"Qiu Ci, this is too much food!" I protested, attempting to block her chopsticks with my spoon. Since afternoon, Qiu Ci and Qiu Le had been shoveling spoonful after spoonful of food into my bowl, saying "Young Miss needs energy to stay up till midnight!". Qiu Ci finally set her chopsticks down but grinned.
"Hehe... this is just for this year. Who knows, maybe next year, our Young Miss will be joining the Empress Dowager to make dumplings on New Year's Eve instead!" she said gleefully. I scoffed. "Don't be silly. Dumpling making is only for the Empress, Imperial Concubines and princesses. I don't really think I want to hang out with that lot, anyway.".
Dumpling making on New Year's Eve was another tradition but was reserved only for the royal ladies, and was followed by a dumpling feast on New Year morning. After my experience just sitting for a painting with the imperial harem, I wasn't looking forward to meeting the other women around here, especially those with actual power and authority. I had read too many novels to think any good would come out of that!
Qiu Ci pouted. "But Young Miss, with the way things are going, you might be promoted soon! Don't you think?" Qiu Ci looked at Qiu Le for support, gesturing with her eyebrows. Faced with this sudden question, Qiu Le gulped down the roast duck she had just been putting into her mouth and nodded with difficulty. "Young Miss, we must be optimistic."
Although servants were not supposed to eat at the same table as their masters, I had spent a long time convincing them to eat with me, with Qiu Ci and Qiu Le hemming and hawing all the way. It was just the 3 of us now, and no one would be the wiser. They were my closest confidantes in this world, and I wanted to spend this day with them.
"How are your families doing? What do you usually do at home during the New Year?" I asked curiously. "Hmm, something similar, just on a lesser scale. Mother and Father are already very old, so they can't prepare much. But thanks to my job at the palace, we've been able to get some servants, so they should be having a good meal right now as well." Qiu Le said. Qiu Le had never talked much about her family, so I didn't want to press her.
"My family..." Thinking of her family, Qiu Ci gazed into the distance. At first I thought she was sad, and I suddenly felt very bad for keeping her away, but then a trail of saliva escaped from her lips as she opened her mouth.
"Grandmother is the best cook! Every year, the whole village would gather at Grandmother's house, and we would have a huge feast! There would be roasted chicken wings, duck, field vegetables and mushrooms, and Father would even go into town to get some beef! Wow... the braised beef shank is amazing, there's a whole pot of it, and the texture is..."
"Girl, you're drooling." Qiu Le chided as she dabbed at the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, just like an older sister taking care of her sibling. I smiled as I imagined the scene. Qiu Ci's description was very detailed, letting me depict a picture in my mind.
3 generations of the family crowded in 1 large room, elbows and knees everywhere, children running about and crawling under the table, uncles and aunts' twinkling eyes as they gave you another serving... Back in my previous world, my family must also be having a reunion dinner, right?
Lu Qing Yu held his breath as he lit the jade candle. A flicker of a flame appeared, bright yellow-orange, lighting up his features with a warm glow. After a short-lived encounter, suddenly!
Gradually, like wine staining a treasured rug, bits of purple crept from the base of the jade encased wax, staining the flame, until the yellow turned to electric blue, and orange turned to purple.
He was wearing special robes for the occasion. He had swapped out his usual dragon robes for a bright yellow dragon robe with gold and multi-coloured thread, embroidered with elaborate dragon designs and 12 ornaments. He also donned a heavy coat, a crown as well as layers of court beads. It was the midst of winter, and a layer of fur had been added to the inside of his robes for extra warmth.
Inside Dong Nuan Pavilion in the Yang Xin Dian, as per tradition, he placed the candle holder down on the counter with a soft clack, then lifted the wine vessel. Dark brown wine sloshed as it hit the curved bottom of the cup, making its rounds around the engraved lining before pooling to a stop at last. A slightly eerie blue-purple glow was reflected in the surface, the wine seeming to dance in tandem with the flame.
With only silence to accompany him, save the soft whistling of the evening breeze, a lone man sat in an empty room in front of a tray of copious white silk. Every item in this room had been carefully prepared in anticipation of this yearly ritual, reserved only for the rightful owner of the throne. Upon closer inspection, from the candle holder to the cup to the brush, every item was made of gold.
Lu Qing Yu pondered over what to write. A wish for peace? Maybe a prosperous year? Let's just stick to the basics. Dabbing the brush in a bit of ground ink, Lu Qing Yu swabbed the brush absentmindedly over the plain of white, an act that would make the silk weavers who spent months throwing aside batch after batch of "not good enough" silk weep.
The first stroke made its appearance.
"P."
P? Maybe that wasn't right? Should he have phrased it another way? No, he shouldn't doubt himself. He must be steadfast.
"Peace."
"Peace Reigns Over the Country."
After the ink dried, Lu Qing Yu raised the banner to the light, nodding to himself in approval. Very good. He put this aside and prepared a second phrase.
"Propitious weather for the crops."
He put this aside too. After going through exactly 8 sheets of silk, he let out a breath. He was done.
He brought his head back and closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if to honour the moment.
Then in a swift action, he downed the cup of wine, setting it down with more resolve than before.
The new year had begun.