The minor officials outside the mainstream could naturally take advantage of the holiday to rest and recuperate, while also managing their social circles. However, for high-ranking officials, the act of paying New Year’s visits carried additional professional implications.
Even Wen Yanran, as the emperor, had numerous visits to make among relatives and friends – some of the clan relatives residing in Jianping had already been summoned to the palace to attend a private banquet hosted by the sovereign.
Wen Yanran rarely wore attire that adhered strictly to ceremonial norms. Her hair was secured by the imperial crown, with twelve strands of beaded tassels hanging in front of her, swaying gently. Even as she sat on the throne with a smile, she appeared profoundly inscrutable.
Under the direction of the ceremonial official, the clan members rose to their feet. Led by the State Preceptor, with the Eleventh Princess and the Thirteenth Prince following closely behind, they offered a toast to the sovereign, performing three bows before rising.
Wen Yanran sat behind the jade table, her broad black sleeves cascading to the floor, their ends winding like a flowing dark river or mist. In the golden goblet before her lay warm Tusu wine, its aroma mingled with the scent of medicinal herbs. Leaning against the armrest, the Emperor waited until the clan members had finished their obeisance before raising the goblet, barely touching it to her lips before setting it down again.
While some of the relatives sensed a hint of aloofness in the sovereign’s demeanor, the more pronounced it was, the more reassured they felt in their hearts.
Following the toasts came singing and dancing. The Music Bureau played lutes and struck bells while performers danced gracefully. Wen Yanran watched lazily; though she personally had little interest in the palace performances, judging by the reactions of others, the programs prepared by the Imperial Household could indeed be described as splendid.
In addition to hosting the banquet, Wen Yanran also needed to bestow gifts upon her relatives. The highest-grade presents were, of course, sent first to the Tianfu Palace, which oversaw ancestral temple ceremonies – it was said that previous emperors would occasionally hand-copy Taoist scriptures to send there as offerings for ancestral worship. However, after learning about the length of these scriptures and the calligraphic standards required for copying them, Wen Yanran decided to delegate this honorable task to her younger sister and brother, at the cost of parting with some of her own playthings.
When Wen Yuansheng and Wen Zhihua were assigned this task, they actually seemed quite pleased. Upon hearing the news, the clan members also believed that the Emperor intended to show regard for her siblings by having them act on her behalf. They completely overlooked the fate of the former Seventh Prince and concluded that the sovereign was indeed a benevolent ruler who cherished familial bonds.
During the previous emperor’s reign, banquets of this kind sometimes lasted all night. However, under Wen Yanran’s rule, the gathering concluded before 9 p.m., and she even urged the Eleventh Princess and the Thirteenth Prince, who wished to linger longer, to return to the Qiyan Palace.
Wen Yanran instructed the attendants nearby, “Take them back to rest. Children shouldn’t stay up late.”
Wen Yuansheng argued fervently, claiming that “since it’s the end of the year, our ages should be counted as one year older,” and that “at our age, we can’t be considered young children with unbound hair,” which amused everyone and briefly filled the hall with a cheerful atmosphere.
Wen Yanran laughed and said, “If even I don’t count as an adult, how can you claim to be one?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the light laughter in the hall came to an abrupt and eerie halt – the relatives suddenly realized that Her Majesty was only thirteen years old, and for a moment, they felt as though their own years had been wasted…
They had previously suspected that the State Preceptor might have deliberately chosen a thirteen-year-old, the most easily controlled puppet among the surviving princesses and princes, to become emperor. However, through her actions since ascending the throne, Wen Yanran had successfully helped restore their confidence in the Tianfu Palace’s loyalty.
After returning to her bedchamber, Wen Yanran did not immediately retire for the night.
Her game assistance system interface had previously shown occasional flickering, as if suffering from poor contact. During the banquet earlier, it had even blacked out completely for a while, after which a rather dated-looking “[loading…]” prompt appeared in the center of the screen.
A normal game interface taking more than a minute to load would be considered a design flaw, but Wen Yanran’s system interface had shown no new content from the banquet until her return to the Western Yong Palace.
