Song Yuanhuanzhi

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, officials from the Hall of Supreme Harmony held a banquet for civil and military officials to collectively pay New Year's greetings to the emperor in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the most majestic palace in the Forbidden City.

Before dawn, the princes and officials will gather outside the Meridian Gate.

At Mao hour, under the guidance of officials from the Ministry of Rites, the ministers entered the palace gate. Outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, they stood in eighteen rows in the east and west according to their rank.

The emperor came to the throne of the Hall of Supreme Harmony amidst the sound of Zhonghe Shao music.

After the announcer finished the brief congratulatory speech, the princes and officials bowed three times and kowtowed nine times to the emperor.

The envoys who were invited to come here also had to kneel three times and kowtow nine times. After the kowtow, the emperor gave him tea.After the ministers drink tea, bow down again, and then retreat in order, the congratulatory etiquette is considered to be over.

After the congratulatory ceremony, the emperor will hold a large banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony to celebrate the New Year with the princes and officials. This is called the Banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The banquet was organized in person by the officials of Guanglu Temple together with the ministers of bodyguards and officials from relevant departments. The ceremony was grand and the scale was very large.

If you want to ask how big the scale of the banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony is?
That is, there are 210 tables for banquets of officials inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony and on the steps of Danbi outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

This banquet requires one hundred sheep and one hundred jars of wine.

Those eligible to participate in the banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony include internal and external princes and civil and military ministers of second rank or above.

The ministers all wear court clothes and stand in line according to their official rank.

When the auspicious time comes, the bells and drums on the Meridian Gate will ring together, and the royal band will play Zhonghe Shao music.

After Zhou Jing took his seat amid the music, the ministers kowtowed, and then came a very complicated ceremony of tea, wine, and meals.

Zhou Jing and his officials ate and drank while enjoying the dances such as "Xiqi Dance" and "Qinglong Dance", as well as music such as "Zhonghe Shaoyue" and "Danbi Dale". , the ministers knelt down and kowtowed three times, the emperor got up and returned to the palace, and the ministers exited one by one.

Fengyi Palace

Xiaoyao supervises the palace people to place auspicious fruit plates.

There are usually five green apples, red dates, chestnuts, and Mopan persimmons placed in the auspicious plate, which means "Qingping Wufu, early childbirth, and good luck in everything".

In addition to fruit plates, there are also midnight snack boxes.

The snack box refers to the candies, honey and other sweets that the concubine likes to eat, mostly dairy products, dried and fresh fruit preserves, etc.

The boxes containing midnight snack fruits are exquisite lacquer boxes, or wooden boxes, or two- and three-layer boxes, or round and square boxes. The surface of the box is inlaid with pearls and gems with various patterns of flowers, plants, landscapes, birds and animals.

In the previous dynasty, after the auspicious plates and midnight snack boxes were made, Emperor Tianyou had to personally inspect and evaluate them, and the best ones would receive rewards.

It is said that when Emperor Tianyou was in power, he was very concerned about the placement of midnight snack fruit boxes.

On December 14, the 23th year of Tianyou's reign, seven days before the Chinese New Year, Emperor Tianyou inquired about the arrangement of fruit tables in Yangxin Palace and Chonghua Palace, and passed an edict through his personal eunuch: "The waiter will serve the fruit boxes for midnight snacks."

After the decree came down, the kitchen staff of the imperial tea room immediately took action, placing candies, preserves, fresh fruits, etc. in the palace where the concubines lived, putting together New Year tables, and setting up fruit boxes for midnight snacks.

In the Yangxin Hall where Emperor Tianyou lived and the Chonghua Palace where the Empress Dowager was served, 52 flower and bird patterns of different shapes were placed with 52 kinds of candies and 26 kinds of preserves, each with an auspicious name.

