Chapter 84

Chapter 85: Free Advertisement

On the ninth day of the tenth month in the first year of Zhenghe, the Renming Hall was bustling with activity early in the morning. After having her breakfast, Zheng Hongmei, as usual, sat in front of the dressing table, supported by Cui Zhu. Cui Zhu opened the Empress's hair, and Zheng Hongmei's long, beautiful hair cascaded down. Cui Zhu took out a jade comb from the makeup box, smoothed her hair, gathered it at the top, and tied it with silk ropes. She then braided in false hair, shaped it into a bun, and supported it with a pillar, making the hair tilt to the sides, resembling a majestic and dignified appearance.

"Empress, today you will move into the Ciming Hall and become the model for the nation. Why are you not happy?" The hairstyle was very intricate, and Cui Zhu asked while combing.

"Alas," Zheng Hongmei sighed without speaking. She was born into a family of a minor official; her father was just an external official of the royal household, also running a tavern, and their life was decent. Later, she was selected to enter the palace and, through hard work, became the head of Empress Xiang's attendants. At that time, the Emperor was still Prince Duan, who visited the palace daily to pay respects. He loved calligraphy and poetry, was skilled in music and dance, and excelled in various games. They often met, and over time, they fell in love. Empress Xiang then betrothed her and another head attendant, Wang Furong, to him as concubines.

Who would have thought that a few years later, Prince Duan ascended the throne as Emperor. At that time, the Emperor had forty-eight concubines. When she entered the palace, Empress Xiang was greatly surprised and had to send people to inspect each one. In terms of family background, she was inferior to the Empress and even to Consort Cui, but with her beauty, grace, and excellent education, she was well-versed in literature and arts, and was intelligent and lively. Within three years, she was promoted from a talent woman to a virtuous consort, and Wang Furong was promoted from a talent woman to a beautiful consort.

Thinking about this, Zheng Hongmei felt a bit excited. The Emperor regarded her as a soulmate. After giving birth to a pair of children, she was promoted to a noble consort and received even more favor from the Emperor. He often let her review memorials on his behalf. Her favor was so great that even Empress Wang stepped back. Her family was honored, and her father was ennobled as a national duke, rising to become a new noble of the Song Dynasty. Her struggle over these past dozen years was not easy, and who could understand the hardships she endured?

"Empress, your hair is done. Do you want to take a look?" Cui Zhu spent half an hour finishing the imperial hairstyle, picked up a bronze mirror, and placed it behind her for her to see.

"Why is it so dark? I can't see clearly. Bring me the ivory-handled glass mirror that Cheng gave me!" Zheng Hongmei looked at the blurry reflection in the mirror and said.

"Empress, with the glass mirror from Prince Nian, you think all the bronze mirrors are dark, even though this one is newly polished!" Cui Zhu laughed, took out a glass mirror, and had a palace maid hold it up for her to see from both sides.

"Good, let's change clothes!" Zheng Hongmei nodded after looking at herself.

"Attend to the Empress's dressing!" Cui Zhu called out, and a group of palace maids entered with the Empress's ceremonial robes, helping Zheng Hongmei put them on one by one.

The hairstyle was not easy to do, and the clothes were not easy to wear either. There were more than ten layers inside and out. This set of ceremonial robes was very precious and was only worn by the Empress during important ceremonies such as her investiture, visits to the Jingling Palace, and grand audiences. The robes were deep blue, embroidered with pheasant patterns, arranged in two rows of twelve pairs. The inner layer was a traditional plain silk robe, embroidered with patterns and red cuffs. The skirt was the same color as the robe, and the sash matched the robe color. She also wore jade pendants and various ribbons around her waist, blue stockings, and black shoes with wooden soles to prevent mud and dampness.

After dressing, Cui Zhu carefully held the phoenix crown, ready to place it on Zheng Hongmei. "Cui Zhu, is this a new phoenix crown?" Zheng Hongmei suddenly asked.

"Empress, the phoenix crown was remodeled according to your instructions, using the old crown. Look, the pearls are still from the old crown!" Cui Zhu replied. The Empress had repeatedly said that the investiture ceremony should be simple, saving national expenses, and that the phoenix crown did not need to be new, just remodeled from the old one.

"It's still too luxurious!" Zheng Hongmei sighed, looking at the phoenix crown in the tray. The crown was adorned with twelve dragons and nine phoenixes. The top of the front had one dragon, the middle had seven dragons, and the bottom had five phoenixes. The back had one dragon at the top and three dragons at the bottom. Each side had one phoenix at the top and one at the bottom. The dragons were either ascending, standing on all fours, or walking, each in a different posture. Below the dragons were flying phoenixes. The dragons and phoenixes held pearl strings in their mouths, and below them were pearl flowers, each with a different number of gems, surrounded by one or two circles of pearls. Additionally, there were ninety green clouds and seventy-four green leaves between the dragons and phoenixes. A band of pearls encircled the top of the crown, with a gold edge and twelve gems in the center. Each gem was surrounded by six pearls, and the gems were separated by pearl flowers. The crown had six panels, each with one gold dragon, two pearl flowers, and three pearl flowers, with pearl strings hanging from the edges. The entire crown had 121 gems and 3,588 pearls, and the phoenix eyes were embedded with eighteen small red gems.

After the complicated dressing procedure, Zheng Hongmei stood up and walked to a full-length mirror framed in huangli wood, carved with peonies and lilies, and inlaid with gold and silver. The mirror was comfortable to look at, and its color and design matched her palace perfectly. Looking at the elegant and beautiful woman in the mirror, she smiled. Cheng's gift was truly unique; this large glass mirror was a one-of-a-kind treasure in the Song Dynasty, and even the Emperor was amazed, calling it a miracle!

