Historical records state: Concubine Yu, Zhang, was a man of righteous and fierce character. Ke and Wei, angered by their differences, imprisoned her in a separate palace and deprived her of food and drink. During a rainstorm, the concubine crawled under the eaves to drink, cried out "Long live" several times, and died.
After making love, Zhu Youxiao hugged Concubine Yu Zhang, who was sweating and breathing softly. His thoughts suddenly turned and he felt love for her.
He turned his head to look at Zhang Yu'er, whose face was flushed, with undisguised love in his eyes, which made Zhang Yu'er stunned. But then she smiled happily and rubbed her face against the emperor's chest gently.
Zhu Youxiao stroked his beloved concubine, smiled gently, and said, "When the child is one year old, if you want to raise a cat, go to the Qianqing Palace and get two."
Zhang Yuer looked up suddenly, her face full of surprise. She blinked twice, laughed happily, and put her arms around the emperor's neck, generously giving him a passionate kiss of thanks.
From a maidservant to a concubine, the position of cat owner is crucial. Zhang Yuer not only likes cats, but also thanks the cats for giving her a different life.
But ever since she became pregnant with Concubine Jin, she had been forbidden from even raising a cat, let alone visiting Xiaobai. She hadn't even seen Xiaobai give birth to kittens, and could only imagine a bunch of soft fur balls surrounding Xiaobai.
Now it’s all right. Although we still have to wait for a few months, we finally have hope.
Zhu Youxiao liked Zhang Yuer's sincere expression of affection. He reached out to hold his beloved concubine's face, squeezed it with a wicked smile, and waited until Zhang Yuer's little mouth was pouting like a duck before he went up and took a deep breath...
……………………
In a side hall of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Fan Xiaohui was combing the cats' fur one by one.
Little Maotuan has grown up a lot. Although he is very familiar and close to Li Chengcheng and Fan Xiaohui, he is not honest by nature. He jumps and runs around, which makes Fan Xiaohui very hard.
"Xiaowu, Xiaowu." Fan Xiaohui grabbed another cat, raised her arm to wipe the sweat from her forehead, pointed her finger at the cat's head, and scolded it, "You're the only one who runs so happily. You won't stop even when I call you."
Meow—Xiaowu made a sound, tilted his head back and licked Fan Xiaohui's hand with his tongue.
Fan Xiaohui giggled, touched the cat's head, and picked up a small brush to comb its hair.
Li Chengcheng was sitting at the desk next to him, doing his accounts. He couldn't help but smile as he watched Fan Xiaohui teasing the cat. His big eyes blinked slowly, as if he was lost in thought.
This girl's demeanor has changed recently. Not only does she no longer ask about being "punished", she no longer even has that strange and puzzled expression on her face.
Could it be? Li Chengcheng began to recall the occasions when the Emperor had recently slept in the warm room of the Qianqing Palace. It had been rare. Usually, she would stand guard in the outer room according to palace rules, but every time, the Emperor would insist on her sleeping in the same bed.
Sometimes it was pampering, and sometimes it was just talking and sleeping in each other's arms. Li Chengcheng's face couldn't help but get hot as he thought about it.
It seemed like there wasn't a day when Fan Xiaohui was on duty? Li Chengcheng thought about it again, but couldn't remember it.
"Chengcheng—" Fan Xiaohui came over at some point and looked at Li Chengcheng, who was lost in thought and in a daze, with a puzzled look, "Falling asleep?"
Li Chengcheng was startled and quickly covered it up by saying, "I'm a little sleepy and confused."
"Then go get some sleep!" Fan Xiaohui said with concern, "There's no rush to settle these accounts anyway."
Li Chengcheng shook his head and said, "The Emperor will be seeing it tomorrow, and there aren't many left. I'd better hurry and finish it!"
"Oh," Fan Xiaohui responded, and then said with concern, "Go have a cold drink and refresh yourself before settling the bill."
Li Chengcheng smiled and nodded, saying, "Let's go together."
When the emperor was not in the palace, Li Chengcheng was able to dominate the palace because Zhu Youxiao had spoiled him. Even Wang Tigan did not meddle in other people's affairs. He could not do anything big anyway, so he just treated her as a future concubine.
Zhang Yu'er had already experienced the transformation from a crow to a phoenix, and it was likely that Li Chengcheng would do the same. The emperor's favored individuals were all recorded. Fan Xiaohui didn't know, but Wang Tigan didn't know either?
Besides, it's just food and drink without any work, and it's not like he has to be arrogant and domineering towards the palace maids.
Soon, two bowls of fruit shaved ice were brought over. The two girls sat under the shade of a tree in front of the temple, eating and chatting.
"Last year, the Emperor issued an edict ordering a simple celebration for his Emperor's birthday. I wonder if this year's celebration will be grand?" Fan Xiaohui said with some anticipation, "It would be nice to have some fun."
The name of the emperor's birthday has been called Wanshou Festival since the Ming Dynasty.
There have been many different names for the festival in history. For example, in the Tang Dynasty there were Qianqiu Festival, Tianchang Festival, Tianpingdicheng Festival, etc.; in the Song Dynasty there were Changchun Festival, Shouning Festival, Chengtian Festival, Qianyuan Festival, etc.; almost every emperor's birthday festival in every dynasty had a different name.
According to feudal ethics, a long life is the beginning of a ruler's life. China is governed by filial piety, so the birthdays of emperors, who are regarded as the "parents of the people", have been given great importance in all dynasties.
By the Ming Dynasty, the emperor's birthday - Wanshou Festival, was called one of the three major festivals together with "New Year's Day" and "Winter Solstice". The birthday of the "Son of Heaven" was listed on the same level as the festivals of "Chao Sui" and "Ji Tian", which added a solemn atmosphere to the "Wanshou Festival" and gave it a more noble meaning.
On the Emperor's birthday, the country would observe a three-day holiday and hold celebrations, with "the court and the people celebrating together." In the capital, officials would congratulate the emperor, offering him fine wine and various gifts, and the emperor would reward officials according to their rank.
In addition, slaughtering is prohibited during the Wanshou Festival, and no criminal charges will be carried out for several days before and after.
The artisans of the capital city decorated the main streets with colorful paintings and fabrics, and everywhere there was singing and dancing. Civil and military officials from all over the country set up incense tables and paid homage to the capital.
If it were later generations, Zhu Youxiao would not object to this. After all, it didn't cost his own money, and he could take three more days off, which was good!
But spending so much money on his birthday was a real pain for the emperor, who was always making money.
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