Chapter 1: Cold Night (1)

The second year of the Great Zhou Shengli, at the end of the year.

New Year's Eve is approaching, and the haze has not dissipated for days and the wind and snow in the sky are whistling day and night. The people of Luoyang City have been experiencing a full fifteen dark and solemn winter days, and finally have been waiting for the long-lost sunshine two days before New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, the sunshine in this severe winter is so weak and barely able to bring a trace of warmth to people. But no matter what, the time to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new has arrived unstoppable.

In front of Taichu Palace, the strong wind blows up snow on the towering eaves of the Tianmen, reflecting the sunlight into jumping lights of gold, making people unable to open their eyes. The walls of the palace are solemn and lonely, and there is no trace of anger in the palace pavilions. If it weren't for the occasional group of palace maids and eunuchs passing by with nervous expressions, this place would have quietly seemed to have been abandoned by everyone, let alone a little festive atmosphere.

In the inner bedroom of Queen Zetian, in the Changsheng Courtyard, a group of imperial doctors knelt down together, and they all trembled in the cold wind. Although the closed palace gate in front of them was silent, these people did not dare to move at all, but just buried their heads deeply.

In the Hall of Eternity, the thick curtains embroidered with gold dragons came down from the top, and the curling smoke circled on both sides of the curtains. The clear fragrance of medicine and elegant agarwood still could not hide an unpleasant aura of decay. This is a special smell that only the old man with Chuhang is, and it is even more intense on the old man with a serious illness. Everyone knows that this smell comes from the unstoppable approaching place.

Silently, the curtain was gently lifted up. Several people who had sat in the outer hall for a whole morning raised their heads together. The man who had just walked out of the curtain was immediately stared at by several bundles of eyes. There were expectations, questions, flattery, resentment, contempt, indifference, and hatred in their eyes.

Zhang Yizhi stood in front of everyone, and his face suddenly showed a relieved expression: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, the Prime Minister, the Prince Liang, the Princess, the Princess, the Emperor is much better." After saying this, he sat down without waiting for the answer, calmly looking around.

Several people sighed at the same time, and King Wu of Liang Sansi started to speak out first: "God bless my emperor, God bless my emperor!" Then, he bowed to Zhang Yizhi with a little exaggeration: "Wulang, Liulang, have been serving the emperor these days, and worked hard and worked hard to finally make the emperor safe. He is really a great contribution."

Zhang Yizhi nodded with a smile, but heard Princess Taiping sitting beside him snorting: "Wulang, the better Liulang serves, the more frightened we children. My mother has been sick these days, we can't even meet each other, let alone serve them personally! If the people of the world know this, I am afraid that my two brothers and I will be scolded."

Li Xian glanced at Taiping and said to Zhang Yizhi with a glance: "Wulang, thank you Liulang for your hard work. The emperor has improved, I wonder if he can greet you at this moment?" Zhang Yizhi bowed gently and smiled and said: "The emperor is asleep. Please relax your mind, prince, and princess, and go back and rest quickly."

The three brothers and sisters of Li looked at each other, and Li Dan said calmly: "Since the emperor is asleep, we will go back first. But there is something important in front of us. I also asked Wulang to wait for the emperor to wake up and ask the emperor: Today is the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, and it is New Year's Eve in two days. According to the regular palace, there are New Year's Eve and courtesy ceremony. The official dynasty even invites the envoys of the four barbarians to show the grand spirit of the heavenly dynasty. However, with the dragon body of the saint at present, I am afraid..."

Zhang Yizhi nodded with a smile and said, "I remember this. The emperor is sick and weak, and he may not be tired in recent days. However, New Year's greetings is also a major event, and he should be treated solemnly." Wu Sansi took over the conversation: "I'd better ask the emperor to decide on this matter. Although the emperor is slightly ill, he is the 95th emperor after all. He admires him in the land of God. He will be welcome to celebrate the New Year's greetings. Only when the emperor arrives in person can we bring me auspicious and harmonious New Year's greetings. What's more, our Great Zhou is now peaceful, with strong national strength and majesty in the world. All countries compete to rely on each other, and envoys come one after another. The foreign barbarians have admired the emperor for a long time, and they are all waiting to take advantage of the New Year's greetings to see the holy face."

Li Xian nodded repeatedly: "What King Liang said is very much." Princess Taiping chuckled: "After that being said, my mother is old and has just recovered from a serious illness, so she should not be overworked. I think that if the prince replaces the emperor to preside over this New Year ceremony, it can not only share the worries of her mother, but also make the prince establish his authority in front of all officials and countries. It is a good thing to win two birds with one stone." Wu Sansi's expression changed when he listened to Taiping's words. He wanted to speak, but he held it back. He just glanced at Li Xian coldly, and then stared at Zhang Yizhi's face.

Zhang Yizhi was calm and still filled with smiles on his face. After slowly looking around everyone, he said: "When the emperor wakes up, Yizhi will definitely ask the emperor to show his advice. You and I just need to wait patiently. Besides, the Honglu Temple has been preparing for the New Year's ceremony for two months. The emperor has given the emperor the supervision of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince before. I guess everything is right."

Li Xian said: "Zhou Liangkun has been serving as the Minister of the Rites for many years, and he is still very reliable in his work. Yesterday, I reviewed the arrangements for celebrations and congratulations with him, and he was very careful." Li Dan listened carefully to his words and couldn't help but smile: "Since the emperor has handed over the ritual celebrations to His Royal Highness the Prince, it can be seen that he has already made plans for the New Year congratulations. Let's go back first and wait for the decree."
Chapter completed!