Chapter 45 Chapter 45 The Horrifying Burning Tail Feast There is a Divine Bird in the South...
Duan Zhiwei had already planned to leave, but she felt terrible when she heard the princess' invitation. She had never learned the etiquette of Chang'an and was afraid of misbehaving in front of others.
The eunuch standing by suddenly seemed like a different person, and he diligently led the way for her, as if he was afraid that she would run away.
The two men walked all the way from the fire room to the backyard, and met another woman in the alley lined with bodhi trees. The woman was pretty and fair-skinned, wearing a plain jacket, and looked a little timid.
She doesn't look like the daughter of a noble family.
So Duan Zhiwei first said to her: "My lady, are you also a guest invited by the princess?"
The lady didn't expect Duan Zhiwei to suddenly talk to her. She was startled and then stammered, "My name is Qingluan. I came here to buy the dress that the princess wanted."
So that's how it is. Duan Zhiwei said hurriedly, "Today, my aunt went to the East Market to look for this floating brocade. Unexpectedly, the shop was not open. The old woman next door said that she was taken away by a few officials. I thought she got into trouble. It turns out that she was sewing floating brocade for the princess."
Qingluan's face turned pale, and she just nodded slightly when she heard that.
The two of them arrived at the princess's banquet, where there was already the sound of clinking glasses and music. Various talented men of letters and beautiful ladies were chatting and drinking. The princess invited Duan Zhiwei to sit next to her.
Duan Zhiwei didn't know how to perform etiquette in front of the royal family, so he just put his hands gently on his waist, slightly bent his knees, and said: "Your Highness, may you be blessed with good fortune and happiness."
After all, it is the New Year, so it is definitely good to say something auspicious and flattering. The princess was stunned for a moment, and then smiled and said, "This auspicious word is quite interesting."
She looked at Duan Zhiwei carefully and smiled with satisfaction: "With her snowy skin and almond-shaped eyes, she is indeed a beauty."
Duan Zhiwei was completely confused, not knowing what his appearance had to do with this banquet. He could only smile and sit down behind the food table.
It was worthy of being the tail-burning banquet set by the princess. Single baskets of golden milk pastry, Mantuoyang sandwich, Imperial Concubine Red, and Changsheng porridge were piled on the food table one after another.
Duan Zhiwei looked at it for a long time and felt that the golden milk pastry was made into the shape of a rich peony flower, with a golden gradient, and it was filled with the aroma of milk in the small steamer, which was extremely exquisite.
She carefully picked one of them and put it into the bowl, then took a sip. The skin was soft and the rich milky aroma filled her entire mouth.
Duan Zhiwei suddenly got inspiration from it. Although she really didn't know how to carve peony-shaped pastries, this pastry was similar to the modern custard buns, and it was filled with dense salted egg yolk lava filling.
If she could replicate this dessert and sell it in a restaurant, and claim that it was inspired by Princess Wanfu's Burnt Tail Feast, then... wouldn't she be able to make a fortune?
Duan Zhiwei was so immersed in his fantasy of the golden milk pastry that he didn't realize the banquet was almost over.
Two girls dressed in palace costumes pushed a tall carved wooden frame over. On it was a luxurious ruqun. Duan Zhiwei was far away and saw from afar that the dress looked like a flowing, sparkling five-colored river.
Whether it was to flatter Princess Wanfu or because they were truly amazed, the guests at the table all gasped.
On it is a red shirt embroidered with morning glow silk, a tribute from Goryeo. The sides of the sleeves are embroidered with floating brocade of changing colors. The skirt is made of large patches of peacock tail feathers, like golden and green velvet with glowing colors, and dotted with countless "eye"-shaped patterns, which is mysterious and elegant.
This skirt has different colors and beauty when viewed from the front, from the side, in the sun, and in the shadow.
Princess Wanfu was quite proud of herself. She was the 24th princess of the saint, and her mother was just a beauty. Although the royal family was rich, she was not that valued among all the princesses.
She indulged in everyone's envious gazes and said, "This skirt is called Yuyi, and the tail feathers are from the divine bird from the south..."
A girl in the room suddenly seemed to have discovered something, pointed to the sky and shouted, "What is that?"
Like a dark cloud looming, a group of black birds suddenly flew over from afar.
Duan Zhiwei also looked up and thought, "What's going on here? Could it be that the Fragrant Concubine attracted butterflies, and the Feathered Clothes can attract hundreds of birds to pay homage to the phoenix?"
She soon realized that her idea was quite naive. She saw the birds like a dark army coming from the depths of the underworld, rushing down towards the princess's banquet with lightning speed and wailing.
Only then did everyone realize that something was wrong. They screamed and scattered, some of them hid directly under the food table. The group of nobles looked extremely embarrassed.
Duan Zhiwei was also very panicked. He lowered his body and held his head with his hands. All he could hear was the loud cries of birds and the pecking sounds of food.
The birds' attack came and went quickly, and in a short while, the flock of birds dispersed. When everyone came out, they found that the glittering and gorgeous clothes had been pecked to pieces by the birds, leaving only two broken tail feathers on the ground.
Duan Zhiwei was shocked. If this happened to a human, he couldn't even imagine it...
The Qianniu Guards who were guarding outside the temple rushed in hurriedly, but the flock of birds had already scattered away. This was the first time that Princess Wanfu had lost such a big person since she was born. She was furious and ordered a thorough investigation.
Layer upon layer of Qianniu Guards surrounded Qingyun Temple, allowing neither outsiders to come in nor people inside to go out.
