Zhao Junqi said no more. He downed one cup of wine after another. Wave upon wave of female singers and dancers came and went.
After an indeterminate time, fireworks finally began outside. When the fireworks ended, the Emperor led the princes from the Royal Clan to have some dumplings. Then they went to the ancestral hall behind to kneel before the ancestors of the Royal Family, before finally dispersing.
On the women's side, after staying up for the new year and eating dumplings, they returned to their quarters. By the time Xia Ruqing returned to her palace, she was exhausted. Upon entering, she threw off her cloak, collapsed onto the bed, and let Zi Yue and Zi Su attend to her as they washed her face. By the time they had undressed her and helped her wash up, she was already fast asleep.
From the Zi Hour, she only slept until around the Yin Hour, merely three Shi Chens. And already it was time to rise again.
