Chapter 543 Princess Chang'an
Everyone's eyes were focused on Xiao Changheng.
Xiao Changheng said calmly:
"I have always taken it as my duty to protect the country and would never slack off. However, I have no intention of taking the throne. Please, my brother..."
The emperor suddenly started coughing violently, interrupting what he was going to say.
Concubine De quickly reached out and patted his back to calm him down.
Xiao Changheng's expression tightened and he looked at the emperor worriedly.
The emperor coughed until his face turned blue, but he finally stopped coughing. Concubine De immediately handed him a cup of tea to calm him down, and gently advised:
"Your Majesty, there is no rush to appoint a crown prince. It would be better to wait until after the New Year."
The emperor drank a few sips of water and finally recovered. He sighed heavily and glared at Xiao Changheng:
"Oh, forget it. Today is New Year's Eve. I won't force you. We can discuss this matter later!"
Xiao Changheng frowned slightly and wanted to say something else when he suddenly felt his sleeve being pulled.
He was stunned for a moment, then turned around and saw Yun Qingqing looking up at him and shaking her head imperceptibly.
Xiao Changheng hesitated for a moment, then sat down quietly without saying anything.
The Second Prince and the Fourth Prince were also in a difficult situation. How could they not see that the Emperor was only temporarily shelving the matter, saying that he would discuss it later? It was obvious that he still intended to make the Regent the Crown Prince.
Although the Regent claims that he has no intention of competing for the throne, such words cannot be taken seriously. If he really didn't want that position, how could he have controlled the court for so many years and held both the government and the military power firmly in his hands!
The banquet continued, and everyone had their own thoughts. Seeing that the atmosphere was dull, Concubine De smiled and suggested that the concubines present perform to liven up the atmosphere, and the Emperor agreed.
With the emperor present, it was a great opportunity to compete for favor. The concubines in the harem were the most active, and they all tried their best to show their abilities, making the scene lively.
After a few performances, the female members of the family seemed to be in high spirits. Princess Duan and Princess Qi took the initiative to perform dances and also asked the eldest princess to perform with them.
Xiao Yuejun was originally just sipping the wine and food with a calm expression, but after being persuaded several times by the two princesses and some concubines, she had no choice but to nod helplessly.
She stood up and walked to the center of the hall. She asked someone to bring a table and paper and pen. She bowed to the emperor and said:
"Father, I will paint a picture today as a New Year's gift. I hope you will not dislike it."
The emperor was in a much better mood at this moment, and raised his eyebrows and said:
"Okay! I'll wait and see!"
Xiao Yuejun turned around, picked up the brush and dipped it in ink, then he wrote with a flick of his wrist. After a short while, a landscape painting appeared on the paper, with birds singing and streams gurgling in the mountains. The exquisite brushwork and rich ink color made everyone present marvel in admiration.
Even the emperor showed some surprise and admiration. The eldest princess has always been low-key and has little presence. Even the emperor did not know until today that his only daughter could paint so well.
Xiao Yuejun picked up the pen and wrote something on the blank space. When she put down the pen, she asked the eunuch to carefully blow dry the paper and then took it up to show it. Next to the landscape painting was a poem "Ode to Mountains and Rivers".
This fu depicts the mountains and rivers vividly, with delicate brushstrokes and profound artistic conception. Reading it makes people feel as if they are there, and it is fascinating. The emperor couldn't help but feel his eyes brighten again.
"Yun'er, did you write this poem yourself?"
Xiao Yuejun nodded gently:
"When I was painting this picture, I suddenly felt something, so I brought it up here. Father, please don't despise me."
The emperor smiled and said:
"How could it be! Your poem is well-balanced and has a harmonious rhythm. It is truly a masterpiece! Come on, take it to everyone to appreciate!"
The servant immediately stepped forward and showed the painting to everyone present, winning unanimous praise from everyone.
Yun Qingqing had excellent eyesight and could see all the details of the painting and the poem early on. She couldn't help but look at Xiao Yuejun a few more times.
