Chapter 152 (Chapter 152) Arresting People During the New Year (Part 1)
Despite saying that, at this critical juncture, Song Gu had no choice but to ask for instructions: "Your Highness, will the New Year celebrations still be held in grand style this year?"
All the original plans were no longer applicable in the face of His Highness's poisoning and the subsequent plans. If they were to be changed immediately, how much of the festive atmosphere should be retained was a matter that Song Gu needed to carefully consider based on the subsequent replies and to deduce the Emperor's intentions.
"Of course we'll continue! If we don't hold a big event, wouldn't all the time, manpower, resources, and effort spent on preparation be wasted?" Qi Chengming retorted matter-of-factly.
Last year was not a good year, so this year Qi Chengming is determined to have a lively and festive celebration with everyone.
Looking at Song Gu's thoughtful face, he continued, "Furthermore, if I were really poisoned without anyone noticing, would I panic uncontrollably, or would I try my best to cover it up and pretend nothing happened?"
The doctor suddenly understood and slowly nodded: "Well, this year we not only want to have a lively New Year, but the more festive the better."
"I understand." Song Gu had a clear idea.
He planned to entrust this matter to the two stewards in the Prince's mansion, while he himself would focus on secretly monitoring any clues. If there was a mastermind behind it all, they would only think that he was too worried about the Prince's condition but could not resolve it, so he could only entrust the affairs of the Prince's mansion to others.
With the Lunar New Year approaching, Liuzhou City was becoming increasingly lively. Without any unexpected events, the night before the New Year finally arrived...
New Year's Eve.
"In the North, people always eat dumplings on New Year's Eve. What about in the South?" Qi Chengming asked casually as he stood at the kitchen door, his nose filled with the steam and aroma of boiling dumplings.
He and the group of people from the palace were all from the north, and dumplings were a must for their New Year's Eve dinner. But since they were in Liuzhou, they should adapt to local customs. The remaining stewards and servants in the palace were all from the south, so Qi Chengming instructed that the New Year's Eve dinner should reflect the customs of both regions, including both.
He came to the kitchen out of curiosity.
This was no challenge for Xiao Chengzi. He blurted out, "I know—there's braised pork belly, fried fish, a five-spice platter, New Year's treats, and of course, glutinous rice balls. If the family is poor, they won't serve chicken, duck, fish, or meat; they'll just eat some wheat porridge and have a bowl of glutinous rice balls."
Qi Chengming understood immediately without needing an explanation: "Is Yuanzi Tangyuan?"
Without waiting for a reply, he glanced at the pot and said, "Sure enough..."
"The dishes are even more abundant this year," Xiao Chengzi said in a low voice, eager to share his new discoveries with His Highness. "When I came back, I smelled many farm families making roast duck! And most of the New Year's fruits have been changed from wild fruits to citrus fruits."
"What does 'lucky fruit' mean?" Qi Chengming nodded with satisfaction at first, then asked for an explanation.
He felt that even if he didn't bring a recipe, the locals would know how to roast duck, since this area is known for its love of duck and goose. But what truly pleased him was the abundance of citrus fruits this year, which were available at low prices to ordinary households.
—This is all thanks to my cousin's family and Grandma Yang.
This was something Xiao Chengzi already knew, and he became even more smug, standing up straight without making a sound as he began to recount his story:
"New Year's fruit is a special dish with tangerines, persimmons and cypress branches. The family shares it and then puts the fruit under their pillow before going to bed, which is a symbol of good luck and prosperity in the coming year."
“People from poor families can only buy some wild fruits or go up the mountain to find some cypress branches to put under their pillows, which is the same.”
Qi Chengming understood.
This is the same principle as giving money as a New Year's gift.
"I didn't expect you to know so much." Qi Chengming was starting to look at Xiao Chengzi with new respect.
Having been there for over a year, he felt that Xiao Chengzi was more like a local, while Qi Chengming himself carried too much baggage. At that moment, Qi Chengming couldn't help but remind himself not to drift too far away from ordinary people.
"Your Highness, the peach wood charms have all been replaced, and the sacrificial offerings for the ancestors have been prepared. Everyone is waiting in the main courtyard." Song Gu hurriedly came in to report, rattling off a series of things.