Suspecting that she had unfortunately acquired the most useless golden finger imaginable, Wen Yanran watched it for a while before finally choosing to lie down silently and close her eyes.
As an emperor burdened with heavy social obligations, she still had to wake up early the next day and couldn’t afford to stay up late waiting for this useless game system.
In the Western Yong Palace, palace attendants naturally kept watch through the night. Around the first watch of the Chou hour (1am to 3am), a sudden movement came from within the silk curtains.
“Water.”
The alert attendant, unsure why the Emperor had abruptly awakened, swiftly brought a cup of warm water to soothe her throat.
In truth, Wen Yanran had been jolted awake by the system – it was only today that she discovered, for the first time, that this thing even had an alarm function.
The reason this system, which its host had internally dismissed countless times as useless, had stirred in the middle of the night was to notify the player that its new features had finished loading.
Wen Yanran glanced at it and noticed a new subdirectory named [Monarch’s Notes]. Upon selecting it, a blank document capable of character input appeared.
“…”
Refusing to give up, she tested it and found that, aside from allowing some basic note-taking, the [Monarch’s Notes] truly had no additional functions – it wasn’t even as versatile as a basic txt document.
Ahem, ahem.
The palace attendants serving in the hall noticed that the Emperor had suddenly choked while drinking water, bending over as she coughed twice. The nearby attendants rushed to assist but were waved away by the sovereign.
Wen Yanran set down the cup and peacefully lay back under the covers, thinking to herself that this system was quite unusual – not only did it cultivate the player’s self-reliance, but it also helped build resilience against unexpected incidents…
In the Great Zhou dynasty, the period around January was considered a statutory holiday. However, for officials, on certain important days, they were required to dutifully report to the Taiqi Palace to attend the Grand Court Assembly.
Unlike the regular court sessions, the Grand Court Assembly was held at the Qianyuan Hall.
Wen Yanran, assisted by the inner officials, once again donned the elaborate imperial attire and sat upon the throne to receive the homage of the hundred officials.
In attendance were not only capital officials but also local administrators from various regions. They either came in person or dispatched court emissaries, gathering in Jianping to present their reports and, in addition, offer tribute to the sovereign.
During the New Year period, while Wen Yanran needed to distribute substantial rewards, she also received a considerable sum of wealth in the form of tribute.
Beyond the formal officials of Great Zhou, various border tribes that had submitted to Zhou’s authority also sent envoys to pay their respects. However, unlike the court emissaries who were generally granted access to the hall, only envoys from relatively prominent major tribes had the opportunity to enter the Qianyuan Hall. As for smaller tribes, not only were they denied entry to the hall, but even if they proactively expressed willingness to bow in submission and serve the Zhou court, they would not be accepted by the Central Plains.
Wen Yanran only made a brief appearance at the very beginning, allowing the officials from various regions to catch a glimpse of the current sovereign’s general appearance, before instructing her attendants to set up a screen so she could catch up on sleep.
The Grand Court Assembly was a formal affair. Even the tyrannical Emperor Li could not retreat to the inner palace to sleep under such circumstances, so Wen Yanran had no choice but to sit dutifully through the entire day.
In addition to local officials and border tribes, those holding noble titles were also required to attend court and pay respects to the sovereign. Among them was the emissary of the Marquis of Quanling.
As was widely known, since the new emperor’s ascension, Wen Jinming had consistently delayed her arrival in Jianzhou, almost openly declaring her intention to challenge the sovereign. Thus, the envoy she sent to Jianping attracted particular attention. Within the Qianyuan Hall, countless observers sought to gauge the attitudes of both sides through this encounter.
The envoy of the Marquis of Quanling stepped forward to pay respects, and from behind the consistently quiet mica screen, a voice finally emerged:
“It has been many years since I last saw the Marquis of Quanling, and I miss her dearly. May I ask when she plans to enter the capital?”
The Qianyuan Hall, filled with a great number of people, had not been particularly quiet before. Yet, the moment she spoke, silence fell so completely that one could hear a pin drop.
