Chapter 402: Marquisate Ceremony
Yang Zhengshan gathered his sleeves and said with a look of disdain: "This dress looks good, but it's too troublesome to wear! It's okay to wear it occasionally, but if you wear it like this every day, I won't have to do anything else!"

Wearing official uniforms is indeed cumbersome and requires help from others. It is impossible to do it by yourself.

"What are you thinking about, Daddy? Even if you want to wear it every day, you can't. Court robes can only be worn during grand sacrifices and ceremonies!" Yang Yunxue said with a naive smile.

"That's right!" Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly. If he had to wear this every day, wouldn't it be a lot of trouble?
If he feels troubled, other officials must feel troubled as well.

We don't have that much free time to fiddle with such clothes every day.

"By the way, don't go out tomorrow and stay at home!" Yang Zhengshan said.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Yang Yunxue asked with some confusion.

Liang Jinyan looked at Yang Zhengshan with a serious expression.

Yang Zhengshan shook his head and said to Liang Jinyan: "It's okay, just stay at home and don't worry about other things."

Although Yang Yunxue is smart, she is a woman after all. It is not that Yang Zhengshan looks down on women, but women only deal with the rear quarters and don't know much about the situation in the court.

In comparison, although Liang Jinyan was only the deputy commander of the Bingmasi, he was born in the Ningguo Mansion after all, and was very sensitive to the government affairs, so as soon as Yang Zhengshan mentioned it, he could guess a little bit.

"I understand. I will stay in the mansion with my wife all the time!" Liang Jinyan said.

Yang Zhengshan looked at Yang Yunxue again and consoled her, "Don't worry, your father is the Marquis of Jing'an, who is the bravest among the three armies. He will be safe!"

Jing'an is his title, which comes from Jing'an Prefecture.

To put it simply, his fiefdom was in Jing'an Prefecture, but the Lord Darong had no fiefdom, only land and salary.

The title of Marquis Jing'an had already been decided, but Yang Zhengshan didn't know yet about the rank of Marquis Jing'an.

Darong's title is divided into three classes and nine levels, namely, first-class duke, second-class duke, third-class duke, first-class marquis... third-class earl. At present, Yang Zhengshan is not sure what rank of marquis he is, he only knows that he is Marquis Jing'an.

As to whether it is hereditary or not, that is even less clear.

There are two types of titles: nobility, hereditary, and hereditary without change. Although they are all titles of nobility, the differences between them are as vast as heaven and earth.

A duke is not a noble title at all, it is just a title. Only a hereditary title or a title that is passed down from generation to generation can be considered a noble title.

However, the title of Marquis of Jing'an is usually only conferred posthumously. Yang Zhengshan estimated that his title, Marquis of Jing'an, was most likely a hereditary marquis.

As for hereditary succession, there is no need to even think about it. It is a blessing to be able to obtain a hereditary marquisate, but the thought of hereditary succession is out of the question.

"Dad, will there be trouble at the conferring ceremony?" Yang Yunxue was not stupid. Although she was not clear about the situation in the court, when she heard Yang Zhengshan say this, she had some guesses in her mind.

Yang Zhengshan shook his head slightly, "This is not something you should worry about. Daddy is here for you. Just rest assured and recuperate at home!"

Yang Yunxue is pregnant now, and Yang Zhengshan doesn't want her to worry too much.

If he wasn't afraid that she would run out to watch the investiture ceremony tomorrow, he wouldn't have said this.

"Madam!" Liang Jinyan reminded softly.

Yang Yunxue hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "Well, don't worry, Daddy. I will be waiting for you at the mansion!"

She also knew that she could not help, and the right thing to do was to stay in the mansion and not cause trouble for Yang Zhengshan.

……

Silent all night.

The next morning, Yang Zhengshan arrived at the Fengtian Gate early in the morning as arranged by the officials of the Ministry of Rites and waited.

The morning court session ended and all officials took their seats in front of the Fengtian Gate.

After three majestic drum beats, the whole audience fell silent and the ceremonial officer announced the start of the conferment ceremony.

