Chapter 145 New Year, Grandson

"What do I write?"

Of course Li Shimin would not refuse his eldest grandson's request, and responded with a smile.

"Um……"

Li Xiang thought for a moment and said, "How about the old man write a couplet himself?"

"Well, that's fine." Li Shimin stopped writing and thought for a moment, then finished it immediately.

"How is it?" Lao Li asked with a smile.

"As time goes by, people get older, spring fills the world with blessings." Li Xiang recited it again, "Very good, very classic."

Of course it is a classic, but with Lao Li's literary talent, it is not a big problem to create such a classic couplet.

Old Li, who had learned how to write Spring Festival couplets, couldn't stop at all. He snatched away all the red paper that Li Xiang brought, and it seemed that he would not stop until he had pasted the entire palace with them.

Not satisfied with writing by himself, he also pulled Li Mingda to write with him, and while writing, he did not forget to despise Li Xiang's calligraphy.

Li Xiang wrote two strokes himself and didn't think they were that bad.

But compared with the calligraphy of Lao Li and Li Mingda, it is far inferior.

So I’m not afraid of taking it out alone, I’m just afraid of having a comparison.

Keep learning, there is no end to learning, it’s too profound.

The next day, which was New Year's Eve, all the princes in Beijing, including the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, came to the Lizheng Hall together.

Li Shimin was a bit old. In ancient times, people in their thirties could call themselves old men, let alone him who was almost fifty.

Seeing the whole family gathered together and having fun, Old Li felt very happy.

Li Tai, who was troubled by the memoir incident, temporarily forgot his unhappiness and soon noticed the Spring Festival couplets posted by Li Shimin on the gate.

As a young literary man who loves literature, Li Tai immediately became interested in Spring Festival couplets.

Taking advantage of the mood, he also picked up his brush and wrote a few impromptu Spring Festival couplets on the red paper prepared by Li Xiang, and asked someone to take it back and post it on the gate of the Prince of Wei's Mansion.

Since it was the Chinese New Year and the time for family reunion, not only Li Ke and Li Yin, but even the retired officials Li You, the Prince of Qi, Li Yun, the Prince of Jiang, and Li Zhen, the Prince of Yue, all rushed back to Chang'an to share the joy of family life with Li Shimin.

Seeing that Li Yin and Li Xiang had such a harmonious relationship, Li You's face became extremely gloomy.

He wanted to make some instigation, but he didn't know where to start.

Li Xiang didn't know much about Li Yun, he only knew that he was scared to death by Li Zhi; and as for Li Zhen... Li Xiang thought he was a good person and someone he could get along with.

Li Zhen was as famous as the old Tenth King Li Shen, and was respected by the people. However, he had a bad personality and was easily influenced by villains and slanderers.

Of course, at least when Wu Zetian was ruling the country in chaos and usurping the throne, Li Zhen raised the banner and wanted to correct the situation.

Just for this reason, Li Zhen is very good.

"Brother, look." Li Yin also imitated Li Tai and wrote a couplet.

It must be said that although Li Yin is a rough guy, his calligraphy is really good, much better than Li Xiang.

Of course Li Shimin heard Li Yin's "brother", and he took a deep breath...

Forget it, it’s New Year’s Day, I won’t bother with a fool.

He looked at Concubine Yang with a vicious look, thinking that the mother must pay for the son's debt.

However, what Li Shimin did not expect was that it was Concubine Yang who secretly instigated Li Yin to call him brother, and she also advised that it would be best for him to call him brother in front of Li Shimin.

This shows that the most clever hunters often disguise themselves as prey.

Li Ke raised his head to the sky and pretended not to see it.

Because of Princess Gaoyang, Li Ke has recently been considering whether he should have more contact with Li Xiang.

It's not that he was a sycophant, and only thought of lighting the stove when he saw Li Xiang was hot, but Li Ke felt that Li Xiang was loyal and righteous, and was a person worth making friends with.

There was no court meeting on New Year's Eve, so the whole family gathered in Lizheng Hall.

Li Mingda was very happy because it was really lively when so many people got together.

"Brother, brother!" Li Mingda waved from afar at Li Zhi who was climbing up the tree to get the Cuju.

Li Zhi seldom entered the palace, and Li Mingda seldom left the palace, so the two of them seldom met.

"Go on!" Li Zhi shouted loudly and threw the Cuju down.

Li Mingda didn't catch the ball because it bounced so high on the ground that she didn't dare to catch it with her hands.

The ball bounced high on the ground and hit Li Jue on the head when it fell.

Li Jue burst into tears. It was really painful.

Seeing his little nephew crying, Li Mingda hurried over, held him in his arms, rubbed and blew on him, just like rolling out dough.

Li Jue sobbed and wanted to find Li Xiang.

"What's going on? It's New Year's Day." Li Chengqian came over and looked at Li Jue with a fierce face.

"Brother, don't blame Juer. I didn't catch the Cuju and it hit Juer." Li Mingda explained softly.