Everyone was praising Xiao Yueyun's ability to paint landscapes and describe the scenery vividly in her poems, but no one noticed the chessboard placed in the square pavilion in the corner of the painting, and the detailed and clear chess game on it.
Every sentence in that fu describes mountains and rivers, but not every sentence is really just about mountains and rivers.
The whole landscape is captured in one painting, and all the squares and circles of morality are on the tip of the brush, which clearly and implicitly conforms to the way of behaving as a person, managing a family and governing a country.
The eldest princess Xiao Yueyun's talent and knowledge far exceeded what they knew.
Or maybe the emperor and the princes were not completely blind to the idea, but they thought that a woman could only see beautiful scenery, romance, and love. It was not easy for her to write such beautiful words, so what deep meaning could there be? The fact that the words seemed to be rich in connotation was just a coincidence.
Yun Qingqing's gaze fell on Xiao Yuejun, only to see that her face was calm and her features were indifferent, with a low-key curve at the corners of her lips without any mockery or resentment, as if she was really like everyone knew, and had only painted a beautiful landscape painting to add some color to the new scene.
She suddenly realized something and turned to meet Yun Qingqing's gaze. She was stunned for a moment, then smiled warmly at her and nodded slightly, being very polite.
Yun Qingqing was about to look away when she suddenly saw Xiao Yuejun's gaze pause for a moment, and then fell on Xiao Changheng intentionally or unintentionally, and seemed to frown slightly.
This expression flashed across her face and she turned her head back. It was extremely difficult to detect, but Yun Qingqing still caught it sharply and was stunned.
It was obvious that the eldest princess was dissatisfied with Xiao Changheng. Why?
Yun Qingqing couldn't help but turn her head to look at Xiao Changheng, and saw him facing the emperor and speaking:
"Brother, the eldest princess is very talented and has reached the age required. Shouldn't she be given a title?"
The emperor was stunned for a moment, coughed lightly and looked a little embarrassed, but soon smiled and said:
"Chang Heng is right. Yun'er should also have a title. Let me think about what characters should be given to this title..."
Xiao Yuejun seemed a little dazed, and quickly lowered her eyes to hide it, and did not look in Xiao Changheng's direction again.
Yun Qingqing understood why the emperor was embarrassed. The eldest princess' mother was originally a palace maid with a humble status and no backing. She gave birth to a daughter and is still a talented person today. Both mother and daughter are so low-key that they are almost invisible.
According to the ancestral system of the Liang Dynasty, princesses should usually be given titles when they reach the age of 15. However, whether intentionally or unintentionally, it has been ignored. Now the eldest princess is already twenty years old, but she still has no title.
Until Xiao Changheng pointed it out, the emperor was only slightly embarrassed. The two princes did not think there was anything wrong, but smiled at Xiao Yuejun:
"My sister is lucky today. My uncle, who usually ignores these trivial matters, actually speaks up for you."
"Yes, it seems that the uncle also appreciates the poetry and painting of the emperor sister!"
Xiao Yuejun lowered her eyes calmly and nodded slightly, seemingly accepting it with pleasure, but in fact, she was not moved at all.
The emperor pondered over the title and said:
"Yun'er has always been prudent and elegant, so why not give her the title 'Shuxian'?"
He looked at Xiao Changheng, who had first proposed it: "What do you think, my brother?"
This is usually just a polite remark. Who would make any comments on the title given by the emperor?
Xiao Yuejun also lowered her eyes and waited for the final decision, her face calm.
However, Xiao Changheng put down the wine glass in his hand and said directly:
"I think the name 'Shuxian' is not suitable for the eldest princess. It would be better to give her the title 'Chang'an'."
Xiao Yuejun's expression suddenly fluctuated. She raised her eyes slightly, then lowered her head again.
The emperor obviously did not think much about it, he just picked two characters suitable for the girl to confer the title. After hearing what Xiao Changheng said, he raised his eyebrows and thought for a moment, then said happily:
"Good! Chang'an, long-lasting prosperity and long-term peace! These two words proposed by my brother are better! Come, draft the decree!"
