Volume 1 Princess Taiping Grows Up Chapter 16 Lantern Festival
The seven-day New Year holiday soon ended, and the court returned to its usual busy life.
Especially during the seven-day holiday, a large number of memorials and documents piled up that needed to be dealt with, which gave Wu Zetian a headache.
Li Zhi is now extremely myopic. He cannot tell male from female beyond five meters, and cannot tell human from animal beyond ten meters.
Although he was with Wu Zetian every day, in reality, he just sat beside her and accompanied her in reviewing memorials.
Even when he attended court, he basically just listened, and the real political affairs were left to his wife.
Perhaps because of the discomfort after the holiday, Wu Zetian was obviously a little irritable these days.
But Li Yuechen was in a good mood because she was looking forward to the next festival, the Lantern Festival!
In the past few years, because she was too young, she spent the Lantern Festival in the palace. This year, she planned to climb the tower of the imperial city to watch the Lantern Festival in Chang'an.
She had seen the Lantern Festival imagined by different directors in some movies and TV series before, and now she had the opportunity to experience it for herself.
After asking Eunuch Fu and Xiao He, I found out that glutinous rice balls already existed in this era.
But it was not cooked but fried, and was much larger in size than the glutinous rice balls of later generations. Moreover, it seemed that it was not necessary to eat it during the Lantern Festival.
I wanted to go to Chang'an City in person to stroll around and have fun with the people, but after thinking about it, I realized that it was not likely.
Let’s not talk about whether my mother, Wu Zetian, would agree. Even if she agreed, she would be followed by a large number of Jinwu Guards, for fear that others would not know the special status of her.
So instead of being watched in Chang'an City, it is better to watch it from the city wall of the imperial city.
There is no curfew on the night of the Lantern Festival. Starting from daytime, a large number of simple stages have been set up on the wide streets.
Carp flags and lanterns of various shapes are ready to emit conspicuous light at night.
Li Yuechen, who came out of Mrs. Rongguo's house, lowered the curtain of the carriage and suddenly wanted to eat fish when she saw the carp flag.
In the Tang Dynasty, because the emperor's surname was Li, eating carp was forbidden.
However, this law was enforced relatively strictly during the Wude period, but not so strictly during the Taizong period.
As for the current Li Zhi period, as long as you don't do anything stupid and loudly announce that you want to eat carp, it is already a normal phenomenon to invite a few good friends to eat some secretly at other times.
Of course Li Zhi knew about this matter, but he didn't care about it.
Li Yuechen thought this was a good idea. People in the Sui Dynasty didn’t forbid eating mutton, right?
I heard on the Internet before that there was an emperor in the Ming Dynasty who was not allowed to eat pork because he was born in the year of the pig. It would have been so pitiful to live in that period.
After returning to the palace, the sun was about to set. Li Yuechen jumped off the carriage and headed straight for Yanying Palace.
Inside the hall, his mother Wu Zetian was still reviewing memorials with a brush, while Li Zhi was sitting beside her playing with a health ball in his hand.
Liu Shenwei was sitting opposite him, also holding a pair in his hand.
Seeing Li Yuechen coming over, Li Zhi smiled and waved: "Chen'er, come to Grandpa quickly."
Li Yuechen trotted over and said, "Greetings, adults."
Then he turned his head and smiled sweetly: "Hello, Public Security Liu."
"Greetings, Your Highness. Thanks to the princess, I am doing well!" Liu Shenwei greeted with a smile.
Li Zhi reached out his hand and held his daughter over, letting her sit on his lap: "After Liu Gong's test, this device made by Chen'er really has the effect of alleviating symptoms!"
Liu Shenwei next to her flattered her: "The princess is naturally intelligent, and she is a blessing to the Tang Dynasty!"
Li Yuechen blinked: "I just don't want Grandpa and Mom to be too tired."
"Okay, okay!" Li Zhi touched his daughter's head, "Chen'er is sensible and polite! I am very pleased!"
Wu Zetian, who was sitting at the table, liked her daughter more and more. When she saw Li Zhi praising her, a smile of relief and pride appeared on her face.
After chatting with Liu Shenwei for a few words, he stood up and said goodbye .
Li Zhi stroked his beard and asked, "Chen'er, you made this thing, which is a great achievement. What kind of reward do you want?"
Upon hearing that there was a reward, Li Yuechen subconsciously wanted a golden medal of immunity.
This way, if you accidentally die in the future, you can still survive.
