Your reputation

The training of dancers emphasizes hand, eye, body and footwork, and the hand, eye and mind must be in sync. This thrust was launched when Huang Chaoan was completely unprepared, and it was both fast and ruthless.

Lady Sun had made up her mind that she would make Huang Chao'an pay with his life tonight. This man was a cancer in the Music Bureau and the root of trouble for the Dance Department. As long as he was watching the Dance Department, it would be like a boil clinging to the bone.

Huang Chaoan never imagined that his usually honest and dutiful wife, Sun, would dare to confront him with a sharp blade. He roared, "You've gone too far!" Ignoring the pain, he gripped the scissors Sun was thrusting at his chest, preventing them from advancing any further.

At this moment, the sharp edge of the scissors had already penetrated his chest, and blood was seeping out. Sun's wife, being a woman, was not as strong as him, but even so, she gritted her teeth and gripped the scissors tightly with all her might, not giving Huang Chao'an a chance to push or dodge. Cold sweat poured down her forehead.

After stabbing Le Zheng with that scissor, she herself was certainly doomed. But whether Huang Chao'an lived or died depended on this one move.

Although Huang Chaoan was stronger than Sun Neiren, he couldn't break free for a moment. He turned his head and hissed to the officer beside him, "Sir!"

After he called out, he heard a light, cheerful laugh in his ear: "This lord has come to see you off, no need to thank me!"

Huang Chaoan watched as A Qiu suddenly appeared in front of him, effortlessly taking Sun Neiren's hand and smilingly and easily pushing it forward.

He immediately felt a churning pain in his chest, a sharp, intense pain shooting through him. It was wet… a large patch of his blood. Warm blood, freshly flowing from his chest, soaked his clothes.

Only then did the officers of the Divine Hound Camp on one side move, seemingly wanting to intervene.

With lightning speed, A Qiu drew her crane scissors and held them up in front of the officer. Her beautiful eyes shone with a sharp light as she whispered, "If you don't want this matter to be associated with your Divine Mastiff Battalion, then don't make any rash moves."

The officer who had intended to step forward stood there, unsure whether to advance or retreat, and finally spread his hands to indicate his obedience.

A Qiu then turned her head and glanced at Huang Chao'an, who was mostly submerged in blood. She swiftly tossed down the crane scissors, and with a sharp "hiss," the crisp sound of tearing cloth cut through the air.

At this moment, the officer of the Divine Hound Battalion was even more flustered and embarrassed, because he didn't know whether to look or not.

A Qiu tore her clothes at the shoulder and shouted, "Help! Indecent assault!" She used her inner strength to send her voice far out of the gate, and immediately a commotion broke out outside the gate. The servants under the corridor could no longer stop the angry dancers from rushing over.

Sun's wife glanced at A-Qiu and said with difficulty, "A-Qiu, your reputation..."

No one really cared about a geisha's reputation.

Sun's wife picked up the scissors that A-Qiu had tossed aside and shakily cut open her own clothes at the shoulder. She then shouted, "Huang Lezheng is molesting a geisha!"

The sound of wooden clogs, like raindrops, approached the gate. Xue Hongbi's wailing and screaming rang out at the door, deafeningly loud.

"Yue Zheng is abusing a dancer in the dead of night! Is there no law left?!"

The news of the rioting of the dancers in the Music Bureau, which seriously injured the music master Huang Chao'an, was reported to the emperor overnight.

Emperor Xie Lang had already retired for the night in the Vermilion Bird Palace, but was startled awake by this extremely urgent message from the Pear Blossom Garden.

Because the matter was of great importance, Chenghua ordered An Daoling to come and report to the Emperor in person.

Xie Lang asked incredulously, "A geisha? Rioting and injuring people in the middle of the night?"

His only impression of the Yuefu dancers was their appearance at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, where they performed the White Silk Dance. In his eyes, they were just a group of frail, pitiful beauties.

In the past, most riots involved military camps and civilian laborers. How come even those weak palace maids from the Music Bureau have started a riot?