Since his sister had spoken, Li Chengqian didn't know what to say. He choked twice, glared at Li Jue, said "you boring guy", and then went to find Li Tai to ask about the memoirs.

Nothing is more important than gloating over Li Tai's misfortune!
Li Xiangze, Li Ke and others piled up firewood in the courtyard, ready to light it at nightfall to ward off disasters and boost yang energy.

This is a ritual of the Tang Dynasty, marking the beginning of the New Year's Eve.

At nightfall, Li Chengqian lit the firewood and the Nuo ceremony officially began.

Nuo is an ancient custom whose main purpose is to welcome gods and drive away plague ghosts.

Participants wear wooden masks and dress up as ghosts and gods, and through repetitive, large-scale programmed movements, they perform acts of calling on gods to exorcise evil spirits, pray for blessings, and simple battle stories.

Li Shimin sat at the door, wearing a cloak and a wool scarf knitted for him by Concubine Wei around his neck. He happily watched his children and grandchildren jumping around below, enjoying the family happiness.

Until the beginning of the midnight, everyone in the Li family took out the old brooms that Wang De had prepared long ago and threw them into the fire to burn, implying that the warehouse would not be empty.

Around four o'clock in the morning, Li Shimin took out 27 sesame seeds and red beans and asked Li Mingda and Li Xiang to take the children younger than them to the well, make a wish and throw the beans into the well, in the hope that they would not suffer from typhoid fever or plague in the coming year.

"After the New Year, Xiang'er will be fifteen years old." After making a wish, Li Mingda looked at Li Xiang with a smile, "What did Xiang'er wish for?"

"Of course, it is for our family to live in harmony, peace and happiness." Li Xiang answered honestly, and then asked Li Mingda: "What wish did aunt make?"

"Me?" Li Mingda's eyes moved and he showed a mysterious smile.

"I won't tell you." She said with a smile.

"Aunt is so stingy, so stingy." Li Xiang made a face at her.

When the cockcrowed, Li Xiang led people to light firecrackers in front of the courtyard to ward off evil spirits and avoid harm. The firecrackers at that time were not the firecrackers of today, but bamboos that were lit and made a popping sound, also known as blasting poles.

Before the grand court meeting started, Li Xiang asked Fubao to enter Jiao'er.

It was Chinese New Year, and Li Xiang was from the north in his previous life, so he had to eat dumplings. The steaming hot dumplings not only dispelled the cold, but also filled his stomach.

"Beef?" Old Li tasted what kind of meat it was as soon as he took a bite.

Li Xiang nodded and said, "Yes, it's stuffed with beef and green onions. The cow of Duke Lu's family fell on the ice yesterday. There happened to be a sharp spot on the ice, which pierced the cow's neck."

"Alas, poor cow." Li Shimin sighed with his brows lowered, not knowing whether he was lamenting the cow's unfortunate fate or Lao Cheng's new reason for eating cows.

When the sky in the east began to turn pale, the New Year's Day court meeting officially began.

The New Year's Day court meeting in the Tang Dynasty occupied an important position among the grand court meetings, and its etiquette standards were often higher than those of other court meetings.

New Year's Day is regarded as the beginning of the new year and is the most meaningful festival of the year.

It is held on a grand scale and has extraordinary significance, as it carries the emperor and his ministers' good wishes for political stability and peace and prosperity for the country and the people.

Officials in Beijing, representatives of local governors, envoys from vassal states, specially invited centenarians...

Altogether, there were nearly tens of thousands of people participating.

Li Shimin and Li Chengqian both wore imperial robes and stood at Chengtian Gate to accept the worship of all officials. Li Xiang was also allowed to participate.

Standing on Chengtian Gate and looking down, you can see flags planted on both sides of the Imperial City Avenue and colorful ribbons fluttering in the wind.

Under the flagpole stood rows of imperial guards, wearing yellow cloaks that symbolized the earthly virtues of the Tang Dynasty, looking majestic and awe-inspiring.

The center of the road was also filled with guests attending the grand court assembly.

It was not yet completely light outside, but the city of Chang'an was brightly lit as if it were daytime.

This grand scene made Li Xiang very excited.

All the officials had already gathered outside Chengtian Gate in court robes under the guidance of Tongshi Sheren.

The civil officials were located on the east side, Duke Jie Yuwen Lihuo and Duke Zun Yang Xingji were on the west side, and the military officials stood to the south of Duke Jie and Duke Zun.

The so-called Duke Jie and Duke Zing were the descendants of Emperor Wu of Zhou and Emperor Wen of Sui.

All dynasties conferred titles on the descendants of the previous royal family, calling them the Second Queen and the Three Ke, and gave them royal titles, granted them fiefs, and offered sacrifices to ancestral temples to show respect, demonstrate that the current dynasty had inherited the lineage, and indicate their orthodox status.