Led by the ceremonial officers, civil and military officials arrived at the square in front of Fengtian Gate and took their positions.

When the music started, eight ceremonial officials led Yang Zhengshan in through the east gate of Fengtian Gate and stood by the red wall of Fengtian Hall. When the crown prince, Prince Cheng and Prince Gong arrived at Fengtian Hall, the music stopped.

The officials of the Ministry of Rites walked up the west steps of Danbi in Fengtian Hall with treasure books in their hands, and also came to pay their respects in front of Danqi.

The Imperial Edict is the imperial edict that the emperor uses to grant titles to his vassal states, princes, clan members, concubines and meritorious officials, and reads out to the recipients.

The treasure book is the proof of your noble status. Only when you possess it, you are a legitimate marquis.

The empress, imperial concubine, prince, etc. all used gold books, while the princes and princesses used silver books decorated with gold, and the dukes, marquises, earls and other nobles used paper books.

Yu Yu, an official from the Ministry of Rites, was singing in front of the Danchi, and Yang Zhengshan came forward and bowed three times and kowtowed nine times.

Then the music started, and the official in charge of the imperial decree knelt in the Fengtian Hall to receive the imperial decree, and then left through the middle door of the hall. He stood in front and behind, praising: "There is an imperial decree!"
Praising the spectators and singing: "Kneel down"!
Yang Zhengshan knelt again, and then the officials from the Ministry of Rites began to read the text. The long list of texts sounded particularly solemn and loud when read by the officials.

But Yang Zhengshan knelt in front of the hall door and complained in his heart.

Damn, how long will I have to keep kneeling?
This is the first time in my life that I have knelt for so long.

And he was not kneeling before the prince and others, but before the empty throne.

The emperor is no longer in power, and although the conferring ceremony was presided over and managed by the crown prince, in fact the crown prince had no right to confer titles of nobility.

The crown prince was merely granted a title of nobility in the name of Emperor Chengping.

Of course, this does not mean that this ceremony of conferring a title is not in accordance with the etiquette and law code. The Cabinet and the Ministry of Rites have already agreed, and all the civil and military officials in the court have witnessed it. Even if the old emperor is not here, this ceremony of conferring a title is legal and in accordance with etiquette.

The complicated ceremony lasted for more than an hour, and it was not until Yang Zhengshan took over the treasure book that the ceremony came to an end.

Finally, Yang Zhengshan held the treasure book in his hands and kowtowed three times and nine times to express his gratitude.

Just as he expected, he, the Marquis of Jing'an, was a hereditary third-class marquis.

The hereditary third-class marquis meant that Yang Mingcheng would only be a first-class earl after inheriting the title. Although the third-class marquis was a bit low, Yang Zhengshan had no right to despise it.

The fact that he was granted the title of nobility was the result of fate and various coincidences.

If Emperor Chengping had not been seriously ill, if the Crown Prince had not been fighting with Prince Cheng and Prince Gong, if it had not happened that Prince Qing rebelled and the Wulianghu tribe invaded, if it had not happened that the situation at court had not changed, he would have had no chance of being granted a title of nobility.

"My Lord, you can get up now!" An official from the Ministry of Rites came to Yang Zhengshan and reminded him.

Yang Zhengshan let out a long breath, meow, I can finally get up.

He stood up and looked around. The civil and military officials around him had different expressions. Some looked at him with kindness, some were full of envy, and of course some were full of jealousy and hatred.

There are many jealous people, but not many haters.

Among the nobles, an old man with gray hair looked at Yang Zhengshan with a look that seemed to be filled with poison.

Without thinking, Yang Zhengshan knew who this person was.

Jingyuan Hou Su Gan!
Apart from him, who else would hate Yang Zhengshan so much!

Yang Zhengshan glanced at Marquis Jingyuan, then looked up at the Crown Prince, Prince Cheng and Prince Gong without any change in his expression.

This was the first time he met the Crown Prince, Prince Cheng and Prince Gong!

All three of them are outstanding people, with handsome looks and extraordinary temperament.

However, the expressions of the three people were different.

The prince looked at Yang Zhengshan with approval, as if Yang Zhengshan was someone he favored and someone he supported.

