The platform foundations of the first three halls are very high, and there is a large platform behind the Baohe Hall.
It’s perfect to look northward at Jingshan Mountain from here.
Today is New Year's Eve. The moon is not big but the sky is full of stars, which is extremely bright.
The eunuchs and maids were busy decorating the banquet hall.
The floor has been laid with thick felt in advance, and small pieces of carpet have been laid on top. Several tables are placed one by one. Hot pots are placed on them. There are also many honeycomb briquette iron stoves placed around the seats, with towering stove tubes.
Prevent the low smoke from affecting the banquet.
There were also felt curtains surrounding it to block the cold wind blowing around.
The entire platform was very warm, and the concubines from the harem had already arrived half an hour in advance. Princesses in Beijing, consorts, their children, family members of concubines, and relatives with titles were all invited to the palace to watch the New Year's Eve fireworks.
Xili's chosen attendant is now Concubine Kang. She was just sealed before the festival. She put on light makeup tonight and was in a beautiful mood. She came to the venue with her daughter, Princess Le'an, the eighth sister of the emperor.
Since Xi Li Xuan asked Yang Fan to bring a message to the emperor, he no longer participated in the troubles of the harem struggle. He spent all day tending flowers and plants in the palace and lived a very comfortable life.
After being granted the title of Concubine Kang, the eunuch was specially asked to see Yang Fan to express his gratitude.
Chongzhen's biological mother, Empress Xiaochun, was Liu Shi, who was a lady at first, and gave birth to Zhu Youjian, Emperor Sizong of Ming Dynasty. Tianqi's biological mother, Empress Xiaohe, Wang Shi, was a talented person at first, and gave birth to Zhu Youxiao, Emperor Xi Zong of Ming Dynasty.
It is said in the court that Xi Li Xuanshi and Xi Zong's biological mother fought over some trivial matters in the harem, which resulted in her later being seriously injured and died. However, Xi Li Xuanshi did not abuse Chongzhen. On the contrary, Liu Shunu died early. Chongzhen could remember that Xi Li Xuanshi was raising him. He had a full childhood.
It's all the warmth of Xili's chosen waiter.
He is the same age as Zhu Huiyu, the eighth sister of the emperor who served as Xi Lixuan's waiter, and is one month older than her. They grew up together and have a good relationship.
On the day when the Hui Luan Palace was on fire, Chongzhen was frightened. He watched with his own eyes as some unknown people took Li Xuanshi's son away.
He didn't know who did this.
There was chaos at that time, and no one could hear his childish shouts. As a result, the eighth sister of the emperor, Zhu Huimao (chuo), who was hiding under the bed, heard his shouts, was so frightened that she cried loudly, and kept calling her fifth brother.
Chongzhen quickly took Bamei and fled to the yard, hiding in a cave in a rockery he discovered while playing.
Chongzhen still had feelings for their mother and daughter. Since Xili Xuan was no longer seeking to serve in politics behind the curtain and his son was gone, Chongzhen was still willing to treat them kindly.
Before the Spring Festival, an edict was issued to officially select the attendant of Li in Fengxi as Concubine Kang, hoping that she would be in good health and spend the rest of her life peacefully. An edict was also issued to confer the emperor's eighth sister, Zhu Hui'ao, as Princess Le'an, in the hope that her sister would be happy and safe throughout her life.
He personally cared about her marriage and selected the most satisfactory one from dozens of candidates. He chose Gong Yonggu, a native of Wanping County, as the princess' consort. He planned to get married after the festival.
At this time, the north city of the capital was divided into two counties according to ancient practice. The east city was called Daxing County (not Daxing District in later generations), and the west city was called Wanping County (not the Wanping City next to Marco Polo Bridge). Chang'an City in the Sui and Tang Dynasties divided the east city and the west city.
It is divided into two counties, Chang'an and Wannian.
Concubine Zheng was from Daxing, that is, the Dongcheng District of today's imperial capital. She was an authentic native of Beijing, and the Prince Consort was from Xicheng District.