With his white eyebrows lowered, An Daoling held a purple bamboo flute and said cautiously, "It is said that the music master summoned the dancers late at night and intended to do something improper." He paused, then added, "Yin Shang, the captain of the Divine Hound Camp, was present to testify to this. And it is said that this is not the first time."

Xie Lang frowned and said in a deep voice, "The Tangli Music Bureau, how could such a thing happen right under my nose?"

Judging from his voice, one could tell that this emperor, who came from a family of renowned scholars for generations, was truly enraged.

An Daoling considered his words carefully before slowly saying, "There are four or five thousand people in the palace, and many of them are of questionable character, a motley crew of people from all walks of life. Even if we wanted to manage them, we could only deal with them one by one."

Xie Lang understood this perfectly. Those in positions of power have limited energy, and in places beyond their control and beyond their sight, it is inevitable that corrupt elements will breed.

Xie Lang frowned and asked, "What about the Divine Hound Camp? Why would Le Zheng attempt such an act in front of the Divine Hound Camp officers?"

An Daoling said deeply, "That is beyond the knowledge of this old servant."

Xie Lang understood most of what An Daoling said. Even if Huang Chao'an was foolish and lecherous, he wouldn't defile a dancer in front of the Shen'ao Camp. There was likely more to the story, and it was probably related to the Shen'ao Camp.

Consort Chen, Li Lanxiu, listened calmly for a moment before asking, "Where are those troublemaking dancers now?"

An Daoling bowed again and said, "They have all been imprisoned and are awaiting their fate."

Consort Chen confirmed again, "Is it... all the dancers in the Music Bureau now?"

An Daoling replied, "Yes, all the dancers."

Xie Lang said in a deep voice, "All the dancers!" He had figured out what was going on and said angrily, "Since all the dancers were involved, it must be organized and premeditated. Who is the leader?"

An Daoling hesitated for a moment before replying, "The situation is not yet clear. I only heard that because Consort Sun was transferred by Huang Chaoan late at night, and the newly promoted Dian Le Shi accompanied her, Huang Chaoan suddenly had malicious intentions, which led to this."

Xie Lang repeatedly pondered the four characters "Dian Le Shi Shi" several times. Consort Chen reminded him, "It's the one who won first place in the White Silk Dance at the Mid-Autumn Festival Palace Banquet, the one who bravely faced the tiger for His Highness the Crown Prince."

Xie Lang suddenly realized and said, "She is indeed beautiful." He said to Consort Chen, "Since all the dancers have been arrested and imprisoned, let the Court of Justice investigate this matter and get the results within three days."

An Daoling agreed, then said, "There is another matter I would like to ask Your Majesty. Now that the Music Bureau is under the jurisdiction of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, should we inform the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, who is also the Junior Tutor, and make a decision after his return?"

Xie Lang replied without hesitation, "The Grand Tutor is already extremely busy, currently in Jiangbei trying to persuade the Marquis of Guannei. There's no need to bother him with a mere few dozen musicians!"

A look of hesitation crossed An Daoling's face.

Consort Chen said promptly, "The Grand Tutor values ​​rules the most and rarely asks questions about matters outside his authority; however, we should not ignore matters within his responsibilities. Although this matter is small, it ultimately involves his people. He may not personally handle it, but it is appropriate for Lord An to report it to him according to procedure."

Xie Lang pondered for a moment and said, "Then let An Gong report it to Jiangbei and mention it."

When the letter, personally sealed by An Daoling, arrived at the Jiangbei garrison, Gu Yi was playing chess with Li Chongyu, playing black and white pieces.

Li Chongyu, the Marquis of Guannei in this generation, was handsome and dignified. The Shuofang Army under his command could be called the Great Wall defense line of the Southern Dynasty against the southward invasion of the nomadic tribes.

However, if this army were to turn around and march south, becoming the vanguard of the Northern Qiang, then the entire Southern Dynasty would almost certainly collapse without a fight.

