The first year of Kaibao (963), February 7th.
It's still early and the sky is still dark, but you can seem to smell the breath released from the air. Today is a sunny day with a warm spring breeze. The morning light is not intense, and the darkness before dawn is cool and refreshing, making people feel very comfortable.
But the huge Han Palace had already woken up from its slumber. Every palace, every palace, every concubine and every concubine all got up early, washed themselves, applied makeup, and got ready. The maids and ladies in charge of the various departments and bureaus in the palace stayed at their respective posts earlier, serving the nobles in the palace and continuing to prepare for the upcoming celebration.
Nowadays, the number of people in the Imperial Palace of the Han Dynasty has exceeded 2,500, which is ten times more than at the beginning of the country. The number of beauties from Jinling and Panyu has led to an explosive growth, and this was added after careful selection.
Moreover, Emperor Liu had never deliberately enriched the harem in all these years. Just the contributions from various countries and the collection after the country was destroyed were a huge number. This time, if Emperor Liu hadn't ordered again to release a group of older palace ladies in Tokyo, Jinling, and Panyu to get married, the number would have been even greater.
For this "treasure opening ceremony", people both inside and outside the palace, from top to bottom, have been preparing for and looking forward to it for more than two months. Therefore, it is inevitable that it will be grand in scale. Even within the Han Palace, there is a general mobilization. In this kind of celebration, even the palace residents who are not qualified to participate must wear the latest and cleanest palace clothes, clean the palace neatly, put a smile on their faces, and celebrate with the country. , bless the big man.
Among the concubines and beauties in the harem, even Xu Xiuyi and Li Xiurong, who were not very favored on weekdays and were called "mother-in-law" behind their backs, were actively preparing to dress up and attend the ceremony. This is a politically correct thing and cannot be ignored.
Chunlan Hall has always been Concubine Fu Hui's bedroom. Because of the relationship with the Fu family and the blessing of Empress Fu, Concubine Fu Hui's status in the Han Palace has always been high, and she also gave birth to an emperor and a prince. Liu Chengyou also favored her. She is always left out, and if there are any good things or benefits, she can always be thought of.
In the smooth bronze mirror, a mature and beautiful face is clearly reflected. Concubine Fu Hui, who is just over thirty, is at the peak of her appearance. She has phoenix eyebrows, a beautiful nose, and a jade face with red lips. They are all very delicate, and she is dressed in an elegant dress. Qi can be said to be the most beautiful stage in life.
Of course, she is confident in her beauty, but she is also sad about the passing of her years. She already feels that she is getting older and worries that she is no longer competitive. Although Concubine Fu Hui understood that she could not win the favor of Liu Guan's family with just a beautiful face. However, if her appearance was old and her beauty was gone, how could she continue to keep Emperor Liu interested in her?
For Fu Huifei, this is probably the "Thirty Crisis"!
Gong E carefully drew her eyebrows for her and stared at her own face in the bronze mirror. She didn't have Fu Zhong's face, but it couldn't hide its beauty. Only a little sadness occasionally flashed through, adding a different kind of charm. Upturned bun with slight upturned hair, this hairstyle was passed down from Li Xiurong, and has spread in Kaifeng, with women rushing to imitate it.
Formal palace attire has been worn. The Han Dynasty's clothing was inherited from the Tang Dynasty. After development and improvement, although it changed in many ways, some characteristics were still retained in the palace attire. The smooth and delicate collarbones, the half-exposed firm breasts, covered with green gauze, a Chinese belt around the waist, and more gold hairpins, jade, and ribbon rings, all work together to show off her appearance, figure, and temperament.
"Mom!" A cautious voice sounded from behind.
When she turned around, she saw Princess Liu Jia walking over. She also put on a gorgeous palace dress. Her buns showed the girl's vitality and tenderness. Behind him, trotting along with his sister, was the Ninth Prince Liu Shu.
Looking at his daughter, Xiao Fu whispered: "What's wrong?"
