readsfreenovel Chapter 486: Longevity Chapter
Chapter 486: Longevity Chapter
On November 20th of the 34th year of Dalin You'an, it was Emperor Lin's 68th birthday.
At this time last year, the war between Lin Kingdom and Shen Kingdom had just ended, and Jindu was hit by a plague, so Emperor Lin himself had no time to think about his birthday.
Since the event had been missed this year, the court discussed that they should at least hold it.
After Zhou Chang returned home from celebrating Feng Suo's birthday that day, he visited Yuan Qi almost every day for half a month.
In name of course he was just there to eat for free, but in reality he was secretly observing whether Yuan Qi had any unusual emotions.
After a few days of observation, everything was back to normal except that Yuan Shiqi felt unwell and depressed after returning from the Yuan family.
Zhou Chang gradually felt relieved.
Perhaps she was too sensitive because she had a guilty conscience, and just as Feng Suo said, no third person heard it at the time.
Today, Zhou Chang brought Yuan Qi to the palace to celebrate the birthday as Prince Yi and Princess Yi.
The two men entered the palace and parted at the corner gate on the east side of the Imperial Garden. Zhou Chang entered the Yongqing Hall next to the outer wall of the Imperial Garden, while Yuan Qi went to the Qiongtai inside the Imperial Garden, which was separated by a wall.
The emperor's birthday banquet was both a state banquet and a family banquet. All the guests invited were royal relatives and court officials. The female family members were hosted in the neighboring Qiongtai, which was originally a place where the emperor and concubines went to cool off in spring and summer. It was smaller than the Yongqing Palace, so it was used to entertain the female family members.
Yongqing Palace and Qiongtai are two palaces close to each other, and Zhou Chang is familiar with them.
Separated by a wall, Yongqing Hall belonged to the former dynasty, while Qiongtai belonged to the inner palace.
Tonight, the Imperial Household ordered a temporary stage to be built between the two pavilions. In this way, through the windows on the second floor, people on both sides can watch opera, acrobatics and other performances at the same time, and appreciate the beautiful scenery of the Imperial Garden.
However, it was already late November, the weather was getting colder, and all the trees were withering.
The charcoal fires in the two towers were burning hot, so they were not afraid of the cold.
The scenery in the Imperial Garden still needs to be arranged by humans.
In preparation for the emperor's birthday banquet, the entire palace was hung with red lanterns, the flowers specially cultivated in the Yongqing Hall were still blooming tenaciously, and the Imperial Garden was decorated with silk and colorful lanterns.
Throughout the day, Emperor Lin first paid homage to the ancestral temple, then watched the blessing performance, and then participated in the military martial arts drills on the Suzaku Gate tower, scattering blessing money and other activities to have fun with the people. When it got dark and the lantern parade began, Emperor Lin led his ministers back to the Yongqing Hall, and the imperial birthday banquet officially began.
Zhou Chang's seat remained the same as at the last New Year's Eve banquet, and Feng Shuo, as usual, did not sit at his own table, but squeezed together with her.
At the head of the group was still Prince Rong Feng Duo. Prince Duan Feng Rui on the opposite side did not attend on the grounds that his health had not yet recovered, and was replaced by Prince Xian Feng Zheng.
"Ding, ding, ding..." The sound of placing orders from the viewpoint system is endless.
Zhou Chang glanced at the jade pot and silver cup in front of him, which were exactly the same as those in the Mingde Hall at last year's New Year's Eve banquet, and secretly made up his mind that he must not miss it this time.
Don’t drink alcohol, and after the birthday party, don’t miss out on taking anything that should be taken away.
For this purpose, she specifically asked Shouhou to find two more large pieces of cloth to prepare for packing.
As soon as the birthday banquet began, Emperor Lin, who was sitting high on the throne, already had a hint of fatigue on his face.
Although the Wanshou Festival is the emperor's birthday, the whole country is celebrating and the emperor becomes the person who is most busy.
From this perspective, the so-called birthday celebration is tantamount to suffering.