The emperor ordered an imperial decree on the spot to confer the title of Princess Chang'an on Xiao Yueyun and grant her a mansion and fiefdom.
Amidst the congratulations, Xiao Yuejun accepted the order, thanked the emperor, and returned to her seat. Yun Qingqing noticed that she glanced at Xiao Changheng calmly again.
This look contained a complex expression, and his brows were still slightly furrowed as if he was dissatisfied.
If Yun Qingqing might have been overthinking before, now she would never think that she had seen it wrong again, and she could not help but turn her head to look at Xiao Changheng.
He was seen sipping the tribute wine with his eyes downcast and an expressionless face, as if he didn't care about anything at the banquet at all.
Noticing Yun Qingqing's gaze, Xiao Changheng turned his head and looked at her, his expression normal as he asked in a low voice:
"how?"
Yun Qingqing's eyes were shining brightly as she calmly glanced at the causal line connecting Xiao Changheng and the eldest princess, and fell silent.
Although Xiao Changheng is not much older than these princes and princesses, his seniority is clear. There are naturally corresponding causal lines between the royal family members, which is normal.
The problem was that just now, when Xiao Yuejun was canonized as Princess Changning, the causal line representing the blood relationship between her and Xiao Changheng suddenly emitted a faint golden light, which Yun Qingqing could not ignore.
"Hmm?" Seeing Yun Qingqing frowning and keeping silent, Xiao Changheng put down his wine glass, leaned slightly towards her, and lowered his voice with a bit of solemnity, "Another incident?"
Yun Qingqing retracted her gaze and shook her head lightly:
"It's nothing. I just wanted to ask, this party should be almost over."
All she could say was that everything was fine for now, but she wasn't in the mood to explain.
During this period of time, she had discovered that it was becoming increasingly difficult to calculate all the people and things related to Xiao Changheng. Whether there was a problem with the golden line of cause and effect would have to wait until she broke through the current bottleneck.
Xiao Changheng looked at her for a moment, without asking any further questions, just nodded slightly and then looked away.
“Soon.”
The two had just finished their conversation, and Yun Qingqing was making her next plan when she suddenly heard someone on the concubine's seat speak:
"Come to think of it, today all the women in the families have performed their skills, except for the Regent Princess who has not yet shown her skills."
Yun Qingqing looked up and saw that the person who was speaking was a palace concubine in a pink dress. Judging from her appearance and dress, her rank was at most a concubine.
As soon as the pink-skirted concubine spoke, several other concubines immediately echoed:
"The Regent Princess is the Phoenix of Daliang. She must be extremely talented. I wonder if I can have the honor of seeing her perform today!"
"Yes~, I heard that the Regent Princess is very accurate in divination. It would be great if you could show us your skills!"
Yun Qingqing lowered her eyes and fell into deep thought. Seeing her expressionless face, Xiao Changheng thought that she was unwilling but couldn't refuse. His eyes suddenly turned cold and he slammed the wine glass on the table.
Several concubines who were whispering to each other were startled, their faces changed slightly and they stopped moving.
Xiao Changheng glanced coldly at the concubines and was about to speak when he was stopped by Yun Qingqing.
"Okay." Yun Qingqing smiled and looked at Concubine De. "Since Concubine De proposed it and everyone is willing to support us, I will perform a song to liven up the atmosphere."
Everyone showed expectant looks.
Xiao Changheng turned his head and looked at her with a frown, then lowered his voice and said:
"You don't have to force yourself..."
"No need to force it. This is exactly what I want." Yun Qingqing winked at him.
Xiao Changheng was slightly stunned, and then he saw her raise her hand and wave secretly under the table, and watched a piano appear under the table.
His eyelids twitched suddenly.
He had seen that zither before. It was the magic weapon that his master and senior sisters praised so highly, Liufang!
???
He took out this guitar, it can't be just to play a song, right?
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