Reborn to marry the emperor, I just want to confuse the emperor and seize the throne

As soon as everyone stood on the city wall, the soldiers were ready to protect everyone's safety. Xie Shang took Jiang Fenghua's hand and helped her stand on the highest building. The sight was dazzling and overwhelming.

Under the night sky, the Shengjing City was brightly lit and bustling. The people were very enthusiastic and went to the streets to watch the lights and enjoy the scenery. Everyone held their favorite lanterns in their hands and their faces were filled with joy.

When the common people downstairs saw the emperor appear in a bright yellow dragon robe, they all saluted and said, "Your Majesty, long live the emperor."

The emperor stood dignified, his eyes as deep as the vast night sky. He waved to everyone, asking them to stand up.

Naturally, there were officials and soldiers below to maintain order.

The people were also very happy. Minister Tang and his soldiers were standing among the people.

The envoys stood upstairs and looked at it, praising it again, "The lights are so brilliant, it seems as if all the stars in the night sky have been moved to the human world. This is the first time I have seen such exquisite lanterns."

At this time, Tang Qianran squeezed in front of the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the fireworks will be set off soon."

She also explained to the envoys very elegantly, "Setting off fireworks is also a way for our Great Zhou to celebrate the Lantern Festival. Please look far away."

The first sound of fireworks rang out in the air, which made people feel gorgeous and colorful. Just as everyone was waiting for the next fireworks with great interest, only some duds flew into the air, exploding with a few faint "bangs", and then there was no other unusual sound.

Everyone in and outside the Imperial City was stunned. Tang Qianran saw this and quickly explained, "It will start soon. The first firework will be very gorgeous when it rises. Try..."

Everyone thought it was a test, but after waiting for a while, the fireworks in the sky did not explode. They only made a few noises and then stopped, and the sparks were very small.

Some of the people living in the imperial city were already getting impatient, "Didn't they say there would be a grand fireworks show? Why are there only duds?"

Tang Qianran thought to herself: Didn't my cousin and the others arrange it? Why didn't they set off any fireworks?

At this time, Tang Qianran was standing in the front again. Just now she kept saying that she would introduce herself to the emperor and everyone, but now there was nothing. Xie Shang's face was a little embarrassed and he glared at her coldly.

The Emperor Taihuang's face looked a little bad. What was going on? Wasn't there supposed to be a grand fireworks show?

Tang Qianran said quickly, "I'll have someone go take a look. It will be ready soon. Please wait a moment."

However, until all the prepared fireworks were set off, there were only a few big fireworks. All of them were lit but did not explode.

Jiang Fenghua said quickly, "In fact, the Lantern Festival in the Great Zhou Dynasty is not just about setting off fireworks, there are also many interesting games, such as guessing lantern riddles, and the dragon and lion dance performances are also quite exciting..."

However, just as she finished speaking, the lanterns on the street suddenly caught fire, and some people screamed, "It's on fire!"

The fire of one lantern was not a serious matter, and there were soldiers and officials on the scene to maintain order. The burning lanterns were extinguished and cleaned up instantly, so it was not a big deal. However, afterwards, lanterns would catch fire every now and then.

For a moment, there was a panic below. How could the lanterns suddenly fall down and even catch fire? Fortunately, there were soldiers on the scene, and no one was really injured, and there was even no stampede.

The lanterns suddenly caught fire and everyone felt uncomfortable and thought it was unlucky. The Lantern Festival is a festival of joy and reunion, and everyone wore new clothes to welcome the day. But when something like this happened, they lost interest in having fun and everyone avoided the lanterns above their heads, fearing that one of them would fall on their heads and hurt someone.

Seeing this, Xie Shang said in a cold voice: "How could it be on fire? Who is responsible for hanging these lanterns?"

Tang Qianran didn't dare to speak now. She didn't know why the lanterns that had been hung up suddenly caught fire.

At this time, people from the Ministry of Rites also arrived. Xiao Yu and Zuo Si were the left and right assistant ministers of the Ministry of Rites respectively. They said in unison, "Your humble servants pay their respects to the emperor."

Xie Shang said in a deep voice, "What's going on? How do you do things?"

Zuo Si said, "Your Majesty, Minister Xiao and I have been maintaining order on the street. Just now, there was a dud among the fireworks. I immediately went to investigate and found that there were many duds that were made with shoddy workmanship."

Xiao Yu also said, "I also checked the reason why the lantern suddenly caught fire. It was because the bamboo strips inside the lantern were not dense enough and had no support, which suddenly knocked over the candle inside, so the lantern was ignited."

"Just tell me what happened?" Xie Shang said in a deep voice.

Zuo Si said, "These matters are handled by Lord Tang Yu and Lord Wu Shen, and the Imperial Concubine personally ordered them to do it. I don't know how this could happen."

Tang Yu is Tang Qianran’s third brother, and Wu Shen is her cousin.

Tang Qianran said quickly, "Your Majesty, I have ordered them to carefully prepare this banquet. I don't know how such an accident could have happened suddenly. I will ask someone to ask right away."

After she finished speaking, everyone's eyes were on her. She really didn't know what was going on.

To ease the atmosphere, she smiled and said, "I have prepared some glutinous rice balls for you all. Please go to the banquet hall to eat them. I will arrange it right away."

"Go and bring Tang Yu, Wu Shen and others up here. I want to ask them personally what's going on." Xie Shang said coldly.

At the same time, Minister Tang, who was in the crowd, saw the accident and wanted to squeeze out of the crowd to ask what was going on, but for some reason, he was surrounded by soldiers and civilians and could not get through the crowd.

Jiang Fenghua quickly tried to smooth things over, saying in a deep voice, "In fact, it was windy today and the lanterns were hung high, so they were blown over and ignited by the wind. It was just a small problem at the beginning. The Ministry of Rites is responsible for organizing this Lantern Festival banquet. Are the other programs ready?"

Xiao Yu said in a deep voice, "The Lantern Festival Banquet is very grand every year. The Ministry of Rites has already started planning it, but they temporarily added and changed other programs, so the performance was postponed."

Zuo Si also said, "Minister You has already made arrangements. Your Majesty and the envoys can take their seats and watch the performance."

In order not to dampen the envoys' interest, the Ministry of Rites quickly put forward the plan that had been prepared long ago. For a while, the palace became lively again and the people outside the imperial city were also evacuated.

There are hundreds of teahouses and taverns open along the most lively Baihua Lake, but there is not much business. It is deserted because the government has led the people to the edge of the imperial city to watch the performances. I heard that this idea was proposed by the imperial concubine, so that the ladies in the palace can also see the prosperity outside the palace.

Soon, the news of the incident near the Imperial City spread to Baihua Lake, and everyone began to discuss it. "What kind of place is near the Imperial City? It's heavily guarded. Suddenly so many people squeezed in. It would be strange if nothing happened."

"I heard that the young master of Tang Shangshu's mansion was in charge of this matter. The emperor made a fool of himself in front of the envoys and got angry..."

"I actually know a little bit about this matter. Thousands of lanterns cost a lot of money, but it's a pity that they cut corners. How could there not be trouble? Now that it's burned, it's the hard-earned money of the common people. The shops that contracted this work are probably in big trouble."

Soon the evacuated people also came to Baihua Lake, and the business here picked up again. Restaurant owners began to set up the arena in a hurry, and fun games such as guessing riddles and winning lanterns followed one after another. The Qinlou and Chuguan by the Baihua Lake also became lively.