Chapter 41: New Year's (Part 2)

  After sweeping the house, the atmosphere in the mansion is refreshed, and everything is clean and dust-free. Palace lanterns are hung high everywhere, with cow horn lanterns hanging from the eaves of the halls, wall lamps on the walls, palace lanterns suspended inside the rooms, and silk lanterns hung in the gardens, pavilions, and corridors. The palace lanterns and various silk lanterns in the pavilions are frequently arranged, and although it's not yet New Year's Eve, the festive atmosphere is already palpable.

  As night fell, lanterns were lit in various parts of the mansion. Zhao Yi wore a dragon robe and a soft hat, dressed formally, and arrived at the ancestral temple under everyone's escort. He entered the small courtyard on the east side, where only men were allowed to follow him into the courtyard, while women were strictly prohibited from entering, including eunuchs who were neither male nor female.

  The host of the sacrifice is naturally the head of the household, and although Zhao Che is young, he is also the master of the house. He takes on this "great responsibility" without hesitation. When Zhao Che enters the house, he feels a bit nervous because he doesn't understand the rules here! In his previous life in the countryside during Chinese New Year, he had seen the sacrifice to the stove god, which was usually done by his grandmother taking down the images of the stove king and queen that had been hanging in the kitchen for a year. The two deities were already dirty from being smoked and burned for so long, and his grandmother would apply some sugar melon to their mouths, mutter a few words, and then burn them with fire. After a while, new images would be posted up again. Everyone would make merry, have a big meal, and that was it - there were no taboos or formalities, just joy.

  This room is a place for cooking sacrificial offerings to ancestors, called the divine kitchen. Of course, it's also considered a kitchen and the highest-ranking one in the mansion. Zhao raised his head and saw that 'Zao Wang Ye' was hanging alone on the stove, with no Zao Wang Nai Nai by his side. It seemed that he wasn't married yet or was still a bachelor! In front of the stove, an offering table had been set up, arranged with various offerings: longan, lychee, red dates, chestnuts, several types of pastries, as well as fodder, clear water, incense sticks, and paper horses.

  As soon as the gate was closed, only Zheng Fu and Zheng Shou were left to accompany him. "Your Highness, please offer incense!" Zheng Fu said, handing over three sticks of incense.

  Zhao Ke took the incense, lit it on the candle, and bowed three times. He muttered to himself the two sentences he had just learned: "Thank you, Stove King, for blessing the Wang family's home with peace and safety. After returning to heaven, report to the heavenly court, speak of good things." Having finished speaking, he inserted the incense into the incense burner.

  "Master Wang, you apply this to the stove door!" Zheng Shou whispered in his ear, his voice as soft as a mosquito's hum, as if he was afraid that the Stove Master would hear him.

  "Hmm!" Zhao Zhe grabbed a handful of something handed over by Zheng Shou, and suddenly smelled a strong smell of wine. He sniffed it carefully under his nose, then pinched it with his fingers, feeling that it was loose and soft. He found out that this wasn't 'sugar gourd'. "Zheng Shou, what is this thing!" he asked curiously.

  "Your Majesty, this is the wine lees. The Kitchen God will report to Heaven tomorrow morning about the past year's work, so we're having a farewell feast in advance. We'll ask him to speak well of us when he ascends to Heaven. The wine lees are smeared on the kitchen door, which is called 'drunken words'. Once the Kitchen God gets drunk, he'll only say pleasant things!" Zheng Shou said quietly.

  "Oh! Isn't this cheating the Japanese devils?" Zhao understood that it was not yet fashionable to give Guowangye sugar, but they were giving him wine lees instead, which had the same intention of bribing. But if you want him to drink more, why not get him some real wine? What's the point of getting him wine lees? Who knows what Guowang will think, maybe he's also a content and easy-going god who can be easily fooled!

  "Your Highness, what did you say?" Zheng Shou asked, holding a basin and not understanding.

  "Nothing was said, but I felt that the Kitchen God was alone here, feeling quite lonely. One day we should find him a wife!" Zhao Yi said, and then grabbed some wine sediment and rubbed it on the kitchen door with force.

  "Hmm, ah?!" Zheng Shou hastily covered his mouth, narrowly avoiding shouting out loud in this solemn occasion. The prince was really something else, wanting to be the matchmaker for a god's marriage. He sneaked a glance at Zheng Fu, who was also struggling to hold back, his face purpling with effort.

  "The ceremony is over, please ascend to heaven, Stove King!" Zheng Fuqiang shouted loudly. The people in the courtyard heard his voice and lit the firecrackers they had prepared earlier. Suddenly, the sound of "bang bang" filled the air. Two men took down the portrait of Zao Wangye, Zhao Che lit the portrait and paper horse on fire, and the ceremony ended in a puff of smoke.

  Zhao Zhe walked out of the house, and the entire mansion was filled with the sound of firecrackers, shaking the sky and earth. At this time, the residents' homes outside the mansion were also worshiping the stove god, and the sound of firecrackers rose and fell, continuous and unbroken. After a lively scene, the drunken stove king rode his horse to heaven, I don't know if there is a "drunk driving" law in heaven, if so, he would be locked up in the heavenly prison for half a year, and might even delay his return to the mortal world.

  Fireworks have burned out, all the lights are extinguished, and the ancestor worship ceremony has come to an end. The servants have cleaned up the offerings, and everyone in the house, regardless of age or sex, has taken a little food for good luck. After dinner, people who had been busy all day also went to bed early, and the sound of clappers and the shouts of the night watchmen echoed through the house again.

