Chapter 69 Chapter 69 When stroking "Xijiangyue"...
Chapter 69 Chapter 69 When stroking "Xijiangyue"...
Soon, the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and the two princes and princesses all arrived.
All the officials shouted long live the emperor. The emperor passed by the stage and took a look at the first person at the east seat. He saw that the man was tall and majestic, with a high nose bridge and thick eyebrows. It was obvious that he was a difficult person to deal with. In his heart, he felt a little jealous of this Prince of Nan'an.
As for the empress dowager, she simply glanced at Cheng Mingyu who was sitting to the west, slightly tightened her lapel, and went up the stairs with the emperor.
After the emperor took his seat, Liu Xi, the chief eunuch in charge of imperial edicts, announced the start of the banquet.
First, all the officials drank three cups to congratulate the emperor on his birthday, and then the crown prince and Prince Ning began to present birthday gifts to the emperor.
The prince's gift was also innovative; he found a piece of Taihu stone that looked like the Chinese character "Shou", which was truly a work of art and drew applause from the whole room.
Prince Ning walked forward slowly, looked at the prince and said,
"Your Majesty is such a great example. I am ashamed of myself. I can only do some clumsy work." He lifted his robe and pointed to the stage in front of him. "Come here, bring me the set of books I compiled."
From ancient times to the present, the Central Plains Chinese laws and regulations have continued for two thousand years, and have accumulated brilliant culture. As early as five years ago, Prince Ning had set his mind on it and summoned hundreds of scholars and patriots from the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial College to revise this encyclopedia that is a culmination of all the ancient and modern literature.
There were too many documents stored in the royal library and had never been transported here, so Prince Ning only ordered someone to move the catalogue.
The catalogue alone consists of five volumes, which shows how comprehensive it is.
The official from the Hanlin Academy who came on orders read out the compilation method of the encyclopedia to everyone, and all the ministers and envoys were amazed.
Prince Ning's move was intended to shock the enemy countries so that they would know who was the orthodox Chinese.
Secondly, it also wins the hearts of scholars all over the world.
He put a lot of effort into compiling this series of books. As a prince, he humbled himself by visiting various noble families and asked them to collect rare copies from their collections. He then copied and compiled them one by one. When the book was published, many of the rare copies would be praised by the world. It was truly a great contribution.
Prince Ning called it "stupid work", but in fact it was a brilliant move that determined the outcome of the whole situation.
Even Cheng Mingyu and other middle-of-the-roaders couldn't help but marvel at Prince Ning's skills.
Prince Ning stole the show at the banquet.
The Crown Princess looked worriedly at the Crown Prince who was outshined, but the Crown Prince just smiled and said nothing.
Prince Ning is the emperor's own son. As long as he gets the spotlight, it doesn't matter whether the rest of the birthday ceremonies are good or bad.
Next it was the eldest princess' turn.
If Lu Xusheng is the emperor's "biological son", then in the eyes of the eldest princess, Cheng Yian is almost like her biological daughter.
She handed a scroll to Cheng Yian.
"An An, please present this picture to His Majesty on my behalf."
The intention was to let Cheng Yian show up in front of the emperor.
Cheng Yian didn't know what it was, so Zheng Zhong took it and walked forward with the female official, and the two of them opened the scroll one on the left and one on the right.
The scroll is about eight feet long, and is densely marked with many place names and mountains and rivers.
When the emperor looked at it, he realized that it was a navigation map of the four regions and was shocked. This thing was so precious that it could be called a national treasure.
"Ming Lan, where did you get this treasure?"
The princess smiled and said, "I got it from a merchant in Southeast Asia."
The emperor was very satisfied.
Cheng Yian glanced at the nautical map. The map was very detailed. It not only depicted the locations of Dajin and Northern Qi, but also listed all the countries in Southeast Asia. With this nautical map, it would be easy for Dajin merchant ships to go to Southeast Asia.
It is really rare.
She closed the scroll and stepped forward to present the seal to the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
Upon seeing this, King Yunnan glanced at his youngest son behind him.
The second young master Mu Xun came forward holding something.
It looked like a bird cage, covered with a crimson scarf. When Mu Xun lifted the scarf, an extremely gorgeous bird jumped out of the cage. It circled above the steps and made several extremely beautiful chirps.
