Chapter 300 Entertaining His Majesty

Midway through the banquet, everyone had performed their talents to entertain the guests, but Li Yuanzhao felt that it was all the same old thing over and over again, and he was getting a little tired of it.

As the moon sank higher in the sky, its clear light grew colder.

She had no desire to sit any longer and said to Pei Huaijin beside her, "The Empress has worked hard; let's call it a day."

Just as the words were spoken, the eunuch was about to step forward to relay the order when a voice suddenly rang out.

"His Majesty."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a figure in plain white at the end of the banquet rise from his seat, walk steadily to the open space in front of the emperor, and bow in greeting.

"Your Majesty, I would like to play a tune on the flute to entertain you."

A moment of silence fell over the room.

No one expected that the person who volunteered to perform was Wang Yanzhi.

Everyone present knew that Wang Yanzhi had fallen out of favor from the day he entered the palace.

In the harem, new and old concubines took turns receiving favors, but he was the only one whom His Majesty had never summoned.

His Majesty treated him as a dispensable decoration, not even giving him a second glance.

In the past two years, he has never shown his face at any banquet, let alone at the emperor's court, as if he had been forgotten by the entire harem.

If it weren't for the fact that he still held the position of a third-rank official, people would probably have long forgotten that there was such a person in the deep palace.

So when he suddenly stood up and said he wanted to perform a song, it shocked everyone, and whispers rose and fell.

"Why is he here today? In previous years, he always claimed to be sick and didn't show up for this kind of occasion."

A newly arrived young man in the palace didn't recognize him and tugged at the person next to him, asking in a low voice, "Who is this?"

The person next to him lowered his voice, his tone tinged with a sigh: "This is Wang Shiqing of Qiushui Residence, the eldest son of the Wang family of Taiyuan. It's a pity that he has not been favored by the Emperor since entering the palace; His Majesty has never summoned him."

"Then why did he suddenly step forward to perform a song today? Is he perhaps trying to seize an opportunity?"

"You don't know yet, do you? Some time ago, on the battlefield in the Western Regions, a deputy general was caught in a Tibetan ambush due to his recklessness and arbitrary actions. He not only lost his food and supplies, but also lost nearly a thousand soldiers, resulting in heavy losses for our army."

"What does that have to do with Minister Wang?"

"That deputy general is Wang Shiqing's uncle." The man said with a hint of regret, "Deputy General Wang was imprisoned for this crime, and the Wang family of Taiyuan was also implicated."

"I heard that a few days ago, this Minister Wang knelt outside the Xuanzheng Hall day and night to plead for the Wang family, and his knees were bruised from kneeling, but His Majesty did not see him even once."

"So he's trying to use the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet to plead with His Majesty?"

"Perhaps he really has no other choice..." the man sighed. "After all, the Wang family is his only support. If the Wang family falls, he will truly have no one to rely on in this harem."

Although the whispers were low, every word drifted into the ears of those around them.

Despite the various opinions around him, Wang Yanzhi remained standing upright, showing no sign of embarrassment.

He wore a plain, snow-white gauze robe with only a matching silk ribbon tied around his waist.

Her dark hair was mostly held back with a simple wooden hairpin, with a few strands falling loosely over her shoulders.

A night breeze swept by, causing strands of hair to flutter, creating a stark contrast with the surrounding elegant attire and tinkling ornaments, giving the person a somewhat aloof and independent air.

Li Yuanzhao slowly sized him up.

His gaze swept over Wang Yanzhi's cool face, over his straight back, and finally landed on his eyes.

Gone was the reluctance of his initial entry into the palace, and the humble pleading he had made while kneeling outside the Xuanzheng Hall a few days earlier. There was only a deep, calm pool reflecting the lonely moon in the sky, which ironically aroused Li Yuanzhao's interest.

"Oh?" she finally spoke, "What song would you like to perform?"

Wang Yanzhi stared intently at Li Yuanzhao and said, "Your Majesty, I wish to play the 'Breaking the Formation' to cheer you on and to encourage the soldiers at the front."

Breaking the Formation?

Everyone was taken aback.

This piece is said to have been composed by a famous general of the previous dynasty. It is full of the sounds of war and battle, and is very powerful and stirring. It is rarely played at ordinary banquets, let alone at palace banquets.

By bringing up this matter at this moment, Wang Yanzhi was almost blatantly using the pretext of the border war and the crime committed by his Wang family to justify the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

Everyone instinctively looked toward the throne, fearing that His Majesty might be angered.

But Li Yuanzhao nodded slightly: "Granted."

Wang Yanzhi thanked the emperor and stood up, taking out the flute that had always been with him from his wide sleeves.

Long, pale fingers gently pressed onto the flute holes.

The first note of the flute rang out, clear and melodious, unlike the usual flute sound.

The voice was clear and resonant, like the clash of swords, instantly capturing everyone's attention.

Immediately afterwards, the flute music suddenly turned passionate, with layers of sound waves piled up. It was no longer the elegant and melodious tunes like "High Mountains" and "Flowing Water" commonly heard in the palace, but instead carried a fierce and indomitable spirit.

The sound waves surged, as if a thousand troops were marching in, the sound of horses' hooves breaking and drums and horns clashing.

Moonlight fell on him, and the wide sleeves of his snow-white gauze robe fluttered gently in the wind.

Just then, everyone suddenly noticed that the osmanthus petals that had been quietly clinging to the branches were now fluttering in the wind.

As if drawn by the stirring flute music, the petals swirled and danced around Wang Yanzhi, forming a small shower of flowers.

Moonlight, white robes, golden stamens, and the stirring sound of a flute... all intertwine to create a strange and dazzling scene.

"Oh my god, what's going on?"

"Why did these osmanthus flowers suddenly fly up?"

"Could it be an unusual phenomenon from the sky?"

"Be careful what you say! This was initiated by the flute music of Minister Wang; it is an auspicious omen!"

The crowd buzzed with discussion, their faces filled with curiosity.

Even the usually dignified and composed Pei Huaijin couldn't help but look at the shower of osmanthus blossoms surrounding Wang Yanzhi, a hint of inquiry flashing in his eyes.

A beautiful woman who was on good terms with Huang Mian leaned close to him and whispered, "Brother Huang, how did you do that? It's amazing!"

Huang Mian squinted and subtly surveyed her surroundings, her gaze sweeping over the area behind several osmanthus trees outside the pavilion.

Sure enough, in the shadows beyond the Emperor's sight, several palace servants were silently fanning themselves with huge banana leaf fans, directing the osmanthus blossoms from the tree toward Wang Yanzhi.

A mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips as he lowered his voice and said, "They're just petty tricks for vying for favor. What's so amazing about them?"

However, this person used to always put on an arrogant and aloof attitude in the harem, disdaining to associate with people like them.

Now, for the sake of his family's safety, he is willing to lower himself and use the means he once despised to win His Majesty's favor, hoping to secure a glimmer of hope for the royal family.

It's both ironic and pathetic.