradually showed some arrogant expressions, but they have always been polite to me, and sometimes some bosses flattered their subordinates. At that time, I guessed that this must be Huan Xuan's deliberate communication to them.

Although Huan Qian, Huan Xiu and others standing in the hall have higher official positions than me, Huan Xuan's attitude towards me is naturally expected by them, so they are not surprised. But other ministers, like me, were very surprised by Huan Xuan's arrangement.

Because in terms of official positions, I am nothing more than a state assassin with a salary of 2,000 stones; in terms of military positions, I am just a miscellaneous general under many famous generals. How can Liu Yu and He De pass the princes, princes and nobles and ministers such as Huan Qian and Bian Fanzhi? As far as etiquette is concerned, those who have seats in front of the emperor are given to the prime minister, three princes and others at most, except for the princes and kings.

I was stunned for a moment and didn't know what to say. Huan Xuan saw that the waiter had put the seat in place, but I arched my hand and stood for a long time. I said with a smile, "This is a family banquet in my house. We don't have to stick to the etiquette of kings and ministers. You see, I don't use the honor guard in the palace, in order to get close to all the ministers. Deyu is a distant guest who comes to our house and sits down. Don't worry about it."

After listening to Huan Xuan's words, I had to sit sideways in the corner of the seat.