Chapter 363 Farewell (Third update)(1/2)
There was a warning sound coming from outside.
Someone came from Qianqing Palace.
It was none other than Wei Zhu, who came to enjoy the first-class pot and auspicious plate.
Yipin hotpot is Feilong soup pot.
The steaming hot food comes from the royal meal.
In the auspicious plate are five green apples, red dates, chestnuts, and Mopan persimmons, which means "the five blessings of peace and prosperity, the establishment of children early, and everything goes well".
Wei Zhu entered the house, a little surprised.
The main room was empty, there was no dining table, but the smell of food had not dissipated from the room.
Wei Zhu knew that it was too late to enjoy the vegetables, so he just didn't know and said: "I guess the emperor and the ladies went to Ningshou Palace to 'farewell' at the second watch..."
Shu Shu understood that this was a reminder to them.
Ninth Prince is an adult prince, and except for his biological mother, all the concubines must avoid him according to the rules.
Otherwise, it would be a collision and breaking the rules.
They need to go to Ningshou Palace before the emperor's concubine bids farewell to the new year.
Brother Jiu smiled and patted Wei Zhu on the shoulder, accepting his favor. He remembered something and said, "When will the firecrackers in Qianqing Palace start?"
Because of the fire prevention in the palace, firecrackers are not allowed to be set off on weekdays.
Except during the Chinese New Year period, from the 17th day of the twelfth lunar month to the 20th day of the first lunar month, firecrackers are allowed to be set off in the palace.
However, there are various rules and regulations.
Wei Zhu bowed and said: "As usual, it will start at the second quarter of the first lunar month and end at the second quarter of the first lunar month. Only the firecrackers will be set off. The fireworks will be set off at the same time as the Lantern Festival..."
Brother Jiu nodded and looked down at his body. He didn't have a purse today.
Shu Shu had already signaled to Walnut to take out the purse and stuff it into Brother Nine.
Brother Jiu felt a heavy pressure on his hand and squeezed it, and he had an idea in his mind. There were two gold Ruyi coins inside, which were the new year's gifts from outsiders.
Different from those gold ingots that only cost a few coins or one tael, this pair of gold ruyi adds up to four taels.
This is no ordinary reward.
But thinking about the Chinese New Year, Brother Ninth didn't feel bad anymore, so he happily threw it into Wei Zhu's arms and said: "I have received a lot of filial piety this year, and this is for you! I also left two boxes of small fireworks in front of me. It’s no longer needed now. If you have time, you can take it and put it away..."
No matter how steady Wei Zhu was, he was only fourteen years old. He was happy to receive the reward. He was even more happy when he heard that the cannons were going to be set off. He said: "I will take over the shift at that time. If Master Jiu doesn't mind making a fuss, I will take the two of them and let them go at the gate of the garden..." …”
The corridor on my brother's side leads to the entrance of the Royal Garden.
Brother Jiu nodded. In that case, he could bring Shu Shu with him to watch.
Although you can’t set off fireworks by yourself, you can still enjoy the entertainment.
As soon as Wei Zhu left, Ningshou Palace rewarded him.
A jewelry box.
It is a three-layered log box with pearls and gems inlaid on the outside. It looks very gorgeous.
This one is called a jewelry box, but it's actually a supper box, used to watch the New Year's Eve.
The first layer is sugar, pine nut candy, halva, Babao candy, walnut dip, etc.
The second floor is filled with various milk snacks, including milk cakes, milk beans, milk rolls, milk bars, etc.
The third layer is candied dried fruits, pine nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, raisins, persimmons, candied dates, etc.
Shu Shu and Jiu A Ge did not delay. They first sent He Yuzhu to several elder brothers to urge them, and then the two of them got dressed.
Everyone is going to Ningshou Palace to "say goodbye".
As for Concubine Yi, these two days are a reunion banquet in the palace. The concubine is accompanying the emperor and she has no time to deal with her son and daughter-in-law.
The couple can go there and kowtow on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year.
When He Yuzhu came back, he found that several elder brothers were ready and had come out. The couple also came out of the second house.
