A report came from outside.
Someone came from Qianqing Palace.
It was none other than Wei Zhu, who came to enjoy the first-grade pot and auspicious plate.
The first-grade hot pot is Feilong soup pot.
The steaming hot food was given from the royal meal.
In the auspicious plate are five green apples, red dates, chestnuts, and Mopan persimmons, which means "the five blessings of peace, early establishment of children, and everything goes well".
Wei Zhu entered the house, a little surprised.
The main room was empty, there was no dining table, but the smell of food had not dissipated in the room.
Wei Zhu knew that it was too late to enjoy the vegetables, so he just didn't know and said: "I guess the emperor and the ladies went to Ningshou Palace to 'farewell' at the second watch..."
Shu Shu understood that this was a reminder to them.
The Ninth Prince is an adult prince. Except for his biological mother, the concubines must avoid him according to the rules.
Otherwise, it would be a collision and breaking the rules.
They need to go to Ningshou Palace before the emperor's concubine bids farewell to the new year.
Brother Jiu smiled and patted Wei Zhu on the shoulder, accepting his favor. He remembered something and said, "When will the firecrackers in Qianqing Palace start?"
Because of the fire prevention in the palace, firecrackers are not allowed to be set off on weekdays.
Except during the Chinese New Year period, from the 17th day of the twelfth lunar month to the 20th day of the first lunar month, firecrackers are allowed to be set off in the palace.
However, there are various rules and regulations.
Wei Zhu bowed and said: "As usual, it will start at the second quarter of the first lunar month and end at the second quarter of the first lunar month. Only the firecrackers will be set off. The fireworks will be set off at the same time as the Lantern Festival..."
Brother Jiu nodded and looked down at his body. He didn't have a purse today.
Shu Shu had already signaled to Walnut to take out the purse and stuff it into Brother Jiu.
Brother Jiu felt the heavy pressure on his hand, squeezed it, and had an idea in his mind. There were two gold Ruyi coins inside, which were the new year's gifts from outsiders.
Unlike those gold nuggets that cost a few coins or one tael, this pair of gold ruyi added up to four taels.
This is no ordinary reward.
But thinking about the Chinese New Year, Brother Ninth didn't feel bad anymore, so he happily threw it into Wei Zhu's arms and said: "I have received a lot of filial piety this year, and this is for you! I also left two boxes of small fireworks in front of me. It’s no longer needed now. If you have time, you can take it and put it away..."
No matter how steady Wei Zhu was, he was only fourteen years old. He was happy to receive the reward. He was even more happy when he heard that the cannons were going to be set off. He said: "I will take over my shift at that time. If Master Jiu doesn't mind making a fuss, I will take the two of them and let them go at the gate of the garden..." …”
The corridor on my brother's side leads to the entrance of the Royal Garden.
Brother Jiu nodded. In that case, he could take Shu Shu and watch from the side.
Although you can’t set off fireworks by yourself, you can still enjoy the fun.
As soon as Wei Zhu left, Ningshou Palace rewarded him.
A jewelry box.
It is a three-layered log box with pearls and gems inlaid on the outside. It looks very gorgeous.
This one is called a jewelry box, but it’s actually a supper box, used to watch the New Year’s Eve.
The first layer is sugar, such as pine nut candy, halva candy, Babao candy, walnut dip, etc.
The second floor is filled with various milk snacks, including milk cakes, milk beans, milk rolls, milk bars, etc.
The third layer is dried fruit preserves, such as pine nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, raisins, persimmons, candied dates, etc.
Shu Shu and Ninth Brother did not delay. They first sent He Yuzhu to several elder brothers to urge them, and then the two of them got dressed.
Everyone is going to Ningshou Palace to "say goodbye".
As for Concubine Yi, these two days are a reunion banquet in the palace. The concubine is accompanying the emperor and she has no time to deal with her son and daughter-in-law.
The couple can go there and kowtow on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year.
When He Yuzhu came back, he knew that several elder brothers were ready and came out, and the couple also came out of the second house.
The entire corridor of my elder brother's house is brightly lit.
Tonight, the palace lanterns hung everywhere will stay up all night, and they will be hung more densely than usual.
Shu Shu looked back at the door of the second house.