After all, most of the people inside were nobles, so the Taoist temple arranged a room for each person. Duan Zhiwei was assigned to the room at the very end, and he was actually in the same room with the lady named Qingluan.
Duan Zhiwei ate a lot at the Burning Tail Banquet and felt a little thirsty. He picked up a black-glazed bowl from the food table, wiped it clean carefully, poured a bowl of cold water and drank it all in one gulp, then asked Qingluan if she wanted some.
Qingluan seemed frightened and shook her head, then stared at Duan Zhiwei and said quietly: "Have you heard of the Ten Thousand Bird Skirt?"
Duan Zhiwei was, after all, just a restaurant owner with little knowledge of history. If it had to do with dresses made of bird feathers, she had only heard of the Colorful Feathered Clothes.
This matter seemed to have become a big deal, and the Dali Temple came. The saint was dissatisfied with the Qianniu Guards' poor protection of the princess, so he transferred a group of them and replaced them with a group of Jinwu Guards.
Duan Zhiwei was also inexplicably interrogated for a long time by a man of unknown official rank. She was just the owner of a small restaurant and came here on the orders of the princess, so there was really no suspicion on her, so she was allowed to leave after the interrogation.
As for Madam Qingluan, although her dress was made together with the Shangfang in the palace, the brocade was woven by her, so she was interrogated by two men who looked like officials and has not come out yet.
It was the first time that Duan Zhiwei encountered such a scene. He was a little scared. He tripped over a branch when he went out, and fell into a warm embrace when he was about to fall.
She looked up and saw Yuan Shenji looking at her with concern, and then asked, "Is Madam Duan okay?"
It was not his turn to be on duty today. He just passed by the Duan family restaurant and heard that she was invited away by Princess Wanfu. He also learned that such a big incident had happened in Qingyun Temple, so he hurriedly switched shifts with the General of the Central Army of the Jinwu Guard.
Duan Zhiwei felt relieved when he saw him, but he pouted his lips in grievance: "This is really an unprovoked disaster."
She told him how she was invited here, sat at the princess's banquet, and was attacked by a flock of birds.
Yuan Shenji said sternly, "The Dali Temple is currently suspecting the Qingluan who wove the floating brocade and the Shangfang in the palace. You don't have to worry. With Yuan here, nothing will happen."
When mentioning the Qingluan lady, Duan Zhiwei asked him curiously, "Captain, have you ever heard of the Ten Thousand Bird Skirt?"
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Yuan Shenji rarely frowned at her, but without any hesitation, he used brute force to bring Duan Zhiwei to a cave in a rockery and observed that there was no one around.
He quickly said, "This is a big taboo! Who told you that?"
Duan Zhiwei said honestly: "Qingluan."
Princess Anle, who was deposed and committed suicide, once ordered the palace craftsmen to weave two "bird feather skirts" with the feathers of hundreds of birds, one for Queen Wei and the other for her own use.
According to the New Book of Tang, this skirt "is in the sun and in the shadow, each with a different color, in the shape of a hundred birds."
It is said that after Princess Anle got these two bird skirts, everyone from high-ranking officials to ordinary people followed suit. During that period, all kinds of rare and exotic animals in the mountains and forests were searched and swept away.
The saints of today are kindhearted and regard this creature as an ominous thing that will bring disaster to the country. They have issued a strict order not to shoot and kill the rare treasures in the mountains and forests just for a skirt.
Duan Zhiwei quickly covered his mouth, and now he finally understood what "trouble comes from the mouth" meant.
On the other side, the palace maid Bixiao pushed open the vermilion lacquered door carrying a bowl of soothing soup and walked into the princess's bedroom. It was very bright, and a copper and glazed incense burner underneath seemed to be emitting the ambergris bestowed by the emperor. The ground was covered with thick Shu brocade lichen, and the golden carbon in the ground dragon's mouth radiated warmth.
This charcoal fire was from the Tegong Palace. Although it was very warm, it was not dry. Bixiao served some calming soup, and then took a comb to comb the hair of Princess Wanfu, who was complaining of a headache.
The latter closed his eyes and asked, "How's it going?"
Bi Xiao replied cautiously: "I have asked the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, but there has been no progress."
The princess opened her eyes and said sternly, "What a bunch of trash." Then she threw the comb in her hand, which just hit the silver square box with a peacock pattern and a round top.
Bixiao walked out of the room holding the empty bowl, put away his timid and flattering look, snorted coldly, and left with his sleeves slammed.
The night was as dark as ink tonight, without a trace of light. Duan Zhiwei was still sleeping in the side room. Qingluan quietly got up and went out.
Bixiao was waiting anxiously at the door of a room sealed with various yellow talisman papers. When she saw her coming, she hurriedly shook Qingluan's hand and opened the door that had been sealed for a long time.
A cloud of dust filled the room. The room was filled with talisman papers of various colors, with only a huge mahogany shelf in the middle holding a dusty dress.
"Finally found it." Bixiao and Qingluan said excitedly.
"It's you." An angry voice sounded from outside.
A group of Jinwu Guards had quietly surrounded them, with torches in their hands, the flames flickering in the raging winter wind. They all had solemn expressions and held bows and arrows in their hands.
On the other side, Dugu Luling from the Monster Catching Division also showed up. Unlike Yuan Shenji, who had a solemn look on his face, he looked quite relaxed, as if he had just come to Qingyun Temple to burn incense. He waved the feather fan in his hand and said, "So you are a divine bird from the south. Why do you have to be a maid for the royal family in the human world? Wouldn't it be better to enjoy your offerings?"
Bixiao protected Qingluan behind him, his eyes turned red: "What do you know about the suffering our bird tribe has endured?"
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