Spring Festival

The procession looked extremely grand.

The moving band and performers announced the incoming procession to everyone within a 5 mile radius.

The main roads the procession was scheduled to pass through had been closed for today, and no carriages or animals were allowed. Civilians came out of their homes and gathered at the side of the road awaiting the show.

Bright red garlands and auspicious lanterns dripped from yellow tile roofs and rafters. Streams of firecrackers had been unfurled to hang at the outside of official buildings and noble homes at the north of the capital.

Spring couplets and banners adorned doorways and stalls, spreading joy and cheer. White and grey snow adorned roofs and stone tiles like a layer of heavy cream frosting.

Lu Qing Yu, as the Emperor sat near the front of the procession. A team of eunuchs rode on a float ahead of him and shouted to announce his arrival every now and then, accompanied by a dramatic jingle from the instruments.

At the very front, the dragon dance float was the star of the show, and were intended to make Lu Qing Yu's entrance look even grander, but in reality the eunuchs struggled to be heard over the sound of the dragon dance drums.

As the procession arrived, the civilians on the side of the road kowtowed 3 times and shouted to wish the Emperor longevity and prosperity, and kept their heads pressed to the ground until his carriage passed.

As my carriage was only a few floats behind the Emperor, the timing my carriage passed by was such that I had a good view of all the people now only getting up from the ground, their expressions frozen in shock and awe as they caught sight of me surveying them from my carriage. Their faces were flushed red with cold, and lips chapped as they had waited outside for long.

Entire large families with stooping matriarchs, worn looking parents and small and teenaged children alike had come out for the occasion, fussing about as street snacks and toys were passed from hand to hand and conversations were hollered to be heard above the chatter.

Lovers dressed in their best stood huddled close together, shyly making conversation and gesturing to the festivities. Singles crossed their arms and watched in the theatres of their own minds, faces alight with wonder.

After the tail end of the procession had too emerged from the throes of the palace and onto the streets, fireworks were set off simultaneously from the floats. Seemingly in response, on the streets, fireworks hanging from roofs were also set off.

Hisss! Crackle! Whistle! Pop! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The combination of dozens of handmade, industrial-grade, mass produced and artisan firecrackers going off all at once produced a cacophony of unique trigger-happy sounds, and smoke hung in the air as if it was a minefield.

Caught in the fray, the carriage shook slightly and jolted as it ran over nips and cracks in the road. Now, I could add being choked and smothered by smoke to the mix. It wasn't a good combination.

Even after arranging the drapes over the window to keep the smoke out, smoke inevitably crept through into the already stuffy and poorly ventilated carriage, leaving us all nauseous.

"Young Miss, perhaps opening the drapes is a better idea. The carriage will pass the smoke area eventually." Qiu Le, also trying to hold it in suggested.

I nodded. "Please do."

Thus, the window drapes were pushed wide open. Although the onslaught of smoke was unbearable at first, as Qiu Le pointed out, once we passed the smoke zone, the air quality was much better.

Handheld paper fans and street snacks like New Year's cake (粘糕 nián gāo), dumplings, sugar candy and candied fruit were popular today. Taking advantage of the fact that nearly the entire capital would be out for the Spring Festival, many enterprising merchants had set up stalls near the main road, and displayed their wares openly.

Even owners of land-locked physical shops stood outside, enticing consumers with special sales or goods to mark the occasion, such as figurines or lanterns bearing the resemblance of the floats or festive garments.

A loud cheer comes from the front.

Unable to see anything, we waited till the carriage passes to realise the procession is in fact traveling over mandarin peels, spring flowers and confetti! Around us, civilians raced to pick up some ingots from the road, and some fights broke out as a result.

"What's happening?" I asked, confused.

Qiu Ci peered out the window. "The front has started throwing ingots and confetti on the road."

"Is that customary?"

"In Yuan An it is. Other dynasties, not so sure."

"Maybe that's why there's such a big turnout."

The carriage ride became even more bumpy now that there were mandarin peels to go over. Right now, crushed mandarin peels and flower petals were fragrant and beautiful, but in a couple hours, they would be a sight and smell for sore eyes.

As per tradition, they had to be left there for at least the rest of the day for "good luck". It was considered "sweeping the good luck away" to sweep the floor on the first day of the New Year.

After what seemed like a few hours, the procession reached what I recognised to be the heart of the capital. Cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and the cold grey-blue winter sky was interrupted by dashes of pink and white cherry blossom trees.

In downtown, it was usual for shops to have a small hedge or decorative garden at the shopfront or at street corners, and the commissioned gardeners had clearly made an effort, trimming and pruning hedges and ensuring low hanging or awkward tree branches had been relocated.

The heavy smell of flowers was in the air. Civilians crowded on bridges and the lakeside, blocking the view of the lake. Pink and white petals littered the white, sloshy ground, covering wet white and grey with a soft layer that was quickly trodden on.

Mid-sized mandarin trees sat outside of restaurants and tea houses. Windows were open, and some spectators of more noble standing preferred to view the festivities from inside tea houses and under the shade instead.Today, Yuan An was picturesque, and the terrible carriage ride even seemed tolerable.

Just after mid-afternoon, the procession ended back at the palace. No one in the procession had been able to rest or get down at this point. Having had to dance, sing, perform, shout and wave incessantly from atop narrow floats for hours in the cold, the performers and eunuchs had the shorter end of the stick today, unlike us who sat in the relative privacy of our carriages, sipping increasingly colder tea.

I sighed with relief as the carriage finally came to a stop after many hours and immediately wanted to get off.

"Not yet, Young Miss." Qiu Le advised.

Everyone else was already disembarking. Moveable stairs were pushed toward floats and performers hopped off gracefully. Ground staff were doing checks and procedures.

Finally, an eunuch waved toward our carriage.

"We can get off now."

Whew. I couldn't describe the feeling of relief and stability as my feet finally touched the ground. My stomach settled down too.

Eunuch Song Chu came over from the direction of Lu Qing Yu's carriage.

"Noble Concubine Ling, we have the results of the investigation. We'd better sit down somewhere to discuss this." he said, inconspicuously eyeing the servants scattered around the compound who might be listening in.

"Eunuch Song Chu is right. Let's meet at my office after we've refreshed ourselves." said Lu Qing Yu, now just arriving. He looked much better for wear than I was. Presumably, he was used to these long, bumpy rides and elaborate rituals.