Chapter 1017: The Grand Funeral of the Crown Prince

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The Feudatory Kings from all over Longyan had also all entered the Capital. It was clearly a funeral, yet it made the entire Jinghua bustling with activity. Those who came here naturally knew that this was no ordinary funeral; it was highly likely that this funeral would determine the future of Longyan.

The Grand Funeral of the Crown Prince.

Since ancient times, it could never be too ordinary. The Crown Prince was dead; who would be the next Crown Prince? This naturally had a direct bearing on the future of the entire Longyan.

The winds and clouds were treacherous.

For over a month now, the atmosphere in Jinghua had been just this treacherous, with every faction trying to find a Method to fathom the mind of the old Emperor, Xie Tianyao.

At the very least, for the moment, the intentions Xie Tianyao displayed seemed to lean more toward Liu Zheng's side?

Otherwise, why would he hand over the command of the Duqi Duwei and the Imperial Guards entirely to Liu Zheng... This was absolute trust in Liu Zheng. It was equivalent to placing the very lives of the entire Xie Family imperial clan into Liu Zheng's hands.

Did Xie Tianyao want another Female Emperor to appear in Longyan?

Almost everyone thought so.

The activities behind the scenes were certainly numerous, but at least on the surface, they still dared not defy Xie Tianyao for the time being.

This day.

Was the day the Jinghua honor guard set off for Lishan.

Early in the morning, people from various departments and agencies had already begun to bustle about.

The Grand Funeral of the Crown Prince was already equivalent to the funeral of a Feudatory King. In ancient times, this was no small matter. Longyan pushed luxury to the extreme when it came to imperial funerals. The mausoleum of every prince could be considered grand and imposing. Xie Fang was originally the heir to the throne, so his mausoleum should have only begun preparations after he ascended the throne, but the site selection had begun as soon as he moved into the Eastern Palace. After news of his death was received, the massive project commenced. Now, after one or two months, the mausoleum could be considered completed. What a magnificent and resplendent mausoleum looked like, the masses naturally did not know; these were all classified, and likewise, there were many anti-theft mechanisms.

A month ago, the Longyan imperial court had begun collecting burial treasures.

These Feudatory Kings naturally also sent many treasures from various regions to be buried with the Crown Prince, and these matters were naturally the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites. Of course, when they were transported, Liu Zheng was also responsible for the escort work.

He also knew the specific location of Xie Fang's mausoleum.

It was in a place with good feng shui at Lishan, called Jiuling Mountain.

Ancient imperial mausoleums, due to different eras, were divided into several types. In more ancient times, it was piling earth to form a mound. Later, there appeared for a period the "treasure city and treasure roof" form, which meant building a tall brick city on the underground palace, filling it with earth to build a treasure city, and in front of the treasure city, building a forward-facing square city platform, on which a "square city and bright tower" was built, with a stele of the emperor or empress's posthumous title erected inside the tower.

The third type.

Was the one Longyan continued to use, "using the mountain as the mausoleum," which meant utilizing a hill as the grave mound; the emperors and crown princes of successive Longyan dynasties all used hills as their mausoleums.

Lishan had, since ancient times, been the burial place of the Longyan imperial family.

From this Jinghua to Lishan was another stretch of the journey.

From early in the morning, the people of Jinghua, according to the rules, wore sackcloth and mourning apparel; although they did not need to go to Lishan, they had to see the Crown Prince's coffin out of the Capital. The civil and military officials also needed to wear mourning clothes. After Xie Fang's death was confirmed, within one hundred days, all officials and commoners were forbidden from making music; within forty-nine days, no slaughtering was allowed; within one month, marriage was prohibited; during the mourning period, all temples and Daoist monasteries had to ring their bells thirty thousand times.

The imperial court was to hold funeral ceremonies in front of the Xuanwu Gate, and scripture chanting and memorial activities would also continuously run through the entire mourning period.

These were all matters for which the Ministry of Rites was responsible, so one could imagine how busy Gu Jin was; she always wanted to drag Liu Zheng to help, but there was truly no other Method.

At the Zhuque Gate, the coffin bearers had to practice carrying the poles for ten days; the bearers, following the scale and requirements of a formal funeral procession, first carried a piece of Dulong Wood that was similar in weight to the coffin, about ten thousand catties.

. A bowl of water had to be placed on top, and they had to practice until the water would not spill while walking. At the same time as the practice, the workers were working day and night to build the mausoleum.

This day.

Was the auspicious day for Xie Fang's formal funeral procession.

Early in the morning, Liu Zheng watched this complex and long-winded funeral, and under the scorching sun, many people almost fainted. The pampered civil and military officials were even more so, each of them drenched in sweat; the process of encoffining alone took an hour.

The ritual official was responsible for chanting the eulogy.

The ritual music and honor guard also began to play funeral music.

After "Xie Fang" was encoffined, he was carried out, which also signaled that the entire Longyan had officially entered the mourning period.

First, seventy-two people carried the coffin out. According to Longyan rules, walking at the very front were sixty-four banner bearers holding high the "ten thousand people umbrellas," followed by the Eastern Palace's ceremonial guard of honor, about sixteen hundred people, holding various weapons, banners, and all kinds of paper offerings.

Liu Dahao, the Prince of Wei, and others were naturally also in the ranks.

Wearing mourning clothes, Liu Dahao was drenched in sweat, his handkerchief constantly wiping it away.

But there was no help for it; this suffering had to be endured.

As for Liu Zheng, he was in full military attire, leading the Duqi Duwei and the Imperial Guards to escort behind the coffin and beside these civil and military officials.

The entire honor guard was vast and mighty, looking imposing.

The Crown Prince's funeral was different from an emperor's, because the emperor would also participate.

The incomparably luxurious and grand imperial carriage also followed behind the procession.

Liu Zheng, at this moment, did not actually feel bored like the others. Because his responsibility was truly too great. From Jinghua to Lishan was still a three-day journey. What might happen on this stretch of road, no one knew. But he knew that these Feudatory Kings who had come to Jinghua this time were none of them easy to deal with.

This time, ten thousand Duqi, ten thousand Duwei, and five thousand Imperial Guards.

All were under his command; if any trouble occurred on the road, he feared that losing his own head would not be enough to pay for it.

Liu Zheng, wearing his military attire, also looked imposing; plus, the trip to Li had made him much more mature, stubble had sprouted, and the masculine aura about him had become much stronger.

As the saying goes, a man who is serious is the most charming.

After Gu Jin finished her work here, she kept lingering by Liu Zheng's side, watching him busy with this and that, carrying out his work in an orderly fashion, and her eyes sparkled as she watched.

"What are you looking at?"

Liu Zheng was somewhat depressed.

Gu Jin chuckled, then wore a mysterious expression: "Does Vice Minister Liu think these Feudatory Kings will stir up trouble during the grand funeral?"

Liu Zheng rolled his eyes: "Do you think they are stupid? At least on the road, there is a high probability they won't. However, once we reach Lishan, it's hard to say..."

He gave a bitter smile.

In this honor guard, there were also five hundred elite soldiers brought by each of these Feudatory Kings, who also participated.

These Feudatory Kings were each harboring evil intentions.

Only.

What Liu Zheng did not notice was.

At this moment.

Not far away, a pair of sinister eyes were staring at his back.