Song Xingzhi a vécu sous le règne de l'empereur Huizong

Chapitre 47

Tonight, the moonlight is like a ribbon, and the stars are faint, with the Milky Way hanging low to the ground. Occasionally, an autumn breeze blows by, carrying a wisp of mist that obscures the moonlight, leaving one feeling disoriented and lost, as if in a fog.

Sometimes she wondered, were the moonlight and starry nights of the Song Dynasty clearer or more hazy than those of modern times? Was the mist swirling around the bright moonlight a continuation of millennia, or a unique spectacle belonging only to the Song Dynasty? In that era, with so many people in the world, why was it she who traveled through time to the Song Dynasty to experience and witness all of this? Over the past month, she had increasingly questioned the meaning of her existence. Was she here merely to improve Zehua's marriage? Or to indirectly incite conflict between Zehua and Zhao Dezhao? And what about Zhao Guangyi and the Empress…?

Wanlan crossed her arms and curled up in the stone chair in the pavilion, letting out a long sigh. She never imagined that her affairs would involve her uncle and mother's secret—no, the whole thing was orchestrated by the Emperor himself. When she was kidnapped that day, she was in a daze and had no idea what had happened. When she woke up, she was already in Luoyang Palace. Even though she had once thought of visiting Luoyang, she never imagined that she would be imprisoned in Luoyang Palace under such circumstances.

"It seems I'm always trapped in a prison city. Even though I'm in two different timelines, this situation of waiting to die remains unchanged. Ha!" With a mocking laugh, Wanlan loosened her arms and lightly pounded her increasingly numb legs, laughing at herself as she did so: "I've survived being locked up in a hospital for over ten years since I was a child, but I can't even stand being unable to move for a month." Although she had been kidnapped by Zhao Dezhao for over a month last time, she was drugged and unconscious for half the time, and spent the other half lying in bed in a coma due to frequent attacks. This time, apart from being drowsy due to heatstroke a few days ago, she had been perfectly lucid the rest of the time. Bored and worried, her mind naturally wandered to random thoughts.

"I wonder what the situation is like in Kaifeng now..." Stretching and standing up, she slowly strolled out of the pavilion. Life in Luoyang Palace was actually quite peaceful and comfortable; she was well taken care of, but there was no one to talk to. "My uncle and mother are under house arrest, and although the Prince of Yan isn't confined, he can't leave the capital. Zehua should have returned to the capital by now..." Muttering to herself as she walked towards her bedroom, Wanlan pondered the recent events. Although she knew that thinking about these things was futile given her current predicament, she couldn't help but think about it. Perhaps there was something she could do?

What was the Emperor's intention in summoning the three of them back to the capital at this time? It is already mid-August, only two months away from October when Emperor Taizu of Song died. Could Emperor Taizu's death be related to events that occurred during this period?

etc!

“…Mid-August…” Suddenly remembering something, Wanlan looked up again at the huge bright moon in the night sky. “Could today be the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth of August?” She never thought that no matter where she went, she would still spend this festival alone. She wondered what Zehua was doing now. If the capital city wasn’t in such a state of fear, she wondered how lively this Mid-Autumn Festival would be.

"Your Highness..." came the cautious address from Qiuju, who had served her for over a month. When Lan Wen brought her and Xia He back to the capital to be dealt with by the Empress, the Empress, considering that she had been deceived into committing the crime, only transferred her away from the palace to Luoyang Palace to be a sweeping maid. However, after seeing her by chance, she transferred her to serve by her side. But this girl seemed unable to let go of what had happened last time, and was always trembling with fear when facing her. She had gradually gotten used to it from feeling helpless.

"What's up?"

"Today... is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I made some small cakes. Your Highness, would you like to try some?"

"Small cakes?" Wanlan opened her eyes in surprise, and her lips slowly curved into a smile. "Okay, then bring some over." This girl is actually quite a thoughtful person. If her attitude wasn't so anxious, she would probably feel more at ease.

Watching Qiuju leave with a joyful expression, Wanlan suddenly felt much better. She smiled and turned back to the pavilion she had just left, sitting back down on the stone chair. Regardless, having a familiar face in Luoyang Palace was still a comfort, even though Qiuju hadn't dared to look her in the eye. This was one of the reasons she had been relatively calm over the past month.

Before long, Qiuju led two palace maids in pink into the pavilion. Each of them carried an exquisite porcelain plate with three small cakes neatly arranged on it, which looked quite delicate and delicious.

"It's fine if Qiuju stays; you may all leave."

With great interest, Wanlan picked up a small cake from one of the plates, took a bite, and exclaimed in delight, "This cake is sweet but not greasy, soft and delicious. It's a bit different from ordinary cakes, but it's very good!" Chewing the cake carefully, she smiled and said, "Qiuju, your skills are amazing! This is mung bean flavored. You incorporated the techniques of making pastries into the process of making this cake, making it extra soft. It's a very good approach."

"This servant...this servant doesn't know if this is good or not," Qiuju said with delight upon hearing the praise. She excitedly pointed to the other two plates of "Dipped Butterflies" (a type of pastry), "Your Highness, please try these two as well. They are made with chestnut flour and peanut flour, respectively. This servant only made them to make them easier for Your Highness to eat. If Your Highness likes them, this servant will make more for you another day, okay?"

