After watching the fireworks, Zhang Lingyang and Queen Wang returned to the Changchun Palace to talk for a while, and then lay on the bed and squinted their eyes.

In a daze, Zhang Lingyang's ears heard the voice of Queen Wang.

When I opened my eyes, I saw that Queen Wang had already dressed and appeared in front of me at some point, "Your Majesty, it's time to get up!" ”

Looking at the gray sky outside the window, Zhang Lingyang asked weakly, "What time is it?" ”

Queen Wang replied: "It's already time! ”

"It's time to get up!" Zhang Lingyang started from the bed and let the palace maids in Changchun Palace dress him, his head was a little dizzy.

Thinking about what he had to do today, Zhang Lingyang had a headache.

First of all, after getting up, I had to go to Cining Palace to greet Empress Dowager Xu, and then after breakfast, I had to pay tribute to the royal ancestors, and then, in the morning, I had to accept the congratulations of the hundred civil and military officials in the Taihe Hall, and we would set up a banquet to entertain the Chinese military officials at noon.

A lot of things made Zhang Lingyang muttered in his heart: "I won't be able to live in peace during the New Year." ”

Zhang Lingyang is not the only one who is restless?

The queen and queen are not allowed to live in peace, and on this day, they have to deal with those women, and they have to be responsible for preparing the banquet, and they have to be distracted to take care of Zhao Hao.

Even more uneasy are those civil and military ministers and wives.

Originally, the Chinese New Year was supposed to be a day for family reunions, but before the first day of the Lunar New Year, they had to get up early and rush to the palace.

Then patiently wait for the arrival of the emperor, flatter the emperor with a false smile on his face, and then eat those cold meals at noon.

Although the food in the imperial dining room is the best in the world, it also depends on who makes it.

The meals cooked for the concubines in the palace are naturally refreshing and palatable, but there are so many people at noon on the first day of the Lunar New Year, where is the imperial dining room busy?

They had to make all kinds of dishes early and bring them to the banquet, so long that even the freshly cooked food was cold, not to mention the meal that had been made for a long time.

However, Zhang Lingyang and Queen Wang have special personnel in charge of their meals, and they use food boxes, so they are still steaming when they are served.

As for the ministers and their wives, they can only eat those cold foods.

Luckily, they're used to it.

There are so many shows every year, and it's strange not to be used to it.

After a few bites of food that could still be eaten, the ministers only cared about drinking.

The food is cold and stuffed with teeth, and you can't eat it at all, and if you drink more alcohol, you can still warm your body.

Otherwise, if it is freezing on this day, it will have to give people a cold sickness.

Those who can participate in the palace banquet on the first day of the Lunar New Year, in addition to the civil and military officials and the emperor's relatives, are naturally inevitably the envoys of the vassal states.

Since they came, they naturally couldn't come empty-handed, otherwise they would be impeached by the imperial history of the Great Zhou for a crime of 'great disrespect', and they wouldn't even have a place to cry.

The horses of Warat, the ginseng of Goryeo, the pearls of the Ryukyus, the jade of Burma...... There are only a few gifts sent over and over, every year, and the water is like this, Zhang Lingyang has long been tired of it, and he can't afford to watch it with any interest.

As for Zhang Lingyang's return gifts, it is naturally the same, they are all things that have been drawn up by the Ministry of Rites a long time ago: silk, tea, porcelain, etc......

However, at this year's Spring Festival banquet, there were a few new things.

Perhaps in order to strengthen trade with the Great Zhou, some envoys of the European powers that established diplomatic relations with the Great Zhou also rushed to the capital on the eve of the Spring Festival and gave their own gifts.

There are countless scientific and technological products such as sailboat models, fire systems, telescopes, etc.

The attraction of these things to Zhang Lingyang is naturally not comparable to ginseng, pearls, and jade.

On the return list, the Ministry of Rites hesitated for a long time, and still couldn't decide what gifts to give back to the European powers.

In the end, the matter still came to Zhang Lingyang, and he didn't want to think about it, Zhang Lingyang said: "Silk, tea, porcelain and other specialties of the Great Zhou Dynasty, a few treasures will be rewarded to them." ”

What Zhang Lingyang said was 'reward', which was the unanimous attitude of the Great Zhou towards the nations, and had nothing to do with whether it was a vassal state or not.

If Zhang Lingyang doesn't say the word 'reward', then I'm afraid that the New Year is not over yet, and the ministers will start to make trouble again.

For the people of the Great Zhou, they are the upper kingdom of the Celestial Empire, and other countries are barbarians, and if they say that they will give you a 'reward', it is to give you face.

In fact, it is also the meaning of charity. Otherwise, Da Zhou's return gift would not be much richer than the gift sent.

This time, the envoys of the European powers came in a group, naturally with a special mission.

Westerners who can come to the Great Zhou at the most important time must not only be able to speak fluent Chinese, but also have a certain understanding of the customs and customs of the Great Zhou, otherwise what are you sent here for?

Did it make the Great Zhou Emperor unhappy?

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, Wilson took the lead in getting up and wishing Zhang Lingyang a few words of 'Happy New Year', and then said the purpose of his visit: "Dear Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Zhou, I have been ordered to come to the Great Zhou to establish formal diplomatic relations with the Great Zhou, and I also ask His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Zhou to allow us to set up an embassy in the capital." ”

"Embassy? Yes! Without thinking about it, Zhang Lingyang agreed to Wilson's request and said, "I can set aside a piece of land in the southern suburbs of the capital and set it up as an embassy area." ”

"Thank you for your generosity, Emperor Great Zhou!" Wilson exclaimed.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, apart from the joint request of the European legaries, there was nothing to say. After all, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, no one can find bad luck for Zhang Lingyang.

Even Li Guangtai, the left-minded and hard-tempered Zuodu Yushi, did not say a word of unpleasantness at the banquet.

However, Li Guangtai did not cause people to be unhappy, but it does not mean that no one is looking for trouble with Li Guangtai.

In the harem, the wives of the ministers' families were naturally entertained by the queen and the queen.

At the banquet, Queen Wang said to Li Guangtai's wife: "I heard that Li Yushi has a daughter, who is exactly twenty-eight years old this year, I don't know when my wife will bring her into the palace for the palace to see?" ”

Mrs. Li thought that the queen wanted to marry her daughter, thinking that this was a supreme honor, she agreed if she wanted to, and the smile on her face couldn't be hidden, and she could see the sour look in the eyes of other ladies.

Although Queen Wang also had a smile on her face, she was angry with Li Guangtai to death in her heart, and said in her heart: "If it weren't for Li Guangtai's impeachment, the father of this palace would not have been stripped of his title, so that he would become a commoner, and it would not be easy to enter the palace to see this palace." ”

Looking at the joy in Mrs. Li's eyes that could not be concealed, Queen Wang sneered in her heart, and said in her heart: "And you will be happy for a few days, once you bring your daughter into the palace, and see how the palace 'disposes' ......"