Chapter 343 New Year and New Look

On the twelfth day of the first lunar month, seven quarters before sunrise, when the time arrived, the Taihe bell rang in the Zhai Palace, and Ou Zanghua, holding the imperial edict in his hand, walked from the palace to the Circular Mound Altar on behalf of Emperor Zhengde.

As Ou Zanghua walked into the venue, the distant bell sounds suddenly stopped. Then, the sound of the short-horn trumpet was long and deep, like a whisper across time and space, awakening the dormant historical memory.

Then, the rhythmic drum beats roared, like thousands of horses galloping, majestic and invigorating the hearts of all the officials present.

In the eyes of all officials, this music is not just a pile of notes, it contains the former glory of the Ming Empire. Every drum beat and every melody seems to be telling the prosperity and prosperity of the past, making everyone's hearts seem to have returned to that glorious era.

The war drums beat, the rhythm clanged, the horns blew, and the rhythm was passionate.

In a moment, the army arrived, and the iron cavalry was vast and mighty, galloping across the battlefield.

The horses are galloping, dust is rising, covering the sky and the sun, swords and sabers are flashing, reflecting each other, and shining coldly!
Some older military generals felt that this song would definitely please Emperor Taizong.

And this is the majestic "Roaming the Elephant King"!
When the music stopped, a calf was burnt in the southeast of the Circular Mound Altar, sky lanterns were hung in the southwest, smoke and clouds were thick, and candlelight in the theater was flickering, giving a sense of mystery.

Under the guidance of officials from the Ministry of Rites, Ou Zanghua began to complete the sacrifice step by step.

Welcoming the emperor and gods, offering jade and silk, offering the sacrificial offering, performing the first offering, the second offering, the final offering, removing the food, seeing the emperor and gods off, and watching the burning of the incense.
The entire ceremony of offering sacrifices to the heavens will last for three days, and Ou Zanghua will rest at the Circular Mound Altar at night.

It was not until the fourteenth day of the first lunar month that Ou Zanghua returned to the palace with the imperial edict and reported to Emperor Zhengde, thus successfully completing his mission.

When he came out of the palace and went home, it was almost the hour of Xu. Night fell quietly, the stars twinkled, and the lights of thousands of houses gradually lit up, illuminating his carriage.

But before he could rest at home, Hua An quietly walked in and reminded him softly, "Master, tomorrow is the full moon banquet for the grandson of Yang Da, the Junior Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Do we need to prepare anything?"

Ou Zanghua rubbed his brows and said tiredly, "Go to the storehouse and pick out two gifts to show your appreciation. As for me, I am busy with some trivial matters and cannot go."

Hua An bent his waist a little more, and asked cautiously: "Master, what kind of gift should I give?"

There are many reasons for gift-giving. Hua An was worried that he had misunderstood his master's meaning. If he gave the wrong gift, it would be a big trouble.

Ou Zanghua was helpless for a moment, so he said, "Grind it!"

"Yes!" Hua An responded quickly and took action quickly, carefully grinding the ink block until the ink color was just right. Then, he spread out a piece of spotless white rice paper, waiting for his master to start writing.

Ou Zanghua walked to the desk, closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment. After his mind calmed down, he picked up the pen and wrote:
A gentleman said: Learning should never stop.

Green comes from blue, and green comes from blue.

He examined his work, then marked the date and name at the end, picked up the seal beside him and stamped it below, and an authentic work of Ou Tanhua came into being.

"Go to the warehouse and pick out two hundred-year-old ginsengs and send them over along with this calligraphy and painting!"

"Yes."

On the second day, even if Ou Zanghua did not go, he knew that the Li Mansion would be very lively. When Hua An gave the gift and left, Yang Tingyi knew it. He smiled, handed the beloved grandson to his wife, and turned around and walked into the adjacent box.

The atmosphere in the box was very harmonious. Except for Zou Shouyi who had already taken leave and Yu Ben who was on sick leave, several classmates who held important positions, such as Wang Dao and Chen Guang, were here.

Seeing Yang Tingyi coming in, everyone stood up to congratulate him.

After returning the gifts one by one, Yang Tingyi walked to his nephew and told him that Ou Zanghua had sent someone to deliver the gifts.

Then he handed the gift list to Yang Shen.

"The beginning of "On Learning"?" Yang Shen frowned slightly. For a moment, he couldn't figure out whether Ou Zanghua was talking to him or to his uncle's good grandson.

Wang Dao smiled gently and said slowly, "Jingyu has devoted himself to the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony these days, working day and night at the Circular Mound Altar. The place was just taken care of before the New Year, so you can imagine the environment. It was not until yesterday evening that he was able to take a short rest. I think he must be exhausted!"

Chen Guang laughed and said, "That's true, and Jingyu has always been diligent. If we see him trying to be energetic today, it would seem that we, as his friends, are making things difficult for an honest man."

"Shijie is right. Let's let this honest man go today!" Yang Shen put down the gift list and said with a smile.

When the others heard that the Hanlin Academy editors were all trying to please the Hanlin Academy's Shujishi and Huke Jieshizhong, they also laughed, and the atmosphere became lively again.

Only when no one was paying attention would Yang Shen show a bit of disappointment.
After the festival, all departments of the court resumed operation, but this time everyone's immediate superior was Yang Tinghe.

Compared with Li Dongyang, Yang Tinghe obviously had higher requirements for Emperor Zhengde.

As a cabinet chief who was steeped in Confucianism and devoted to being loyal to the emperor and the country, Yang Tinghe used Confucian ethics as a yardstick to advise and constrain Emperor Zhengde's every move.

This made Emperor Zhengde, who originally liked not to go to work and didn't like being restricted, even more annoyed.

Following the principle of hiding when one cannot win the argument, Emperor Zhengde began to stay in the Leopard Room and did not return to the palace.

Yang Tinghe wanted to go to the Leopard Room to pull the emperor out, but unfortunately the Leopard Room was full of Emperor Zhengde's men, and they would not let him in if they said he was not allowed to enter, even the Prime Minister would not give him face.

With such a commotion between the two sides, the morning court session was completely cancelled, which made Ou Zanghua very worried.

At this moment, Cheng Zhirou came back. Ou Zanghua was delighted and put aside the gossips about the battle of wits and courage in the court and shifted his attention to the Weiyang Palace Huangzhuang store.

In the Honglu Temple, Cheng Zhirou sat at the bottom and said with a gentle face, "Master Ou, I have fulfilled your mission. I have opened stores in three prosperous places: Yingtianfu, Hangzhou and Suzhou. Among them, the Yingtianfu store is the most prosperous because of its superior geographical location and good management. The branches in Suzhou and Hangzhou are still in the initial stage and will face fierce competition from many peers."

Ou Zanghua frowned slightly when he heard this, and immediately asked, "Miss Cheng, is someone deliberately making things difficult for you?"

Cheng Zhirou bit her lip lightly, and after a moment of hesitation, she said, "I guess so! But please rest assured, sir, I have my own plan to deal with it and can handle it properly."

"The Huangzhuang Store is the business of Your Majesty and the Honglu Temple. How can we let Miss Cheng face these troubles alone and bear everything by herself?" Ou Zanghua shook his head and said calmly.

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(End of this chapter)