Time flies, and March comes.

It’s another spring day, with grass growing and birds flying, and spring is full.

The Minister of Rites Zhou stepped into the Baohe Palace and reported to the emperor with great spirit: "...Report to the Emperor, the ceremony of the crown prince's enthronement has been prepared and will be held in three days."

During these days, in order to prepare for the crown prince's enthronement ceremony, the members of the Ministry of Rites were busy. Especially, Shangshu Zhou, in order to ensure that there were no omissions in the ceremony, he had practiced it in private twice.

Shangshu Zhou served as the Minister of Rites and Taifu, and devoted himself to the teachings of the Sixth Prince. He was also one of the earliest civil officials in the court to express his attitude and support the Sixth Prince.

Emperor Xuanhe nodded slightly and said with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work in Shangshu Zhou."

"The old minister is responsible for his own responsibility, and he dare not say that he has worked hard." Zhou Shangshu smiled and bowed. After being busy for many days, his old face was not exhausted.

After talking about the important matter, Emperor Xuanhe laughed casually and joked: "I heard that the Zhou family and the Ye family had a marriage. With this happy event in front of them, the custom of civil and military not getting married was broken."

The Duke of Jingguo's Mansion came to propose marriage, but the Secretary of Zhou refused to accept it at first. He could not stand the sincerity of the Duke of Jingguo's Mansion, and the official media came to the door again and again, and it took several months to delay the marriage.

The Duke of Jingguo Mansion is a hereditary duke, and of course this title is not over Ye Lingyun. However, it is a custom in the court that civil officials and military generals do not get married. With the intentional or unintentional acquiescence of Emperor Xuanhe, this custom has been continued for many years. Zhou Shangshu refused to nod, and he was worried that the emperor would be suspicious.

In the past two years, Emperor Xuanhe's attitude towards civil officials has eased a lot, and the sixth prince of the selected crown prince was also willing to get close to civil officials. There is no longer any situation in which military generals firmly suppressed civil officials in the court.

None of the court officials who had been in the court for many years were fools. After thinking about it, Shangshu Zhou still responded to this marriage.

Emperor Xuanhe joked about the marriage between the Zhou Ye family. Zhou Shangshu smiled frankly and said, "The old minister dare not hide it from the emperor. The old minister had been hesitating before, for fear that if he broke this precedent, it would cause criticism from everyone."

"However, the Duke of Jingguo's Mansion is quite sincere in getting married. The boy of the Ye family once dared to stop the old minister and swears to the heavens that he will be dedicated to his future wife. The old minister then nodded."

While speaking, Shangshu Zhou paid attention to the changes in Emperor Xuanhe's expression.

Of course, Emperor Xuanhe couldn't see what he was thinking from the surface. However, Emperor Xuanhe was obviously in a good mood and was not unhappy.

Only then did the Secretary of Zhou feel completely relieved.

...

The ceremony of establishing the crown prince is by no means a trivial matter. In the palace, except for the ceremony of the emperor's ascension ceremony, the most solemn thing is the ceremony of establishing the crown prince.

The Ministry of Rites delivered the prince's dress a few days ago.

The sixth prince tried on privately with great enthusiasm and called his guard commander in: "Commander He, come and see, how about I wear this dress?"

The bright yellow prince's dress reflects the tall sixth prince, with a handsome face and a bright and energetic pair of black eyes.

He Qi looked at it briefly and praised with a smile: "Your Highness Yu Zhang has outstanding temperament and a sense of dignity. Wearing the prince's dress makes you feel a little more majestic."

That's right, He Qi is now the commander of the Eastern Palace Guard.

After the Lantern Festival, He Qi recommended himself to Emperor Xuanhe and voluntarily volunteered to be the commander of the Eastern Palace Guards.

Emperor Xuan He was a little surprised and said casually: "He Qi, you have to think it through. As the commander of the Eastern Palace guards, the rank is one level lower than that of my imperial guards."

He Qi responded seriously: "The General of the Mo has already thought about it. The Sixth Prince is the Prince of Great Chu, and his status is precious and he cannot be missed at all. The Emperor has many imperial guards such as the Prince Pei, and it is okay for any young general. The General of the Mo is willing to be the commander of the Eastern Palace Guard. I hope the Emperor can trust the General of the Mo and hand over the people who protect the safety of the Prince to the General!"

I saw that people's heads were sharpened and they wanted to be promoted. It was rare for people like He Qi to be demoted to go to the prince's side.

Emperor Xuanhe smiled in his eyes, called the Sixth Prince over, and asked the Sixth Prince in person what he wanted: "Xiao Liu, He Qi wants to be your commander of the Eastern Palace Guard. Do you trust him? Are you willing to entrust your safety to him?"

The sixth prince looked happy: "Of course trust, of course he is willing. Father, Erchen has actually thought about it several times in private, thinking about finding a suitable opportunity to speak to his father. Unexpectedly, Master He also had this intention. Erchen was very happy!"

One is willing and the other is willing, and Emperor Xuanhe nodded quickly.

The guards of the Eastern Palace must be expanded from one thousand to two thousand.

The first thing He Qi did when he took office as the commander of the Eastern Palace guard was to select personnel.

According to the customs in the palace, the prince’s personal guards are mostly selected from the Imperial Guards. Most of them are the children of military generals, or soldiers with innocent wealth and outstanding skills. The guards of the Eastern Palace must protect the safety of the prince, and the prince must follow the guards when entering and leaving the palace. This is also the force that the prince can hold in his hands openly.

Therefore, you must be very cautious in choosing people. Never let people with ulterior motives hang around.

The sixth prince trusted He Qi very much and said to He Qi privately: "Prince He, you will be the one who chooses the guards of the East Palace. I will also entrust my safety to you."

The thirteen-year-old sixth prince was not as decisive as the superiors at this time, but he had a compelling kind demeanor.

Looking at the black eyes full of trust and Cheng Jinrong, a burst of heat surged in He Qi's heart and replied in a deep voice: "I will definitely live up to your highness's trust."

In the past two months, He Qi selected three thousand soldiers from the Imperial Guards. After layers of screening, only one of the three was left, and the final selected one thousand guards were all elite soldiers in the army.

In addition to the original one thousand guards, a total of two thousand people.

These two thousand guards are divided into ten battalions, and they practice martial arts, arrows and military formations in the martial arts field every day. Only those with excellent performances are qualified to be selected as real accompanying guards.

The sixth prince lived in the palace, and the formation should not be too large when entering and leaving. There were only twenty personal guards accompanying him. It can be said that he was one in a hundred. The twenty personal guards selected in the end were all masters who could be ten.

He Qi was very kind, and the sixth prince knew it well and became more and more close and trustful to He Qi.

The Sixth Prince had more than ten eunuchs around him.

These eunuchs were carefully selected and each of them was careful and clever. Two of them served the sixth prince's food, clothing, daily life, and were the most trusted by the sixth prince.

No one expected that there would be a ghost among these eunuchs.

The night before the crown prince ceremony, the sixth prince and Emperor Xuanhe Empress Pei had dinner together.

Eunuch Zhao, who had always been calm and steady, suddenly walked in with a different look on the ground and glanced at the Sixth Prince first. The Sixth Prince's heart skipped a beat.
Chapter completed!