This was not the most amazing thing. What was even more amazing was that every time the bird flapped its wings, the color of its feathers changed completely, as if performing a magic trick. The queen was stunned.
"Oh my god, there are such wonderful birds in the world."
Mu Xun looked up and pointed at the silver bird, and replied crisply,
"To answer your Majesty, this bird is called the Silver Sparrow, and it has eighteen different colors on its body. It is a sacred bird from the Yulong Mountain in Yunnan. My father specially ordered me to capture it and present it to Your Majesty."
"Good, very good, King Yunnan, I like this birthday gift very much."
Soon Mu Xun blew a whistle, and the birds returned to their nests. The queen looked at them in wonder and could not take her eyes away.
"Hey, Young Master Mu, can you train birds?"
Mu Xun showed his white teeth when he heard this, and said proudly, "My queen, everyone in my family has a talent. My father trains horses, my mother trains snakes, and I train birds!"
The queen was startled and her eyes turned to the gentle and beautiful Xia Fu.
"The princess knows how to train snakes?"
When the word "snake" came out, many people at the table gasped.
Xia Fu slowly stood up and bowed to the Queen, "But it's just a child's joke, Your Majesty, please don't take it seriously."
These words are clearly meant to be humble, and it seems that he really knows how to train snakes.
Oh my God! The queen secretly covered her chest.
The delicate beauty can tame snakes...even the emperor shuddered and looked at the King of Yunnan with admiration.
The King of Yunnan stared at his son.
"You are so arrogant," he stood up and said to the Queen, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
The Queen laughed, "Your Majesty, your words are very sincere. I like this young master very much."
King Yunnan glanced at his son and signaled him to return to his throne.
This is one of the purposes of King Yunnan. In the future, his son will live in the capital with Xia Fu so that his son can make more good friends and the nobles in the palace can take care of him.
Cheng Yian glanced at his father. Cheng Mingyu still looked the same as when he came, with his eyes lowered on the food table, and even his sitting posture seemed to have not changed at all.
After the clan members came, Minister of Rites Kong Yunjie stepped forward and introduced the envoys one by one.
Kong Yunjie asked the Prince of Nan'an to present the gift first. The Prince of Nan'an looked at Lu Xusheng opposite him and smiled.
"This is my last gift. Let the other friendly countries congratulate Your Majesty first."
Thus, starting with the Che Khanate, ambassadors from more than ten countries in the four borders presented their country's most prestigious treasures to the emperor, and finally it was the turn of the Prince of Nan'an.
He brushed the dust off his hands, stood up and walked to the wide platform in the middle, bowed to the emperor and said,
"Your Majesty, we have horses from Northern Qi. My uncle ordered me to select ten precious horses to present to Your Majesty. However, I feel that this is not enough. I would like to have a competition with General Lu to entertain Your Majesty. What do you think?"
I knew he had come with bad intentions.
The enemy's general has come to attack us, how can we not fight back?
Prince Nan'an was sure that Lu Xusheng would not refuse, so he acted recklessly.
The emperor looked unhappy, but Lu Xusheng stood up calmly and walked onto the stage.
"Well, the prince wants to show his skills to the emperor, how can I not accompany him?"
The word "offering skills" was enough to put the Northern Qi envoy in a low position.
The Prince of Nan'an found that these people of Dajin were quite cunning and loved to show off their power through words. He said indifferently,
"I hope General Lu can still smile and talk later."
Lu Xusheng put his left hand behind his back and said with a smile, "Today is the birthday of our emperor. I will always smile when I talk to you. After all, the prince is an envoy, and visitors are guests. How about this? I will give you one hand."
In fact, it was Lu Xusheng's idea to invite envoys to the Wanshou Festival.
As early as when he went south to Nanjing, after the news reached Northern Qi, Northern Qi had already made unusual moves and privately discussed going south to invade Jin. However, Northern Qi had not yet reached an agreement internally, so he quickly packed up Jiangnan and returned to the capital, catching Northern Qi off guard.
Despite this, Northern Qi secretly visited various countries in the Western Regions and Che Khan, hoping to gather an alliance to attack Jin. So Lu Xusheng decided to take the initiative and let the emperor bring people to Jin in the name of Wanshou Festival.
What is the purpose?
Three years later in the previous life, the crown prince rebelled, and Northern Qi, together with the Che Khanate and the Western Regions coalition forces, marched southward, leaving the people of Dajin in dire straits. Many women and children were captured and brutally tortured in the military camps, and Lu Xusheng was filled with indignation.