Wanlan glanced at her with a smile. This girl probably hadn't noticed that her tone wasn't as stuttering anymore. She reached for a chestnut-flavored biscuit and started eating. She replied casually, "Okay!"

Qiuju stood behind Wanlan with great excitement, watching intently as she slowly finished the three plates of small cakes. She immediately stepped forward with a cup of tea, then cleared away the plates. Just as she was about to leave, Wanlan called her back:

"Qiuju, don't rush off, talk to me for a bit."

Qiuju instinctively gripped the plate in her hand and tried to kneel down, "Your Highness?"

Wanlan quickly grabbed her and pulled her aside. Qiuju sat down and stared blankly at her. Wanlan smiled helplessly, "Qiuju, you don't need to be so afraid. I'm not going to eat you. Just sit here and talk to me."

"What does Your Highness/Princess wish to say?"

Wanlan glanced at her with a smile, then suddenly covered her mouth and chuckled, "You look so familiar!" She remembered that when she first arrived at the Prince of Qin's mansion, Xuan'er's attitude towards her was exactly the same as Qiuju's now! However, Xuan'er's transformation between the roles of maid and guard was truly amazing. She was obedient and gentle when she was a maid, and calm and loyal when she was a guard.

"Qiuju, you've been in this palace longer than I have, and you've often moved around the various halls, so you should be quite familiar with this place, right? Do you know roughly how many people are in this palace?"

"Your Highness, I have only been here for about two months. Before that, I was doing some sweeping and cleaning in the side hall. Although I could move around freely, I don't know how many people are in the palace."

"Really? Do you usually have the opportunity to leave the palace?"

Qiuju was quick-witted. Hearing her question, she cautiously glanced around and asked in a low voice, "Does the Princess want to leave the palace?" This was probably the boldest question she had posed in a month. Since seeing the Princess here and her movements restricted, although she didn't know the truth, she knew that it was the current Emperor who had imprisoned the Princess here. Not long after the Princess entered, when she was transferred to serve by the Emperor's side, she had been warned more than once that she must not let anything happen to the Princess, or her life would be in danger.

Wanlan chuckled softly, "What's the use of thinking about it? I can't get out anyway. I was just wondering if anyone could leave the palace and buy me some things."

"What would the Princess like to buy?"

Wanlan propped her chin up and tilted her head to think for a moment. To be honest, she didn't know what to buy. But if she continued to live like this, even if she wasn't driven crazy, she would probably become mentally impaired.

"Could you find that kind of silk thread?" Wanlan asked thoughtfully, her eyes suddenly lighting up. "Yes, could you help me find a ribbon that's several times thicker than ordinary silk thread, about—" She looked around, her gaze landing on a pink begonia in the garden, and smiled, "Let's compare it to this branch. It's about half the thickness of this begonia branch. I need red, yellow, and pink ones. Can you find them?"

Qiuju followed her gaze to the crabapple tree. Although she was puzzled, she dared not overstep her bounds and asked, so she replied, "This servant does not know either, but we can have them go out and look for it."

"Then let's ask them to help us look for it!" Wanlan smiled, her eyes crinkling. Finally, she had something to do!

“Actually…” Qiuju began hesitantly, but when she saw Wanlan looking up at her, she said cautiously, “Your Highness, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival.”

Wanlan raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"Luoyang is quite lively. If you would like to go out of the palace for a visit, I can talk to Aunt Xu about it. Perhaps it will be possible."

Aunt Xu was the person in charge of things in the Luoyang Palace.

"Really?" Wanlan stared at her in surprise.

Qiuju quickly lowered her eyes to explain, "This servant is merely making a suggestion; I don't know if Aunt Xu will agree." (Wen-Ren-S-H-U)

Wanlan excitedly pulled her along and ran out of the pavilion. "Whether she agrees or not, the fact that you made the suggestion means that the method has some feasibility. Let's give it a try!"

=== ...

Note: The small cakes mentioned here are the predecessors of mooncakes.

The term "Mid-Autumn Festival" only came into use during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Song (which will be mentioned in the next section). In the early Northern Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was not officially designated as "Mid-Autumn Festival." At that time, it was called by many names, such as "Zhongqiu Festival," "Autumn Festival," "August Festival," "August Gathering," "Reunion Festival," "Daughter's Festival," "Moon Festival," "Moon Evening," "Moon Chasing Festival," "Moon Viewing Festival," and "Moon Worship Festival."

At that time, the imperial palace in the Northern Song Dynasty ate palace cakes, while ordinary people ate small cakes and moon cakes. These special Mid-Autumn Festival cakes were also known as "lotus leaf," "golden flower," and "hibiscus," and their production methods were very exquisite.

In this section, I mentioned incorporating pastry-making techniques into the cookie-making process to make the cookies softer. This is just my own speculation and has no basis in fact... *cough*! Readers, just take it with a grain of salt~

So~

See you next week!

Chapter 56, Overlapping Tear Stains Seal Words (2)

There are many origins of the Mid-Autumn Festival, but it was not until the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Northern Song Dynasty that it was officially designated as a festival. At that time, Emperor Taizong officially set the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month as the Mid-Autumn Festival in the capital city of Kaifeng, taking the meaning of the middle of autumn. On that day, all people would celebrate together and the whole country would be in harmony.