The Jade Pot Shines Brightly, One Night the Fish and Dragon Dance

  On the Shangyuan Festival, the emperor held a banquet in the Qianqing Palace, where he entertained the nine ministers and six departments, as well as Manchu and Han officials and envoys from various vassal states. Yongzheng, accompanied by his two adult sons, frequently toasted with his officials and relatives during the banquet, clearly in high spirits. This was not lost on Hongli and Hongxiao, who although had not yet been involved in major state affairs, knew that the imperial palace was the center of power for the entire Qing dynasty. From the information they had gathered, they could already sense the difficulties their father would face after ascending to the throne, the corruption of the bureaucracy, the unwillingness of several uncles who had participated in the struggle for succession to submit, and the rebellions on the borders...

  Many people were waiting to see a good show, but that emperor who was praised by Huang Ma as "unyielding and unshakeable" managed to hold on after all.

  It can be said that the fourth year of Yongzheng was a turning point.

  The governance has been rectified, and for many years, his political opponents, the officials who dared not to put him in their eyes, were either imprisoned or executed. The various reforms he promulgated also had a good start. More importantly, this year, the Governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, Yue Zhongji, also pacified the rebellions of Wumeng and Zhenyong Tusi, adding to his military achievements. At home, Tibet, Qinghai, and Junghar have been pacified, and even if there are any waves, they are just small ripples that can be ignored. Abroad, the Sino-Russian border has also been settled... He can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

  So, although the national treasury was tight, this year's Lantern Festival banquet was still held with great fanfare. Even the familiar and tiresome Ji Qi and Qing Long dances seemed to have a new flavor. The court officials saw that the emperor was not cold and distant on this winter day, and they too began to relax and enjoy the various performances presented by the Koreans, Hui people, Tibetan and Qiang ethnic groups...

  The banquet entered the palace after, in the sound of drums and music, the emperor returned to the palace, everyone let out a sigh of relief, finally finished the banquet, left the palace, on this cold day, it's still better to go home and eat sweet dumplings.

  Hongli and Hongdiao exchanged a glance, instantly understanding each other's intentions: the lanterns had just been lit, what was the point of not looking at beautiful women? Going back to sleep in Ah Ge's place would be stupid. However, heh heh, still need to go back to Ah Ge's place to dress up, warm hat, winter coat, leather boots... must make oneself look handsome and elegant without revealing one's identity!

  A song of sheng echoes through the spring like a sea, a thousand doors with lanterns at night are like daytime.

  Carrying the bright "walk a hundred diseases" cloud pearl, Hui Pearl and several sisters-in-law left the mansion gate under the protection of all brothers and family members, walked along the main street to visit, wherever there was a river bridge, they would go, see the bridge must cross, this can only be used to ward off evil spirits, eliminate diseases and prolong life.

  Every time she sees it, she feels shocked again. Perhaps it's because the ancient ladies are used to living in a boudoir and rarely go out, but Yunzhu also understands that in modern times, under the promotion of the whole country, some places may hold activities with fireworks that can produce a good audio-visual effect. However, when it comes to the kind of infectious atmosphere and the bustling scene of lanterns and streamers, crowds of people coming and going, it's still not comparable to this ancient one.

  Here, it seems as if the entire city of Beijing has come alive. People can cross bridges to ward off diseases, visit the folk temple fair at Tan Si Temple to watch performances like drumming for peace, rice dumpling tossing, stilts, dragon and lion dances... They can also participate in guessing games and pot-throwing activities on the side of the street, or stroll through the lantern market... On this night, men and women, young and old, can all go out without distinction of social class or restraint.

  Fu Qian took two family servants to escort Hui Zhu to watch the lion dance, and several brothers who had become relatives left with their sisters. Fu Kuan, Fu Xin, and Fu Yu seemed to have an appointment and also left, leaving Fu Heng with a few family servants to escort Yun Zhu and Ming Liang on their way.

  "Auntie, what kind of lamp is that?" The little guy pointed at a lamp with a big top and a sharp bottom, and there were several long green leaves on the lampshade.

  Yunzhu looked and found that it was a lantern made of bamboo strips with white paper pasted on the outside, so he said, "This is a turnip lantern."

  "Why make a turnip lantern?"