The door god is painted on a white background, and the couplets are written in black on a white background.
This is not because of the couple's filial piety period or anything, but because the Manchus admire white and avoid red outside the customs.
It may also be because the palace is all red, and each palace has a red door frame, and the red couplets are not visible, so the customs outside the customs are naturally integrated into the palace, and the white couplets are hung.
Everyone was dressed tightly, and the accompanying eunuch carried a lantern and sneaked all the way to Ningshou Palace.
Ningshou Palace was very lively.
It turned out that a stage was built.
There are little eunuchs from Jiaofangsi performing a monkey show, and the golden monkey is making spring.
This follows the old custom of Jiaofangsi in the Ming Dynasty, and a Jiaofangsi was also set up to present plays during festivals and ceremonies.
It was only from the Shunzhi Dynasty that women from Jiaofangsi were stopped from entering the palace to play music, and eunuchs were used instead.
The New Year's Eve dinner at the Queen Mother's side is still in progress.
The Queen Mother was accompanied by the concubines and princesses, and there were few people who were interested in watching the show with great interest.
Elderly people don't like to listen to those songs with lines, but they like this kind of songs that look cheerful.
"reward!"
As the old lady applauded, a eunuch put the prepared new money in a tray and scattered it directly on the stand.
There was a "clatter, clatter, clatter" sound as the coins fell to the ground, and the little monkeys all bowed to the Queen Mother.
Seeing her grandson and granddaughter-in-law arriving, the Queen Mother smiled and waved to them.
Everyone came forward, and the princesses who were sitting before had already gotten up.
Someone laid out brocade mats and everyone knelt down.
The Queen Mother shouted with a smile, "The New Year's money has been prepared!"
Aunt Bai was beside her, holding a tray with several golden satin purses on it.
One of the pairs in the shape of mandarin ducks belongs to Shu Shu and Jiu A Ge, and the others embroidered with bats belong to several younger brothers.
It's so heavy that you can tell it's gold without even thinking about it.
Brother Fourteen stood nearby with a bat purse hanging on his waist.
It turned out that he had been here a long time ago and had just gone backstage to watch the fun.
At this moment, a eunuch came in to report.
The prince and his wife brought their grandson to "say goodbye".
The Queen Mother quickly called in.
Then, the crown prince and crown princess came in, followed by two nuns, leading the two older royal grandchildren.
Both the prince and the princess wear auspicious clothes.
The emperor's grandson behind him was wearing a sapphire blue gown.
The leader, the younger brother, is eight or nine years old and is the eldest son of the prince. He is called the "Eldest Brother of Yuqing Palace".
Standing next to him was his half-brother, who looked younger than his fifteenth brother.
When Shu Shu saw the little brother, he took a few more glances. He was the eldest son, Sun Hongxi, who would become famous in later generations.
Now she's just a baby.
It is not wrong for him to claim that he is the direct grandson of the emperor. His father was the prince, and his biological mother later became the prince.
According to old Manchu customs, after the death of his brother, he is indeed considered the eldest grandson.
The eldest daughter of the Crown Princess and the third elder brother who was born as a concubine were not brought out probably because of their young age.
Because they had to avoid the palace concubines, the prince's family came and went in a hurry, kowtowing and receiving the New Year's packages.
Then, there are the purses prepared by the Crown Princess for all the brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.
Shu Shu, the sister-in-law, followed the example of the Crown Princess and also sent out a bag of purses.
She also prepared a few more, just for the four little brothers and little princesses of Yuqing Palace.
When everyone came out of Ningshou Palace, they heard the sound of firecrackers coming from the direction of Qianqing Palace.
This is the time when the Holy Spirit travels during the New Year Festival. When passing through a gate, a firecracker will be set off.
It is equivalent to replacing crackling whips with firecrackers.
Shu Shu and his party didn't delay and went directly back to Brother's place.
Everyone was going back to their respective places to watch the New Year. Brother Jiu reminded his younger brothers: "I have two baskets of fireworks at the front. Wei Zhu will come over to set off the fireworks later. Remember to come out after you have finished your dumplings..."
The tenth elder brother and the thirteenth elder brother were both interested after hearing this.
The twelfth elder brother also nodded in agreement.