Now that he was reborn, he couldn't live his life in vain, so he naturally had to eliminate this hidden danger as soon as possible.
This completely eliminated the possibility of a coalition between the Che Khanate and Northern Qi.
Lu Xusheng's current proposal to give up one hand is actually intended to disrupt the other side's morale.
The Prince of Nan'an was too powerful and arrogant. He did not put a damper on his arrogance, but the other countries thought that the Jin Dynasty had no one.
The Prince of Nan'an was so furious that his face twitched.
"Lu Xusheng, this isn't the first time we've fought each other. Do you have the ability to defeat me with one hand?"
After the death of Prince Nankang, Prince Nan'an held a grudge and would bring his personal soldiers to harass Dajin from time to time. Although it had nothing to do with the pain, it was exhausting to deal with. At that time, Lu Xusheng was in mourning and was ordered to go north to fight Prince Nan'an several times. The two were old rivals.
Lu Xusheng smiled and said, "Then I gave in. Even if I lose to you, it's understandable."
To put it bluntly, Lu Xusheng didn't want to fight with the Prince of Nan'an.
The Prince of Nan'an could not let him have his way, so he decisively put his hand behind his back.
"I'll give one up, too. Now you have nothing to say."
Lu Xusheng still had something to say, "Well, let's put it this way. Whoever moves the other hand will lose."
The Prince of Nan'an was obviously looking for trouble, and their martial arts were equally matched. If they really wanted to decide the winner, they would have to tear down the Guanghan Palace. He couldn't let the emperor's birthday banquet be ruined here, so naturally he had to think of a way to turn things around.
The Prince of Nan'an realized that he had been trapped by Lu Xusheng, but he could do nothing about it. "Okay, I promise you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Prince Nan'an's eyes flashed, and he punched Lu Xusheng in the face with his bare hands.
Cheng Yian was shocked.
"Your Highness, this Prince of Nan'an is so hateful!"
The princess held her cold wrist and said, "Don't panic, An'an. Lu Xusheng has been assassinated more than a hundred times since he went to Jiangnan. He still came back alive. He must be quite skilled. He will be fine."
There are so many imperial guards on the scene, and there are experts on duty who will not watch Prince Nan'an get hurt or harm Lu Xusheng.
When Cheng Yian heard "she was assassinated more than a hundred times", he glanced at the princess and said, "Your Highness, you never mentioned this in your letters."
He is another Lord who only reports good news and not sorrow.
The princess rubbed her forehead awkwardly, "What good can I do if I tell you? You don't have the ability to fight for him. It's useless except for worrying about nothing. It's better for you to stay at home and eat and drink well."
Cheng Yian was speechless.
Even though she can't help, she can't live like this heartlessly.
This was the first time Xia Fu raised her eyes to look at the stage. After all, he was her son-in-law, so she was obviously worried. She quietly asked the King of Yunnan,
"My Lord, what do you think of the Duke's skills? Does he have a chance of winning?"
She pinched the ring under her sleeve.
King Yunnan glanced at her sleeves and guessed her intention.
"If he has no chance of winning, you will help him?"
Xia Fu looked at him without saying anything.
She didn't care about winning or losing, but she didn't want her son-in-law to get hurt.
Lu Xusheng was injured and An An was not having a good time.
King Yunnan shook his head and said, "The three nobles are here, don't scare them."
Although the little snake was as fast as lightning and could not be spotted by others, it would be a disaster if it was spotted.
Mu Xun was so fascinated by the scene that he stood up and lay on the white jade railing to watch the fight.
The two people on the wide platform in front were as fast as lightning and as fast as flowing light. No matter how Prince Nan'an attacked, Lu Xusheng dodged left and right and never left the platform, so as not to affect the banquet below.
The Prince of Nan'an said unhappily, "Lu Xusheng, show your true abilities and don't be so restrained!"
"This isn't your emperor's birthday banquet, so you don't have to be restrained."
The Prince of Nan'an punched the pillar nearby, but Lu Xusheng hooked his calf back, forcing him to withdraw his fist, and the two of them entangled in the center again.
The Prince of Nan'an's boxing skills are extremely powerful, while Lu Xusheng's leg skills are even more powerful, and his legs work hard to strengthen his waist.
