PDLP Chapter 377 New Year
Chapter 377 New Year
Early in the morning on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Yongzheng led his clan members and high-ranking officials to the hall east of Yuhe Bridge to perform a ceremony offering sacrifices to heaven, expressing his commitment to remembering the hardships his ancestors endured in establishing their country and the hard-earned success of their empire. The ceremony included a shaman offering wine, prayers with a sacred sword, chanting of sacred songs, and a profound kneeling ceremony.
After the ceremony, we returned to the Forbidden City.
In Yonghe Palace.
An Lingrong felt that she had just fallen asleep when she heard faint rustling noises around her. She struggled to open her heavy eyelids. The room was still shrouded in a layer of faint darkness. In the faint light, she saw that Shen Meizhuang had gotten up and was standing by the bed, being helped by Caiyue to change clothes.
She subconsciously reached out and groped around the pillow, and finally touched the small pocket watch. She squinted and took a look, and the hour hand just pointed to a little after three o'clock.
"Sister, why are you up so early!" Her voice was filled with sleepiness.
Shen Meizhuang sat in front of the dressing table and said, "Didn't I tell you yesterday? We're going to Kunning Palace today to participate in the sacrificial ceremony. This sacrificial ceremony has many rules and procedures. Huan'er and I have to prepare in advance. We can't afford to be careless."
"It's so early, even the gods haven't woken up yet!" An Lingrong muttered, turned over, pulled the quilt up, and tried to fall asleep again.
Shen Meizhuang couldn't help but laugh when she heard this. She turned her head, looked at An Lingrong's lazy look, and said gently, "Okay, you can sleep for another hour. Today's harem greetings have been changed to Yongshou Palace. When you wake up, just go there directly. I'll be waiting for you there!"
Before Shen Meizhuang could finish her words, she heard An Lingrong snoring softly. She shook her head helplessly and continued to concentrate on fixing her makeup and clothes.
Kunning Palace is located in the middle of the inner court. It is one of the three palaces at the back and is also known as the "Central Palace".
The ancients believed that the status of the queen was relative to that of the emperor. The emperor was the sky and the queen was the earth. The emperor was "Qian" and the queen was "Kun".
In the "Tao Te Ching", there is a sentence "Heaven is clear because it obtains oneness, and earth is peaceful because it obtains oneness", so the emperor's bedroom is named "Qianqing Palace" and the empress's bedroom is named "Kunning Palace".
During the reign of Emperor Shunzhi, Kunning Palace was renovated in accordance with Manchu customs to serve as a place for worshipping gods, while retaining its function as a residence for the empress. However, due to the large number of sacrificial ceremonies, at the beginning of Emperor Yongzheng's reign, Kunning Palace was used solely for sacrificial ceremonies, with the empress residing in a separate palace.
Before the sacrifice began, the eunuch in charge of incense would burn incense in front of the shrine for morning and evening sacrifices, and lay a felt mat in front of the shrine for the emperor to perform rituals.
Yongzheng stood in the center of the altar. Eunuchs played sanxian and pipa instruments, and clappers were played. The chief priest knelt first, followed by the emperor. The chief priest held the sacred sword, prayed, and chanted divine songs. After the chief priest finished, the emperor rose, and finally the two concubines saluted.
The purpose of worshipping gods in Kunning Palace is to pray for the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty and the well-being of the family in the new year.
After the sacrifice, Yongzheng went to Fengxian Hall to pay homage to his ancestors and the gods. At dawn, the main seat of Taihe Hall accepted the New Year's greetings from the civil and military officials of the outer court. This is called "New Year's Day Grand Celebration".
A yellow table was set up in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, where princes, beile, beizi, ministers, and envoys from foreign vassal states, including Korea, Mongolia, and Annan (present-day Vietnam), were arranged in their respective ranks. Ministers entered the palace through the West Gate, to the right of the Meridian Gate, while foreign vassal states entered through the East Gate, to the left of the Meridian Gate. They performed the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows to Yongzheng according to their rank.