Although the Jianzhang Army, the central army of the Southern Dynasties, was large, it was also corrupt, deeply entrenched and riddled with deep-seated problems. This was not the fault of Pei Yuanli alone, but rather the result of the long-standing foundation of the central army.

The game on the chessboard between the two players had reached a stalemate. Li Chongyu launched a full-scale attack, while Gu Yi remained calm and composed, responding with unwavering composure.

Gu Yi glanced at the bamboo tube containing the sealed document before abruptly looking away.

It felt as if I had been burned.

It bears the seal of the Imperial Music Bureau.

Therefore, this is neither a military report nor an official dispatch. It is an urgent report sent from the Yuefu An Daoling residence.

But the Music Bureau has always only had songs, dances, banquets, and entertainment. What urgent matter could possibly need to be delivered to him at this moment?

He seemed slightly distracted, and Li Chongyu, noticing this, smiled nonchalantly and said, "If the Junior Tutor has important matters to attend to, perhaps he should deal with them first. We can play chess another day."

Gu Yi brought his attention back to the chessboard and calmly said, "At this moment, with the greater good at stake, does the Marquis of Guannei have no other ambitions besides avenging your father?"

Li Chongyu suddenly stood up, his eyes gleaming, and said, "It is precisely because I have greater ambitions that I must go to Pei Yuanli first!"

He said coldly, "The Pei family claims to be a military family for five generations, but we all know what kind of people they really are. As long as Pei Yuanli is still in charge of the Jianzhang Army, our Shuofang Army will never escape the fate of being betrayed on the battlefield! Even the former Grand Chancellor, Shangguan Jin, who was known as 'a swordsman in green robes, a recluse of noble character,' was unable to change this when he was the commander-in-chief of the allied forces!"

Gu Yi placed a black piece into the eye of the board without making a sound, and said, "If I were to personally oversee the three armies, would that put the Marquis of Guannei at ease?"

For the first time, a hint of interest flashed in Li Chongyu's eyes. After a moment, he sighed and said, "If it were just me, I might risk my life to believe in the Junior Tutor once. But behind me lies the lives of an entire army, and the peace or war between the North and the South. Please forgive me for having to be a villain. I will only form an alliance after seeing Pei Yuanli's head."

After Li Chongyu finished speaking, he bowed and left.

Gu Yi stared at the unfinished game on the table, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

The person who just delivered the documents was Xiao Chang'an. Ever since he heard that Gu Yi was once A Qiu's master, he was no longer as hostile towards Gu Yi as before.

Seeing Li Chongyu leave, Xiao Chang'an wanted to urge Gu Yi to quickly open the document and see what was going on, but he didn't want to urge him.

After all, he recognized the seal of the Music Bureau on the document. An Daoling of the Music Bureau was his teacher who taught him the art of the xiao (a type of vertical bamboo flute), and also the person he, a Flying Phoenix Guard from the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world), was closest to and most trusted in the palace.

As Xiao Chang'an was pondering this, he suddenly heard Gu Yi ask, "Xiao, what do you think of this matter?"

A nonchalant smile flashed across Xiao Chang'an's face as he chuckled, "Since the Grand Tutor has asked, Chang'an will speak frankly. Chang'an thinks that what the Marquis of Guannei said makes a lot of sense."

Gu Yi was racking his brains, but Xiao Chang'an's words made him chuckle. He shook his head, as if trying to expel the shock of this unconventional view from his mind, before saying, "Not everyone can command the Jianzhang Army."

Xiao Chang'an said lazily, "After killing Pei Yuanli, the Junior Tutor can personally take command."

Gu Yi shook his head and said, "No one will believe me if I say this, but I really don't want to kill any more of our own people."

Xiao Chang'an's eyes lit up, and he said seemingly casually, "Given the current situation, why doesn't the Junior Tutor resign and go to the countryside to farm?"

The two stared at each other for a moment, neither giving an inch, before Xiao Chang'an raised his hand and said, "I surrender. Why don't you open the document and take a look? I bet it will mention Sister A Qiu."