The princess watched the battle for a while, then said to Cheng Yian,
"You are a man with good waist strength."
Cheng Yian glared at her lightly.
What kind of situation is this, and the princess still has the mind to make fun of her.
The eldest princess laughed. There was nothing she could do about it. Who told her to have such a sharp eye?
On the stage, the Prince of Nan'an attacked more and more fiercely, and looking at his ferocious and brutal appearance, it seemed that he wanted to smash Lu Xusheng to pieces with one punch.
The emperor also had some concerns and was wondering whether to call a halt.
At this moment, the Prince of Nan'an threw a punch towards Lu
Xusheng attacked Lu Xusheng's waist and abdomen, forcing him to lean back. The prince swept his legs across again, and was about to force Lu Xusheng off the platform. At the critical moment, Lu Xusheng hooked his toes on the baluster, and his slender figure was almost lying outside the platform.
This is a great opportunity.
Defeating Lu Xusheng in public today would be a great setback to the commander-in-chief of the Jin border army, making the Jin emperor lose face, and it would also be considered as half of the revenge for his father. Therefore, the Prince of Annan decisively jumped onto the watchtower, swung his right fist and attacked Lu Xusheng with the force of a mountain pressing down on his head. Lu Xusheng dodged quickly, stepped on the stone railing and retreated to the northeast. The Prince of Nan'an seized the opportunity and followed him desperately, stepping on Lu Xusheng's neck.
Just as he was about to hit Lu Xusheng, he saw Lu Xusheng put his right palm on a food table and used the force to fly away. At this time, a childish face appeared in his sight.
It was none other than the third son of the Great Khan of the Che Khanate, His Royal Highness Prince Cheng.
The Prince of Nan'an realized that he had been tricked, and quickly grabbed the guardrail and retreated. At this time, Lu Xusheng's right fist had already hit his waist.
The Prince of Nan'an had no choice but to use his left hand to block, using the force to step back to the center of the wide platform.
He looked at Lu Xusheng, who had calculated everything, and sighed, "I lost."
He glanced at His Royal Highness Prince Cheng, who had been so frightened by his punch that he had slipped off his seat, glaring at him with gritted teeth, feeling ashamed.
Prince Nan'an shook his head secretly.
Lu Xusheng smiled and bowed, "Thank you." Then he got off the stage.
The officials of Dajin immediately responded with thunderous applause.
But the Prince of Nan'an had not yet gone down.
The emperor said impatiently,
"Prince of Nan'an, are you still dissatisfied?"
"It's not that I don't accept it." The Prince of Nan'an first bowed to the emperor, then suddenly turned around and faced Cheng Mingyu.
"Your Majesty, do you know that my aunt Princess Mingyue is concerned about Master Cheng?"
The princess's mind moved, and she narrowed her eyes at the Prince of Nan'an.
When Cheng Mingyu was sent as an envoy to Northern Qi, he was favored by Princess Mingyue of Northern Qi, who insisted on keeping him as her consort. The princess was also a young girl at that time, and she ignored the opposition of the emperor at that time and secretly led her palace soldiers to the border to bring Cheng Mingyu back to Dajin.
The troops of the two princesses collided at the border, and Cheng Mingyu later used the golden cicada to escape from the shell, and the two sides stopped.
As far as the eldest princess knows, Princess Mingyue is still unmarried.
More perseverant than her.
The princess drank a cup of tea in silence.
The emperor frowned and asked, "What do you mean, Prince?"
The Prince of Nan'an suddenly pulled out something from his belly. It was something similar to a conch, as big as his palm. The Prince of Nan'an placed it on the baluster and bowed solemnly to Cheng Mingyu.
"Sir Cheng, my aunt has been bedridden for a long time. Before she died, she had a wish. In the past, Mr. Cheng sang a song called "Pozhenzi" to help the two armies compete. My aunt was amazed and astonished by the beauty. Today, could you please sing another song called "Pozhenzi"? I will put it in this conch and take it back to ease my aunt's longing for her."
Cheng Mingyu's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything.
Several adjutants from the Censorate stood up and pointed at the Prince of Nan'an and said angrily,
"Who do you think our Lord Cheng is? He is the chief civil official of the Jin Dynasty and the head of the Cheng family. You let him play the zither to comfort your useless princess. This is simply a fool's dream and an insult to him!"
