CH 130.1

Chapter 130.1 – Shangyuan Lantern Festival (Final Part)

In Liang State, it was customary to climb the tower and watch the lanterns on the night of the Lantern Festival. Although it had not been passed down for that many generations, the Emperor had never missed it every year, and the people of the capital gradually developed the habit of visiting the palace’s gates to pay their respects and see the Emperor’s face. Even people who came from other places would rush to the capital for the Lantern Festival after hearing this, just to see the Emperor, the Empress, or the Crown Prince with their own eyes.

This year’s Lantern Festival was no exception. Although there were many changes in the court this year, the people at the bottom wouldn’t know that. They only came to pay their respects and watch the excitement.

The custom of climbing the tower and watching the lanterns would take place on Chaoyang Tower, which was the closest one to the palace gates. Chaoyang Tower was tall, and standing on it would put you in a position to look down on others. Building such a tall building inside the palace served a similar purpose to a watchtower in military camps – although the capital was safe and stable, and the palace was not a place most people dared trespass into, in any dynasty, there would be no shortage of people who dared to rebel.

However, Chaoyang Tower had never been put to real use yet. The Third Prince’s rebellion back then was quelled too quickly under the Emperor’s calculations, and he had no time to attack the palace. So Chaoyang Tower’s use so far was just to light and observe the lanterns.

When the time reached 8 o’clock at night, the Emperor and the Crown Prince appeared at Chaoyang Tower.

A large number of people were already gathered outside the palace gates, separated by the wall. If you stood on the palace walls and looked down, you would only see an ocean of black hair. The huge crowd caused so much noise that the Emperor and the Crown Prince who just arrived under Chaoyang Tower could hear it.

The Emperor looked back towards the Crown Prince. Under the lights’ glow, his pale face seemed to look warmer – clearly he was not so weak anymore. Plus, the Crown Prince always had a lot of self-discipline, and would stand with an upright posture no matter how sickly he was. His aura could make people forget his increasingly thin body and only feel his majesty.

Seeing that there wasn’t anything wrong with him, the Emperor helped the Crown Prince straighten the hem of his cloak and said, “Let’s go, follow me upstairs!”

The Crown Prince bowed slightly, turned his body aside to let the Emperor take the first step, and followed him upstairs.

Right now, Chaoyang Tower was shrouded in darkness. The colorful lanterns decorating the building had not yet been lit, because the first lantern in this Chaoyang Tower had to be personally lit by the Emperor. After the first dragon lantern was lit, the mechanism inside will connect it with the other lanterns in Chaoyang Tower, igniting them one by one in succession. There was no need for anyone else to interfere, and the entire process looked rather magical.

The Emperor was the first to step into Chaoyang Tower, and the guard next to him immediately handed the torch to the Crown Prince who followed a little slower behind. Today, only the Emperor and the Crown Prince could set foot in Chaoyang Tower, while the guards and palace servants could only wait downstairs.

The Crown Prince took the torch and tilted it forward slightly, just enough to illuminate the steps in front of the Emperor.

The two climbed up step by step, and the people outside gradually saw the torch that was climbing up the building. Chaoyang Tower was still very dim, and they could only vaguely see the shadow of two figures, but this was enough to make those people who saw the Emperor and the Crown Prince for the first time very excited.

The crowd subconsciously surged forward, pushing until they neared the palace walls and were forced to back off by the soldiers holding their blades.

Fortunately, Qi Yang and Lu Qipei did not participate in this lively scene. The two of them were very familiar towards the Emperor and the Crown Prince, and didn’t think of taking a look at them from a different perspective from beneath the palace walls. So although they were watching the excitement, they didn’t move forward, and there were dozens of attendants protecting them in the back. When they saw this formation, the people around consciously pushed towards the other side and did not push into them.

Even so, the noise around them was enough to make their head hurt, and Qi Yang couldn’t help sighing, “It’s horrible, if I knew this I wouldn’t have come here to join the excitement.” If they really wanted to watch the excitement, they could just watch it from the palace walls. This was the first time they had such an ‘immersive’ experience.

Of course, the feeling after experiencing it was not very good, as the surroundings were really too noisy and crowded.

Lu Qipei held her in her arms and chuckled softly in her ear, “Your Highness is also here to bring Ah Sheng to see this lively scene, so let’s endure it for now. But it’s enough to watch the excitement this once, let’s not come here again next time.”

Lu Sheng was still playing with the puppet when she heard herself mentioned and looked up at them.

Lu Qipei smiled and rubbed her head, and the child’s soft hair on her palm felt quite nice. The smile on her eyes deepened slightly, and after chatting casually with Qi Yang, the two of them once again turned their gaze to the tall building not far away.

On Chaoyang Tower on the other side, the Emperor and the Crown Prince had gradually climbed to the highest point.

Everything had already been arranged on the tall building. An exquisite dragon lantern stood impressively in front of them, and the dragon’s whiskers and claws all looked very vivid. If this huge lantern that was as tall as a person was lit up, it would be enough to illuminate the surroundings as bright as day. And with all the smaller lanterns surrounding Chaoyang Tower also lighting up, the dimly lit tall building would immediately become the most dazzling presence in the capital’s night of Lantern Festival!