  Zhao returned to his own courtyard, changed out of his ceremonial clothes, took a hot bath, and entered the bedroom. However, he discovered that there was a flickering flame under the bed. "It's on fire!" He jumped down, grabbed the teapot from the table, and was about to smash it under the bed. The house was made entirely of wood, and with the dry weather, losing control of the fire would not be a trivial matter.

  "Second Master, don't smash it! The lamp we lit is under the bed!" Hearing the shout, Guihua, who was keeping watch in the outer room, hurriedly ran in and said to Wang Ye, who was holding a teapot ready to smash.

  "What's the point of turning on the light under the bed?" Zhao asked with a furrowed brow.

  "In the capital city's customs, lighting a lamp under the bed tonight is 'to illuminate the void and drive away evil spirits!' said Gui Hua, taking the teapot from Zhao Che's hand and placing it on the table."

  "Oh, I see," Zhao Ye nodded and said, turning his face to Gui Hua who was hastily making the bed for him. His nose suddenly felt hot and his throat dry, Gui Hua had come in a hurry, only wearing her underclothes, inevitably revealing some of her spring beauty, making Zhao Ye, this old lecher from his past life, feel somewhat distressed.

  As the New Year approaches, the front gate of the Wang Mansion used to have only a few scattered small vendors calling out their wares. Now, however, a fixed market has formed, and every three, six, or nine days, people from the surrounding villages come to do business there. The mansion sent someone to chase them away several times, but it didn't have much effect. Later, after discussing it among themselves, the officials in charge designated an empty area outside the gate for them to operate independently. Before long, a crowd had gathered, and people from all over the countryside came to trade, buying some of their own homemade farm products to supplement their household expenses.

  Today is the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and it's also the last market day of this year. The government has already given a holiday since yesterday, and those who live nearby have all gone back home for the new year. Those debt-collecting Zhao brothers were each given two catties of pork and five catties of white flour to take back home for the new year. For those without official duties, today is a day for 'free activities' to go out and purchase some things.

  "Second Master, you'd better not go out. There are many people of all kinds outside the door, and it's inevitable that some rascals will be mixed in. If you have any trouble..." Zhao Ye listened to the peddling voices outside the mansion gate, his heart was also itching badly. Since he had crossed over, he hadn't spent money himself yet, and he wanted to go out too. He walked to the main entrance but was stopped by the chief steward.

  "I'll just go out, what's there to be afraid of at my own doorstep?" Zhao Yi said, turning his neck as he gazed out at the bustling crowd outside the mansion.

  "Second Master, we can't not be careful, besides, all the guards have gone out, it's not okay to leave you unaccompanied!" The steward was still trying to persuade him, thinking to himself that even in your own garden, you almost got taken down by someone, I'd rather die than let you go out.

  "Let Second Master join us, with everyone's protection, nothing will happen!" Zhao Ren interceded for Wang Ye, who was in a hurry, the last batch of dishes in the warm shed had been sold out, and the remaining ones were left for themselves to eat during the New Year. They also took a day off today, each taking some money from the counter, wanting to go out and have some fun.

  "Nonsense! Can you few kids protect the second master? There are so many people outside, it's already a blessing if you're not scattered!" Zheng Fu said with wide eyes.

  "Second Master, then you don't have to go out. What do you like? We'll buy it back for you!" Zhao Xin said with a fierce expression, sticking out her tongue at Zhao Ye, looking just like an older sister coaxing a younger brother.

  "Yes, Second Master, what do you want? We'll buy it back for you!" The young servants all chimed in, saying so because the prince treated them well, like brothers. Seeing his pitiful appearance, they sympathized with him and said so.

  "Never mind, you guys have fun and don't get lost, everyone goes together and comes back together!" Zhao Zhen knew that going out to play was not possible anymore, reluctantly outside the mansion, he instructed the young servants a few words, and led the two little eunuchs back with a dejected expression.

  As they entered the courtyard, several young eunuchs were busy picking up the leaves that had fallen overnight under the command of Wang Xiang. When he saw them, Zhao sighed and thought to himself that these young eunuchs were only a few years younger than him, but they looked dull and lifeless, with a resigned and submissive expression, completely lacking any youthful vigor. They had all entered the palace as children and from head to toe became imperial servants, their bodies having suffered irreparable damage, doing the most bitter and exhausting work, yet enduring suffering that ordinary people could hardly bear. Without the emperor's orders, they would spend their entire lives confined to this courtyard, unable to step out of the mansion gates even for a moment, until the day they were no longer able to move.

  "Tomorrow is the New Year, let everyone take a break! Today we'll play a game together!" Zhao Shu shouted, gathering the little yellow gates. He then said: "Ping Xi, there are not many people, go and find those from Dongyuan too!"

  "Yes!" Seeing Wang Ye's enthusiasm today, he quickly responded and called people to the Winter Garden. He was quite clever, knowing that Wang Ye was young, so he only called for small yellow gates in their teens, not a single older one moved.

  "All right, everyone listen to Master Wang's orders, and do as you're told!" Xiang Xi gathered the little yellow gates together and instructed them.

  "Everyone, don't be so formal. We're all just friends who've played games together before. Relax a bit and let's have some laughs!" Zhao Yan directed everyone to sit in a circle on the spot, standing in the middle with a smile.

  "Haha, haha, the king is making everyone laugh!" Seeing the bewildered look on the little eunuchs' faces, Ping Xi hurriedly urged them on. Zhao Zhen and the little eunuchs squeezed their eyebrows, twisted their mouths, and tried their best to put on a laughing face, but they were not laughing at all, instead they looked like they were crying. They had already become numb in this repetitive life, people no longer knew how to laugh.