Volume 1 Princess Taiping Grows Up Chapter 14: New Year's Day
After the sun sets, the sky is still not completely dark.
The Daming Palace has become bright, with countless lanterns hanging in every corner of the palace.
A large number of candlelight makes the protagonist of tonight, the Linde Hall, brightly lit. If it were not for the slightly monotonous color, it would probably be no less than the night markets of later generations.
Officials of all ranks had already put on court robes and began to enter the hall in an orderly manner.
Normally, officials would wear casual clothes when attending court, with round collars and narrow sleeves, which was very convenient.
There are only relatively strict regulations on colors. For example, those above the third rank wear purple, and those above the fifth rank wear red...
However, the court dress for major events had no color distinction. Regardless of rank, everyone wore a black gauze hat of different shapes and a bright red court dress.
This court dress is bright red all over, with only the collar and cuffs being black. Depending on the rank, it will also be equipped with different fish bags, swords, ribbons and other decorations.
Of course, the swords were made of wood. No one except the Qianniu Guards could hold a real sword or gun in front of the emperor.
When Li Yuechen and several of his brothers followed Li Zhi and his wife to the Linde Hall, the first thing they saw was a bright red color.
You know what, at least it looks festive during the New Year.
If someone wears this thing during court sessions, then be prepared. Either you are going to make a death-defying remonstrance to the emperor, or you are going to impeach someone to death.
Of course, what the emperor feared most was seeing those old guys from the Censorate wearing these things to court, which probably meant that the emperor would be scolded.
The emperor arrived and all the ministers saluted him.
Li Zhi smiled and waved his hand: "My dear ministers, please don't be polite! Today is New Year's Eve, let's welcome the New Year together!"
Then, Xu Jingzong, Li Ji and other ministers with high qualifications and status took the lead in wishing Li Zhi and Wu Zetian a happy new year.
Tonight was relatively relaxed. After chatting for a few words, everyone took their seats.
The royal galas of this era were rather boring. Although the court bands were indeed good-looking, compared to the Spring Festival Galas of later generations that had a variety of programs, these galas with only singing and dancing were indeed much more monotonous.
So Li Yuechen felt bored after watching for a while. She was a little hungry, so when Li Zhi started to work, she quickly took a steamed bun to eat.
Now she is still young and can sit with her mother, Wu Zetian.
The four elder brothers did not have such treatment. They could only sit below, each with a table, and their treatment was almost the same as that of the ministers.
However, this evening party was not all singing and dancing. At around eleven or twelve o'clock, the emperor and his ministers began to recite poems and compose couplets.
Li Yuechen, who felt a bit overwhelmed upon hearing this, opened her mouth and yawned, rubbed her eyes, turned her head and said, "Mother, I'm sleepy."
Wu Zetian touched her little face and said, "Today is the New Year's Eve. Do you want to stay up like any other day?"
Li Zhi, who was standing by, had a doting smile on his face: "Children tend to get sleepy easily. Xiao He, take Chen'er back to bed first."
“Yes!”
Xiao He, who was serving beside him, agreed, squatted down, carried Li Yuechen on her back and left.
Li Yuechen was indeed very sleepy, and by the time he returned to Chengxiang Palace, he could hardly open his eyes.
After being put on the bed, perhaps because she felt Xiao He helping her remove the ornaments on her head, she said in a daze: "Remember to call me at the grand court meeting tomorrow..."
Xiao He took off her headdress and promised, "Don't worry, Your Highness."
If possible, Li Yuechen actually wanted to sleep until dawn, but she hadn't watched the grand court meeting on the first day of the new year yet, so she wanted to go and watch it tomorrow.
…
As a child, she could go back to sleep at any time, but her brothers and ministers were in a more miserable situation.
By the time the banquet was over, it was almost Chou hour, so they hurried home to rest for a while. After sleeping for less than an hour, they got up and rushed to the palace again.
At this time, Li Yuechen had also gotten up. She washed her face, asked Xiaohe to tie her hair into a ponytail, and then hurried to the Xiangluan Pavilion on the side of the Hanyuan Hall.
When I came over, I saw the ministers walking in from Danfeng Gate.
Because it was still dark, there were many Jinwu Guards holding torches to guide them.
Today I am not only going to meet the ministers who usually attend court, but all the officials in Chang'an.