Noticing Xiao Fu's dress, she was as beautiful and luxurious as a goddess. Facing her mother's gaze, a hint of shyness appeared on Liu Jia's face. She spread out the three hairpins she held in her hand and asked a little tangledly: "Jin hairpin." It was a gift from my father, the jade hairpin was a gift from my grandmother, and the pearl hairpin was a gift from my fourth brother, which one should I choose?"
Seeing this, Xiao Fu smiled tenderly. He still loved his daughter very much. At least for a while, Liu Chengyou came to visit her for the sake of his eldest daughter. He favored her and doted on her...
"Which one do you like?" Xiao Fu seemed to have some difficulty choosing.
Liu Jia made a sad face and replied: "I like them all!"
Then, Xiao Fu followed his daughter and got into a tangle. The mother and daughter took three hairpins and spent a long time choosing, but still couldn't come up with a result. Finally, a burst of laughter came from behind, but it was the Ninth Prince Liu Shu who was laughing and looking heartless.
Seeing this, Liu Jia raised her eyebrows and asked, "Why are you laughing?"
Liu Shu said: "Since we all like it, why don't we all wear it!"
Liu Jia immediately glared at him and said, "With three hairpins, wouldn't that be a burden?"
But Liu Shu rolled his eyes, and Xiao Fu looked at his son and asked, "Jiulang, which one do you think my sister should choose?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Shu didn't hesitate at all and took the golden hairpin directly from Liu Jia's hand. He thought this golden object was beautiful and said to his sister: "Put it on quickly, it's almost dawn!"
Seeing his choice, Xiao Fu's beautiful eyes curled up, and he felt that his son's choice was appropriate. After all, Emperor Liu was the most important in the relationship, so it was naturally more appropriate to choose the three hairpins given by Emperor Liu... ..
Just as Liu Shu said, the dim morning light gradually dissipated, just like a veil shrouding the world being quietly removed. It can be clearly felt in the palace.
Liu Shu yawned and said to his mother: "Mom, why did dad hold such a ceremony and make us get up so early..."
The Ninth Prince Liu Shu was born in the ninth year of Qianyou and is not yet seven years old. According to his understanding, it is not a good thing for him to get up so early for some national ceremony and affect his sleep.
But after listening to what he said, Xiao Fu straightened his face and reprimanded sternly: "Today's ceremony is a national event and a court ceremony. You are not allowed to be so playful and wanton like in the dormitory! Otherwise, if your father punishes me, You, my mother can’t save you!”
It was rare to see his mother show such an expression and say such a tone. Emperor Liu's stern face seemed to appear in Liu Shu's little head, and he immediately changed his appearance to a well-behaved one...
In the palace, colorful ribbons have been tied everywhere, and the festive atmosphere is fully created. According to statistics, for these decorations, a total of 20,000 pieces of silk of various colors were consumed in the imperial city, which was just for decoration. For this reason, it exceeded Emperor Liu's psychological expectations, so when the officials proposed to cover Kaifeng Chengye with ribbons , he stopped him directly and gave him a severe scolding.
Although Emperor Liu valued this celebration, he did not allow such extravagance and waste. Of course, the imperial court did not move, but the people "spontaneously" decorated the capital. Under the leadership of the nobles, bureaucrats, and wealthy businessmen, and with the help of the vast number of scholars and people, the rich used silk brocades, and ordinary people used coarse linen belts, and Kaifeng City was still Dressed up carefully.
When the sun shines over Kaifeng, what you can see is that the entire city of Tokyo seems to be wrapped in a sea of color, magnificent and colorful. It has to be said that even if he doesn't like luxury, it is impossible for Emperor Liu not to have any ripples in his heart when he learns that Tokyo is so prosperous, but he must restrain himself.
Not only the concubines, princes and daughters in the palace, but also outside the palace, internal and external ministers, ministers and civil and military officials all got up early, washed and prepared, empty their stomachs, dressed up, did not dare to eat, and set out early for the Ancestral Temple.
Emperor Liu's national ceremony, as usual, started at the Ancestral Temple, offering sacrifices to heaven, earth, and ancestors. There were a total of 10,800 people from the royal family, clan members, ministers, and generals participating in the sacrifice, including ceremonial guards, guards, and waiters.
