Chapter 43: New Year's (4)

  除夕 is the last day of the year and also one of the most grand traditional Chinese festivals. When Zhao Xiao got up, the accumulated snow in the courtyard had already been swept clean by the early-rising little yellow gatekeeper. He still came to the martial arts arena in the backyard as usual, exercised his body, practiced two rounds of boxing, and lifted a small stone lock dozens of times, with sweat on his body. The three-dan bow placed by Zhao Xiao on the weapon rack, thinking that he had lost his temper on it two months ago, with no one around, stretched out his hand to hold the bow in his hand, squatted in a horse stance, and slowly pulled the bow open!

  "Ah, I've finally mastered this broken bow!" Zhao Chu exclaimed, throwing the bow onto the rack with excitement and tears in his eyes. These days, no matter how tired he was or how cold it was outside, he persisted in practicing every morning - horse stance, stone lock, and even added night shifts - push-ups, sit-ups, wall squats... not a single one could be missed! How could he not be thrilled? This marked his complete liberation from the harassment of the unpredictable little ghost and shaking off the label of being short-lived!

  Zhao Zuo was delighted, and after returning home, he ate two more egg and meat buns for breakfast. Then, accompanied by a group of young servants, he walked to the front yard to inspect the work. The snow on the roads and lanterns had been cleared away, and the miscellaneous workers were still busy transporting the swept-up snow away. This snowfall had caused them a lot of trouble, so Zhao Zuo asked them about their hardships before heading straight to the kitchen.

  "Hello, Second Master!" The cooks hurriedly greeted Zhao as he entered.

  "It's the New Year, and you've all been working hard these past few days in the mansion. Not only do you have to prepare meals for everyone, but after finishing one meal, you have to worry about the next one. It's exhausting!" Zhao said with a wave of his hand.

  "Hou Guanshi, you distribute it among everyone, this is the second master's reward for everyone!" Zhao Ren immediately handed over two silver ingots weighing about ten taels from behind him.

  "Second Master, these are our duties, you can rest assured!" said Hou Guan Shi as he respectfully accepted the ingot.

  "Heh heh, in the government offices, everyone else has some spare time, but you guys are busy all year round, day and night, without a break. The busier you are during festivals, the more I want to show my apology with this little bit of silver!" Zhao Ke said with a bow to everyone.

  Zhao Zhan had been a top leader for several years in his previous life, and every year during festivals, he would "go to the grassroots level and send warmth". He deeply understood the subtleties of this, although the things were not many, but they could reflect the leader's care and attention to them. Sometimes people just need these little things.

  "Everyone, stop what you're doing! Second Master has not only come here in person, but also rewarded us with twenty taels of silver! Today, we must all put in our best effort and do our jobs well, to live up to Second Master's expectations!" Manager Hou announced, holding up the silver as he turned to face the kitchen staff.

  "Thank you, Master Zhao! Don't worry, Master Zhao!" The apprentices responded in unison and immediately became busy, their hands and feet moving more quickly than before. Zhao asked about the menu for the next few days and, accompanied by the steward, inspected the preparations of various items in the kitchen with a serious expression, praising him a few times before leaving amidst everyone's respectful farewells.

  Zhao Zhe left the dining hall and rushed to the courtyard where the guards lived, lifted the door curtain and said "it's hard work", and immediately another 20 taels of silver were rewarded. "Second Master, what are you doing? We're terrified!" Meng Tao said with a bow.

  "Master Meng, everyone has been guarding the safety of the mansion day and night without rest. Second Master is heartbroken that it's almost New Year's, so he wants to give everyone some extra money for wine. Tonight, those on night duty can also go out to ward off the cold!" Zhao Ren stepped forward to answer on behalf of Wang Ye.

  "Thank you, Second Master! We'll take it then!" Meng Tao stepped forward to receive it and turned around to say to the crowd of guards: "Although it's Second Master who gave everyone extra wine money, remember not to make mistakes, those who can drink should drink less, and those who can't shouldn't drink at all. During the New Year, there are many places in the mansion where fires are lit, and outside, there are also many taboos that cannot be broken. The lives of the 200 people in the mansion are in everyone's hands, don't disappoint Second Master's kindness!"

  "Everyone has to eat well and have fun during the New Year, so I'll leave it to all of you! I'm going somewhere else!" Zhao Ye smiled as he bid farewell. As soon as he left, the guards who were unwilling to stand watch earlier started shouting and fighting over who would take the night shift. Meng Tao realized that everyone was not motivated by the reward money from the king, but rather because they were grateful that the king had not forgotten them.

  Zhao Zhan led the young servants to stroll around the mansion, and none of the flower houses, stables, tea rooms, and various offices were missed. They walked through every corner of the mansion, whether it was the steward who was in charge of the affairs or the servants who fed the horses, guarded the doors, or swept the floors. He went forward to chat with them for a few sentences during the New Year's greetings, asked about their family's New Year's situation, and gave some silver as a token of goodwill.

  As they approached noon, the group arrived at the gate, which was their final destination. The gatekeepers were in the process of removing old symbols and replacing them with new peach symbols. Zhao Xiang felt a sense of novelty, as he had often heard people say "new peach replaces old symbol" in his past life, but had never seen what a peach symbol looked like before. He didn't expect that heaven would throw him into this era to fulfill his wish.

  "Zhao Ren, what kind of gods are painted on this talisman?" Zhao Chen had just put on a new peach wood amulet and was holding it behind his back. The two gods were wearing tiger head helmets, with ferocious expressions, holding small ghosts riding fierce tigers, absolutely not the door gods Qin Shubao and Wei Zhengde of later generations.

