Chapter 715 A Dream of Youth 247
As she poured wine for the emperor, the singer's clear voice rang out, and after she finished singing, the musicians accompanied her with the sheng and xiao.
Xie Ning nodded in agreement. She wrote lyrics to be read aloud, but in fact, short and long sentences are more suitable for singing than for reciting. Whether it is a court banquet, a government reception or a gathering of poets and literati, there will be lyrics to urge people to drink at any banquet.
These lyrics aren't just for songstresses; most people know them. When there were banquets at home before, other adults would go up and sing lyrics to encourage people to drink, but those were just small-scale singing.
The main reason is that the accompaniment for the folk songs is relatively simple, requiring only simple instruments such as the xiao, dizi, and bili. After all, it was a simple banquet held at home, and no musicians were invited.
In teahouses and taverns, it is common to drink and sing softly.
Xie Ning's gaze fell on a small bucket not far from her seat. The woman with the comical headscarf was pouring wine for her and the other ministers, just as she would for the emperor, except that their wine was "Sui wine".
By this time, we had switched to the third instrument.
The dancers on stage were not female dancers, but male dancers, which broadened Xie Ning's horizons, as she had only ever seen female dancers before and this was the first time she had seen male officials dance.
Although Xie Ning herself couldn't dance, it didn't stop her from appreciating it. It's no exaggeration to say that this dancer danced better than any of the dancers she had ever seen at banquets before.
At the end of the dance, a variety of performances will take place.
Xie Ning looked at her wine glass, which was glittering gold, and it reminded her of a line of poetry, "The zither player persuaded me to use a golden wine cup," which refers to this kind of wine cup with a handle and made of pure gold.
Xie Qi, who was slightly above her, thought to himself, "It's so dazzling, my eyes are going to go blind!"
Before he knew it, Xie Ning had already drunk three cups... It really was a case of one new poem for every cup of wine.
At this point, some snacks were served, so she no longer had to drink alone.
Sitting next to Xie Ning, Xie Yun didn't blink. She had no appetite for the food and just stared blankly at the performance in the center of the main hall. She had never seen such a wonderful performance before.
My gaze fell on the dancers dressed in brightly colored costumes. She was surrounded in the center by girls with their hair styled in fairy buns, dancing gracefully, tumbling in the air like butterflies.
"It's really beautiful."
Xie Ning echoed her sentiment, after all, she was a famous dancer in the capital, how could she not be beautiful?
As the music of "Zheng'an" began, the banquet reached its climax. Ding, the eunuch beside the emperor, stepped forward to announce the bestowal of flowers, while Xie Ning and others went to change their clothes under the guidance of palace servants.
When they returned, they saw a eunuch holding palace flowers in front of the ministers' seats. After the emperor had the flowers put on his hair by the eunuch, he beckoned to Xie Ning, signaling her to come forward.
He praised Xie Ning lavishly, and then personally adorned her with flowers.
The emperor was pleased. Xie Ning had made such a great contribution, so it was only right that he bestow some honors upon the boy.
The other ministers stared intently at Xie Ning's retreating figure, their burning gazes seeming to want to scorch her; they were too jealous.
When the ministers turned their heads and met the gazes of their own daughters or granddaughters, they felt reassured. It seemed that girls could also be nurtured, and even if they only achieved half of Xie Ning's accomplishments, they would still be enough to bring glory to the family.
Lady Zhao stared blankly at the emperor's favor towards Xie Ning, and for the first time began to doubt her years of persistence. Shouldn't women stay quietly in the inner quarters to support their husbands and raise their children?
Why was Xie Ning able to enter officialdom like a man and still achieve such success?
Unaware that his wife's heart was shattered, Zhao Chengran, his face flushed, whispered to Zhao Huilan, "Lan'er, you must learn more from that young Master Xie. I've invited a great scholar for you, so you must study diligently."
"Thank you, Father."
Looking at the obedient Zhao Huilan, Zhao Chengran couldn't help but glare at his good-for-nothing eldest son. He closed his eyes and made up his mind that he would send his eldest son to his wife's family.
With my father-in-law's strict and old-fashioned nature, he'll definitely be able to discipline this good-for-nothing son of his.
He actually got into a fight with someone over a dancer. How shameful! He should just send her to Luoyang; he can't control her anymore.
Moreover, Zhao's mother spoiled him at home, making him even more difficult to discipline.
Xie Ning was still a little dizzy, but when she met the gazes of Fu Yao and Liu Yuanchang beside her, she immediately sobered up a lot. She should drink less alcohol. Although the wine at the banquet was not strong, drinking alcohol is still bad for your health.
Liu Yuanchang suppressed a laugh, while Xie Ning's face was flushed as if she had been drinking, clearly indicating she was drunk.
Xie Yun also touched Xie Ning's little face and asked her softly, "Is Bao'er drunk?"
"No." She just gets flushed when she drinks.
She could control herself and wouldn't drink anymore, but the atmosphere made her think that the wine, which she usually didn't like, was actually quite good.
Seeing that Xie Ning's eyes were clear, Xie Yun felt relieved and couldn't help but look at the palace flowers on her head. "I thought they were live flowers, but they are actually colored flowers. However, these flowers are really lifelike."
The colorful flowers are made of gold wire inlay, making them look extremely gorgeous.
“The petals of fresh flowers are easy to fall off, often causing ministers to be embarrassed. So later, whether it was a large banquet or a small banquet, colorful flowers were used.”
Hers is the best, followed by the silk flower, and then the most common material.
She had to wear it home after the banquet; otherwise, it would be disrespectful to the emperor and she would be punished.
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