  Why? Every household hangs lanterns, the rich and wealthy naturally hang colorful lanterns made of silk gauze, with paintings of elegant ladies or immortals, or depictions of birds flying and flowers blooming, fish jumping over the gate of fortune... The poor households hang ones made of carved melons, woven bamboo, straw, and even ice sculptures from the river. However, they all shine brightly through the night, filled with romantic and joyful atmosphere, noisy till dawn. Then she pointed to the bright lantern in her hand and said: "Because we want to attract the rabbits, rabbits love to eat radishes."

  This is the rabbit lamp I just bought for Xiaoming Liang.

  "Oh." Xiaoming nodded brightly, with a cute expression that seemed to say he really understood. Fu Heng couldn't help but smile secretly, and Yunzhu gave him a white eye.

  "Wow, Auntie, look at that lamp, it's so beautiful!"

  That was a carp-shaped ice lantern, the entire lamp was light pink, and the fish scales were clearly visible... I saw many small ice lamps just now, but this fish lamp was as long as one person's arms stretched out, and it was over a foot high... It's really unknown how it didn't melt, you know that although the cold winter has not passed, there have been more than ten days without snow, and the river is starting to thaw.

  Human lanterns shine brightly, the moon above is clear and bright. Although the surroundings are bustling with noise, the cloud beads suddenly have a kind of desolate and independent serenity.

  "Uh-huh, it's very pretty. Auntie remembered a poem about ice lanterns. Do you want to hear it?"

  "What." She said anything bright would nod and applaud - except "bite".

  "Zheng Liang Huo Shu Qian Chun Yan, Hu Jian Qing Hui Ying Yue Lan. Chu Hai Jiao Zhu You Dai Shui, Man Tang Luo Xiu Yu Sheng Han. Deng Hua Bu Ai Kong Zhong Ying, Yun Qi Yi Cong Yue Li Kan. Wei Yu Dong Feng Zan Xiang Jie, Lai Xiao Hai De Jin Yu Huan."

  becomes:

  "Beautiful scenery of a thousand springs, suddenly see the clear and bright moonlight on the railing. The pearls from the sea still have water on them, the sleeves are full of dew and want to produce coldness. The lamp flowers do not obstruct the shadows in the air, the halo seems to be coming from the moon. Without speaking, the east wind temporarily lends a hand, tonight we can still enjoy the remaining joy."

  A gentle voice, with a hint of fragrance, reciting good poetry, caused several guests who were about to enter the Wanghai Building to stop in their tracks. One of them, slightly more fortunate, leaned in close to a slender and handsome young man wearing a long gown with green embroidery and cloud patterns, and whispered: "Master, it's Young Master Fucha."

  "Spring?" Hongli raised an eyebrow, his lips curving slightly as he turned around, his narrow eyes gleaming with a hint of delight at meeting a friend and the innate nobility's languid nonchalance as he gazed in the direction of the sound.

  With just one glance, he felt as if his heart was grasped by something and couldn't escape.

  She stands in the clear haze, as if she came from the bright moon in the night sky and fell to the mortal world, now wandering where to go, where to return...

  "Fourth Brother!" Fu Heng exclaimed in surprise, never expecting to meet him here.

  At this shout, Yunzhu regained her senses and Hongli also instantly came to, with a joyful heart, she re-examined the person in front of her.

  She was only about thirteen or fourteen years old, wearing a pale yellow silk cheongsam with pink edges, over which she wore a pearl-powder-colored jacket with silver-embroidered yulan flowers and white fur trim, standing elegantly beside the glittering ice-fish lanterns like a rare and precious gem.

  Her black hair was smooth and shiny, simply coiled into a bun on her head, with a white jade carved orchid hairpin inserted at an angle and two light yellow pom-poms, the lower half of her hair was also braided into a shiny black braid that hung from the collar to the left chest.

  She has a beautiful and unparalleled appearance, with delicate and perfect skin that is as soft as powder. Her light brown eyebrows are sparse and fine, almost invisible. Her long eyes are like dots of ink, clear as water, quiet as the starry sky, and extremely long at the outer corners. Her small nose is slightly upturned, showing a bit of cuteness, and her thin, delicate lips are different from ordinary cherry lips - not plump or perfectly lined, yet they look exceptionally lively and lovely on this face...

  Suddenly, it was as if a huge stone had struck his heart. He not only felt suffocated and short of breath, but his throat also became unusually parched. He didn't know that Chunhe's sister was so beautiful.