Her scheme failed, but Consort Chu showed no sign of distress and continued talking to the Emperor as she walked toward the Empress Dowager's palace.
The reason why this year's New Year's Eve dinner was set up in the Empress Dowager's palace was actually because Han Zhongyu suddenly sent glass, which disrupted the palace's plans!
Since the Emperor ascended the throne and her youngest son went to the hot spring palace, the Empress Dowager has lived a secluded life, no longer concerning herself with palace affairs. In all those years in the palace, what good things hadn't she seen? What delicacies hadn't she tasted? What honors hadn't she enjoyed? What sordid things hadn't she experienced!
It's nothing but desolation after the prosperity has faded!
The emperor was a wise ruler.
She had raised him with kindness, and her own son was weak and posed no threat to the emperor. The emperor must be out of his mind to target her and her son!
Nowadays, apart from her youngest son's health, there's nothing else that worries her. If it weren't for the Emperor's sake, she really wouldn't bother dealing with all those beautiful women in the harem!
The Empress Dowager originally planned to visit Huaqing Palace on New Year's Eve as usual, just for a brief visit, and then return home!
Keep watch at night? Keep watch at night in the palace is nothing more than a stage for the harem to compete for favor, which is really meaningless for someone her age!
The Empress Dowager's plan was good, but things changed quickly. At noon on the 29th, the Empress sent a large group of people to carry a mirror to her. Then a group of workers came and tore down all the paper windows in her palace, saying they were going to replace them with glass!
She's received a new item! Well, since the Emperor is so filial, she might as well take a stroll in the Imperial Garden.
Once outside, I discovered that everyone in the palace was talking about the glass and mirrors, praising them to the skies!
I heard that some of the princesses didn't get it and went back crying!
She has absolutely no airs of a royal princess!
The Empress Dowager strolled around the courtyard for most of the hour. Everywhere in the palace were memories of her youth, good and bad, but now everything had changed!
After wandering around for a while and feeling sad for a while, almost two hours had passed before I realized it. The sun was setting and it was getting cold. Just then, a palace maid came to find me, saying that the glass had been replaced!
"Then let's go back!"
The Empress Dowager composed herself and headed back to her residence. She had no expectations for the suddenly popular glass; it was just a whiter and more transparent piece of window paper!
Upon entering the palace gates, they noticed the windows weren't covered with new paper. Standing at the entrance, they could immediately see the teacups on the kang table inside! They could even clearly see the double-sided embroidered peony screen. They couldn't help but frown.
"Didn't you say it was already changed?"
The eunuch in charge didn’t understand what he meant at first, but when he looked up, he saw that the sun had moved behind the house and the light had dimmed, making the glass almost invisible!
The objects inside the room and the palace maids tidying up the brazier were clearly visible!
The head eunuch was surprised and quickly explained.
"Your Majesty, it has indeed been replaced. However, the glass was completely transparent; you could see it was transparent when sunlight shone on it. But now that the sunlight is dim and people are far away, you can't see it anymore!"
That's probably what makes glass so amazing!
After the curtains were changed, we didn't need to light candles during the day, and the room was exceptionally bright. As for the nights, Lord Han mentioned in his letter that a curtain should be made to block the light!
"Oh? That's certainly novel!"
The Empress Dowager, unusually interested, walked over and took a look. Sure enough, there was a transparent piece of glass on the window! It was installed so tightly that if someone hadn't warned her beforehand, she would have bumped into it!
The Empress Dowager tapped it with her hand
"It's quite sturdy! This stuff is definitely much better than window paper! Where did you get it from?"
"It was sent by Han Zhongyu, the governor of Tai'an Prefecture, who said it was a new invention by the Prince of Jingde."
Han Wuyong's second grandson? The one who tutors Little Eighteen?
"yes!"
"Jingde Township Lady? Isn't that the country girl whom the Emperor exceptionally bestowed a title upon a few days ago?"
"Exactly!"
"That's interesting!"
After the Empress Dowager finished speaking, she went into the room. Her head maid, Zhen'er, had just poured a cup of tea from the newly arrived teacup.
"Empress Dowager, look! The Emperor ordered a new teacup to be sent to you! The tea looks much more beautiful in this cup!"
And the pattern on this cup, the carp playing among the lotus flowers, is so lifelike!
And this set, shaped like a little rabbit, they say it's an art cup. You pour the tea in from the top and drink from the rabbit's mouth! The Eighteenth Prince will definitely love this!
When she spoke of her youngest son, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but smile gently, and picked up the rabbit-shaped cup to examine it.
"That's really interesting. We'll save one set for Little Eighteen so he can use it when he gets back!"
"By the way, His Majesty said that the amount of glass that Lord Han sent this time was not much, and it was only used to replace the glass in the important palaces. The glass in the Cisui Palace was not replaced. Among the places in the inner palace with glass, your Shou'an Palace is the largest now, so everyone will be staying here to celebrate the New Year this year!"
"Then let's go! Everything's already prepared, so it doesn't matter where we move it!"
So it was decided that this year's New Year's Eve dinner would be held at the Empress Dowager's Shou'an Hall.
Once the arrangements were finalized, Shou'an Palace became exceptionally lively, with people coming and going to set up the New Year's Eve banquet, including those who pasted paper-cut window decorations, embroidered curtains, and trimmed plum blossoms to make vases!
The once desolate Shou'an Palace suddenly came alive. Bright red window decorations were pasted on the transparent glass, and orange lanterns illuminated the red plum blossoms outside the window. The young palace maids were laughing and chatting. The joyful and festive atmosphere infected the Empress Dowager as if she had returned to her youth!
On the morning of the 30th, I actually got up and started applying makeup in front of the mirror!
In the afternoon, she changed into a dark red palace dress and put on the purple jade bracelet with ice-flower patterns that the late emperor had given her, making her look ten years younger!
Therefore, after living a monotonous life for a long time, some fresh things need to enter life to keep people feeling fresh. With freshness, life becomes more interesting!
In a rare moment of inspiration, the Empress Dowager had plum blossom cakes, which she hadn't eaten in a long time, made, and warmed up the peach blossom wine she had stored from the spring. After a few drinks, she even wrote a short poem, as if she had returned to her youth in her boudoir, when she and her sisters would drink wine, sip tea, and compose poems together!
It's been so long since I've felt this relaxed and carefree!
It wasn't until it got dark that she figured the Emperor, his concubines, and all the princes and princesses would arrive, so she washed her face, put on makeup again, and had Cui Mama help her to the Shou'an Palace.
Sure enough, when the Empress Dowager arrived, everyone was already there. Upon seeing her, they all knelt down to pay their respects.
The Empress Dowager glanced at it calmly and said...
"Get up, everyone! It's Chinese New Year, so there's no need to be so formal!"
"Thank you, Empress Dowager!"
After everyone stood up, they sat down according to their rank. The Empress Dowager asked a few grandsons about their studies and inquired about the children's eating and drinking habits before letting them play as they pleased.
The Empress, always dignified and filial, saw that the Empress Dowager was in a good mood today, and smiled as she spoke.
"No wonder His Majesty was so determined to have the New Year's Eve dinner here. With these new windows, the room is bright and airy, making everyone feel cheerful and relaxed!"
The princesses also joined in the joke.
"That's right, Grandmother's place is like a palace of crystal! Even the houses of immortals couldn't be more magnificent!"
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