Chapter 1245 Epilogue 101 The True Ming Dynasty
Chapter 1245 Postscript 101·The Real Ming Dynasty
Lantern Festival, afternoon.
Xie Yan and the princess have packed up, leaving only the last holiday embellishments.
A large bundle of snow plums and snow willows was brought in. They were bought from the market yesterday.
Fake flowers!
Use bamboo strips and iron wire to make the frame, silk to make plum blossoms, and white paper to cut out snowflakes. This kind is called Yuanxiao Xuemei.
Snow willow is similar.
Xie Yan and the princess sat together in front of the dressing table. Qingluan and Zifeng led other maids to arrange flowers and willows for them.
There is a poem that goes: This year's lantern market is well arranged, and the snow, willows, and plum blossoms are cut.
Zhu Tangxi had already put on a bun with a crown and many accessories on it. She looked at the mirror and said: "The shorter one on your left hand."
"This one?" Qingluan picked out a snow plum.
Zhu Tangxi said: "Yes, stick it close to the crown and insert it diagonally."
Qingluan immediately inserted the snow plum into the princess's bun, leaning against the golden crown.
"Put the second branch farther apart, don't bunch it together," Zhu Tangxi continued to direct, "the branch with three plum blossoms."
After a while, Zhu Tangxi was already covered with snowy plums and snowy willows.
Red plums, green willows, and white snow complement each other beautifully.
Qingluan said: "Would you like to insert another swallow?"
Zhu Tangxi said: "The swallow is inserted on the diagonal side, with its mouth next to the willow branch. The swallow holds the willow tree in its mouth."
The swallow is also fake, but quite realistic.
Moreover, the things of princesses and consorts are different from those of servants. Made of gold and silver wire, not ordinary iron wire.
Xie Yan's side was much simpler. He was wearing a hat and only had a snowy plum in his hat.
Zifeng wanted to insert a few more willow sticks, but Xie Yan didn't like the color, especially the color on his head.
"Does it look good?" Zhu Tangxi stood up.
Xie Yan looked fascinated: "Could this be a fairy descending to earth? Dare I ask the fairy, where has my princess sister gone?"
"Only you can say it!" Zhu Tangxi seemed angry and happy at the same time, her heart was as sweet as honey.
A head full of fake flowers, fake willows, and fake swallows really can’t be covered by most people, and it easily looks complicated and cumbersome.
But Zhu Tangxi, dressed like this, has another kind of beauty.
Less dignified and elegant, and more graceful and charming.
After the couple finished cleaning up, Qingluan, Zifeng and other maids also started to dress up one by one, and eventually they all had their heads covered with decorations.
As evening approached, they ate something briefly and then went out to the imperial city.
The princess brought ten guards to separate the people watching the lanterns to prevent the crowd from hitting the fetus.
Xie Yan's five male followers (plus Wang Sheng) were all dispatched to protect him together with the guards.
The princess's maid brought six, and Xie Yan's maid brought three.
Everyone held lanterns and walked along the street instead of taking cars.
It's not dark yet, but the lights are on all over the city.
"Selling snow plums, snow willows, bodhi leaves, moths and bees..."
There are vendors in front carrying burdens, shouting and selling along the street. There are quite a lot of varieties, including fake bees, dragonflies and other insects, as well as fake willow leaves, bodhi leaves and various plants.
Occasionally, passers-by watching the lanterns would stop the vendors and buy a few pieces to stick in their heads.
There is a word that goes: "The flowers are gorgeous, the jade is beautiful, and the clothes are bright. There are moths and small dragonflies clustering around, calling each other to test the lamp."
"Your Highness, Lang Jun, look over there!" Yu Cai suddenly shouted.
But I saw a few libertines with huge butterflies on their heads. They moved in a wide range of motions when walking, and the butterfly wings kept flapping. It can be seen from afar.
They deliberately leaned closer to the young woman and flapped their arms like wings, trying to attract extra attention from the opposite sex.
"Where did the wanderer come from!"
Perhaps because he was getting too close to the woman, the woman's elder was furious and was about to hit her with his old fist.
"Haha, elder, please calm down." The libertines backed away continuously, smiling playfully and not taking it seriously.
Another group of half-grown children came running over, kicking the rolling lantern.
This is a football-shaped lantern, and I don’t know how it was made. Not only could it withstand being kicked, but the lantern rolled on the ground and the candle inside actually never went out.
The princess guard quickly shouted: "Don't rush into the noble!"
The group of half-grown children were startled and quickly walked around while kicking the rolling lantern.
Xie Yan supported the princess and moved forward slowly. Everything he saw was strange.
Last year, the Lantern Festival was celebrated in Huangzhou Fucheng. Although there was a lantern festival there, it was far less lively than in Luoyang, and there were not as many tricks as in Luoyang.
Occasionally, I meet nobles, civil servants, and their families watching the lanterns. Everyone greets each other with smiles on their faces, and there is much less condescension than usual.
"Greetings to Your Highness!"
Wu Lingfeng and her husband also came, along with her father-in-law, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law.
Her brother-in-law Ding Shaoyan was missing, and his wife didn't even accompany him during the Lantern Festival. He probably made an appointment with his bad friend to go somewhere for fun.
The two families congratulated each other, chatted for a few words and then separated.
After wandering around for a while, Xie Yan looked ahead and said with a smile, "Hey, you are very good at playing."
Zhu Tangxi said: "That's called fire bayberry, and only reckless young people wear it."