Princess Le'an and her mother sat down in their seats after being led by the eunuch. Princess Le'an leaned into her mother's ear and asked in a low voice: "Concubine, do you think the prince-in-law will come today?"
"Little girl, you're feeling hot," Li Kangfei grabbed her cheek and teased.
"Mom, from what you said, I'm just curious. I don't know what he looks like," Princess Le'an said coquettishly.
"Don't be mad at me. Go mad at your brother. I don't know if he will come. I just saw him once on the day when I chose the consort." Li Kangfei looked at the opposite side for a while, then suddenly her eyes lit up and she said: "
He’s really here, and here’s the guy in the blue Huchu clothes opposite.”
Princess Le'an hurriedly took a closer look. She saw that the consort she had just chosen, Gong Yonggu, was about five feet six inches tall (33 centimeters in height). He was considered a majestic figure at the time, and his movements were very restful. At first glance,
He is a knowledgeable scholar.
The lines on his face are relatively strong, but he also shows loyalty and honesty. At first glance, he is a loyal and upright person.
Princess Le'an was a little satisfied, and she suddenly felt very good. She thought that her brother still loved her as much as he did when she was a child, and would let her eat all the delicious food. He grew up with her and knew her better, so she chose
The prince-in-law is also in line with his own wishes.
"Your Majesty has arrived." As the eunuch shouted, Chongzhen and his concubines came out from behind, and everyone hurriedly saluted.
"Come on, everyone. It's a family dinner today, so no need to be too polite. Everyone should be relaxed. Just treat it like we're at home, hahaha," Chongzhen said with a smile.
When everyone gathered, Concubine Zheng had the highest status and took the lead in leading the concubines of Wanli to toast to Chongzhen. Then Concubine Li Kang led the concubines of Taichang to toast to Chongzhen, and then it was Queen Yi'an's turn to lead the concubines of Tianqi to toast to Chongzhen.
After three glasses of wine, the banquet officially began.
The ingredients for this banquet were all purchased at Xinghe Supermarket, including dozens of extremely thin slices of beef and mutton, a dozen kinds of mushrooms, and vegetables including mung bean sprouts, cabbage cores, radish strips, lotus roots, pickled cabbage shreds, etc.
Vegetables available in winter in this era.
The hot pot also comes from Yang Fan, a modern cloisonné copper hot pot. The same style as Dong Laishun.
The cups, plates, bowls and chopsticks are all made of cloisonné, with gold-plated copper inside. They look very luxurious yet elegant.
This elegant appearance is very consistent with the aesthetics of the Ming Dynasty. Many concubines are very fond of cloisonné hot pots and cups, plates, bowls and chopsticks, and some even can't put it down.
Li Kangfei watched the eunuch open the lid of the hot pot. She was surprised to find that the hot pot was divided into two parts. One part was bright red soup, and the other part was milky white soup, both of which were bubbling. For a moment, she didn't know how to start.
good.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Mandarin Duck hot pot. The red soup is spicy, and the white soup is bone soup. You can choose according to your own taste." Wang Chengen saw that no one took off their chopsticks, looked at Chongzhen, and saw Chongzhen nodded.
, said loudly.
"So that's it, let me try it first." Huang Bamei picked up a piece of transparent lamb upper brain meat, rinsed it in the red soup for a while, and then carefully put it into her mouth.
"Wow, it's so spicy." Princess Le'an immediately closed her eyes and burst into tears. But after the burning feeling subsided, her whole body felt warm and she broke into a thin sweat. It was so refreshing.
At this time, many concubines began to try red soup hot pot. The food in the palace was bland and tasteless, but the red soup was quite attractive.
Suddenly there were exclamations, gasps, and a lot of coughs. The eunuchs and maids were busy serving tea to relieve the spicy food, and some were busy handing handkerchiefs to wipe sweat.
Looking at the chaos below, Chongzhen laughed loudly, "This mandarin duck hot pot is really spicy when I try it for the first time. It was like this when I tried it for the first time, but after it is spicy, it feels very comfortable."