"Empress, the investiture ceremony is about to begin. Let's go; the officials are waiting to pay their respects!" Cui Zhu urged.

"Okay, let me check if anything is wrong!" Zheng Hongmei did not move, looking at herself in the glass mirror again. "Cui Zhu, where did Cheng get this mirror? It reflects so clearly that you can see every strand of hair!"

"Empress, you've said that several times!" Cui Zhu said, trying to suppress her laughter.

"Really?" Zheng Hongmei touched the smooth surface of the mirror, as if gently caressing her son's face. Today was the day she became the Empress, but her son could not personally congratulate her, leaving her with a deep sense of regret.

"Empress, although Prince Nian did not come in person, he sent you such a valuable gift. I heard the other consorts are very jealous and are now looking for where to buy one. I see that the Emperor has been staying in your palace these past few days, and he also wants to look at this glass mirror every day!" Cui Zhu said with a smile.

"Let's go. Cheng must have spent a lot on this mirror. It's a bit too luxurious." Zheng Hongmei said to the mirror, as if scolding her son.

"Empress, this is also Prince Nian's filial piety. To celebrate the grand ceremony, he sent fireworks from his estate, which were personally designed by the prince. I really want to see what they look like!" Cui Zhu said with anticipation.

"This child still likes to play around and doesn't focus on his studies. After the New Year, we need to find him a teacher!" Zheng Hongmei complained, but she was secretly pleased. Three years ago, the funeral procession outside the palace not only made her famous in the capital but also resolved the crisis for her and her son. However, it was a hard life for him!

Night had fallen, and the entire palace was lit up, with music and the scent of wine filling the air. The investiture banquet was in full swing. Zheng Hongmei sat beside the Emperor, raising her cup frequently, her face showing signs of fatigue. After accepting the congratulations of the officials, she retreated to accept the greetings of the palace consorts and noblewomen, having not rested all day.

"Your Majesty, the fireworks from Prince Nian are ready. Please move to the front of the hall to watch them!" Yang Jian bowed and said, then smiled at Zheng Hongmei. He was already regretting his past opposition to them.

"Hongmei, let's go. Second Son put a lot of effort into your ceremony. I'm even jealous!" Emperor Zhezong, slightly drunk, laughed and helped her up.

"Your Majesty!" Zheng Hongmei said with a playful tone. "Tomorrow is the Heavenly Peace Festival. The pair of glass lion paperweights Cheng gave you are unique in the world, and the wine for the celebration is also from his estate, a specially made distilled liquor. You can't get drunk!"

The couple laughed and walked out, while Consort Wang and Consort Cui, though hating them, did not dare to show it. They had planned to use Empress Wang's funeral to trap them but ended up losing both the Empress position and their plans.

'Swish!' As soon as they stepped out of the hall, several flashes with whistling sounds shot into the sky, exploding at a height of over thirty zhang, like a sky full of fireflies, causing a chorus of exclamations.

"Your Majesty, Empress, this is the 'Three Offerings of Flowers'!" Huang Jingchen, who was already waiting at the hall entrance, acted as the commentator.

"This is the 'Three Reports of Flowers'!"

"This is 'Five Sons Ascending to Office,' followed by 'Five Dragons Playing with a Pearl'"

"What is that?" Before the ones in the sky had fallen, several fire beams suddenly shot up from the ground, emitting red and green colors, like snowflakes falling, and Emperor Zhezong asked urgently.

"Your Majesty, this is 'Silver Flowers on Fire Trees,' named by Prince Nian!" Huang Jingchen quickly answered.

"Good, very fitting!" Emperor Zhezong praised.

'Boom!' Fire dragons soared into the sky, exploding into lotus flowers, chrysanthemums, and plum blossoms. Although the Song Dynasty had fireworks, they rarely had such aerial displays. Now, the sky over the capital was filled with colorful lights, and the people in the palace and the capital were entranced, their cheers and exclamations rising and falling.

"Empress, look at this. The prince specially dedicated it to you and the Emperor!" Huang Jingchen was satisfied with the crowd's reaction. Although this was not his idea, he was proud to be in charge of this 'grand ceremony.'

As Huang Jingchen spoke, hundreds of bright spots exploded in the sky, forming a huge smiley face. "Your Majesty, Cheng is smiling at us!" Zheng Hongmei pointed to the smiley face in the sky and shouted.

"I see it, I see it. Cheng is happy for you!" Emperor Zhezong, moved by Zheng Hongmei's excitement, laughed loudly.

'Swish!' Before the smiley face had dissipated, a golden waterfall, three zhang high and ten zhang wide, appeared on the square, causing another round of exclamations. 'Pop!' A series of explosions revealed a line of red characters: "Father, Mother, be happy every day!" Zheng Hongmei could no longer hold back her tears, which streamed down her face. Emperor Zhezong, also moved, watched as the characters slowly faded and disappeared.

"Quick, tell the fireworks workshop and the glass workshop to speed up production. Our chance to make money is here again!" The next day, Zhao Cheng received a message from Huang Jingchen and shouted excitedly.

"Prince, are you feverish? Our fireworks workshop just started production. Who will buy our products? And who will buy the expensive mirrors you plan to sell?" Jianxi looked at the prince, who seemed to be in a frenzy.

"Ha ha, the Emperor and Empress are advertising for us. Who else has such influence? Orders will soon flood in, and this year will be a good one!" Zhao Cheng laughed.

"Alas, the prince never takes a loss, even from his own father and mother!" Jianxi muttered to himself, looking at the prince's triumphant expression.

Page AD starts

Page AD ends