Tianliangyuan

Chapter 316 New Year’s Eve

Before the New Year, the palace would hold a grand banquet. Xu Zhaozhao was an unmarried girl in the past, so she could attend or not.

But now she is the Princess of Anle County, and also the wife of the heir of the Duke of Huguo's mansion.

Because the Duchess of the State passed away early, the old lady no longer had the energy to attend banquets in the palace, so Xu Zhaozhao was the only suitable candidate for the Duke of Huguo's mansion.

Despite the seemingly glamorous Duke Huguo Mansion, among all the female members of the family, only the Old Madam and Madam Yu, apart from Xu Zhaozhao, were qualified to attend the banquet at the palace.

As for Lady Kobayashi, her husband held a low-ranking official position, and she did not have any official title. So, although she appeared to be an official's wife, she was not much different from an ordinary commoner.

While others would do anything to attend the palace banquet to broaden their horizons, Xu Zhaozhao was the exact opposite.

What's so good about palace banquets?

The food may not actually be palatable, but the key point is that in this kind of situation, it's not really just about eating.

Fortunately, Xu Zhaozhao's status is not low now, so when she attends the palace banquet, her seat is quite near the front, which is much better than sitting near the palace entrance.

However, Xu Zhaozhao genuinely felt that it would be better to be placed at the back, so that no one could see her and it wouldn't matter whether she ate or spaced out.

The palace banquet was meticulously crafted by those in power into a scene of joy and peace, brimming with a festive atmosphere. Exquisite tableware, gorgeous costumes, and dazzling lights complemented each other, creating a dreamlike aesthetic.

For some naive young men and women, being able to attend a palace banquet was an honor, because it meant they could raise a glass and celebrate with the most noble emperor and empress of the Great Xing Dynasty.

But for someone as insightful as Xu Zhaozhao, who saw through everything, the palace banquet was nothing more than a means for those in power to win over their court officials.

From the perspective of foreign nations, this is both a demonstration and a deterrent!

Therefore, palace banquets are a must.

Not only should it be held, but it should be a grand event, one that people will never forget.

This is very important.

Because many officials may only have one chance to attend a palace banquet in their entire lives, and some ministers may never have such an opportunity in their entire lives.

Therefore, this is of utmost importance to a subject.

Xu Zhaozhao entered the palace dressed as the Crown Prince's wife.

Xu Zhaozhao will undoubtedly have to make a contribution to this year's palace banquet.

However, His Majesty is in a good mood this year, and he has also seen his purse bulging. So, with a wave of his hand, he decided that in addition to the normal supply from the Guanglu Temple, a large quantity of fine wine and tea should be purchased from the Baiguoyuan (Hundred Fruit Garden) for the banquet.

If His Majesty is pleased, the amount of money will naturally be generous.

Moreover, to highlight His Majesty's generosity and benevolence, he will give out even more rewards.

This is true grandeur!

Xu Zhaozhao and Yu entered the palace together, but upon arriving at the palace gate, they had to queue up and enter according to their rank.

In this way, Xu Zhaozhao and Madam Yu were separated.

He soon encountered Wang Ruolan in the palace.

Xu Zhaozhao's second sister-in-law, Princess Anhe, was a legitimate member of the royal family, and her position at the palace banquet should have been closer to the front than Xu Zhaozhao's.

However, in terms of her husband's family status, Princess Anhe was somewhat inferior, so her position was after Zhang, and Zhang was after Xu Zhaozhao.

After Xu Zhaozhao sat down, she still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Before, with her mother protecting her, she didn't have to worry too much.

But now that she is attending the palace banquet on behalf of the Duke of Huguo's mansion, she can no longer be careless and must be careful at all times to avoid giving others a handle to use against her and tarnishing the reputation of the Duke of Huguo's mansion.

Throughout the banquet, laughter and joy filled the air as musicians played melodious tunes and dancers gracefully performed, creating a feast for the eyes and ears for the guests.

The banquet was laden with all sorts of delicacies, their aromas irresistible and mouthwatering.

For Xu Zhaozhao, it seemed like someone would laugh at her if she ate even a couple more bites of each kind of food.

The entire banquet was filled with a warm and harmonious atmosphere, without the dramatic scenes that Xu Zhaozhao had imagined, which was quite nice.

After the palace banquet, each household began preparations for the New Year.

The emperors of the Daxing Dynasty were diligent, so their ministers also worked relatively hard.

On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the various government offices began to seal their seals one after another, and on the 7th day of the first lunar month, officials would gradually return to their offices to carry out their duties.

I've heard that there are local regulations stipulating that officials serving outside the region are not allowed to leave their posts without authorization, regardless of the time of their appointment.

In other words, whether it's the Lunar New Year or your parents' birthday, you have to be on duty.

Unless there is an imperial edict, leaving one's post is considered disobeying the imperial decree and will result in imprisonment!

Everyone else can rest, but the soldiers and officers responsible for guarding the entire capital cannot slack off; in fact, they must be even more vigilant and diligent than usual.

Xie Zheng, as a Lieutenant General, was no exception.

On New Year's Eve, he was still on duty in the palace.

Fortunately, he was on duty during the day, and Cui Shu would take over at night, while Xie Zheng would take over on the night of the first day of the Lunar New Year.

As the last days of winter faded, the streets and alleys of the capital were already stained crimson and vermilion.

Merchants in the West Market filled bamboo sections with saltpeter to make firecrackers, which were piled up like mountains; in the East Market, the aroma of wine wafted from the taverns, and delicious food was constantly being served, attracting foreign merchants to stop and linger.

As the drums sounded on New Year's Eve, thousands of exorcists wearing ferocious masks suddenly surged out of Zhuque Street. Fang Xiangshi, wielding spears and shields, led the twelve divine beasts in a fire-walking dance, while children held bamboo poles and threw burning firecrackers at the paper puppets of demons and monsters.

At dawn, in many courtyards, the white-haired head of the family tapped the pepper plate with a silver spoon, and the whole family took turns sipping the medicinal wine from the lacquered wooden Tusu cups.

The same was true inside the Duke of Huguo's mansion at this time.

The maidservant held up a spring ornament cut from gold foil and carefully pasted it onto the carved window lattice.

As the candlelight flickered during the New Year's Eve vigil, the matriarchs of each household would thread incense sticks into "New Year's money" and place them one by one into the gilded silver pouches of their children and nephews—a unique "cleansing" custom of the people of Daxing.

This was Xu Zhaozhao's first time doing this, but she had seen her mother do it many times before, so it was something she could do with ease.

Seeing Xu Zhaozhao's actions from not far away, Xiaolin felt incredibly envious.

Why should such an important matter be done by a junior?

Unfortunately, the old lady is too old to do such a thing.

Even though the daily household affairs were in Madam Yu's hands, such important matters could only be handled by Xu Zhaozhao, because she was the legitimate young mistress of the Duke's mansion.

At dawn on New Year's Day, the entire capital city awoke to the deep tolling of bells.

Xu Zhaozhao also let out a soft moan from Xie Zheng's arms, trying to turn over, but found that her waist was being held tightly and she couldn't move at all.

"It's time to get up. Today is New Year's Day. We need to pay our respects to the old lady and distribute reward money to the various courtyards."

Xie Zheng didn't even open his eyes, and simply pulled the person closer to his arms, his large hand covering the beautiful woman's delicate body in his arms, creating a scene of spring in the tent.