In the Hall of Refreshing Mists and Waves at the Mountain Resort, He Shen, serving as the deputy director for the Emperor’s birthday celebrations, was reporting on the progress of the festivities to the eighty-year-old Emperor Qianlong.
The director-general of the celebrations was Agui, the Chief Grand Councilor, but he had remained in the Capital to oversee affairs, having not accompanied the imperial entourage to the Mountain Resort.
"Your Majesty, I have directed the Ministry of Works and the Imperial Household Department’s Bureau of Construction to renovate all the palaces and pavilions in the Forbidden City and the Old Summer Palace. Following precedent, the governors and governors-general of all provinces have already dispatched personnel to the Capital to decorate and maintain the roads between the Capital and Chengde.
Chapter 41