The wives of the concubines are empresses

After letting her mother calm down, Shangguan Wanjun stayed for another half an hour before returning to the palace with Liu Cheng and others.

In this era, people get up early and go to bed early, which is quite regular. No wonder rich people look young. They really take good care of their sleep.

Not long after Shangguan Wanjun got on the dragon bed, she fell into a deep sleep.

Lianhua and Muxiang lowered the bed curtains, and Ouhe blew out several oil lamps, leaving only one lamp to illuminate the entire bedroom.

Shangguan Wanjun slept until noon, then she stretched lazily and opened her eyes.

"Your Majesty, you are awake."

Liu Cheng held the whisk and looked at the emperor with sleepy eyes, feeling a little sorry for his master.

"Xiao Liuzi, it's really not easy for you to wake up so early every day."

She felt that she was not able to do that and had to maintain a sleep time of four hours a day, and most of the time she would take a nap.

Liu Cheng chuckled, "Your Majesty, we servants have basically slept for three or four hours."

Shangguan Wanjun put her hand on Liu Cheng's hand and stood up, and was helped by him to walk to the dressing table. Others came in with water for washing.

Jiamusi County

Jiang Chengkun and Master Zhou stood on a hill, looking at the desolate surroundings, which were all white.

"Sir, we have been here for a while now, what should we do if the effect is not obvious?"

They came with the Empress's expectations.

Jiang Chengkun feels that he has matured a lot and grown a lot since coming here.

"Master Zhou, let's go back."

"Yes, my lord."

In the carriage, the two men sat in silence, mainly because they didn't know what to say.

Jiang Chengkun sighed when he thought of the most serious problem, and Master Zhou glanced at him.

"Sir, why are you sighing?"

"If we can solve the population and language issues in Jiamusi, we will be able to solve many problems."

Master Zhou frowned and said, "How about submitting a memorial?"

Jiang Chengkun looked at him: "Alright, let's see what the emperor says."

On New Year's Eve, the palace held a palace banquet as usual.

The palace was decorated with lights and colorful decorations, red lanterns were everywhere on the eaves, and red silk ribbons were hung on the branches, making the whole place look very festive.

Sitting on the high seats were Shangguan Wanjun and the Empress Dowagers of the East and West Palaces.

All the officials and their families looked at the empress and the two empress dowagers sitting in the middle of the high seats and knelt down to pay homage.

"Your Highness, the Empress Dowager of the Eastern Palace, and the Empress Dowager of the Western Palace."

Shangguan Wanjun, dressed in a bright yellow dragon and phoenix robe, raised her hands and said, "My dear ministers and your families, please stand."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager of the Eastern Palace, and the Empress Dowager of the Western Palace."

Everyone stood up, Shangguan Wanjun sat down, and everyone else took their seats one by one.

The Ministry of Rites prepared songs and dances, and the dancers began to perform.

During the New Year, dancers dance in red costumes. Their graceful figures appear light and soft as they dance.

Shangguan Wanjun had been carefully appreciating the dance in front of her. Seeing the graceful dance made her think of the poem "From now on, the king will no longer attend the early morning court."

After the dance ended, Shangguan Wanjun raised her glass.

"Come, let's all have a drink together."

Everyone raised their glasses high: "Your Majesty, please!"

Shangguan Wanjun, the two Empress Dowagers, and everyone else drank it all in one gulp.

The second sword dance is performed by a dancer holding a long sword, and the hem of her skirt sways with the dance movements.

The dancer in red dances with a sword, combining both firmness and softness, making it very easy to watch.

Shangguan Wanjun watched the dancer who was dancing solo seriously with great concentration.

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites felt a little relieved when he saw the emperor's expression.

This is the first New Year palace banquet since the new emperor ascended the throne. Fortunately, the emperor seems quite satisfied.

After watching several dances in a row, Shangguan Wanjun felt a little tired.

