Although Emperor Guangwu had established the capital in Luoyang, Chang'an, as the Western Capital, still received imperial orders for palace repairs in those years.
However, since it was only the Western Capital, most of the time it merely served as a resting place for imperial western tours. As a result, only Weiyang Palace and Changle Palace received focused restoration. Palaces such as Jianzhang Palace and Mingguang Palace had long since fallen into ruin.
Later on, the people of Chang'an watched as the Son of Heaven was dragged here by Dong Zhuo, then escorted away by Cao Cao, leaving behind only increasingly dilapidated palace buildings.
This imperial uncle was an interesting one. After pacifying the Three Qins and entering Chang'an, he spared no effort in renovating civilian residences, old wards, and the eastern and western markets. Yet he deliberately skipped these royal palaces, allowing them to remain in their ruined state.
As for himself, he simply chose a general's residence, repaired it slightly, and moved in.
Now that the posted announcement had gone up, the people of Chang'an all understood that the "old imperial palace" referred to Weiyang Palace.
And in front of the old imperial palace meant the areas before Xianmen Gate and Anmen Gate on the southern side of Weiyang Palace.
Thus, many people with nothing better to do went to those two gates daily to see what was happening.
Fortunately, the imperial uncle had no intention of hiding anything. As the thirtieth day of the twelfth month drew closer, a tall wooden structure was indeed erected south of Weiyang Palace.
What puzzled the people of Chang'an was that although this structure was tall, it did not seem particularly magical.
Still, considering that over the past year the imperial uncle had always kept his word, most of the people were willing to give Old Liu some face and wait until New Year's Eve to see what this was all about.
As long as it did not snow, some people even made special trips, holding two steaming Uncle Liu steamed buns, squatting by the roadside to watch the imperial uncle's soldiers busy themselves in front of Weiyang Palace.
Some hammered the road surface solid with large mallets, then spread a layer of gray slurry over it and smoothed it flat, posting guards to forbid anyone from stepping on it.
Others, lightly equipped, went up and down, using round logs and wooden spokes to assemble the wooden frame.
No one really understood what it was for, but with the New Year approaching, with new houses and stored grain at home, the people of Chang'an were more than happy to enjoy some lively spectacle.
The street peddlers who had increased in number over the past two months also caught wind of it and flocked over. Thus, the southern side of Weiyang Palace developed a strange new scene.
The broad main avenue had busy soldiers on the northern side near Weiyang Palace, repairing roads, building wooden frames, and transporting supplies.
On the southern side of the avenue, peddlers cried out selling New Year cards, door gods, dumplings, tofu pudding, and other foods. Now and then, buyers and sellers exchanged a few auspicious greetings. It was extremely lively.
The peddlers had keen noses. In just one day they gathered here in droves, and the long-declined Palace City Avenue suddenly became bustling once more.
If not for still being able to see a corner of the ruined Weiyang Palace to the north, some of the people of Chang'an might have thought they had returned to the prosperous days of Emperor Ming and Emperor Zhang.
"Sister Shu, today there will surely be shoulder to shoulder crowds before Weiyang Palace. Why not go early?"
Ma Zhong knocked on the courtyard gate of Li Shu, who had come to Chang'an with him to study, intending to invite her to go early to secure a good spot.
The gate soon opened, but it was not Li Shu's pretty face. Instead, it was a stern, somewhat aged face.
Ma Zhong froze for a moment, then hurriedly cupped his hands.
"Elder Li, I…"
Before he could finish, Elder Li had already looked him up and down and said, "I heard from my daughter that your grandfather has already changed your name to Ma Zhong?"
Ma Zhong nodded carefully.
The old man nodded as well, then stepped aside and said, "Since you have stood out through the examinations and gained the favor of Duke Xuande, you must remember your courtesy name and be careful not to stray."
Seeing Li Shu smiling at him from behind her father, Ma Zhong finally breathed a small sigh of relief and replied that he would keep it firmly in mind.
After entering the courtyard, Ma Zhong quickly explained his purpose. To his surprise, Li Shu took out a slip of paper from her sleeve and waved it.
"My father arrived in Chang'an ten days ago. That very night he booked us seats on the second floor of Chaling Wine House."
Chaling Wine House was quite famous in Luoyang, and many places elsewhere borrowed its name. Chang'an now had one as well. According to Ma Zhong, it was located south of Weiyang Palace and was an excellent viewing location.
He also remembered Li Shu mentioning before that her elder brother had talent in sugar making, and that Elder Li had once wanted to use family funds to help him open a sugar workshop. It now seemed that it might have worked out.
Elder Li tapped his cane on the ground and looked at Ma Zhong.