The entire corridor of my elder brother's house is brightly lit.
Tonight, the palace lanterns hung everywhere will stay up all night, and they will be hung more densely than usual.
Shu Shu looked back at the door of the second house.
The door god is painted in color on a white background, and the couplets are written in black on a white background.
This is not because of the couple's filial piety period or anything, but because the Manchus favor white and avoid red outside the customs.
It may also be because the palace is all red, and each palace has a red door frame, and the red couplets are not visible, so the customs outside the customs are naturally integrated into the palace, and white couplets are hung.
Everyone was dressed in tight clothes, and the accompanying eunuchs carried lanterns and sneaked all the way to Ningshou Palace.
Ningshou Palace was very lively.
It turned out that a stage was built.
There are young eunuchs from Jiaofangsi performing a monkey show, and the golden monkey is making spring.
This follows the old custom of Jiaofangsi in the Ming Dynasty, and a Jiaofangsi was also set up to present plays during festivals and ceremonies.
However, starting from the Shunzhi Dynasty, women from Jiaofangsi were stopped from entering the palace to play music, and eunuchs were used instead.
The New Year's Eve dinner at the Queen Mother's side is still in progress.
The Queen Mother was accompanied by the concubines and princesses, and there were few people who were interested in watching the play with great interest.
Elderly people don't like to listen to those yey-yah-yah songs with lines, but they like this kind of cheerful ones.
"reward!"
As the old lady applauded, a eunuch put the prepared new money in a tray and scattered it directly on the stand.
There was a "clatter, clatter, clatter" sound as the copper coins fell to the ground, and the little monkeys all bowed to the Queen Mother.
Seeing her grandson and granddaughter-in-law arriving, the Queen Mother smiled and waved to them.
Everyone came forward, and the princesses who were sitting before had already gotten up.
Someone laid out brocade mats and everyone knelt down.
The Queen Mother smiled and shouted, "The New Year's money has been prepared!"
Aunt Bai was beside her, holding a tray with several golden satin purses on it.
One of the pairs in the shape of mandarin ducks belongs to Shu Shu and Jiu A Ge, and the others embroidered with bats belong to several younger brothers.
It's so heavy that you don't even have to think about it to know it's gold.
Brother Fourteen stood nearby with a bat purse hanging on his waist.
It turned out that he had been here a long time ago and had just gone backstage to watch the fun.
At this moment, a eunuch came in from outside to report.
The prince, the prince and his grandson came to "say goodbye".
The Queen Mother quickly called in.
Then, the crown prince and crown princess came in, followed by two nuns, leading the two elder grandsons of the emperor.
Both the prince and the princess wear auspicious clothes.
The emperor's grandson behind him is wearing a sapphire blue gown.
The leader, the younger brother, is already eight or nine years old and is the eldest son of the prince. He is called the "Eldest Brother of Yuqing Palace".
Standing next to him was his half-brother, who looked younger than his fifteenth brother.
When Shu Shu saw the little elder brother, he took a few more glances. He was the eldest son, Sun Hongxi, who would become famous in later generations.
Now she's just a baby.
It is not wrong for him to claim that he is the direct grandson of the emperor. His father was the prince, and his biological mother later became the prince.
According to old Manchu customs, after the death of his brother, he is indeed considered the eldest grandson.
The eldest daughter of the Crown Princess and the third elder brother who was born as a concubine were not brought out probably because of their young age.
Because they had to avoid the palace concubines, the prince's family came and went in a hurry, kowtowed and received the New Year's packages.
Then, there are the purses prepared by the Crown Princess for all the brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.
Shu Shu, the sister-in-law, followed the example of the Crown Princess and also sent a bag of purses.
She also prepared a few more, namely for the four little brothers of Yuqing Palace and Little Gege.
When everyone came out of Ningshou Palace, they heard the sound of firecrackers coming from the direction of Qianqing Palace.
This is the New Year festival when the Holy Spirit travels and when passing through a gate, a firecracker will be set off.
It is equivalent to replacing crackling whips with firecrackers.
Shu Shu and his party didn't delay and went directly back to Brother's place.
To be continued...