But then he immediately remembered the principle he had set for himself that he must never take advantage of others, and stopped himself.
After rolling her big cute eyes, Li Yuechen looked up with some uncertainty and asked, "What kind of reward is acceptable?"
Li Zhi waved his hand arrogantly and replied domineeringly: "Any reward is fine!"
"Today is the Lantern Festival, so please take us to the city tower tonight to enjoy the lanterns." Li Yuechen smiled, "Two adults, four brothers, and two sisters, let's enjoy the lanterns together as a family."
While saying this, I also quietly apologized to the two sisters in my heart: I'm sorry, two sisters! I didn't mean to use you, I just wanted to maintain my image!
Li Yuechen knew very well that Li Zhi's attitude towards his illegitimate son was just like a gift for topping up your phone bill, very cold.
In fact, the two sisters were not very willing to face him, as they always felt awkward and uncomfortable.
But there is no way. Li Yuechen's goal is to maintain her kind, benevolent and filial personality, and to awaken the emperor's feelings for family affection to the greatest extent, also for her own sake.
Li Yuechen, who came from a civilized society, could not accept the sight of blood relatives killing each other.
It has to be admitted that emperors who have emerged from bloody storms are generally very capable and are more likely to create a prosperous era.
For example, Comrade Taizong Li Er, as well as Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty and Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty, who are still vaguely remembered in our minds.
But the cost of cultivating a capable emperor in this way is too high.
Although she has memories of her previous life, she is still related by blood to her brothers and two sisters here. If possible, she does not want to experience the same thing in the future.
Although Li Zhi was not surprised by her request, he was still a little surprised: "That's all?"
"Yeah!" Li Yuechen nodded, "That's all!"
"Okay! That's right!" Li Zhi nodded domineeringly and agreed directly.
Li Yuechen nodded and started playing with him.
That's good. As for the golden medal of immunity, we'll talk about it later!
…
After the sun set in the evening, Chang'an City began to become lively, contrary to its usual behavior.
Large numbers of people were walking between the various markets, talking to each other about the paper lanterns of various shapes.
During this period, the Lantern Festival had not yet become popular, with people pasting poems or riddles on lanterns.
Most people just wander around the different markets, looking at different lanterns, buying some snacks and so on.
Many Hu people wore various masks on their faces and wore exaggerated and strange clothes. They jumped around in the streets like they were performing rituals of exorcism.
Those who have a little money usually go to Pingkangfang to ask a beautiful woman to go for a walk, drink some wine, etc.
As for whether to do any other additional activities afterwards, it depends on the situation.
Many students sat at the edge of the tavern, drinking and reciting poems.
There are many such groups, and basically the second floors of many taverns have been booked by groups of all sizes.
This kind of group is not just for men. There are even many women who have formed poetry-like clubs, and they will come out and find a place to play together at times like this.
Normally, Chang'an City is relatively quiet after nightfall, but today it is obviously much more noisy.
When Li Zhi came to the top of the imperial city tower with his wife and children, he heard noisy sounds coming from below.
In the streets near the imperial city, there were sounds of hawking, laughter, and cheers all mixed together.
Although I couldn't hear the specific sounds clearly, I could sense a sense of relaxation from the atmosphere.
Among all the children, only Li Yuechen was held in Li Zhi's arms, so that even with her short stature she could see the bright Chang'an City tonight.
Chang'an illuminated by countless candlelight was reflected in Li Yuechen's dark eyes, and she seemed a little surprised.
Everyone talks about the prosperous Tang Dynasty, but before we really came to this era, everything was just imagination.
Now that I have seen it with my own eyes, I cannot help but admire the mentality and wisdom of the ancients.
Even though the Chang'an City before him now was far inferior to the ostentatious Tang Dynasty Lighting City more than a thousand years later, the special atmosphere of fireworks during this period made Li Yuechen couldn't help laughing.
This is a kind of admiration and pride that comes from the heart, and it is also the first time that I feel that coming to this era may not be a bad thing.
…
Li Zhi took his family to the city wall to watch the Lantern Festival without issuing any prior notice or making a big fuss.
So it didn't cause any sensation. Basically, people just took a slow walk on the city wall and felt the lively atmosphere of the fireworks below.
The Qianniu Guards surrounding the area were paying close attention to the surrounding environment, as if they were afraid that an arrow would suddenly be shot out from somewhere.
Although it was late at night, the city of Chang'an seemed to be getting more and more lively, with even many people beating drums and gongs.