Prince Cheng had a solemn expression and his eyes were like knives, giving people a feeling of being sharp.

Prince Gong had a faint smile on his face, but Yang Zhengshan felt that this guy had a dagger hidden in his smile and his smile was very fake.

"Your Highness, Yang Zhengshan, would like to thank His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the two princes!"

Yang Zhengshan held the treasure book in his hands and bowed.

"Marquis Jing'an, please don't be polite. Haha, Marquis Jing'an has made great achievements in suppressing the rebellion and wiping out the Hu people. He is a good general who is greatly honored by us. He deserves to be crowned a marquis today."

"I am under the order of my father, the Emperor, to supervise the country. I should commend Marquis Jing'an for his merits and reward the soldiers on the front line."

"I have read Marquis Jing'an's memorial. His proposal is very pertinent. I have discussed it with the elders and the officials in the Ministry of War. The next arrangements for Tenglong Guard and Chongshan Town will be in accordance with Marquis Jing'an's proposal, and all the meritorious officers and soldiers will be promoted!"

The prince said in a gentle voice.

Yang Zhengshan was slightly stunned. This was an unexpected result.

The memorial that the prince was referring to should be his arrangement of official posts in Tenglongwei and Chongshan Town. Although that was his proposal, he did not expect that the prince would agree to all his arrangements.

More importantly, Yang Zhengshan was very surprised by the prince's attitude towards him.

He thought the prince would hate him and be dissatisfied with him, but now the prince was not only kind to him, but also agreed to his previous memorial.

This really made him feel a little unbelievable.

"Your Highness is wise!" What else could Yang Zhengshan say but to praise him for being wise.

Seeing that his attitude was good, the prince nodded with satisfaction, but then his face turned cold.

"Marquis Jing'an is a meritorious official of our Darong. He suppressed the rebellion of King Qing, wiped out the Wuliang army, defended the country's territory, and protected the common people. He has made great contributions to our dynasty. However, someone in the court is trying to murder the meritorious official of Darong. They are colluding with gangsters to kill Marquis Jing'an!"

"I am under the order of my father, the Emperor, to supervise the country. I will never allow sinister villains to murder meritorious officials in the court. Today is the ceremony for the enthronement of Marquis Jing'an. I must seek justice for Marquis Jing'an!"

As he spoke, the prince glanced at the ministers with sharp eyes.

Yang Zhengshan's heart sank a little, he knew that what was coming would eventually come.

Be it ambush or conferring a title of nobility, in fact, it is nothing more than a drama of fighting in the court.

He played the role of just a pawn.

It's a chess piece placed by the prince, a chess piece that has no autonomy.

Now he finally understood why the prince had agreed to his memorial and why he was so kind to him!

This is to make him obedient and let him be a chess piece at the mercy of the prince.

Yang Zhengshan lowered his head and said nothing.

He understood what was going to happen next, and although he played the leading role in it, there was actually no room for him to play.

What the prince said was just and upright. He had no reason to refute it, let alone the confidence to resist. He could only let the prince do what he wanted.

All the civil and military officials held their breath, waiting and listening quietly.

"Prince Gong, Prince Cheng, do you admit your guilt?" The prince directly challenged the two princes.

Prince Gong and Prince Cheng looked at each other.

King Cheng smiled faintly and said, "Your Highness, you are joking. How could I do anything bad to Marquis Jing'an? In terms of the country, Marquis Jing'an is a good general who has made great contributions to the country. In terms of personal relationships, Marquis Jing'an and I have no grudges in the past or today. I admire Marquis Jing'an so much that I can't wait to do anything bad to him!"

As he spoke, he cast a kind look towards Yang Zhengshan, as if he was very optimistic about Yang Zhengshan.

In fact, neither the Crown Prince nor Prince Cheng and Prince Gong had any personal grudge or dissatisfaction towards Yang Zhengshan. Yang Zhengshan was involved in this dispute only because of the circumstances.

In the court struggles, personal grudges are actually not important. What matters is whether you are useful and whether you can be used. As for your opinions, sorry, we don’t care.

(End of this chapter)