"The Minister of Rites, only dance?"

The Minister of Rites was stunned: "Your Majesty, there are musical instruments and singing."

Shangguan Wanjun became interested when she heard it.

"What musical instruments are there?"

"Your Majesty, there are guzheng, pipa, flute, dizi, erhu..."

Shangguan Wanjun, who was standing behind, was not paying attention and was attracted by the erhu.

Can the music played by the erhu sound good?

"Then let's listen to the erhu first."

Everyone was surprised by the emperor's behavior. The emperor likes erhu?

Listening to the erhu that sounded almost like human voice, Shangguan Wanjun's eyes lit up.

In the past, she thought that the erhu was an instrument that only the elderly listened to. But after seeing it today, it seems that she was too one-sided.

When the erhu music ended, a man stood up, saluted, and left with his erhu.

The Minister of Rites bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the erhu is also known as the huqin. There are over a dozen varieties of huqin, including the erhu, zhonghu, jinghu, zhuihu, and banhu, with the erhu being one of the more important ones."

It is a traditional stringed instrument.

Listening to his endless chatter, Shangguan Wanjun became interested.

"Go on."

When the Minister of Rites heard the emperor say this, he continued to explain.

“Yes, Your Majesty.

The erhu, also known as the two-stringed huqin, is also known as the Nanhu and the hummock. The erhu is one of the main bowed string instruments (rubbing string instruments) in the family of Chinese national musical instruments.

The erhu is essentially made of wood, consisting of a neck, a sound box, and pegs. The sound box can be round, hexagonal, or even sculpted. One end is covered in snake or python skin, while the other has a carved sound window.

The erhu plays a vital role in the orchestra, being suitable for both solo and ensemble performances. It can play both delicate and profound, soft and lyrical music, as well as cheerful and lively music, and has a rich expressiveness and artistic appeal.

The timbre of the erhu is almost the same as that of the human voice, with a singing and narrative quality.

Famous erhu pieces include "Moon Reflected in Two Springs," "A Beautiful Night," "Listening to the Pines," "Horse Racing," and "The Grapes Are Ripe."

Shangguan Wanjun was the first to applaud at the banquet.

"Yes, the Minister of Rites knows quite a bit. What other performances were mentioned earlier?"

The Minister of Rites said, "Sing a song."

Shangguan Wanjun murmured to herself, "Sing a song? Then let's start with one."

She had been in this dynasty for several months, but she seemed to have never heard any singing.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Among the ancient Chinese songs that Shangguan Wanjun knew, there were said to be ten famous ones.

They are "Flowing Water in the High Mountains", "Guangling San", "Wild Geese Flying over the Plain Sand", "Three Variations on the Plum Blossom", "Ambush from Ten Sides", "Flute and Drum at Sunset", "Dialogue between Fisherman and Woodcutter", "Eighteen Beats of the Hujia", "Autumn Moon over the Han Palace" and "The Music of Spring".

According to past research, the original scores of these famous ancient pieces have largely been lost, and many of the surviving scores were commissioned by later generations. Musicians of all generations have dubbed these pieces the "Ten Great Ancient Songs," using historical allusions to enhance their power and influence.

I just don’t know what the music of this era is like.

When hearing "Autumn Moon in the Han Palace", Shangguan Wanjun looked at the center of the stage in shock.

No way, there is still "Autumn Moon in the Han Palace" in this era?

Isn’t this an imaginary dynasty?

Although this era is also called the Yuan Dynasty, it is completely different from the Yuan Dynasty in previous history.

As far as she knew, "Autumn Moon over the Han Palace" was one of the ten most famous ancient Chinese pieces of music. It was originally a pipa piece of the Chongming School, and there are now many versions of the score circulating. The main performance forms include erhu music, pipa music, zheng music, and Jiangnan silk and bamboo music.

This song mainly expresses the sorrow and sadness of the ancient palace maids and a helpless, lonely and cold state of life.