Many men and women danced in the street to the rhythm of the drums. Although their movements seemed to be improvised, the smiles on their faces reflected their mood.
Li Yuechen, who was held by Li Zhi, suddenly laughed when she saw this scene. In this era, the distance between strangers seemed much closer than in the future.
Suddenly, a slowly falling white snowflake seemed to appear in my sight.
Li Yuechen was slightly stunned, then raised his head and looked at the night sky: "It seems to be snowing."
The others looked up and saw white snowflakes gradually falling from the dark night sky.
People in Chang'an City also noticed that a woman who looked to be in her twenties raised her hand and caught a snowflake.
I watched it melt in the palm of my hand, then looked up and saw snowflakes falling from the sky.
Then louder cheers rang out, and the people dancing on the street seemed to be more motivated, and their movements became noticeably faster.
The young men and women in the tavern had smiles on their faces and randomly recommended poems with snow as the theme to start a new round of poetry writing.
Li Zhi opened his mink coat and wrapped Li Yuechen in it: "Chen'er, do you feel cold?"
"It's not cold!" Li Yuechen shook his head and replied, "You two adults should be more careful."
Wu Zetian, who was behind him, smiled and said, "Don't worry about me. Just take care of each other!"
Emma, why are you so jealous? Are you jealous of your own daughter?
Li Yuechen turned his head and looked over, only to see that his mother had tilted her head slightly to look at the scene inside Chang'an City, but her cheeks were slightly bulging.
Li Zhi, on the other hand, turned around with a smile that he could barely hold back, and pulled open the other side of his cloak: "Mei Niang, how about you join me?"
Wu Zetian glanced over here, but quickly turned her head back and stood still.
Li Zhi turned his head, raised his eyebrows at the daughter in his arms, then walked to his wife, opened the wide cloak with his right hand and put it on her shoulders, wrapping her up.
At the same time, he put his right hand on her shoulder, hugged her and continued walking forward.
Wu Zetian rolled her eyes at him and said nothing, but continued walking forward following his steps.
Li Yuechen couldn't hold back any more after seeing this scene. She buried her face in Li Zhi's shoulder and laughed silently, her shoulders shaking.
Li Zhi walked forward on the city wall, holding his daughter in his left hand and his wife in his right hand.
The Qianniu Guards nearby all turned their heads away and took two steps back subconsciously.
The four brothers and two sisters following behind looked at each other, feeling a little surprised.
Only the eldest brother Li Hong had a complicated expression. He felt in his heart that if this scene was seen by those old men in the Censorate, he would definitely be scolded.
Seeing her daughter burying her face in Li Zhi's shoulder, Wu Zetian herself was shaking, and she asked, "Chen'er, why are you laughing?"
"Hey... the child is not laughing!" Li Yuechen quickly raised his head, held back his smile, and acted serious.
Wu Zetian didn't seem to want to let this daughter who made fun of her off easily: "Oh? Then why did you act like this?"
"This... This is because I saw the snow... and my heart... had many feelings..." Li Yuechen stammered and began to make excuses.
Although he knew that Wu Zetian might not mind him making fun of her, it was still a very serious issue in terms of etiquette.
Wu Zetian raised her eyebrows and said, "In that case, how about I write a poem to express my feelings?"
"I……"
Li Yuechen felt a little embarrassed. Although he had read books like the Book of Songs, he really couldn't finish reading that stuff.
Writing poetry is really not something he is suited to.
She could see that Wu Zetian didn't have any intention to do anything, she was just in a bad mood and wanted to make trouble for her.
Anyway, I can beat the kids on a rainy day since I have nothing to do.
But Li Yuechen didn't want to admit defeat just like that, and there was a look of determination in his eyes!
Wu Zetian looked relaxed. What kind of poetry can a four or five-year-old child like you write? Do you really think everyone is a child prodigy like Wang Bo or Luo Binwang?
Li Yuechen raised his head and thought for a while, then chanted in a cute little voice: "One piece, two pieces, three pieces, four pieces, five pieces, six pieces, seven pieces, eight pieces, nine pieces, ten pieces, eleven pieces..."
As soon as these three sentences came out, Li Zhi grinned and Wu Zetian raised her eyebrows, looking as if she had expected it.
The eldest brother Li Hong at the back raised his hands to cover his face, and it was unclear whether he wanted to cry or laugh.
“No one can be seen after flying into the imperial city.” Li Yuechen said the last sentence.
