In the next few days, the family began to get busy making preparations for the upcoming New Year.
The customs in the capital are very different from those in Jiangnan.
However, Qi Yu still retained the traditions of his hometown, braised the meat when it needed to be braised, and over-oiled when it needed to be cooked, and kept all the customs.
Well, this is what home feels like.
According to Qi Yu, even if you are in the prosperous capital city, you can still live the kind of pastoral life you like.
Why not?
Isn’t life just about being comfortable?
There is no need to follow the trend and follow the formality. Only a New Year with a sense of happiness and intimacy can be called a New Year.
During this period of time, Qi Yu also constantly encouraged his wife, and from time to time told her a few allusions that had a sequential and inducing effect to enlighten her.
Qi Yu was still very concerned about this.
Looking back on the past, when the original owner went crazy and changed his temperament, his wife always took care of her. Now that she is trapped in her heart, how can she not care about her?
But the effect is still there.
Slowly, Liu Quan began to let go, at least on the surface, she seemed to have walked out.
Seeing her getting better, Qi Yu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
…
This holiday can be said to be short or long. It lasts for more than twenty days.
Rest is enough, but if you want to go back to your hometown to visit relatives, it will be too much.
Therefore, before the holiday, Qi Yu wrote a letter and sent it to Yongchuan Mansion to express his greetings and New Year greetings.
Among these letters, there are letters from my uncle's family, my second uncle's family, my father-in-law's family, and my sister's family.
In addition, Qi Yu also sent letters to Yu Hai and the shopkeeper You of Luming Bookstore in Taohua Village to express his thoughts.
In addition to these old relatives in my hometown, I also have to walk around with my newly-acquainted colleagues.
This is a time-honored tradition and a kind of etiquette, which is indispensable.
As for the gifts he needed, Qi Dalang didn't have to worry about them at all. Liu Quan had prepared them all for him to use immediately.
Qi Yu used his free time in the morning and evening to write novels and continue to carry forward his unremitting spirit of writing.
Mainly out of fear, the emperor sent someone to ask.
On this day, the sun sets and night falls.
Spring couplets have been pasted on the door of Qi Yu's house, and red lanterns have also been hung.
Yes, today is New Year's Eve.
Liu Quan took out all the new clothes she had made in one go. Everyone had something and no one was left behind.
These clothes now are all made of fine fabrics.
In order to prevent her husband from matching clothes with other people's servants again, Liu Quan made several trips to the silk and satin shop. After repeated investigations and inquiries, she sold it with confidence.
Like before, Qi Yu also went shopping alone to give his family some surprises.
What I gave to my daughter were a few idle books, which are regarded as her extracurricular readings; what I gave to my son was a big wooden sword to satisfy his daydream of traveling to the ends of the world with a sword; I am now getting older,
If you want to give something as a gift, you should give something affordable. For example, this mink fur cloak is very effective in keeping warm.
Then, what did you give Liu Quan?
A pair of solid gold bracelets.
It looks very dazzling.
Liu Quan did not laugh, but looked at the jewelry in his hand and sighed.
I remember that at the beginning, my husband-in-law gave me a pair of copper bracelets. At that time, I showed off to the young wives in the village.
Later, when the family situation became better, he gave himself a pair of silver bracelets, which were white and beautiful.
Now, he passed the imperial examination and became a capital official. He received royal rations every month, received his salary, and his money turned into a gold bracelet.
It seems that with your own hands, you can see the obvious changes in the entire home. Is this not surprising?
Yes, before we knew it, this family had changed a lot.
…
The night is getting darker, and thousands of families are staying up late.
After the New Year's Eve, it's the first day of the Lunar New Year.
This year is different from previous years. There is no time to go out to pay New Year greetings on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
why?
Because, Qi Yu is going to attend the annual Zhengdan Dynasty Meeting!
This system has a long history and was not created by the Great Feng Dynasty. Although there are differences in each dynasty, this symbolic New Year's Eve ceremony has never been abolished.
So, what is the meaning of this etiquette?
There are two.
The first one means that everyone gathers together happily and has a good time. It’s the New Year. As the emperor, he also wants to summarize the past, think about the future, and also give everyone some blood, so that they can do well for me in the coming year.
!Of course, he also wants to treat everyone to a free state banquet, and then drink some wine to show off the emperor's grace.
The second meaning is hard to explain clearly. What, the hidden meaning is to allow all the officials in the capital to attend the imperial court once, thereby stimulating the pride of serving as an official in the most benign place.
Then someone may ask, aren't all the officials in the capital allowed to attend the morning court?
Not really!
According to the current regulations, among Beijing officials, only officials of the fourth rank and above are eligible to attend the morning court. Officials of the fifth rank and below are not eligible, such as Qi Yu.
However, it is different at the Zhengdan Palace. No matter what department you are a Beijing official, as long as you are of high rank, you are qualified to enter the palace to pay homage, and no one is allowed to take leave.
In other words, as long as you are a Beijing official, this annual court meeting cannot be avoided.
Therefore, after the New Year's Eve dinner, Liu Quan followed closely to coax the children to sleep.
Then, she started to prepare some breakfast for her husband.
You’ve already had New Year’s Eve dinner, do you still want to eat it?
It is necessary to eat. It is said that the Zhengdan Dynasty takes a long time. You have to stay up until three o'clock in the morning before you have food. How can you survive without a belly?
In addition, be careful to drink less water.
After entering Yinshi, Qi Yu began to get busy. He washed up first, then changed into his official uniform. After everything was in place, he walked towards the palace with a lantern.
Not to mention, on this dark street, there were many young officials from the capital who were making pilgrimages like me.
Look, the flames of these lamps and candles are all flickering and converging towards a point.
That point is naturally the palace.
According to regulations, the palace gate is officially opened at the moment before Mao hour.
Officials of the third rank and above can enter directly by sedan chair, while officials of the fourth rank can enter on foot. As for the junior officials below the fourth rank who come to listen to the court, they have to line up and file in.
Since there were so many officials, there was simply not enough room inside the main hall, so they had to line up outside the hall. A lower-status seventh-rank official like Qi Yu had to be squeezed into a corner.
After standing in line, it was time to wait with peace of mind.
The cold wind of mid-winter blew by, freezing the officials outside the palace to the point where they all shrank up and their upper teeth chattered with their lower teeth.
Look far and wide.
I saw candlelight shining brightly in the magnificent Hall of Supreme Harmony, illuminating everything around like daylight, displaying its supreme majesty.
Suddenly, a burst of solemn and sweet ritual music sounded.
But they saw that the emperor was wearing a yellow and red dragon robe, and he walked calmly and calmly to the dragon chair on the imperial steps to the rhythm of the music.
Then, all the ministers shouted long live!
The ceremony is over!
The meeting officially begins.
Under the auspices of officials from the Ministry of Etiquette, various etiquettes were displayed in sequence.
For example: the Ceremony Department begins by displaying documents from various countries and congratulations from governors, then tributes from vassal countries, tributes from vassal kings in various places, etc.
Then, the nobles and important ministers also presented their congratulations one by one.
These processes are lengthy and cumbersome, and besides being frustrating, they are still frustrating.
Qi Yu is relatively far away. Even if he stands on tiptoes, he can only see a small bright spot. As far as the current situation is concerned, he is completely a small role in the ensemble cast.
To be honest, if I'm wasting my time doing this, I might as well find a place to take a nap.
That's just a thought, no one would dare to do it.
why?
Didn't you see that Yushi Jiuyi was constantly patrolling back and forth?
If he really gets caught, he will put a dishonorable shit bowl directly on your head, and you will have to carry it around even if you can't eat.