"Sigh." Qi Chengming felt a headache coming on.
Last year was unusual, so this year, since everyone wants to have a good New Year, things can't be arranged entirely according to Qi Chengming's wishes. There's a custom of ancestor worship on New Year's Eve, and if he dares not to do it, it will be a serious crime once it gets to the palace.
Fortunately, Qi Chengming was a prince residing in an outlying region, so apart from the necessary ancestral worship ceremony, there were no other formalities. Everyone could enjoy a lively meal, go outside to watch the Nuo dance, and then wait to receive the New Year's money from him, the prince, thus having a good New Year.
If he were in the capital right now...
They had to attend palace banquets that no one wanted to go to, which were only busy and tiring; eat food that they didn't really want to celebrate; meet people they didn't want to see; and be careful with every word they said in front of the emperor.
Even a proper Chinese New Year celebration has become unpleasant.
Just thinking about it is torture.
Compared to this, Qi Chengming's happiness has doubled.
That evening, Qi Chengming didn't invite anyone to the New Year's Eve dinner—putting himself in others' shoes, he couldn't possibly invite his trusted subordinates to have dinner with him right after complaining about the emperor.
Only a few familiar faces and uninvited guests were sitting in the main courtyard.
Song Gu, Doctor Bian, He Dajia who couldn't go home for the time being, Xiao Dezi and Xiao Chengzi, Gan Tang and Bi Shu, and Qin Liusong who shamelessly insisted on crashing the party, and Huang Dong who specially stayed to celebrate the New Year. Nanny Liu was with Tian Ya.
Everyone sat down at two separate tables.
Qi Chengming held his wine glass, lost in thought: "..."
Honestly, doesn't this lonely man have a bit too many confidants?
But because of his status, he couldn't even speak freely about matchmaking or inquiries, otherwise it would become a common occurrence in ancient times where a superior would bestow a marriage upon someone. Let them be.
Such thoughts flashed through his mind, and Qi Chengming raised his glass without saying a word of nonsense: "Thanks to everyone's hard work, this is a good year—let's eat and drink to our hearts' content tonight!"
"Yes, Your Highness!" "Understood." "Please, Your Highness!" The crowd responded in unison.
Looking at them, Qi Chengming couldn't help but miss Wen Er and his cousin, who were now nowhere to be found.
If friends were all around, the scene of playful fighting would definitely be even more...
Even less likely.
His thoughts came to an abrupt halt.
Wen Zhongnan will only go back to Jiangnan for the New Year, and his cousin will also be going back to his home tonight.
As for Bai Xuan... the reason why Qi Chengming did not miss Bai Xuan was because he was in Liuzhou City and had recently been blessed with a son. How could he have time to come to the Prince's Mansion to spend New Year's Eve?
"I was confused too," Qi Chengming chuckled, picking up his chopsticks to eat.
He gazed warmly at these familiar faces, lingering for a moment on Xiao Dezi, Xiao Chengzi, and Song Gu.
These people formed the fulcrum for him after he traveled through time. Some helped him, some supported him, and some understood him. Each of them made him closely connected with this difficult yet prosperous era.
The future seemed to be full of perilous unknowns, but Qi Chengming never felt the same anxiety and unease he had when he first transmigrated.
Because he knew calmly and clearly that many people had come for him.
Let's keep working hard in the new year.
...
During the day, Liuzhou city was filled with the sounds of gongs and drums, lanterns and decorations, and the aroma of food, continuing the revelry of the previous day.
With the prince presiding over the market activities, the Nuo dance continued without interruption, and pastries and candies were distributed on the streets. Factories and shops in various places were allowed to close early for the holidays, and people went home to celebrate the New Year.
Children ran through the streets amidst the crackling of firecrackers, their shrill screams and high-pitched laughter creating a dazzling spectacle. Only on this day would their parents not scold them, and upon reaching the Prince's palace, they would receive cane sugar kindly distributed by the Prince.
"Thank you, Prince Rui!" the younger children shouted, while the older, more sensible children followed the example of scholars and bowed to the gate of the Prince's mansion.
Merchants who had traveled from afar watched this scene with a mixture of amazement and wonder.
Only in the strange city of Liuzhou did the local vassal kings seem to be anything but terrifying figures that people feared and avoided. The royal palace actually allowed these lowly people to get close to them and to interact with these merchants everywhere.
