Starting from the sacrifice of the stove on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, the palace began to prepare for the festival. The Spring Festival has been a major festival for the Han people since ancient times, and the Ming Dynasty was certainly no exception.
As the prince, Zhu Houzhao was also a status symbol, so the emperor would require him to participate in grand events such as ancestor worship and court gatherings.
There is no need to go into details about the process of participation. This is not a place for modern souls to be clever. The etiquette of these activities has been clearly stipulated since the time of Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Houzhao only needed to follow it.
It's just that the process was very boring, even though it still had the freshness of the first year for him.
But if he keeps doing this, this year will be even more tiring than when he visited eight relatives during the seven-day Spring Festival holiday.
Fortunately, after being exhausted, I finally waited until the eleventh year of Hongzhi.
Zhu Houzhao looked at the fireworks of the Ming Dynasty and thought to himself, I am considered a great person. He went to work five hundred years ago to celebrate the Spring Festival.
Qiuyun knelt down obediently behind him. It was cold in winter, and the tip of her nose and cheeks were all red from the cold. But she was a beauty, and this kind of "white and rosy" could not hide her beauty, and it was so beautiful. This year, one year older, her flower seems to be blooming more beautifully.
"Qiuyun, when you used to celebrate New Year at home, were you as boring as in the palace?"
The little girl stuck out her tongue. She didn't dare to think or say the word boring.
"Your Highness, the New Year's Eve spent as a child was simpler and more ordinary than the one in the palace. What Your Highness has seen is already the most lively New Year's Eve in the world."
"This is not the best in the world..." Zhu Houzhao muttered,
In fact, after coming here for a longer time, he no longer misses home so much. But when it comes to festivals, it is inevitable that you will think about some people and events in your past life.
It's a good thing that he is open-minded, otherwise this longing would be quite torturous.
"Forget it. Let's not talk so much. Let's take a shower and go to bed."
Qiu Yun responded, "The fragrant soup is ready."
People in ancient times didn't bathe much. Fortunately, he was a prince, so he could keep up with the pace of modernization.
But there is one thing...
As the prince, he had to be taken care of when bathing. There was a special agency in the palace responsible for this, called Hun Tang Si. There were actually eunuchs and maids among the people who served.
Zhu Houzhao accepted it relatively calmly. There was nothing shy about it, but he was so coquettish that he looked like an innocent little puppy.
In the past few years in society, people's hearts have been going back and forth in a dangerous place. What does this mean?
And if all the maids were really kicked out, it would be strange. Wouldn't this be causing a lot of trouble for no reason?
Besides, there were many things in ancient times that were difficult to do without the tools at hand. For example, hair was long, there was no hair dryer, and some places were out of reach.
He had to do so many things by himself without having anyone else take care of him, so just taking a shower every day would take him several hours.
Sometimes the eunuchs touching him made him feel strange, so he generally followed the rules of the palace when bathing. But when he was inside, he usually avoided the eunuchs and only let the palace maids rub his back.
In fact, people treat him as a child, so don’t think too much about it.
Of course, I won’t bother others with special parts.
In addition, Zhu Houzhao was not willing to let eunuchs do all kinds of close service such as arranging hair and clothes. As the prince, he can still make this request.
"Your Highness, is it time to get your nails done?"
He didn't like growing his nails yet, so over time, Qiuyun and Dongyu both knew his habits and knew how to serve him.
"Come to the bedside and fix it for me later."
"good."
While drying his body,
The bed over there is also made, and there will be a bed warmer, so it won't be cold at all.
Zhu Houzhao was covered with a quilt, and he was leaning against him in a very comfortable position. There is no need to be afraid of cold feet, because they will be warmed by hugging them.
Usually, after doing this, he will be very relaxed and fall asleep easily.
But today is special, and Zhu Houzhao is not so sleepy.
"Qiu Yun, the person who said he sent a letter to your brother earlier has been found?"
Qiuyun sat on her knees, with the prince's feet on her legs. She didn't think it was tiring to serve like this. Firstly, she was used to it after so many times, and secondly...it was such a cold day here. It's very warm, what kind of hard work is this?
Those poor people who don’t have enough to eat or clothes to wear are called hard work.
"...It should be possible to find it, but I haven't received a reply yet."
Zhu Houzhao could tell, "Are you worried about him? I remember you said that he is a book boy, so nothing will happen to him, right?"
Qiuyun's lips are very thin, and they look pretty when they are pursed. "My little brother has not been a worry-free person since he was a child. I'm afraid that he will fight with others."
"This is what everyone thinks about being a sister. However, it is normal for a little boy to have a few fights with others. Which man has not thought about fists and strength... a fierce warrior and an iron horse can swallow thousands of miles like a tiger."
"His Royal Highness is the prince, and it is right for him to think about these things. But how dare my younger brother think about those things? I just want him to be safe."
"Boys, anyone would think about that."
Like...
The same thing is happening in the palace now,
"My father made you study the saint's books hard, what about you? What do you do every day? Today you talk about the art of war! Tomorrow you talk about battle formations! Let's see if your studies have improved at all?!"
Wang Shouren's courtesy name was Bo'an and his nickname was Yangming. This name shines brightly in history, and there is no need to waste any time introducing his story.
Let's just say that now, in the eleventh year of Hongzhi, he is twenty-six years old, and his status is still a civil servant. He was elected in the fifth year of Hongzhi.
Although it is difficult to become a Jinshi, it is not difficult if his talents and family knowledge are just to get on the imperial list. But this boy is very good at talking about military affairs and has practiced archery well. He is considered a strange person these days.
What happened today was because Wang Shouren began to make suggestions for General Wang Yue again.
Since the imperial court has this appointment, there must be a war in the northwest.
Just like the 'military experts' who guarded the live broadcast of the battlefield in later generations, these young people could not suppress their restless hearts. They thought about such passionate things as the Ming army's victory all day long.
"What my father taught me was, but my father often taught his children to read the books of saints and sages, to have the world in mind, to care about the country and the people, and to serve the country. Nowadays, there are wars all over the northwest border... The child and one or two friends discuss all day long, thinking about If I have the opportunity, I can offer advice to General Wang Yue." Wang Shouren knelt in front of his father, feeling full of grievance.
In fact, he admired Wang Yue very much. Unfortunately, when he became a Jinshi and became an official, the first job he did was to bury Wang Yue, so they actually had no communication.
But he was fond of military affairs and was not idle. Later, the migrant workers who built Wang Yue's tomb suffered his "poisonous hands" and were pulled up for military training all day long to formulate Bagua formations. It feels like I finally have someone in my hands.
Of course, this is not the only weird thing he did when he was young. Compared with him, the prince who always spoke shockingly was still a good boy.
Father Wang Hua is also helpless sometimes. He feels a bit like Wu Kuan: This child is very smart, but he makes trouble!
"That's ridiculous! General Wang Yue has been a soldier all his life. No one can match him when it comes to marching and fighting. What advice do you want you to give him?"
Wang Shouren said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is extremely intelligent and has never said that he no longer wants his ministers to give him advice."
"You!" Wang Hua was so angry that he wanted to kick him. "You want to piss me off, you traitor! How can you, Your Highness, talk nonsense? From today on, you will study peacefully at home, and you are not allowed to go out and talk all day long!"
Wang Shouren rolled his eyes, feeling helpless. But in fact, he had thought about it. The court sent General Wang Yue to make such a big move this time, and His Royal Highness the Prince was also involved in this. Therefore, this battle with the Tatars cannot be avoided at any cost. This kind of opportunity , how can you miss it?
If it weren't for this, he wouldn't be so looking forward to the arrival of Hongzhi's eleventh year.