The envoy of the Marquis of Quanling replied, “The Marquis is unwell. Once she has recovered, she will come to Jianping to pay her respects to Your Majesty.”
“The late Prince Yanding was already in his sixties and gravely ill, yet he forced himself to endure his illness and followed the envoy to the capital. Now, the Marquis of Quanling is merely thirty – could it be that she is inferior to an elderly man?”
After all, Jianping was Wen Yanran’s territory. Without needing any direct indication from the sovereign, a court official stepped forward to rebuke. “Moreover, according to regulations, if a feudal lord refuses a summons without just cause, their rank should be demoted.”
Prince Yanding was a royal feudal lord from the era of Emperor Zhuang of the previous dynasty, widely praised in the world for his virtue and wisdom. The Marquis of Quanling, Wen Jinming, had once been called the second Prince Yanding. By making this comparison, the court official clearly intended it as a pointed satire.
The envoy of the Marquis of Quanling replied with neither humility nor arrogance, “Although the late Prince Yanding’s loyalty in entering the capital despite his illness was praised by the world, it inevitably led to suspicions that Emperor Zhuang mistreated his kin. The Marquis of Quanling would rather bear criticism herself than tarnish Your Majesty’s reputation for benevolence.”
Wen Yanran could not help but chuckle softly and responded at a leisurely pace, “It is not difficult to preserve my reputation for benevolence. As long as the Marquis of Quanling is willing to return and reside in Jianping, the world will see the harmonious relationship between ruler and subject, and everyone will naturally recognize my generous nature.”
Upon hearing this, the envoy of the Marquis of Quanling faltered slightly but did not dare to refute the sovereign. He could only bow his head and say, “I will surely convey Your Majesty’s words to the Marquis.”
Wen Yanran had no interest in making things difficult for a mere envoy and instructed the inner official to escort him away. Given her current authority, she could, of course, issue an imperial decree directly to strip Wen Jinming of her title and reduce her to a commoner. However, unlike the sovereign, whose influence was still largely concentrated in Jianzhou, Wen Jinming had built her power base outside the capital for many years. Even if she were demoted to common status, many outside the court would still regard her as the Marquis of Quanling.
Since her transmigration, Wen Yanran had repeatedly witnessed how public sentiment could influence political power, and the Marquis of Quanling herself was a figure who had left a profound impression on her.
After the highly anticipated envoy of the Marquis of Quanling withdrew, the atmosphere relaxed considerably. Wen Yanran simply closed her eyes, propped her chin on her hand, and dozed off on the throne. With the screen blocking the view, the officials outside could not see whether the Emperor’s eyes were open or closed. Even if an event arose that required her special attention, the attendants at her side would remind her.
Zhang Luo looked at the weary-faced emperor, thinking how diligently she attended to state affairs, reviewing memorials even late into the night – truly, she had it tough.
Chi Yi, on the other hand, reflected that most of the court officials who came to pay their respects spoke in hollow, ceremonial phrases fit for the festive season, with little substantive value. No wonder Her Majesty grew impatient. Those in office should indeed focus more on practical matters and less on empty rhetoric.
The two Vice Commissioner of the City Bureau exchanged a glance, each recognizing that the other had gained some new insight.
Following the protocol, after the court audience, the Emperor was to host a banquet in the palace for the officials.
Wen Yanran had been somewhat curious about the New Year’s feast menu earlier and had the Imperial Household submit it for her review, intending to make adjustments based on her personal preferences.
As the sovereign revered by all under heaven, rare and exotic delicacies naturally flowed into Jianping like an endless stream – pheasants, wild deer, tiger, leopard cat, bear paws, and more – truly leaving nothing to be desired.
The Imperial Household Department had been confident in its preparations but never expected that Wen Yanran, after just a glance, would resolutely cross out all dishes related to wild animals.
Though living in ancient times, her hygiene habits still retained the style of modern society.
The inner officials in charge of the banquet: “…”
They had long known the Emperor led a frugal life, but they never imagined she would endure such austerity to this extent.
How sagacious and virtuous is Your Majesty.