  "Second Master, the one on the right is Yu Lei and the one on the left is Shen Tao. Legend has it that on Mount Du Shuo in the Eastern Sea, there's a giant peach tree with a trunk stretching 3,000 miles, its branches reaching all the way to the Ghost Gate in the northeast. The ghosts living in the caves under the gate come and go through this door every day. Under the tree stand two divine generals, Shen Tao and Yu Lei, guarding it. Whenever they find evil spirits that harm people, they use a rope made of reeds to tie them up and feed them to tigers. As peach wood is the essence of the five woods and can ward off evil, people carve the images of these two generals on peach wood and hang talismans with reed ropes!" Zhao Ren told the story in great detail.

  "What Zhao Ren said is not bad, with the two of them guarding the gate, plus this god, big ghosts and small ghosts can't get in!" Old Gatekeeper Tian Shu smiled and said, and again respectfully pasted the Zhong Kui picture on the large gate.

  "Alright, they'll take care of the ghosts, Uncle Tian will take care of the people. Not a single evil ghost or bad person can get in!" Zhao Che said with a smile, and had Zhao Ren hand over a two-tael silver ingot to Old Tian.

  "Thank you, Second Master. I'll make sure that a few of us old men guard the gate well and don't let any troublemakers in!" The old man said with a smile.

  After comforting all the staff who were still 'fighting' at their posts in the mansion, Zhao Yi felt his face aching from smiling, and his legs were cramping up. This big round of visits was quite tiring, and when he returned to the study, he drank two cups of hot tea before feeling somewhat recovered.

  "Second Master, today we spent a total of 162 taels of silver. I have already disbursed 200 taels, and there are still 38 taels left!" Zhao Ren said as he poured tea for the king.

  "Alright, you keep the rest for now, we might need it tonight!" Zhao Che nodded and said, he looked up and down at Zhao Ren, he had observed these little brothers for a long time, among them, Zhao Ren was steady and had a very elder brotherly demeanor.

  "Yes, Second Master!" Zhao Ren replied, turning around to leave.

  "Oh, Zhao Ren, please invite everyone in. It's cold outside. Also, instruct the kitchen to send more dishes. You all will have lunch with me!" said Zhao Yan, leaning back on the soft couch.

  "This is it, Second Master, I will instruct them right away!" Zhao Ren hesitated for a moment and then replied to the king's face.

  On New Year's Eve, we should worship our ancestors and welcome the gods and Buddha. After lunch, each department has invested in this most important task. Zhao Shu, as the host, is confused and doesn't understand these complicated rituals. He can only follow orders like a puppet, without any right to speak.

  After nightfall, the mansion was brightly lit, with all lanterns and fire basins in the ancestral hall fully ignited, illuminating the entire compound as if it were daytime. All relevant personnel inside the mansion changed into new clothes, standing solemnly outside the ancestral hall with their heads bowed, as the sound of silk and bamboo instruments filled the air. Zhao Shi entered the ancestral hall accompanied by Huang Jingchen.

  Inside the temple, more than a dozen thick red candles spewed flames, and on the wall hung the images of emperors and empresses of the Song Dynasty. The size of the images was equal to that of real people, with crowns on their heads and imperial robes on their bodies, looking solemn and dignified. The images were framed with silk edges up and down, left and right, mounted on yellow silk, and in front of them were placed three sacrifices and other offerings.

  "Your Majesty, this is the founder of our dynasty. From a young age, he enjoyed practicing martial arts and later joined the army, rising to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard. He was then proclaimed Emperor by his troops at Chen Bridge. With diligence and dedication, he went on to conquer Jingnan, Later Shu, Southern Han, and Southern Tang, pacifying Wu Yue and Zhangquan, laying the foundation for our great Song dynasty's hundred-year prosperity!" Huang Jingchen said to Zhao Kuangyi.

  "My god, it's actually the traditional family revolutionary education!" He himself was also surnamed Zhao in his past life, and after rebirth, he still had the surname Zhao. It is said that people with the same surname are from the same family five hundred years ago, who knows if he really has a relationship with him? Kneeling down to pay respects wouldn't be a loss, Zhao Zhe muttered to himself, knelt down and performed the ritual of three bows and nine knocks, and lit three incense sticks.

  "This is Emperor Taizong of Tang, younger brother of Emperor Gaozu of Tang"

  "This is the true ancestor of the emperor, and he was the third son of Taizong"

  "This is Emperor Renzong, who was the sixth son of Emperor Zhenzong."

  "This is Emperor Yingzong, because Renzong had no children, the throne was passed to Taizong's great-grandson Zhao Yunrang, the 13th son of Prince An of Pu"

  "This is Emperor Zhenzong of Song, the eldest son of Emperor Taizong"

  "This is the former Emperor Dezong of Tang, the sixth son of Emperor Gaozong"

  Huang Jingchen introduced one, Zhao Ye was about to salute with his buttocks and pay respects seven times, 79 times in total. In this life or the next, he had never saluted so many times, making him dizzy. As he knelt down to listen to the next emperor's life story, Huang Jingchen smiled and said: "Your Highness, the ceremony is complete, you can rise!"

  "Ah!" Zhao Chu stood up and rubbed his knees, only then realizing that the next one was his own father. He's still alive, can't hang around here to enjoy the worship of future generations, but at this moment he must be in the capital, also sticking out his butt with his brothers kowtowing. Thinking of this, Zhao Chu couldn't help but laugh.

  As soon as Zhao Zhe walked out of the ancestral hall, firecrackers and drums sounded outside the mansion, various fireworks burst open, flames shot in all directions, red light reflected on the sky, and everyone in the mansion knelt down to pay their respects to him, congratulating him in unison!