Even officials from other places had to come to congratulate the emperor on this day. If they were unable to come due to some matters, they had to send envoys with gifts.
In addition, the surrounding vassal states also sent envoys with gifts to pay tribute on this day, which made the scene quite lively.
So when Li Yuechen came over, he saw that the square in front of Hanyuan Hall was densely packed with torches, extending all the way to the outside of Danfeng Gate, looking like a fire dragon.
The officials lined up according to their rank and came to the gate of Hanyuan Hall from Longwei Road.
The fully armed detectives checked each person's portrait and various information, and conducted body searches to ensure that they were not carrying any weapons.
After watching Xiangluan Pavilion for a while, Li Yuechen entered the hall from the side and hid behind the screen.
After a while, the palace gate opened and the ministers entered one by one.
Li Yuechen showed half of his head and saw that Minister Xu Jingzong's face was obviously a little haggard, so he nodded with a bit of sympathy.
I have to say, this era is troublesome. Even old ministers like this have to go through so much trouble.
He was obviously exhausted from last night till now, but he still had to pretend to be radiant.
After the ministers stood still, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian also came out.
Li Zhi tidied up his gorgeous crown and robes before slowly sitting down, but Li Yuechen suddenly discovered that there was a health ball next to him!
Wu Zetian behind the pearl curtain didn't even put it down, but just held the two iron balls in her hands and slowly rotated them.
Zhang Chengxin flicked the whisk in his hand, took a step forward, took a deep breath, and announced loudly: "Go to court!"
Under Li Yuechen's shocked gaze, the ministers knelt down collectively and shouted in unison: "Long live the emperor!"
Then they stood up and started dancing. Their movements were not uniform. Basically, everyone danced on their own in a disorganized manner.
Then Zhang Chengxin shouted loudly: "Bye again——"
The ministers knelt down again and then shouted in unison: "Long live!"
After shouting, they stood up and danced. Because the amplitude of each person's movements was different, it looked like a group of demons dancing wildly.
Some have small movements but fast speeds, and look like they have Parkinson's.
Some of the movements were so large that they even bumped into people next to them, making it look like Mongolian wrestling.
Some of the movements are not only exaggerated but also very fast, and they seem to have found a certain sense of rhythm.
Zhang Chengxin estimated the time: "Three bows——"
As his voice fell, the ministers knelt down again and said in unison: "Long live the king!"
After Li Zhi raised his hand and said, "No need to formality, everyone," Xu Jingzong, who was already a little breathless from this set of etiquette, picked up his tablet.
After coughing twice and clearing his throat, he began to recite parallel prose that Li Yuechen could not understand, Li Zhi might not understand either, and even Xu Jingzong himself might not understand.
This kind of parallel prose for New Year's greetings has very high requirements. It cannot be written casually. It often requires quoting from classics and cannot have any mistakes.
Coupled with the accumulation of various sophisticated words, it often makes itself difficult to understand and extremely difficult to comprehend.
Even Li Yuechen, who was hiding behind the screen, felt dizzy and overwhelmed when he heard it.
After finally finishing the reading and congratulating the emperor on the New Year again, he turned around and left.
In this way, their mission is completed and they can go home and rest.
It was fortunate that Empress Changsun had passed away, otherwise the same process would have to be repeated with the Empress Dowager.
After walking out of the palace, Xu Jingzong took a deep breath and felt a little tired.
Li Ji, who was standing by, quickly reached out and supported him: "Mr. Xu, are you okay?"
Xu Jingzong, whose face turned a little pale, waved his hands: "It's okay, I just need to go back and sleep for a while..."
Their mission was over, but Li Zhi's work continued.
After the ministers left, the next group of officials of lower ranks came in and went through the same process again.
By the time the officials in the capital had finished paying their New Year's greetings, the sun had already become completely angry and the sky was bright.
Officials from other states and counties also began the process of paying homage to the emperor.
After they finished their work, there were foreign envoys waiting behind them with gifts...
In short, it would be difficult for Li Zhi to finish his work before noon today.
Li Yuechen couldn't help but turned her head and asked, "Is it like this every year?"
Eunuch Fu nodded: "Yes!"
Li Yuechen shook his head, looked up at Li Zhi sitting on the dragon chair, and said to himself: "No wonder the saint is so tired!"