The couple returned to the second house and went outside to put on clothes. The sound of the second watch drum sounded outside.
Tonight I will keep the New Year's Eve.
In the middle of the night, they also eat vegetarian dumplings stuffed with longevity vegetables.
On the Kang table in the east room, there are two auspicious plates and midnight snack boxes.
One was given by Qianqing Palace and Ningshou Palace, and the other was prepared by the two palaces themselves.
The couple sat opposite each other, both a little bored.
Brother Jiu pinched his fingers and said: "There is still an hour and a half before we can eat dumplings and watch the fireworks, and then we have to stay up until dawn..."
Since it is to watch the New Year's Eve, it is natural that the watch will not be completed until the fifth watch.
The next day there were congratulations on Zhengdan, and then he followed the emperor to kowtow at Ningshou Palace. At noon, there was a clan banquet at Qianqing Palace.
Brother Ninth had to follow him, and he had to take time to come back and take Shu Shu to kowtow at Yikun Palace.
Shu Shu here only needs to go to Yikun Palace, and then everything will be fine.
Xiao Chun came in. It was Eunuch Cui who brought He Yuzhu and the others to "say goodbye" to their masters.
Brother Jiu nodded and called.
Manager Cui was about to kowtow when he came in. Brother Jiu immediately asked He Yuzhu to help him and said, "Shuda, please don't move your arms and legs. Let that boy Cui Baisui kowtow instead!"
Shu Shu had previously told Li Yin to fill in a few eunuchs, and finally settled on two.
One of them is Cui Eunuch's fellow villager and a junior with the same surname, Cui Baisui.
He is similar in age to He Yuzhu and others, looks honest and dull, and is now in charge of the entrance guard of the second house.
Although he didn't recognize him as a godfather or master, Cui Baisui treated Cui Eunuch with great respect.
When Brother Ninth saw it, he was also happy to see it happen.
Manager Cui didn't insist, so Cui Baisui saluted the masters on his behalf.
In addition to Cui Baisui, there was also a eunuch transferred from the imperial dining room. He was Sun Jin's companion who entered the palace in the same year. His name was Zhou Song. He looked chubby and had a good temper.
Brother Jiu thought their names were good, so he didn't change them and let them use their original names.
Shu Shu has never been stingy with money, especially with his subordinates.
However, this year the Second Institute has established a new reward system, so it is difficult to make an exception.
Therefore, the rewards of several eunuchs were divided into three levels.
The first class is He Yuzhu and Sun Jin. They go out with their master and work hard. Their annual reward is double, four purses per person.
Manager Cui and Li Yin should have received double rewards for their merits in looking after the house. However, due to the lax rules and mistakes, the annual reward was reduced to a single share, two purses per person.
Cui Baisui and Zhou Song arrived for the first time, and they had no merit. They only had half of the annual reward, and each of them had a purse.
Shu Shu had spoken before and changed the previous reward rules, so he didn't bother to explain anything today.
But before everyone left, they gave the auspicious box on the table to Manager Cui.
As early as New Year's Eve, when preparing clothes for Nanny Qi, Shu Shu also asked someone to prepare a portion for Manager Cui.
So far, the master and servant have a tacit understanding, and they are not worried that he will be dissatisfied with the reward being halved.
Manager Cui, the big boss, implemented the new rules, and the younger ones also followed suit.
When the eunuchs went down, Nanny Qi came with eight girls.
Following the example of Manager Cui, Shu Shu did not ask Aunt Qi to kneel down and asked Xiaotang to take her place.
Then, Walnut, Xiaoyu, Xiaotang, and Xiaosong are all four purses.
Aunt Qi and Xiaochun, peanut, longan and hazelnut are two.
After everyone went down, Xiaochun and Walnut wanted to stay and serve tea.
Shu Shu pointed to the snack boxes prepared on the Kang table and said: "You don't need to guard it, just go and stay with grandma..."
*
There was a bug in the previous chapter. The first day of the lunar month was the clan banquet at Qianqing Palace, and the second lunar month was the courtiers’ banquet. This has been corrected.
Starting tomorrow, the first call will be changed to 9 a.m.
The next chapter will be updated at 9 a.m. on September 14th. This book is the first release of Qidian. Everyone is welcome to Qidian app.
