Chương 484: Visiting the Palace

Liu Ce quickly opened the carriage window and waved to the people, who were even more excited, and cheers rose one after another.

An old woman excitedly shouted to Liu Ce, "Your Majesty, you must live to be a hundred years old!"

......

After walking for more than half an hour, the procession finally arrived at the South Gate of the Luoyang Imperial Palace.

The tall, vermilion palace gates, covered with golden glazed tiles, shimmered brilliantly in the sunlight, their grandeur making one's legs weak.

On both sides of the palace gate stood rows of imperial guards in bright armor, holding long halberds, exuding an imposing aura.

Upon seeing Liu Ce's carriage approach, the imperial guards all knelt on one knee and shouted in unison, "Long live Your Majesty!"

The carriage stopped, and the children were the first to rush out, looking up at the magnificent palace gates before them, their mouths agape, wide enough to fit an egg.

"Wow! What a huge door! It's more than ten times bigger than our front door!" Liu Chen said in a childish voice, tugging at Liu Ce's clothes.

Liu Heng ran to the stone lion, reached out and touched its paw, exclaiming, "Daddy! This lion is so big! It's taller than me! I'll come and play with it every day from now on!"

After saying that, he made a face at the stone lion, which made everyone burst into laughter.

A child insisted on counting the steps, from the palace gate all the way inside. He kept making mistakes and stamped his feet in frustration. Zhen Dao smiled and picked him up.

Looking at the palace before him, Liu Ce felt a surge of emotions.

He took a deep breath and said to everyone, "Let's go home."

...

Upon entering the Southern Palace, everyone couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

Inside, there were pavilions and towers, carved beams and painted rafters, with dragon and phoenix patterns carved on the upturned eaves, so lifelike that they seemed ready to take flight at any moment.

The wide stone-paved road is lined with all kinds of flowers, trees and shrubs, including osmanthus, chrysanthemums and crabapple, which bloom in vibrant colors and exude a sweet fragrance.

In the middle is a huge Taiye Pond, with crystal-clear water teeming with colorful koi carp—red, white, gold, and spotted—that shimmer in the sunlight.

Artificial hills and pavilions stand by the lake, the scenery is picturesque, so beautiful it seems unreal.

"My goodness! This place is so beautiful!" Xiao Qiao skipped and hopped ahead, touching the carvings on the pillars and squatting by the lake to feed the koi, as excited as a bird just released from its cage.

Da Qiao pulled her along, saying helplessly, "Slow down, don't fall, and don't break anything. You'll have to pay for it if you break anything."

"Fine, we'll pay. It's ours now anyway." Xiao Qiao stuck out her tongue and ran even faster.

Cai Yan stood in front of a stone tablet inscribed with "Taiye Pond," looking at the calligraphy on it, and exclaimed, "These characters are written so well, with vigorous strokes; they are indeed the work of the imperial family."

Zhang Ning's eyes lit up when she spotted the training ground not far away: "Wow! There's a training ground! I'll finally have a place to practice my sword! I won't have to fight with the flowers and plants in the yard anymore!"

Just as everyone was looking around, unsure of where to go, He Lian walked out with a smile.

She waved to the crowd: "Stop wandering around, come with me. I've lived in this palace for over ten years, I can walk around with my eyes closed. I'll show you around properly so you don't get lost."

Upon hearing this, everyone gathered around.

He Lian led everyone, introducing the place as they walked, clearly pointing out which corner had a well and which pavilion was the coolest in summer:

"We are now living in the Southern Palace... This is the Chongde Hall in front of us. My husband will hold court here and handle government affairs from now on."

The adjacent Jiade Hall was used by ministers to hold meetings.

Further on, in the Zhangde Hall, was the husband's sleeping quarters.

The imperial garden over there is more than ten times larger than the garden of our former prince's mansion. It has all kinds of exotic flowers and plants, and there is also a nine-turn bridge. It is the most comfortable place to cool off in the summer.

You can go boating in Taiye Pond, and you can also go ice skating when it freezes over in winter.

And that kitchen over there is five times larger than the kitchen in our Prince's residence. It can cook for a hundred tables at once. From now on, whatever you want to eat, just tell the imperial chef."

Arriving at a palace with a separate courtyard, He Lian smiled and said:

"This Changxin Palace is the best. The courtyard is full of bamboo and very quiet. It is the most suitable place for Sister Cai Yan to live. You usually like to play the zither and read books, and no one will disturb you."

Cai Yan went in to take a look, and sure enough, the courtyard was full of green bamboo, and there was also a small study. Sunlight streamed in through the window, making it particularly comfortable.

She nodded in satisfaction and said, "Thank you, sister. I love this courtyard so much."

"This Yongning Palace has a large training ground, which is perfect for Sister Zhang Ning." He Lian pointed to the palace next to her.

"You won't have to worry about disturbing others when you practice your sword anymore."

Zhang Ning went inside and looked around. Sure enough, there was a spacious training ground and weapon racks. She was overjoyed: "Great! Thank you, Sister Lian!"

He Lian made arrangements for each of them: Cai Zhenji was given a palace with a library, the Zhen sisters were given a courtyard with a lotus pond, and Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao were given a palace with a large terrace so that they could fly kites.

Finally, the children surrounded He Lian, chattering excitedly, "Aunt Lian! Where will we live? We want a courtyard with a rockery!"

He Lian smiled and pointed to a group of small palaces not far away: "Those are all yours. Each child will have a courtyard with artificial hills and small ponds. You can play however you want."

The children cheered and took off running, scrambling for the yard.

Everyone wanted the biggest rockery, and it was noisy and lively.

Liu Chen, as the eldest brother, shouted, "Stop arguing! The older one goes to the younger siblings, I'll take the younger one!"

Liu Ying rolled her eyes: "Brother, you always say that, but you always end up grabbing the biggest one."

Liu Chen blushed: "This time it's for real!"

As a result, Liu Chen managed to snag the largest courtyard and jumped for joy.

Liu Ying snatched the one with the small pond next to it and couldn't stop smiling.

Liu Heng was so anxious that he cried because he didn't get a good one. In the end, Liu Ce promised to build him an even bigger artificial mountain, and only then did he stop crying and start smiling.

Just as everyone was happily dividing up the courtyards, a little incident occurred.

Old Wang and his servants were moving things in such a hurry that they ended up piling dozens of boxes of pots, pans, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar at the entrance of Chongde Hall.

They were piled up like a small mountain, so big that you couldn't even get through the door.

When Liu Ce came over and saw what was going on, he was both annoyed and amused. Pointing at Old Wang, he said, "Old Wang, you're really something! You've piled up kitchen stuff at the entrance of the main hall. How am I supposed to work?"

Old Wang scratched his head, looking embarrassed, and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me! This old servant got confused while moving things and thought this was the kitchen! This old servant will move it right away! Right away!"