Emperor Tianyou was not very satisfied after seeing it, and issued a decree on the 27th: "The jewelry boxes placed in Yangxin Palace are not as good as those in Chonghua Palace" and requested that "the jewelry boxes in Yangxin Palace should be removed and displayed in the same way as in Chonghua Palace."After that, the Imperial Tea House repeatedly used a variety of candied foods to display patterns such as "Five Blessings and Longevity", "Three Friends in the Cold Years", and "Abundance in Auspicious Celebrations". They were placed in wooden boxes and placed in the Yangxin Hall until Until God Bless the Emperor is satisfied.

Although Zhou Jing still values ​​​​him, he obviously will not go into battle personally like his father, so since he ascended the throne, this job does not belong to him, but to the queen.

Qi Yuansang didn't care about this kind of thing. After entering the palace, it was the little medicine supervisor who got started with it.Today is Zhou Chen's birthday. It's rare that he doesn't have to do homework. Qi Yuansang plays with him.

Zhou Chen suddenly asked: "Queen Mother, will Father come again today?"

Qi Yuansang paused.

Today's day is special, even if Zhou Jing is not for them, he will also make the envoys believe that the empress will come with deep love, and he always seizes the opportunity.

I don't know whether this is a compliment or a derogation.

Qi Yuansang hugged Zhou Chen and said, "Father, my father still has to banquet the ministers at the Hall of Supreme Harmony. It will be a little late. Are we, Chen'er, hungry?"

Zhou Chen, who was dressed cutely in Yuxue, hid the disappointment in his heart and tried not to let his mother see it. He held Qi Yuansang's finger and said with a childish voice: "Chen'er is not hungry... Chen'er has a mother and a grandmother. Grandma is also very happy."

Qi Yuansang rubbed Zhou Chen's head, and the melon seeds were pressed into the collar of his little head, which looked fleshy.

He is a little kid, but he has learned to comfort others.

I don’t know where I learned it from.

After Xiaoyao had prepared the rewards, Zhou Jing also came.

Zhou Jing hugged Zhou Chen up as before and said fondly to Zhou Chen: "Chen'er has grown up a lot. Have you made any progress in your homework?"

Zhou Chen couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, and he said happily: "Yes, Mr. Lan said that Chen'er is making rapid progress."

After Zhou Jing praised a few more words, he met Qi Yuansang's eyes.

The atmosphere between the two was somewhat estranged, as if there was a vacuum zone in the middle. Looking at the distance, if you wanted to cross it, you would have to pay the price with your life.

In fact, they didn't just like this overnight, but as the days went by, there were more and more women in the palace. In order to balance the power, Zhou Jing was even exposed to rain and dew. When he returned to this palace, it was quieter every time. , becoming more silent each time.

Zhou Jing manages a lot of affairs every day, and the affairs of the world and the affairs of the court are his focus.

The harem was supposed to be a place for him to relax and vent, so if he was asked to give him extra effort, what else would he be like as an emperor?
One has the dignity of an emperor, and the other cannot bear the other's cruelty and sharing with others, which is where he is now.

Xiaoyao was watching anxiously, the atmosphere was so tense that she sweated.

Xiao Yao glared at Eunuch Li who was pretending to be a wooden stake. Eunuch Li felt Xiao Yao's gaze. However, in this situation, he could only stare at the top of his shoes, unable to do anything.

In the end, it was Zhou Jing who spoke first: "How is today's play?"

Qi Yuansang raised a professional smile and said: "It's almost the same as in previous years. It's nothing more than "Five Happy People", "Three Yuans Entering the King's Palace", "Sweeping Flowers" and so on."

Zhou Jing pondered for a moment and said, "If it feels old-fashioned, just ask the troupe to arrange something new, or just change the troupe."

Qi Yuansang smiled and agreed, but he was speechless in his heart.

No matter how good the troupe is in singing outside, they will all be assimilated when they enter the palace.

In this place, besides those few things, what else can be sung?
No matter how innovative you are, you can't sacrifice your life. If you are not careful, you will lose your head. There must be no problem if you sing this old style.