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Fei Qian kept his head lowered as he waited for the summons. Standing beside him was Zhang Liao.
Although the Emperor was essentially under house arrest by Dong Zhuo, he was still occasionally trotted out for ceremonial purposes, like today.
Fei Qian was currently outside the walls of the Northern Palace. After all, he was merely a Left Assistant to the Gentleman of the Palace Writers and couldn't enter the imperial palace at will. Thus, he could only wait outside the palace gates.
The court conference had been going on for some time now. There was no way to know the exact details of what was happening inside.
This was only a minor court conference, not one requiring the attendance of all court officials. At most, the Three Excellencies and the Nine Ministers were present. Moreover, under the current circumstances, the Nine Ministers basically had no right to speak, so his mentor, Cai Yong, hadn't come either.
He was involved due to the previous incident at Hangu Pass, which was why he was waiting here with Zhang Liao.
Fei Qian glanced down at his own robes, then stole a look at the clothes Zhang Liao was wearing. For some reason, he suddenly thought of zongzi… (T/N: a traditional Chinese rice dish made of glutinous rice stuffed with a range of fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves)
Ahem…
Court attire in the Han Dynasty wasn't of a single color. Instead, it changed according to the seasons, designated by five colors: green for spring, vermilion for summer, yellow for late summer, white for autumn, and black for winter.
Regarding Han Dynasty clothing, while the strict hierarchies of feudal society were gradually taking shape, it hadn't yet reached the later levels of abnormal refinement dictating every inch of cloth, every pattern, and every accessory. So, although official ranks might differ, the styles of court robes were largely similar. Their characteristics included a cicada-patterned crown, vermilion robes, a square neckline, a field collar, jade ornaments, and vermilion shoes. In terms of form, there wasn't a great difference between the attire of officials and commoners.
Classified by the front lapel, there were two main types: one was the quju chanyi (curved-hem unlined robe), where the open front curved diagonally from the collar to under the arm; the other was the zhiju chanyi (straight-hem unlined robe), where the open front dropped straight down from the collar. This latter type was also called chanyu. Because this style of garment was both long and wide, one could sometimes accidentally expose something that shouldn't be revealed. Therefore, for formal occasions, one had to wear the quju chanyi, and it was also necessary to reveal the collar of the inner garment.
These garments and accessories were basically common to both officials and citizens. Regardless of official rank, the differences in style were not significant. However, the grade of the cloth material clearly indicated different social ranks.
The upper class wouldn't use coarse hemp or ramie cloth, while commoners weren't permitted to use silk or fine silk cloth. The main external indicators distinguishing official rank were the official seal and sash, and the headdress.
As for the seal and sash, Zhang Liao's was one grade higher than Fei Qian's. He used a copper seal with a black sash, while hanging from Fei Qian's waist was a copper seal with a yellow sash.
As for the headdress, because civil and military officials differed, Zhang Liao wore a heguan (pheasant tail feather coronet), while Fei Qian himself wore a jinxianguan (scholar's cap promoting worthies).
The heguan wasn't actually very different from the jinxianguan. However, the heguan had a distinctive feature: two pheasant tail feathers inserted at the top of the crown. They weren't as long as those shown in some TV shows or movies, only about ten centimeters or so, trembling delicately in the wind…
The jinxianguan was essentially the Confucian cap Fei Qian usually wore, just lined with a headscarf (jinze), and it had one crossbeam (liang) on the crown. The number of beams on the headdress represented the level of the position. Fei Qian currently had one beam, the lowest grade of jinxianguan; the highest had three beams.
So now, aside from these slight differences, Fei Qian and Zhang Liao were mostly identical. Both wore quju chanyi made of green silk, revealing their white inner garments – they really did look remarkably like zongzi wrapped in those dark green, almost black, old leaves. After boiling in water for a long time, the leaves split open, revealing a section of the white glutinous rice filling inside…
Zhang Liao was clearly nervous. Although his expression hadn't changed, sweat was already visible on his temples and hairline.
Fei Qian himself, having had dealings with Li Ru the day before, relatively speaking had a bit more of an idea of what to expect and was somewhat less tense.
A young eunuch ran out from inside and called out loudly, "Summoning Cavalry Commandant Zhang and Left Assistant to the Gentleman of the Palace Writers Fei for an audience before the hall!"