"If you lose, you lose. Don't try to save face by stepping on us, Mr. Cheng!"
"Go down, go down. A guest should have proper etiquette. You are an envoy, so don't bring shame to the Northern Qi royal family."
The Prince of Nan'an did not take these people's insults seriously.
He folded his hands sincerely and saluted Cheng Mingyu again.
"Sir Cheng, my aunt is dying. For so many years, her heart has been tied to Mr. Cheng. She once summoned all the zither players in Northern Qi to study that broken piece, but unfortunately no one could match Mr. Cheng's style. This is her only wish before her death. I hope Mr. Cheng can take my aunt's hard work into consideration and comfort her."
Cheng Mingyu has a great reputation, and it would be disrespectful to let him play the qin as a public figure.
The emperor refused without even thinking about it.
"Prince of Nan'an, you are wrong. I will not take it into consideration since you are new here. Please leave."
The Prince of Nan'an did not intend to give up. He bowed to the emperor and said to Cheng Mingyu,
"Mr. Cheng, I have to say something unpleasant. Today is the birthday of your Majesty. Even if it is not for my aunt, as a subject, it is reasonable for you to congratulate the Majesty, right?"
The emperor was furious when he saw that the Prince of Nan'an was using him as a shield.
"Come here, the Prince of Nan'an is drunk, take him off the table to rest."
Immediately, eunuchs came forward, one of them picked up the broken conch and threw it down, while the other two pulled the Prince of Nan'an down.
Prince Nan'an stepped down reluctantly.
The matter should have come to an end, but unexpectedly Cheng Mingyu stood up, slowly walked up the wide platform, walked to the center, clasped his sleeves and bowed to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, today is your birthday. I have no other good gifts to offer you, but I would like to play a piece of zither to cheer you up."
The emperor just thought he was forced, "Mr. Cheng, there is no need to do this..."
However, Cheng Mingyu said firmly, "I am serious."
The emperor was shocked.
There was total silence in the palace.
In recent years, Cheng Mingyu has seldom appeared in public, let alone his calligraphy, paintings, and poems. In the past, he would always find an excuse to disappear wherever the eldest princess was. The emperor knew how arrogant Cheng Mingyu was. The late emperor once asked him for calligraphy to reward his sister, but Cheng Mingyu refused.
And today, not only did he come, he also played the harp for the audience.
The emperor found it incredible.
"Mr. Cheng is not joking with me, right?"
Cheng Mingyu shook his head to indicate no.
The prince suddenly smiled and said,
"Your Majesty, Mr. Cheng is a great musician of the time. Since he is willing to congratulate you on your birthday, why don't you let us share in the good fortune and wash our ears?"
To be honest, when Cheng Mingyu was sent as an envoy to Northern Qi, his zither skills were praised as miraculous by the Northern Qi people. Later, when the soldiers of the Great Jin Dynasty returned to the capital, they also regarded the "Po Zhen Zi" that helped them defeat the enemy as heavenly music. Everyone was extremely curious about his abilities.
Who doesn’t want to watch Cheng Mingyu play the piano?
The women sitting in the back were eager to make a move.
"Dad must have been forced by the Northern Qi people." Cheng Yiqiao was furious.
"Not necessarily." Cheng Yixin always felt that her father was a little abnormal today. "When my father went out today, I saw Uncle Jiao carrying his Jiaowei Qin to the carriage."
Cheng Yiqiao was surprised and asked, "Could it be that Dad knew ahead of time that the Prince of Nan'an would embarrass him?"
Cheng Yixin shrugged.
The Prince of Nan'an was overjoyed when he saw this, and immediately stood up and asked,
"Mr. Cheng, are you planning to play the "Pozhenzi"? "
Cheng Mingyu had already asked someone to put the zither table on the table. The Jiaowei zither was also brought to the table. He slowly sat down behind the table, looking straight ahead, slightly lost in thought.
"I haven't played "Po Zheng Zi" for many years, and I have completely forgotten it. Today, with such a beautiful scene, I should play "Xi Jiang Yue"."
The slender white fingers covered the strings, and with a slight touch, a series of pleasant and melodious melodies slid out.
Xia Fu, I'll play "Xijiangyue" with you next time we meet.
It's been nineteen years since we last met.
As promised, I, Cheng Mingyu, am here today.