"Tell your grandfather that within five days after New Year's Day, I will be here. If he wishes to chat about matters of Shu, he may come."
Ma Zhong was stunned, then his face lit up with joy. The meaning behind those words could not have been clearer. He immediately agreed with great seriousness.
Li Shu stood to the side, smiling brightly, her eyes full of warmth.
At this time, the main avenue before Weiyang Palace had been completely renewed. The newly paved cement road prevented slushy mud when snow melted, and it was far more comfortable to walk on.
You Chu watched as soldiers fixed pine and cypress branches onto the wooden structure. He sniffed the air and said, "So this is the iron tree. Then where is the silver flower?"
Zhang Ji looked up at the dimming sky and guessed, "Perhaps we will know once it gets dark."
To be honest, Zhang Ji had not wanted to join the crowd, but You Chu insisted he had found a good spot and dragged him out.
Unexpectedly, they ended up finding a crack in the palace wall, circling around, and climbing up the ruined wall. Although the wind was strong, looking down at the bustling avenue below strangely calmed Zhang Ji's heart.
From there, Zhang Ji glanced at the five story tall building across from Weiyang Palace and grew curious.
"This Chaling Wine House is quite grand. I wonder which great merchant stands behind it. Are they not afraid of ending up like Xu Ying of Puban?"
You Chu opened his mouth, not knowing how to answer.
As far as he knew, Chaling Wine House was most likely connected to Duke Xuande. The blueprints for that five story building had come from Military Advisor Zhuge himself.
A figure who could help Duke Xuande establish such a foundation was in a completely different league from someone like Xu Ying, that fool who dared to write bribery offers on his exam paper.
Shaking his head, You Chu looked at the spectacle below and said softly, "This paper truly is a wondrous thing. If the Han revives and regains control of the Western Regions, this item will surely sell far into foreign lands."
By now, night had fully fallen. The street below was hung with paper lanterns, illuminating this small world as bright as day.
Then, on a half man high platform set up beneath the palace wall, a fully armored, godlike figure smashed a drum with his mallet.
The first strike was like thunder. Then the interval between beats grew shorter and shorter. Soon the drumming became a raging storm, and the entire avenue fell silent. Everyone craned their necks, staring fixedly.
As the drumming grew ever faster, exorcist dancers wearing various ghost masks stepped onto the stage. Once they took their positions, the drums suddenly stopped.
The mighty general threw down his mallets and roared, "The attendants are ready. Begin driving out pestilence."
The tall, ghost masked leader among the dancers began in an even deeper voice, opening the ritual of exorcism, chanting ancient invocations.
The people of Chang'an were both unfamiliar and familiar with this ritual.
In the Former Han, when Chang'an was the capital, it was said that the court also held exorcism rites before the palace to display heavenly favor.
But after Emperor Guangwu, the capital moved to Luoyang, and the rites followed. Chang'an no longer saw them.
Later, Dong Zhuo dragged the Son of Heaven back here, but in those chaotic times, there was no heart for prayers, and the people had no blessing to enjoy. Compared to now, the scene was unimaginably different.
Before the ritual even ended, some among the people began to sob quietly, exchanging tearful glances.
Zhang Ji was stunned. He was certain he was not mistaken. The drummer had to be Jin Ma Chao. The Yongzhou accent was unmistakable.
And even though the leader of the exorcists wore a mask, Zhang Ji could tell at a glance. It had to be General Zhang Yide.
"If there were no such troubled times, even if Third Brother did not join the army, he could still be a fine exorcist," Liu Bei commented from the top floor of Chaling Wine House, holding little A Dou.
Previously, because Lady Gan was frail and the war situation was unsettled, Liu Bei had not brought his family along.
Later, Lady Gan wrote that after treatment with Zhang Zhongjing's medicines, her health had improved greatly. With Chang'an now stable, Liu Bei finally sent for his family in the tenth month.
"The soldiers of Yi Province returned, and the elders of Chengdu all remember Third General's kindness. If he were an exorcist, the people of Yi Province would surely support him wholeheartedly," Lady Wu said softly.
Liu Bei turned and met her clear, autumn like gaze. He did not avoid it and nodded openly.
"If Lady Wu says so, Third Brother would surely be delighted to hear it."
Lady Wu had come north with Lady Gan and Lady Sun, which was not unexpected.
Perhaps settling in Guanzhong had changed Liu Bei's mindset. Perhaps A Dou had spoken often of how kind Lady Wu was to him.
The previous habit of constant restraint in Yi Province was gone. Now a thought surfaced in Liu Bei's heart.