The Tiger Guard surrounding them also shouted in unison, "Cavalry Commandant Zhang and Left Assistant to the Gentleman of the Palace Writers Fei for an audience before the hall!"
Zhang Liao and Fei Qian hurriedly followed behind the young eunuch, cupping their hands together, hiding them within their sleeves, not looking around, keeping their heads slightly lowered, eyes fixed on the patch of ground directly in front of them. They kept their shoulders level and backs straight, following closely step by step.
As Zhang Liao and Fei Qian moved gradually deeper into the palace, every stretch of the way they advanced, the Tiger Guard standing watch on both sides also shouted in layers, "Cavalry Commandant Zhang and Left Assistant to the Gentleman of the Palace Writers Fei for an audience before the hall!"
It was completely different from the last time Fei Qian was promoted to Left Assistant to the Gentleman of the Palace Writers and went to pay distant respects to the Emperor quietly.
The majestic ceremony of the Han household was exactly like this!
Arriving outside the Deyang Hall at the Deyang Gate, the young eunuch finally stopped. Tiger Guard warriors from the front of the hall stepped forward to once again verify Zhang Liao and Fei Qian's official seals and sashes.
Immediately after, the guards before the Deyang Gate withdrew to both sides, allowing Zhang Liao and Fei Qian to enter.
The Deyang Hall was the main hall of the Northern Palace. Before the hall was the Deyang Gate. Between the Deyang Hall and the Deyang Gate were the Eastern Pavilion and Western Pavilion.
The young eunuch led the way, Zhang Liao was in the middle, and Fei Qian followed at the rear as they proceeded inward.
The Deyang Hall was the largest structure within the Northern Palace, exceptionally grand and imposing. Although Fei Qian couldn't swivel his head around to look, he could still secretly roll his eyes around…
The Deyang Hall was situated on a high platform. The steps were two zhang high (approx. 4.6 meters). In the center was a large dais made of patterned stone, with steps paved in white jade. Pillars that seemed to be inlaid with gold leaf shone with a blinding, ostentatiously wealthy gleam.
Before the steps, there was also an approach bridge. It was unclear from where water was channeled to flow beneath the hall. The sound of gurgling water added another layer to the imperial solemnity.
Walking onto the approach bridge, Fei Qian quickly gathered his wandering eyes and began earnestly playing the role of the well-behaved child. After all, from this point on, guards in Mingguang armor (brightly polished armor) stood on both sides, and they were positioned very close together, one every dozen steps or so, continuing all the way into the great hall itself.
Furthermore, at the side of the great hall's entrance stood a protocol officer, eyes sharp and bright, specifically responsible for supervising the etiquette of those attending the audience. If he were caught making the slightest mistake, it would immediately be considered the crime of misconduct before the hall.
Upon reaching the entrance to the great hall, the mission of the young eunuch who had led the way was complete. Next, another person was responsible for reporting their arrival inside…
After a short while, the sound of the summons came from within, marking the beginning of the formal audience.
The protocol officer at the hall entrance drew out his words in a long, trailing tone as he shouted loudly, "Advaaance~~"
Zhang Liao and Fei Qian advanced step by measured step. When they reached the entrance to the great hall, they heard the protocol officer call out, "Haaalt~~"
The two hurriedly stood straight.
"Booow~~"
Fei Qian didn't have time to see what Zhang Liao was doing. He quickly followed the protocol officer's command, raising his hands to his forehead, bowing his body ninety degrees, pausing briefly, then straightening up again…
"Kneeeel~~"
Hands again raised level with the eyebrows, then both knees simultaneously touched the ground, slowly lowering into a kneel, palms flat on the ground, forehead touching the back of the hands. Then, straightening the upper body, hands simultaneously rising level with the eyebrows…
"Kneel agaaain~~"
They performed the kneeling motion from before once more…
"Riiise~~"
Both hands level with the eyebrows, they stood up, straightened, then lowered their hands.
Fei Qian finally let out a slight sigh of relief. There was no help for it, low-ranking officials had to endure this tedious ritual when formally meeting the Emperor.
Emperor Liu Xie, seated on the throne, looked at Fei Qian performing the rites far away at the hall entrance. He seemed to find him somewhat familiar...
*****
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