She had originally been thinking about what the grand court meeting on New Year's Day would be like, but she didn't expect that it would just be officials coming in droves to congratulate her.
The key point is that this process is extremely troublesome. Li Yuechen couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so he turned around and left, yawning.
Before it’s noon, go back and catch up on your sleep.
…
After congratulating, ministers walked out of the Hanyuan Hall one after another. Officials from different states and counties were still greeting each other and talking about interesting things they had encountered in different places.
"Brother Sun, long time no see. Your term will end next year, so I guess your promotion is not far away."
"I dare not! I heard that my brother is very strict in enforcing the law and is highly appreciated..."
In addition to bragging about business to each other, many officials also noticed the pair of iron balls in the hands of Wu Zetian who was sitting behind the bead curtain.
So the officials speculated whether the two iron balls placed next to Li Zhi were also played with in his hands.
The emperor's preferences can, to some extent, be regarded as a weather vane for officials, so naturally they have to find out more about it.
But this thing was not a secret, and soon the news of the health ball spread to the ears of various officials.
It was not until noon that the grand court meeting was declared over.
Li Yuechen was woken up by Xiaohe. After washing her face, she felt much better.
In the next few days, everyone can have a good rest.
Li Zhi and Wu Zetian had lunch with the children at noon, talked about the outlook for the new year, and asked the children to be obedient and read more books...
However, Li Yuechen waited for a long time but they didn't show any intention of giving out New Year's money, so she secretly wondered if something went wrong.
Although it was a holiday, there were still many national affairs to attend to. After lunch, the couple went back to handle government affairs.
What Wu Zetian meant was that they had to hurry today because they had to go back to their parents' home tomorrow, the second day of the Chinese New Year.
My grandmother, Madam Rongguo, is still alive today. Although she is 91 years old, she is in good health in all aspects.
Li Yuechen and his brothers would also go back with their mother Wu Zetian to visit every year.
Even on normal days, when Wu Zetian was busy with work, she would ask the palace maids and eunuchs to take her to the mansion from time to time.
But to be honest, Li Yuechen was not very willing to go.
It’s not that she hated her. In fact, she quite liked this grandmother. She always had a kind smile on her face and was especially nice to her.
But the key issue is that when she went to visit, eight out of ten times she would run into Helan Minzhi, Li Yuechen's nominal cousin.
This guy is now about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He is very handsome and has a good-looking appearance!
Even if Li Yuechen looks at it from a man's perspective, he has to admit that he is indeed a handsome guy!
This seems quite normal. Coming to this era, Li Yuechen has read in many books that the Xianbei people are all good-looking.
Helan Minzhi's father was also a Xianbei, so he must have inherited the genes for his good looks.
Speaking of which, many books say that Emperor Yang of Sui was also very handsome, but it is hard to say whether it is true or not.
Having said that, what really made Li Yuechen a little unbearable was that this cousin and Mrs. Rongguo were lovers!
That’s right, a 90-year-old old woman and a teenager of 25 or 26 are lovers!
This is no longer a matter of an old cow eating young grass, it's simply eating the seeds directly, right?
When Li Yuechen accidentally discovered this matter, there were really a thousand horses running wildly in his heart.
She was a little confused as to whether it was a problem with the times or with this family.
Perhaps in their view, they were still very young at the time, and certainly had not begun to remember things, nor would they understand.
But to be honest, that scene kept Li Yuechen awake for several days, and shattered views are not so easy to rebuild.
Of course, she didn't say anything nonsense and just pretended that she really didn't remember it.
Through her observation, she knew that her mother, Wu Zetian, knew about this matter. She didn't say anything, so there was no need for her to jump out and make a fuss.
And to be honest, Mrs. Rongguo was really good to her granddaughter. As for her private life, Li Yuechen had no interest in criticizing it.
After lunch, Li Yuechen thought about it and decided not to go out and play with her four brothers. Instead, she went to accompany her two sisters Xuancheng and Yiyang.
Although they both have regained their status as princesses, Li Zhi's attitude towards his illegitimate sons is basically the same as giving them away for free when you top up your phone bill. Don't expect him to care about them.
Considering that today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, in order to prevent the two sisters from feeling lonely, Li Yuechen went to play with them, which touched the two sisters.