There is no need to mention the stories of Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang. After King Wu of Zhou conquered the Shang Dynasty in the Battle of Muye, he enfeoffed the descendants of Huangdi in Ji, the descendants of Yao in Zhu, and the descendants of Shun in Chen, to express the meaning of "reviving the destroyed states and continuing the extinct generations".

The royal relatives were located in the south of the fourth and fifth ranks of civil and military officials, the Li clan members were in the east, and the other clan members were in the west.

Soon, under the auspices of the Ministry of Rites, the Minister of Music and the Assistant Music Officer led people to play music, and civil and military officials began to pay congratulations to the emperor.

What made Li Xiang most excited was the homage paid by the envoys from the vassal states.

Thousands of envoys, wearing costumes representing their ethnic groups, prostrated themselves at the foot of Chengtian Gate to express their submission to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

This scene made his blood boil, and he wanted to roar to the sky to express his joy.

All nations come to pay tribute, the whole world bows their heads, this is what a real man should be like!
Since the Minister of the Court Wei Zheng was seriously ill and could not attend the grand court meeting, his work was done by Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu stepped forward to accept the order, and then he went to the northeast side of the officials, facing the west and shouted loudly: "There is an order!"

All civil and military officials and envoys from all ethnic groups bowed again.

Xiao Yu loudly proclaimed: "I celebrate the inauguration of the new position with you all!"

After the summons, all officials and envoys stood up and danced, shouted "Long live the emperor" three times, and then paid homage again.

The music stopped, and after the grand ceremony of worship, a banquet was held.

After Taile Ling ordered his people to perform dance, the atmosphere became casual.

Li Shimin ordered people to bring pepper and cypress wine and gave it to his ministers.

The banquet was divided into two groups, one group was the court officials headed by Li Shimin and Li Chengqian, and the other group was the young men headed by Li Xiang.

Li Chengqian sat there drinking pepper and cypress wine, with Li Tai, who was smiling amiably, and Li Zhi, who was eating with shining eyes, next to him.

Today, the brothers were not like usual, with Li Chengqian surrounded by Du He, Zhao Jie, and Li Tai surrounded by Fang Yiai, Chai Lingwu and others. Instead, there were only three brothers, and a few younger brothers behind them, such as Prince of Wu Li Ke, Prince of Ji Li Shen and others.

The two brothers temporarily put aside their arrogance and were able to chat and laugh.

Li Xiang looked at the three brothers living in harmony, and felt emotional in his heart.

A year passed, and my father has really grown up as he is one year older.

The nobles surrounded Li Shimin, all praising him.

Li Shimin was modest in words, but in fact he was very happy.

Who doesn't want to hear compliments?

Li Xiang's side was even more lively, as he was surrounded by a group of second- and third-generation people, and those second- and third-generation people were even more boastful than their fathers and grandfathers.

It would have been fine if they were just flattering, but the voices were getting louder and louder, as if they wanted to overpower their elders.

At first, only the second and third generation people who were close to him called him "brother". In the end, even those who were not familiar with him on weekdays started to call Li Xiang "brother" according to the atmosphere.

"It is a blessing for us brothers to gather together during the Spring Festival." Li Xiang raised the wine glass in his hand and sighed, "How great would it be if Jingren was here?"

"Brother, don't be sad. According to the date, Brother Jingren will be back soon." Cheng Chubi said with a smile.

Li Xiang thought so too, so he raised his glass with a smile and said, "Then I propose that we all toast Jingren and wish him a happy new year!"

Happy New Year? That's an interesting way to put it.

Everyone immediately raised their glasses and said with a smile, "Yes, yes! Brother Gaoyi, even at this moment, you still miss Brother Jingren in your heart, you really deserve to be the Young Master of Chang'an!"

"Happy New Year, Brother Jingren!" everyone shouted in unison.

Cheng Yaojin was just about to say a few auspicious words when he heard a voice from the other side.

His expression was a little unnatural because the one who shouted the loudest was his son Cheng Chubi.

"Brother Gaoyi!" Cheng Chubi was still shouting, not noticing his father's face which was as purple as eggplant.

Damn it, isn't this stealing the limelight from His Majesty?
"I have behaved badly, I hope Your Majesty will forgive me." Cheng Yaojin immediately apologized to Li Shimin.

Li Shimin did not show any sign of unhappiness, but was very happy instead.

He held Cheng Yaojin's hand and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter. Seeing these young people reminds me of the days in Taiyuan. My friends at that time were like lovers to me..."

"Looking at it today, the Prince of Hengshan County is quite like me back then. He is truly a good grandson of the Tang Dynasty!"

Changsun Wuji was stroking his beard, and almost pulled it off when he heard this.

Good grandson?
Not only Changsun Wuji, but all the ministers were shocked.

If it was a slip of the tongue, the saint would certainly withdraw a message.

But the saint not only did not take back the words "good grandson", he even stroked his beard and looked at the Prince of Hengshan kindly.

This really makes people think more.

(I have been looking up information for a long time. The translation of Tongdian is almost finished. I am sick...)
(End of this chapter)