Volume 1 Princess Taiping Grows Up Chapter 13 New Year's Eve
According to legend, there was a huge and ferocious beast in ancient times. Every December, when there was heavy snow and no food, the beast would come out of the mountains and enter the villages to eat people.
Later, people discovered that this evil beast was afraid of noise, so they lit bamboo, making a crackling sound, and at the same time beat gongs and drums, and hung red cloth strips outside the door as a warning.
The villagers would stay up all night until dawn to make sure that the evil beast had not come out. Only then would they go out of their homes, say some auspicious words to each other, and pray that the evil beast would not come again next year.
The name of this evil beast is "Xi", and this day is called "New Year's Eve".
Li Yuechen was wearing a thick sable coat and standing at the door of Chengxiang Palace. She watched the palace maids throwing the chopped bamboo into the fire, which made a loud noise, and she couldn't help but smile.
Although there were no firecrackers in this era, the atmosphere of the New Year was no worse than that of later generations. In fact, it was even more intense.
Seeing Li Yuechen walking down the stairs slowly, Xiao He trotted over with a smile on her face: "Your Highness, can you also light some firecrackers?"
Li Yuechen shook his head and said no. Today is New Year's Eve, and he has to go and pay New Year's greetings to his master Liu Rengui while it is still light in the afternoon.
Then you have to hurry back to wash and dress up, because tonight's royal banquet is very grand.
For ordinary people, no one knows what it feels like to celebrate the New Year, but for officials, celebrating the New Year in this era is actually a very troublesome and stressful thing.
On New Year's Eve, officials should have been spending the night with their families, but they had to leave their families behind and go to the palace to attend the emperor's dinner and watch the royal gala with the emperor and his family.
After the party, it was almost midnight. I went home and slept for less than an hour before I had to go back to the palace to attend the grand court meeting on New Year's Day.
After the grand court meeting is over, I will have a seven-day holiday to go home and spend time with my family.
…
When Li Yuechen rode in a carriage out of the palace and arrived in Chang'an City, he found that there were a lot more people on the streets today than usual.
Almost everyone had a bright smile on their face, ready to welcome the new year.
Not to mention ordinary people, even those blond, blue-eyed, big-nosed foreigners were smiling and speaking in their half-familiar Tang Dynasty accent, saying all kinds of auspicious words to the local friends around them.
The Tang Dynasty was a country with an open mind. Here, the Hu people wore Han people's hats, and the Han people wore Hu people's clothes, but there was hardly any sign of incongruity.
Seeing Li Yuechen looking outside through the carriage window with a look of emotion, Xiao He asked, "Why does Your Highness have such an expression?"
Li Yuechen shook his head and said nothing.
Xiao He certainly couldn't understand how he felt as a person a thousand years later when seeing this scene.
Perhaps it can be said to be emotion, or perhaps it can be said to be surprise, but more often than not, I still feel that the simplicity of the common people thousands of years ago was somewhat adorable.
The common people of this era had no culture and no knowledge. For them, if it could be like this every year, it would be a peaceful and prosperous era.
Li Yuechen put his hands on the car window, rested his little head on his arms, looked at the people coming and going outside, and couldn't help but smile.
Perhaps it was because he was thinking about the memories of a thousand years later. There might be no tall buildings or hustle and bustle here, but the smile on his face, which showed that he didn't have to worry about survival, made no obvious difference.
If the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty could continue, the smiles on their faces would surely remain the same, right?
As a person from the future, she knew that there would be many dynasties after the Tang Dynasty, and that more than a thousand years later, the Industrial Revolution would begin, and technology would develop rapidly...
But as an ordinary person, she also knew that every change of dynasty would be accompanied by war and death.
If a dynasty could continue forever, it would surely be able to avoid war and suffering to the greatest extent possible, right?
Thinking of this, Li Yuechen couldn't help but mutter to himself: "May our Tang Dynasty prosper and last forever!"
Eunuch Fu next to him looked up and exchanged a glance with Xiao He, with surprise in both of their eyes.
I didn't expect the little princess to say such a thing. It seems there is a reason why she is so favored.
Arriving at Liu Rengui's house, Li Yuechen saluted with his arms crossed: "Disciple wishes Master a happy New Year in advance!"
She was a princess, so she didn't have to bow even when paying respect to her master Liu Rengui.
Liu Rengui bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness. I hope you have a healthy New Year's Day!"
Perhaps he was used to Li Yuechen's personality, so after the greeting, he relaxed as usual.
Arriving at the pavilion in the courtyard, he took the two health balls and spun them in his hands, then asked with a smile, "Today is New Year's Eve. Your Highness is not in the palace to prepare the dinner. Aren't you afraid of His Majesty's punishment?"
