Back in the office, Duanmu Ci received an assignment. "We don't write novels; we're just online text copycats." -↗,
Su Wuyu came to Duanmu Ci's desk, tapped the desk and said, "I just went to a meeting at the college. They said that after the exams, the school will organize an arts festival. First, there will be rehearsals and rankings among the various majors in the college. Then, the best ones will be selected to compete in the finals. You know a lot of people, so I suppose you are interested in this. Therefore, we will entrust our major to you. Teacher Duanmu, you are capable, so please take on more responsibility."
This is a bit troublesome. Duanmu Ci instinctively wanted to decline. "Teacher Su, you're too kind. I should do my best to complete the task assigned by the college, but I just returned from Japan recently and am still recovering from a serious illness. I'm really unable to take on the responsibility. Please ask Teacher Su to find someone else." This matter was originally the counselor's responsibility. What did it have to do with him, the subject teacher?
Su Wuyu frowned. "Doesn't your Longevity Society have a dance department? You could have just done a simple dance, especially since there are so many girls in our major. It would be easy to get a few people together for a short dance."
Makes it sound so easy... Then why don't you come yourself...?
Duanmu Ci smiled and said, "I understand, I will make the arrangements."
Su Wuyu nodded in satisfaction, but then warned, "Teacher Duanmu, you must put your heart into it and not just do it half-heartedly!"
Who was it just now who said "a few people can just get together and do a quick dance" would be fine? Now they're saying it can't be done half-heartedly. How fickle! No wonder Confucius said, "Women and petty men are the most difficult to deal with; if you get too close, they become disrespectful; if you keep them at a distance, they resent you..."
After Su Wuyu returned to her seat, Chu Xinsu quietly approached again, speaking in a clandestine tone, "Was that silver chain on Teacher Su's wrist a gift from you?"
Duanmu Ci was taken aback. "Yes. What's wrong?" When he bought gifts in Akihabara, he didn't just buy gifts for the students of the Longevity Society. His colleagues in the office also received a gift. For example, he gave Chu Xinsu a copy of the latest game software.
"Tsk tsk, you have no idea," Chu Xinsu said with a wink. "Teacher Su never wears jewelry. Last New Year's Day, the department gave every female teacher a ring, and all the female teachers in the department wore them except Teacher Su, saying she didn't like them and found them tiring. What, this time the silver chain you gave me is much more tiring than a ring. Why is Teacher Su wearing it? Tsk tsk, something's up."
Chu Xinsu patted a teacher on the shoulder and, mimicking Wei Yue's tone, said, "Duanmu-jun, I have high hopes for you~~"
"Go away, go away, go away!" Duanmu Ci yanked the unscrupulous teacher's hand away. This kid was the type who was "rude if you get close, and resentful if you keep your distance," so you couldn't give him a friendly look. But what he said did seem to make sense; when Su Wuyu came over and banged on the table just now, she did seem to be wearing a silver chain...
Duanmu Ci thought for a moment, then smiled and shook his head. He wasn't a lovesick fool, nor would he presume to believe that this alone revealed any romantic intentions. He'd rather focus on rehearsing the song and dance.
It's not that he's never done things like rehearsing song and dance performances before, but it was a long time ago, more than a thousand years ago, during the elegant and prosperous Tang Dynasty.
At that time, he had an alias, Li Guinian.
Duanmu Ci remembered that it was when Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, had just ascended the throne. The country had swept away decades of decline, and its national strength was rising rapidly. The Tang Dynasty's fame spread far and wide, and "the palace gates opened to the heavens, and the officials of all nations bowed before the emperor." In this unprecedented golden age, Duanmu Ci's long-dormant heart gradually stirred, and he wanted to join in.
Do you know what kind of world he experienced before this? Starting from the reign of Emperor Huan of Han, the world was filled with endless killings and heroes rising up. After the Sima family finally unified the world and ended the Three Kingdoms, the War of the Eight Princes broke out, followed by the dark and chaotic Five Barbarian Invasions. For hundreds of years, the glorious Chinese empire was torn in two by a great river.
Then Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, forcibly unified the north and south with great courage, ushering in the Kaihuang era of prosperity. Unfortunately, this good time did not last long. After Emperor Yang of Sui, a spendthrift, ascended the throne, he plunged the country into misery. He dug the Grand Canal, launched a campaign against Goguryeo, and built the eastern capital, Luoyang. If Duanmu Ci had not been quick to realize this, he would have died long ago because of these things.
Then, war broke out across the land, with thirty-six armies rising up in rebellion and seventy-two rebel kings emerging, nearly wiping out the entire population. Even after the Li Tang dynasty ascended the throne, peace was elusive; each succession was fraught with bloodshed, and the dynasty was quickly overthrown by the Wu Zhou. The chaos in the court spread to the common people, bringing no good outcome.
Then came the Kaiyuan era, the pinnacle of this feudal dynasty, the pinnacle of pinnacles.
Recalling the glorious days of the Kaiyuan era, even small towns housed ten thousand families. Rice flowed like oil, millet was white as snow, and both public and private granaries were overflowing. The roads of the nine provinces were free of wolves and tigers, and long journeys required no auspicious days. Silks from Qi and Lu adorned carriages in rows, and men tilled the fields while women tended the mulberry trees. The emperor in the palace played the Yunmen music, and friends throughout the land were as close as glue. For over a hundred years, there were no calamities, and the rites and music of Shusun and the laws of Xiao He prevailed.
Even the poet Sage's pen could not fully express the splendor of this prosperous era.
That was a true golden age, a time of refined elegance and magnanimous spirit. Han Chinese men galloped through Chang'an, their clothes tattered yet their bearing vibrant, displaying the bearing of citizens of a great nation. Meanwhile, the wealthy merchants and foreigners, though immensely rich, were obsequious and extremely humble, not daring to offend even ordinary Tang people. This was the true golden age of the Han people, utterly incomparable to the so-called "Kangxi and Qianlong Golden Age." To compare that supposedly prosperous age, built on piles of potatoes, with the Kaiyuan Golden Age is the greatest insult to the Kaiyuan Golden Age.
For centuries, Duanmu Ci had witnessed the decline of the Han people and the rise of the Hu people, with the land north of the Yangtze River dominated by barbarians. His sorrow was palpable. Now, suddenly witnessing a golden age, how could he not be overjoyed? Although the Li family's lineage was still debatable, after several generations of intermarriage, the Han bloodline undeniably prevailed—this was a true golden age for the Han people!
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