Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 67 is black, fucking black!

On the Lantern Festival, Emperor Zhu Youjian hosted a banquet at noon in the outer court to entertain his officials. After the banquet, he issued the "Lantern Festival Edict," praying for peace and tranquility for the country, favorable weather, prosperity for the people, and the sharing of a peaceful and prosperous era. He also bestowed "palace lanterns" upon officials, allowing them to hang them in their residences to demonstrate imperial favor.

In the evening, the officials left the Forbidden City, the palace gates were locked, and the Qianqing Gate was wide open. Zhu Youjian allowed the concubines and the eunuchs and maids who remained in the inner palace to go out to the outer court or to accompany him to the Meridian Gate to enjoy the lanterns.

On the Lantern Festival, the imperial court was deserted. Officials were given a holiday, and palace maids and eunuchs with families in the capital region were also allowed to return home to celebrate. As for those who had nowhere to go, they all stayed in the palace to keep warm together. At the inner court banquet, the eunuchs and palace maids were also given their own seats, and Zhu Youjian gave each of them three taels of silver as a reward.

Although Zhu Youjian only has four women now, there are quite a few concubines living in the harem, because there are also concubines left by his grandfather, his father and his brother.

The mother of Prince Fu, Consort Zheng, who once stirred up trouble in the harem, is still alive. However, she is now an old woman in her seventies and has long lost her former prestige. She has lost all her teeth and takes a long time to swallow a glutinous rice ball.

The gate tower above the Meridian Gate is called the Five Phoenix Tower. Zhu Youjian, along with his sister-in-law Wanwan, Empress Zhou, Sun Shixiu, Consort Li, and other people from the palace, ascended this gate tower.

By this time, the city gate had been cleaned and prepared with fruits, pastries, braised meat, wine, and other snacks for everyone to take as they pleased.

Sitting inside the city gate tower, one can hear the commotion below the city walls. Looking through the doorway, a colossal structure comes into view. The Aoshan Lantern Pavilion has been completed, its base a cloisonné blue Aoshan, supporting a thirteen-story lantern mountain composed of tens of thousands of lanterns.

At this time, the lanterns on Aoshan Mountain had not yet been lit, and countless people eagerly awaited their arrival. As the sun gradually dimmed, some impatient people lit their lanterns ahead of time.

"Your Majesty, the auspicious time has arrived; you may light the lamps," Wang Chengen reminded him.

Zhu Youjian then called for everyone to get up and go to the Meridian Gate.

"Look, it's His Majesty! And the ladies of the palace!" a sharp-eyed commoner exclaimed.

"My goodness, the emperor has so many concubines!"

"Of course, otherwise how did they get three thousand concubines?"

"Why do some of the empresses look so old?"

"Fool, that's one of Emperor Wanli's concubines!"

……

The people were agitated by the emperor's appearance, and the Imperial Guards patrolling the streets immediately became tense, keeping their eyes and ears open as they began to thoroughly investigate any unusual situations.

Wang Chengen earnestly requested permission from Zhu Youjian, who then ordered him to light the lanterns on Mount Ao.

The Aoshan Lantern Pavilion is made up of countless small lanterns connected by hemp ropes soaked in kerosene. As the kerosene ropes are lit, a fire snake shoots up from the bottom of the Aoshan Lantern Pavilion, and the oil lamps are quickly ignited. In an instant, the entire mountaintop is brightly lit, illuminating the world as if it were daytime.

The Aoshan Lantern, which was originally a bit dull in color, suddenly came to life. The huge Ao's head was so lifelike that it seemed to be about to roar. On the back of the giant Ao, it seemed to really carry a fairy mountain with many gods and immortals on it. Although it was made of paper, it looked just like real people.

Wow! Everyone, both on and below the city walls, exclaimed in surprise.

After the people had finished enjoying the festivities and were satisfied, they went to visit the lantern market. A new wave of people crowded into the imperial city to admire this spectacle of the empire.

"Your Majesty, I would also like to visit the lantern market," Empress Zhou rarely made such a request.

“Let’s talk about it later, not now,” Zhu Youjian said, patting her head. He knew Zhou was a native of Beijing and had attended the Lantern Festival every year before marrying him. He, too, longed to travel incognito and join the festivities with the common people. But a wise man avoids dangerous situations; he feared being thrown into the moat. Although they couldn’t visit the lantern market, the palace had its own lanterns. Zhu Youjian carried a dragon lantern, while Zhou gave her sister-in-law the phoenix lantern and chose a dark blue shrimp lantern. The shrimp lantern’s two pincers could be manipulated with a small wooden stick, making it look incredibly lifelike.

"Did you choose the shrimp lantern because shrimp have many offspring?!" Zhu Youjian asked, somewhat amused.

Zhou nodded shyly.

The night view was bustling and brightly lit, a sight that would be very rare and attractive to people today. However, Zhu Youjian got bored after a while and returned to the city tower to satisfy his hunger.

Although Li Qiuniang also longed to travel and enjoy herself like everyone else, she knew what was more important to her, so she chose to serve the emperor. She clung tightly to Zhu Youjian, intentionally or unintentionally rubbing against him, which Zhu Youjian found somewhat amusing.

"Alright, you'll come to my palace tonight to serve me, but you don't need to follow me now, go have some fun." Zhu Youjian patted her bottom and shooed her away.

Li Qiuniang picked up her rabbit lantern and walked away, turning back every few steps.

However, just as Zhu Youjian was drinking alone in a shameless manner, Wei Zhongxian walked over with hurried steps. Upon seeing this, Zhu Youjian's expression changed slightly.

"Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Bi's house is on fire!" Wei Zhongxian said in a deep voice.

Crash! Zhu Youjian quickly stood up, even accidentally knocking over the fruit plate and wine vessels on the table.

"How is Bi Ziyan?!" he asked anxiously.

"Minister Bi suffered minor injuries; his cheek was burned and some of his beard was burned off, but otherwise he is not seriously injured," Wei Zhongxian replied.

Zhu Youjian remained silent for a long time before saying, "Bring Bi Ziyan into the palace and order Xu Xianchun, the Vice Commander of the Northern Garrison, to thoroughly investigate this case."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will take care of it immediately." Wei Zhongxian turned and left.

Zhu Youjian strolled out of the city tower, leaned on the railing, and gazed out. He saw a sea of ​​people, lights flashing, radiating outwards from the enormous lantern, but the lights grew increasingly sparse, and the surroundings increasingly dim. Zhu Youjian couldn't help but exclaim, "Dark, damn dark!"

Half an hour later, Bi Ziyan was escorted into the palace.

At this moment, he looked truly pathetic: his once meticulously groomed, beautiful gray-white beard was gone, and even from a distance, Zhu Youjian could still smell the peculiar burnt hair odor; several thumb-sized blisters had grown on his face, making one want to poke them with something.

"Do you know who wants to harm you?!" Zhu Youjian asked.

“Your Majesty is overthinking it. Fires are common during the Lantern Festival; it just so happens that this year the fire reached my residence,” Bi Ziyan said.

"I have already sent someone to fetch the imperial physician. Please sit down and have something to eat," Zhu Youjian said.

Bi Ziyan remained silent for a while, then knelt down, while Zhu Youjian sat cross-legged opposite him.

Zhu Youjian peeled a tangerine and handed it to Bi Ziyan. Bi Ziyan broke off a segment, put it in his mouth, and took a bite. This aggravated the burns on his face, causing him to wince in pain.

"I have someone vacate a courtyard for you in the outer court. You can stay in the palace for now," Zhu Youjian said.

(End of this chapter)