He wondered whether Lady Wu could decide her own marriage.
But thinking of her words also made him think of Xiahou Yuan, and then of Zhang He, who was still detained in Chang'an. For a moment, he did not know how to deal with it.
What pulled Liu Bei's attention back was a tug on his beard.
Looking down, he saw A Dou pulling it.
"Father said. Today is New Year's Eve. No talking about official business."
Liu Bei smiled and promised to obey. Only then did A Dou beam happily.
Still, Liu Bei could not help thinking of his second brother, who had long guarded Jingzhou.
He hoped that next year's New Year's Eve, the three brothers could gather together, just as that Tang emperor's poem said, sharing joy between old and new years, welcoming and seeing off the night together.
The grand exorcism ritual brought Chang'an a wave of memories of the mighty Han of old. What followed, the iron tree and silver flowers, brought endless astonishment.
Bare chested strongmen stepped onto the stage, flinging molten iron into the air. Brilliant sparks burst against the pine branches, decorating the "tree platform" with dazzling light.
A thousand blossoms bloomed on the tree. Stars fell like rain. Paper lanterns filled the road.
The sound of silk and bamboo instruments rose. These were instruments Liu Bei had gone to great effort to collect. Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong had spent a full day finding musicians and hastily arranging music. Now it was finally played.
It was not particularly refined, but hearing the cheers of the people below, Liu Bei knew that for them, it was more than enough.
The strongmen who flung molten iron had already rotated through three shifts, yet the people still watched as if drunk on the sight.
Only when a general came out and loudly announced that all the molten iron had been used did the people reluctantly disperse.
Even then, it was not yet over.
At some unknown time, the platform that had hosted the exorcism was now covered in small lamps, none yet lit. There were nearly a thousand of them.
Liu Bei carefully held A Dou and leaned toward the railing. He knew the process well and was not surprised to see Zhuge Liang, in full formal attire, step onto the stage.
Thinking carefully, this seemed to be the first time Liu Bei had seen him in wide robes and long sleeves, in red and black, with jade ornaments, boots, and official crown. With his solemn expression, he already resembled the Zhuge Chancellor seen on the light screen.
On the stage, his military advisor spoke. With soldiers shouting to carry his voice, the entire avenue could hear clearly. There were no ornate phrases. The words were simple and direct.
Even illiterate farmers understood.
He spoke of how Dong Zhuo had reduced Guanzhong's fertile land to ruin, and how now the Three Qins were settled, households had surplus grain, and the chaos in Guanzhong had ended.
Now there were sky lanterns on the stage. Anyone whose parents had both perished in the chaos could come up and light a lamp to pray for their souls.
After speaking, the military advisor stood solemnly to the side.
The people in the street looked at one another. Soon someone with a mournful face stepped onto the stage, took a fire starter from a soldier, blew it alight, and carefully lit the nearest lamp.
As the lamp wobbled and rose into the sky, the young man suddenly broke into sobs, kneeling and kowtowing repeatedly toward the lamp drifting upward.
Soon, more people stepped onto the stage. The fire starter passed silently from hand to hand. Some even borrowed fire starters from nearby peddlers to light lamps.
A thousand lamps rose together, like silent souls drifting over Chang'an, connecting heaven above and the people below. Even Liu Bei felt a strange illusion, as if these simple lamps truly carried souls, allowing the living and the dead to communicate.
He was not the only one who felt this.
He saw and heard people below shouting toward the river of lamps, some calling out names through tears, some telling family matters, some saying they were safe.
Wherever one looked, there was no one who was not moved.
"Father, I miss Auntie," A Dou said softly.
Liu Bei looked down and saw tears in the child's eyes.
He sighed, held A Dou tighter, and looked up at the thousand lamp heavenly river, as if he could see a young, beautiful figure among them.
Zhuge Liang stood solemnly on the stage, watching the living mourn the dead. The soldiers beside him either looked pained or stared blankly, clearly thinking of their own lost family.
In the end, he looked up at the sky without expression, his fists tightening slightly within his sleeves.
In southern Chang'an, Zhang He looked at the countless lights in the northern sky. Though he did not know what was happening, he suddenly missed his family in Ye City very much.
…
Unlike the snowy Chang'an of the Han, Li Shimin had lost count of how many times he had complained about the July heat.
But more burning than the weather was his heart.
Finally, ten days after watching the light screen, a messenger arrived.
"The Duke of Wei has escorted the bandit chief and has reached Guangming Gate on the western side of Chang'an."
Li Shimin leapt to his feet and threw out the reply he had long prepared.
"Order them to escort the prisoners around to the south of the city and enter through Mingde Gate."