The birthday banquet in the imperial garden of the palace was the final ceremony. It began with collective birthday congratulations, then everyone presented birthday gifts, and finally there were singing, dancing and acrobatic performances.
Because Yuan Qi's previous birthday gift to the old princess was a red coral with the word "longevity" on it, the anchor was too high, so the birthday gift to Emperor Lin this time could only be higher and not lower.
Zhou Chang himself was too lazy to think about what Prince Yi had given as a gift in previous years. He just gave whatever was in the warehouse that was presentable.
This year is different from previous years. Countless eyes are staring at Prince Yi.
Fortunately, Yuan’s thighs are thick enough.
Yuan Qi somehow got a "black coral" that was bigger than the longevity red coral, which was also the "sacred tree under the sea" that was said to only appear once every ten thousand years - the sea willow.
Some skilled craftsmen also carved the original shape of the sea willow into a pattern of a dragon flying across the sea, placed it in a large gold-painted wooden box inlaid with gems, and carried it into the palace.
Zhou Chang felt extremely distressed. The golden box that was as tall as a person could be worth a garden, not to mention the things inside which were truly priceless. It would be great if he could exchange it for silver.
What a pity, what a pity...
Zhou Chang pulled his stiff facial muscles, smiled but didn't really smile, stood up and bowed, "I am really ashamed. If you want to praise me, you should praise Princess Yi. She prepared all these things carefully, I can't take all the credit for myself."
"Haha..., it's all the same, all the same..." The Emperor's face was already full of joy.
He loved the part of presenting birthday gifts, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to hold on until now despite being so exhausted.
Not to mention that his eyes widened when he saw the box inlaid with gems, when he saw the things inside, he clapped his hands and got down from the throne to take a closer look.
This could not help but attract the attention of everyone in Yongqing Palace.
Prince Yi also overwhelmed everyone at Emperor Lin's birthday banquet and became a celebrity.
The atmosphere became much more relaxed with the following singing and dancing performance.
The stage was built between the Yongqing Hall and the Qiongtai, and was one floor high. From the second floor of the Yongqing Hall and the Qiongtai, one could see the singing, dancing and acrobatics performances. However, because the distance was too far, the effect on both sides was probably not good.
However, for the palace's music department, this is also the top priority throughout the year, and they are working hard to play and sing. The guests in the palace can also enjoy the fun.
After three rounds of wine, five kinds of dishes, and enjoying singing, dancing and music, Emperor Lin put down his wine glass.
It’s all the same every year, so it’s no longer interesting.
Yuan Chuan, the Imperial Household Minister, stood up and toasted again: "Your Majesty, due to the flood in the south, this year's birthday banquet is a little simple. Please forgive me. Next year will be your seventieth birthday. I, the Imperial Household Minister, will work with the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites to organize a grand birthday banquet for your Majesty."
Emperor Lin is actually sixty-seven this year, and will be sixty-eight next year, making him sixty-nine in age, but he is celebrating his seventieth birthday.
"Yuan Qing is thoughtful." Emperor Lin nodded with satisfaction.
Yuan Chuan, the Imperial Household Official, said, "Your Majesty, considering the military performance outside the Suzaku Gate this year, we should build a Longevity Terrace outside the Suzaku Gate next year. It will be convenient for Your Majesty to receive the congratulations of foreign envoys and the worship of the people of the world on the Longevity Terrace."
"Very good, I will follow Yuan Qing's advice." Emperor Lin would certainly not object.
It is rare for a person to live to be seventy years old. It is also rare for him to be an emperor until he is seventy years old. It is time to celebrate.
"If your Majesty has approved and it will be used at this time next year, then starting tomorrow, the Ministry of Works should start planning for its construction..." Yuan Chuan was interrupted by someone just as he got to the point.
"Your Majesty, building the Wanshou Terrace is a good idea, but the national treasury is empty and it is difficult to allocate this money right now. Now it is the end of the year and we have to wait and see what the situation will be like next year." The person who stood up to speak was the newly appointed Minister of Revenue Song Ming.