The current emperor's second son, Prince Rui, is truly a freak.
The traveling merchants only dared to think these thoughts to themselves; they would never dare to say them aloud.
Not only Liuzhou, but also the neighboring southern prefectures are filled with the deeds and influence of Prince Rui. He must be asking for death to dare to utter such arrogant words.
"Big brother, second brother, it's time to come back!" Early in the morning, the old woman surnamed Ma, who had fled from Yulin Prefecture, walked down the street, calling out to her two grandsons.
She was able to settle down in Liuzhou thanks to the help of the Hu family. She worked at a braised food shop and a beverage shop. Now she has saved up money and is preparing to open her own braised food shop. She is finally able to live a peaceful life.
The two grandsons could not be called unruly at first; they were just country children who had never been to school. But after attending school for a while, they even changed their names to the more pleasant-sounding Dalang and Erlang, and their original local names were used as their nicknames.
Even so, the two boys were still unhappy and insisted that their grandmother call them by their full names.
"Let's go, we should go to the Xingjun Temple to offer incense." Madam Ma called out kindly, watching the two children running towards her, and wiping their sweat. She carried a heavy basket on her arm, containing a piece of cured meat, a dozen eggs, and some freshly picked green vegetables from behind the door.
For ordinary people like her, these were expensive New Year's goods that she had painstakingly scraped together, but Ma knew that they were nothing to the prince.
Even so, Ma still led her two grandsons with great difficulty to the Xingjun Temple.
At the city gate, they merged with countless other people, becoming invisible in the flow. Yes, these were all people from Liuzhou, spontaneously going to the Xingjun Temple to burn incense and make offerings.
After the initial group of people tacitly poured their gratitude to the Prince into the Xingjun Temple, this idea seemed to become a subtle, unspoken custom. Later people, such as Madam Ma, were genuinely grateful to Liuzhou for its peaceful and prosperous life, and thanked Prince Rui for bringing it all to them.
There was little she could do but burn incense, send her heartfelt wishes to the temple, and pray for the prince's blessing in the coming year.
Everyone knows that the abbot of Xingjun Temple is a rotating position held by the prince's men, who usually go to great lengths to keep the people from spending too much money. But today... ha, there's nothing they can do to stop the people from flocking to Xingjun Temple to leave their offerings.
Yes, burning incense at the Xingjun Temple during the New Year has become a popular custom among the people.
...
Inside the Prince's Mansion.
After yesterday's commotion, Xiao Dezi was in high spirits this morning, leading the palace maids and eunuchs to inspect the surrounding area.
While His Highness was still asleep, he ordered the third-class maids to sweep the fallen leaves in the courtyard to the side, and the palace maids who tended the flowers and plants in the corridor rearranged their positions so that His Highness could see them at a glance when he opened the window.
The Imperial Guards were making a ruckus in the east courtyard as Commander Mao, in a booming voice, distributed the New Year's money bestowed by the Prince the night before. There was no official title to it; Qi Chengming simply believed that the hardworking Imperial Guards deserved a New Year's gift, and each of them received a large red envelope containing one hundred taels of silver.
Everything was immersed in the joyful atmosphere of the New Year.
Only Gantang quietly slipped away from everyone and went to a small courtyard in the backyard.
The most spacious and least secure part of the Prince's mansion was the backyard, which had hardly any inhabitants.
She quietly closed the door, squatted down in the corner and did something. Through the crack in the door, you could only vaguely see a flickering flame beside her hand. It seemed that Gan Tang had lit a fire and was quietly burning something, with the firewood crackling softly.
"Go and arrest them." Qi Chengming's voice rang out clearly with a sigh, completely unwavering.
He stood on the threshold in the distance and ordered the silent imperial guards behind him to grab the young palace maid who was peeking outside the back gate.
The familiar-looking palace maid looked up abruptly in surprise.
Gan Tang had gotten up and turned around at some point, looking at the palace maid with disappointment: "Xiao Tao, why is it you?"
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Author's note: This chapter fits the mood perfectly. Happy New Year everyone!
I'm huddled in front of my computer today, working hard to catch up on the rankings and update. Please look forward to the next few pictures!
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