"You two adults are so busy that you have no time to punish me?" Li Yuechen replied with a smile.
Liu Rengui burst into laughter: "Your Highness is indeed smart and clever!"
"Master, are you praising me?"
Liu Rengui is now very accustomed to the master and disciple joking with each other.
There is no way, the main reason is that this princess is so cute. Not only is she adorable in appearance, but she can also talk, which always makes people feel happy.
In this era of strict ethics, it can be said that it is at the forefront of being unique.
In fact, behaviors like Li Yuechen's, who does not perform proper greetings when meeting parents and likes to play with them, are not encouraged at all in etiquette.
But there is nothing we can do about it, because the emperor and the empress like it. It is hard to say what the late Tang Dynasty was like, but at least during this period, the emperors still had strong personalities, so it was difficult for the people below to say anything.
Seeing the two iron balls spinning in Liu Rengui's hands, Li Yuechen smiled and asked, "Master, do you like this?"
"Yes." Liu Rengui nodded, "This thing can calm the mind and spirit, it's a good tool!"
Sure enough, it seems that most humans still like to count things in their hands when they are bored.
After staying for a short while, Liu Rengui's wife and son also came over to greet Li Yuechen and wish him a happy new year.
After all, she is a princess. It would be fine if it happened on ordinary days, but she can’t pretend not to see it on New Year’s Eve.
However, Li Yuechen was not arrogant and greeted them politely, which won their favor.
After staying for about half an hour, Li Yuechen stood up and said goodbye. It was almost time to go back and wash and dress up.
Li Yuechen always felt awkward when she had to wear so many accessories on her head and a dress.
But this is already pretty good, thanks to the fact that I was born in the Tang Dynasty, where people only wore this at grand events.
If I wore this thing on a regular basis, I would probably be depressed to death.
Of course, we have to thank His Majesty Taizong.
As we all know, Comrade Li Er grew up on horseback and was used to the freedom of galloping all day long. He never wore the gorgeous and troublesome court dress.
Therefore, according to the records of national history and Li Zhi's recollections, Comrade Li Er basically wore hakama in his daily life, even when he attended court.
This kind of hakama is shorter than ordinary clothes. It is a kind of clothing that absorbs the Hu style. It is for the convenience of riding and is a plain clothing in this era.
Comrade Li Er basically wore this when he went to court or even when he attended major events. In order to avoid wearing a complicated crown, he also invented a Shanyi crown.
It is the kind of black hat with two protrusions on the back that look like rabbit ears.
This is the personality of the Tang Dynasty emperors. They usually wore plain clothes when going to work.
As for my father Li Zhi, whether it was the emperor or the ministers, they basically wore casual clothes when they went to court.
Only when there are particularly important events will they reluctantly put on the crown and robe to cope with the occasion.
Even more than ten years ago, Li Zhi ordered the abolition of several types of crowns and robes, leaving only the crown.
So Li Yuechen is now wearing a relatively simple hairpin dress, which is not too gorgeous, but it is still very troublesome for her.
Not only were the sleeves extremely wide, but she also had a bunch of unfamiliar accessories on her head.
The key is that this thing is not sturdy. If you bend down or lower your head, it will fall down!
While she was dressing up, her two elder sisters, Princess Xuancheng and Princess Yiyang, came to help.
"Chen'er is getting more and more beautiful." Princess Yi Yang said with a smile as she helped her put ornaments on her hair.
Princess Xuancheng next to her poked her cheek with her finger and said, "Yes, you will be a great beauty in the future!"
Li Yuechen was a little helpless: "Sisters, please don't make fun of me. This kind of dress is really troublesome!"
Seeing her helpless face, her cheeks puffed up. The two sisters smiled coquettishly and helped her dress up while chatting.
By the time everything was done, the sun was almost setting.
It will take some time for the banquet to start, so we have to go to Xianju Hall first to greet Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, and then go to Linde Hall together after the banquet starts.
The two elder sisters were born illegitimate children and had no seats at the banquet, but they still had to pay their respects to Li Zhi.
When we arrived at Xianju Palace, the four princes had already arrived and were waiting at the door.
Crown Prince Li Hong is said to be the eldest brother, but he is only the eldest brother in terms of biological parents. In fact, among all Li Zhi’s sons, he is the fifth oldest.
There were four older brothers, but the eldest and the second oldest are dead.
The third brother, Li Shangjin, is currently in Lizhou and cannot enter Beijing without Li Zhi's permission.
The fourth brother, Li Lian, is currently serving as the governor of Shenzhou. Similarly, he cannot enter the capital without permission.
