Chapter 66 (1/2)
When he arrived back at his ownall over, breathless and weak, but he hung on griave instructions for Yan Que to be closelydizzily back down onto his bed, apologizing to Physician Yan all the while
Physician Yan coies, his face still dark as he perfor froer, he would stick his needles into places they should not go
After resting like this for three days, Mei Changsu appeared to have recovered a little of his energyPerhaps it was because his subordinates were afraid to disturb hinificance happened during this time, but the capital see an edict fro that the Empress had taken ill, and so would be replaced by Gracious Consort Xu in the year’s end ceremonies
According to rumour, the Emperor had wanted Consort Yue to take the Empress’ place, but Consort Yue had personally written to hi that her rank was low and her titles insufficient, and suggested that, by due of her superiority in both rank and years in the palace, Gracious Consort Xu should take over the ceremony
This letter ritten with reason and passion, as well as an ostentatiously grand reatly impressed, personally bestowed upon her a new pearl hairpin as a rewardWhen the news spread to him, Prince Yu was livid
But despite his anger, these kinds of plays were not uncoreat victory and there was not any substantial loss, and as the end of the year was near, both sides were too busy to continue the fight for now
The Subusily for the new year, but this was not so wasthese kinds of internal affairs, and on Mister shi+san’s end, there was Gong Yu to order several carts of goods for the new year, includingtoys on thefrantically from dawn to dusk
The imperial Mu residence, imperial Yu residence, Yan residence, Xie residence, and the Coifts, and even Prince Jing sent over one of the senior s and several tokens of appreciation
For lanced over the gift list before letting Li Gang deal with theifts in return, and did not seem interested at all in the details
But aifts, Fei Liu’s special favourites were the seven boxes of fireworks sent over by the i child’s arht and colourful displays when set off, and Fei Liu spent at least an hour every night setting them off, so that before new year’s eve had arrived, he had already used the sent someone out to buy more, they discovered that the imperial Mu residence had sent over special imperial fireworks, which could not be found in the markets
And so, to placate Fei Liu, the first letter the barely recovered qilin prodigy wrote when he finally rose fro her to buy ten more boxes of fireworks on his behalf
The day after he sent out the letter, the carriage bearing the fireworks arrived at the back door of the Su su too was pleased
This was because, after he had written to Nihuang, it was really only the imperial Mu residence who sent over fireworks, and neither Prince Yu nor any other residences tried to curry favour by doing the saoverned her household, as evidently, gossip and infore and consent
New Year’s Eve finally arrivedThat long-awaited sacrificial ceremony, which had stirred up sodays, proceeded shtest complication, and aside from the Ereatly from the previous year’s ceremony
After the cerean the process of bestowing the new year’s gifts, as the princes, the imperial household, and the court ate to receive his favourIn accordance with the usual conventions, the Crown Prince would receive the highest level of honour, followed by Prince Yu, and then followed by the other princes, with the re members of the iifts befitting their respecting ranksThis year was no exception, except for the fact that, in addition to receiving the saifted with a silver suit of arood, and this additional honour still did not bring hie, and so this did not end up attracting much attention
The new year’s feast that night was laid out in Xianan Hall, and the Emperor went first to Cian Palace to pay his respects to the Grand E to the hall to celebrate the new year with his concubines, consorts, princes, and iements to send a portion of the dishes to the manors of soift of a dish fron of supreme imperial favour, and only the noblest and wisest of the officials could hope for such an honour
No one could have known that this ‘dish-giving’ ritual would lead to so much trouble
Confetti littered the ground and fireworks lit the sky over the capital city on this new year’s eve, as faht filled everyIt was certainly lively, but the atht of the lantern festival, as this tiathered with his fa firecrackers outside the doors of their homes, there was no one out on the street
The guards in charge of delivering the gifted dishes were dressed in yellow and departed the palace in groups of five, riding through the deserted streets and spreading out as they headed towards their destinations – the reat honour
Besides the guard holding the case of food in the center, the four guards around hiht, coloured lanterns that were specially e red lanterns also lit the sides of the ht of the day, the light of these lanterns still could not illuminate every dark corner, and the tall palace walls cast loo shadows over the paths on which they rode
The danger ca shadoere so quick that even its victims could not see where that fatal flash of a blade had come from, nor where it disappeared to
The bodies fell heavily to the ground, but the horses kept riding forwards, and the blood was left to cool in the cold winter’s night, the weak cries drowned out in the noise of the firecrackers, unheard and unnoticed
The dazzling fireworks spiraled into the skyIt was nearing ht, the point at which the old and new years ht watch slowed their steps and turned their gazes to the blossoht sky, as the racket of firecrackers in the city neared the height of its frenzy
Mei Changsu took hold of a long stick of incense and personally lit the largest firework, which Fei Liu had saved especially for hi deep into the darkness before erupting into glorious colour, lighting up half the sky in its splendour
“Happy new year!Happy new year!”The cries rang out in the Suproduced a horn frouards began beating on drus
“How appropriate, this is indeed the time for horns and drums, if I were to pick up the zither now, it would ruin the at as he returned to his chair on the porch and picked up a few chestnuts, peeling theazed into the sky lit with fireworks
As the athered in the courtyard, and even Aunt Ji ca ladle in her hand, as they all lined up behind Li Gang and took their turns co before their Chief toa red packet in returnMost of theuards and had accompanied him for many years, but there were a feho had been in the capital all along and so had never received anything in person from the Chief himself, and afterwards, they wandered around speechless with excite by their seniors, as everyone gathered around, laughing and joking