In the harem, since the empress dowager had passed away, the concubines skipped the activity of paying New Year's greetings to the empress dowager and went directly to Yongshou Palace to wait for Yongzheng.
"Juqing, hurry up!" An Lingrong urged as they walked, "It's all your fault for not waking me up earlier."
Ju Qing felt aggrieved: "My Lady, I called you three times. If Sister Su Ye hadn't lifted your quilt, you wouldn't have gotten up!"
An Lingrong was a little embarrassed: "Okay, okay, it's my fault, don't be angry, I'll give you a red envelope when we get back."
Ju Qing smiled brightly: "Thank you, my lady!"
The master and servant walked at a brisk pace. When they arrived at Yongshou Palace, the hall was already full of people drinking tea and eating snacks. The atmosphere was warm and lively.
Seeing her arrive, some bowed and some nodded.
Seeing that Yongzheng had not arrived yet, An Lingrong breathed a sigh of relief. It was a close call. She was finally not late.
As soon as she sat down, Liu Zhu brought her favorite tea and a plate of mung bean cakes.
An Lingrong smiled brightly: "Thank you Liu Zhu."
Liu Zhu covered her mouth and laughed.
While drinking tea, An Lingrong looked up at Zhen Huan and Shen Meiyu and cast a coquettish glance at them.
Zhen Huan acted like a noble concubine and was serious, but her slightly raised lips revealed her good mood.
Shen Meizhuang didn't care that there were so many people present, and she stretched out her finger and pointed at her in the air.
Before he had finished his cup of tea, Su Peisheng's signature voice rang out from outside the palace: "The Emperor has arrived!"
The concubines all stood up and squatted down, with graceful manners, and shouted in unison: "Greetings to the Emperor, long live the Emperor!"
Yongzheng walked in wearing a gorgeous bright yellow dragon robe with a faint smile on his face. He went to the top and personally helped Zhen Huan up, then turned around and said, "Everyone get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Because it was the beginning of a new year, everything was new, and Yongzheng was in a particularly good mood. His eyes lost their usual coldness and majesty, becoming soft and warm. "Today is the first day of the new year. The governors and governors-general of various provinces have presented many rare and interesting things as tribute. They will be distributed later. You can also share in the joy."
Everyone saluted again in unison and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern!"
"Yes!" Yongzheng nodded. "I know you are worried about your families in the palace. I have ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to prepare rewards. Noble Concubine Hui, this matter is handed over to you. Make sure everyone receives grace."
When everyone heard this, they thanked him in unison, but they were not very happy in their hearts. The Imperial Household Department prepared things according to routine, and it was the same every year, with no new ideas.
Shen Meizhuang understood the expressions of the others and bowed slightly, saying, "Your Majesty, the reward from the Imperial Household Department will certainly be excellent. However, I am stupid and I am afraid I don't understand the preferences of your families. Why don't you all go to the Imperial Household Department together to choose? Firstly, this will relieve your pain of missing your families. Secondly, things have been complicated recently, and I also want to take a break!"
As soon as the words fell, there was a slight commotion in the palace, and a hint of anticipation flashed in the eyes of the concubines.
Yongzheng thought for a moment and said, "What Concubine Hui said makes sense. I'll take your advice as it is!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Everyone saluted again, and this time, there was a bit more sincere joy and gratitude in their voices.
Although the rewards from the palace cannot be sold for money, she can personally select some items that her family likes and send them back to let her relatives know that she is doing well in this deep palace. In this way, her family will have fewer worries and live in peace. For them, this is a comfort more precious than gold and silver.
After the greetings, everyone came forward in order of rank, bowed, and said some words of blessing.
When the last concubine finished her ceremony, the first New Year's greetings were considered complete.
Yongzheng also went to the royal temple to burn incense and worship Buddha, praying for peace and prosperity in the new year; he went to the Shouhuang Palace to kowtow, remember his ancestors, and express gratitude for their protection.
After paying their respects, the concubines in the harem can return to their palaces.