Instead, he ground all the dried dates and charcoal into powder, then added red pigment, stirred it, and finally kneaded it into a dark red bayberry shape. Then use bamboo and iron wire to make bayberry branches.
This thing is inserted into the head, ignited and then burst into flames.
Among the group of teenagers Xie Yan saw at this moment, some even had flames on their heads, walking on the street with their heads held high. He almost shouted: "Look at me, look at me. Do you think I'm awesome?"
Fire bayberry is actually relatively safe.
Some people also wear oil lamps on their heads, usually in the shape of lotus or peony. You have to be careful when walking with this kind of lamp, otherwise the lamp oil will pour on your head or even ignite your hair.
With the popularization of glass, this oil lamp has an improved version.
People make light bulbs out of glass, add lamp oil and wick to light them. The glass bulbs are fixed with a net and worn on the head as part of the net scarf.
Many women wear glass bulbs!
Just now, an official came to pay a visit with his family, and his wife, daughter, and daughter-in-law all wore glass bulbs. And they were colored glass, only the size of an egg, emitting colorful brilliance.
This is called a lantern ball, which existed in the Northern Song Dynasty.
At that time, glass was not easy to make, and only women from wealthy families could afford it.
Xie Yan was really surprised. Before he went out, he thought that he and the princess were dressed very cool. But when he got to the street, he found that the couple were very conservative.
No mistakes, one post, one content, one book, one bar!
This Luoyang city is full of streets, full of demons and ghosts.
Not only are there all kinds of lanterns, but also strange costumes.
He even saw a man wearing bright women's clothes, with egg-sized lanterns all over his head, like a Bodhisattva that glows automatically at night.
The most nervous may be the officials.
From the Wucheng Bingmasi to the government office and the county office, all officials have been on high alert tonight. Some imperial guards were even dispatched to guard the main roads.
Maintaining public order is only a secondary task.
The primary task is firefighting!
Even the shops along the street were ordered to prepare buckets in advance, and the buckets and basins in the house and the yard were all filled with water.
"Dong Dong Dong Dong..."
The automatic alarm clock in the bell tower sounded a series of bells.
At the same time, the big bell of Tianwang Temple also rang. The sound of this huge bell can be heard throughout Luoyang.
"Bang Bang Bang Bang!"
Inside and outside the city, people began to set off fireworks, and clusters of fireworks appeared in the night sky.
Many fire trees also lit fireworks, which were really fireworks.
In the center of Zhuque Street, a stage had already been set up, and free performances such as opera, magic, and acrobatics began. The money was raised by the shops on both sides of the street, because it could bring huge customer traffic to nearby shops.
Xie Yan helped the princess to the Donghua Gate, and there were crowds of people inside and outside the gate.
Some areas of the imperial city were open to the public, and merchants even set up stalls outside the inner east gate - where Xie Yan stood when he welcomed the bride.
The rent of the Lantern Festival stalls in the imperial city was terrifyingly high!
The Song Dynasty did this in the past, and the emperors and ministers of the Song Dynasty were still very business-minded.
Those outsiders who spent the Lantern Festival in Luoyang ran into the Donghua Gate to watch the excitement and experience the fun of freely entering and leaving the imperial city.
"Make way, make way, don't bump into the nobles!"
The princess's guards worked hard to open the way and force the Donghua Gate through. Xie Yan carefully escorted the princess in.
Soon, the imperial guards came and led them to the horse path of Dongkuo City, climbed the city wall and walked towards the inner east gate.
"Wow, we are on the imperial city wall!" Baochai exclaimed excitedly.
Daiyu was also very excited, but she held back her shouting, for fear of embarrassing her husband.
Xiren followed Daiyu step by step, and her heart was full of pride and pride at this moment. Humph, even Zhao Jingjing is not qualified to climb the imperial city wall!
The three of them were brought by Xie Yan.
Wang Sheng and the other five male followers were in a similar mood, all of them were benefited by the prince consort.
When everyone arrived at the inner east gate tower, the male and female followers and guards were all stopped. Even if they were brought by the princess, they were not allowed to go in.
Only Xie Yan supported the princess and continued to go to the inner city wall.
Led by the imperial guards, they walked all the way to the tower of the main gate of the imperial city, where some top dignitaries had gathered. Outside was Zhuque Street, where many stages were set up for performances, and the dignitaries on the city walls watched with telescopes.
Xie Yan watched for a while, and there was a noise behind him, and many guards and palace servants ran over.
Then the sound of ritual music was loud.
"The emperor ascends the tower! The queen mother ascends the tower!"
With shouts, the little emperor, accompanied by the two queen mothers, took the guards and palace servants to the tower.
"The emperor is coming, the emperor is coming!"
The people below the city shouted and turned to look at the tower.
The little emperor stood at the arrow slit of the parapet and waved to the people outside the city. This was what Taizong liked to do when he was alive, and several emperors followed suit.
"Long live your majesty, long live your majesty, long live your majesty!"
People shouted at the top of their lungs.
But kneeling was not allowed.
Whether to abolish the kneeling ceremony was secondary, mainly because there were too many people tonight, and kneeling could easily lead to a stampede.
"Fire the imperial fireworks!"
With the order of the ceremonial officer, the fireworks on the inner and outer walls of Luoyang were lit and launched one after another.
Keke Kaba and other envoys from the vassal states were also invited to the tower to watch the ceremony tonight.
Keke Kaba was stunned by the fireworks in the night sky and the countless people and lights under the city.
Is this really not the kingdom of God?
Xie Yan also sighed: The Ming Dynasty is so prosperous!