Seeing Li Yuechen and her two elder sisters coming over, the four princes also hurried over to pay their respects. Even if she was born out of wedlock, she was still a elder sister.
What's more, now that Li Zhi has released them and restored their status as princesses, no matter what the actual situation is, etiquette must always be maintained.
Facing the four princes' salutes, the two sisters still seemed a little reserved and returned the salutes in the same respectful manner.
The eldest brother Li Hong smiled and said, "Yuechen is a little late, thank goodness Grandpa hasn't summoned him yet."
Li Yuechen had a look of disdain on her face: "This kind of clothing is too troublesome..."
The second brother Li Xian put his arm around the third brother Li Xian's shoulder and walked over together: "If it's too much trouble, just prepare it earlier. What do you think, Sanlang?"
Li Xian nodded: "Yes, brother, what you said makes sense..."
The fourth brother Li Xulun next to him said nothing, but smiled warmly at Li Yuechen.
Li Yuechen has basically understood the personalities of these brothers.
The eldest brother Li Hong is kind and cheerful; the second brother Li Xian is more sinister, and whenever he acts naughty, he usually drags the honest third brother with him, so that when he is punished, he has someone to share the burden.
The fourth child, Li Xulun, is introverted and not good at communication, but he likes his younger sister Li Yuechen very much.
This might have something to do with the fact that Li Yuechen always took the initiative to play with him. In fact, his elder brother Li Hong also took good care of him, but as the crown prince, he was also very busy every day, so they could not meet often.
They all heard the news that Li Yuechen asked Li Zhi to release her two sisters from the Ye Ting Palace, and knew that she liked these two sisters very much.
So the four princes did not just talk about themselves, but pulled their two sisters together to talk and chat, waiting to be summoned by Li Zhi and Wu Zetian.
It didn't take long, probably because the couple had finished washing and dressing up, Zhang Chengxin walked out of the hall: "Your Highnesses, the Saint summons you!"
The eldest brother Li Hong took the lead and was the first to walk into the hall.
Only Li Yuechen, who was walking at the back, said to Zhang Chengxin as she passed by him: "Eunuch Zhang, Happy New Year!"
Although this phrase is not used in this era, when you hear it you know it is a New Year's greeting.
Zhang Chengxin was greatly surprised and bowed quickly: "No, no, I can't bear it..."
"How can you say you can't afford it?" Li Yuechen smiled sweetly, "It's just a New Year's greeting, Eunuch Zhang, there's no need to be like this."
After saying that, he didn't say any more and trotted in.
Zhang Chengxin raised his head and looked at the princess' back as she walked in. His eyes couldn't help but become a little red.
Although there are many people who try to curry favor with him on weekdays, he himself knows that they all have their own ulterior motives and, in fact, they still look down on him in their hearts.
But this little princess is different. She has bright eyes and a pure smile.
Telling yourself a New Year's greeting is not to win yourself over, but to truly see yourself as a human being.
Li Yuechen really treated him as a normal person. After all, he came from an era of equality and did not have any sense of pride based on his bloodline.
There is no special meaning in saying Happy New Year to him. Firstly, it is out of habitual politeness, and secondly, it is just like a boss saying a blessing to a nanny, without any special meaning.
However, this was undoubtedly a gift to the servants of this era, so Zhang Chengxin was so moved that his eyes turned red.
After taking a deep breath, he raised his hand and wiped his slightly moist eyes with his sleeve, then followed behind and walked in.
Li Yuechen and others entered the hall, looked at Li Zhi and Wu Zetian who were sitting in front of them, and saluted together.
During the Chinese New Year, people have to kneel down, not only to the emperor but also to their parents.
But Li Yuechen suddenly laughed and almost laughed out loud.
Li Zhi and Wu Zetian were seen sitting on the couch, wearing gorgeous dresses, but each of them was holding a pair of health balls in their hands, which were slowly rotating.
The other children were kneeling with serious faces, but Li Yuechen was still smiling, causing his movements to be a little distorted.
Wu Zetian's face looked a little unhappy when she saw this scene, but Li Zhi had a doting smile on his face and didn't care at all.
After the children finished their greetings, Li Zhi was obviously in a good mood. He smiled and acted like a father as he talked about their actions in the past year and his hopes for them in the new year.
Li Zhi hadn't seen his two daughters, Xuancheng and Yiyang, for a long time. Perhaps he felt a little guilty, or perhaps he said a few words of encouragement for Li Yuechen's sake.
Their mother, Wu Zetian, who was standing next to them, was a little cold towards the two of them, but she didn't look unhappy.
