The damn winter rain finally stopped.
The sun rose again, and the huge Chang'an became cleaner and more energetic after being washed by the rain.
Xu Yunqing got up early, washed up, and ate the breakfast Huqin had prepared. "I never saw you cook when you were at Hongxiuzhao before."
Huqin peeled an egg and said, "I've never seen you get up so early before."
Xu Yunqing was slightly startled, and buried his head in drinking millet porridge. "Yeah, I couldn't wake up for the first thirty years, and I couldn't sleep for the last thirty years. To be honest, it's because we're all old."
"By the way, where did Ji Yungui go this time? It's almost Chinese New Year and he hasn't come back yet?"
"I don't know either. He said it was a matter of discipline...but I'm afraid no one knows where he's going except your son."
Huqin placed the peeled eggs in Xu Yunqing's bowl. "It's sunny today. Your son spent several years building this huge Chang'an City. Do you want to go and see it later? I've lived here for half a year and I haven't really seen it yet."
"Let's compose the song 'Drinking Song' first."
Huqin took a bite of the egg and was silent for a long time. "I haven't done this job for a long time."
"It's okay. This is a poem my son wrote. It's very good. You must polish it carefully anyway."
"Are you really not going to go into the palace and take a look? Even if it's just a sneak peek, it's fine!"
"...I'm afraid that after I go there, I'll want to stay in the palace, but I can't stay yet. After the New Year and the beginning of spring, I have to return to the Taoist temple."
"Isn't Fatty in the Taoist temple?"
"It's agreed that he will take those disciples to Nanshan Taoist Temple in the spring."
"Where are the other disciples? Su Jue and the others."
"They went to different places. The Taoist temple... The Taoist temple is going to expand. This time when I came to Chang'an, I also took the opportunity to see if there is a suitable place around Chang'an. We need to build a Taoist temple here as well."
Huqin didn't say anything else. She ate eggs, drank millet porridge, and also had a bun. After cleaning up the dishes, the two returned to the main courtyard.
In the side room of the main courtyard was a dusty zither. She took it out, wiped it clean carefully, and gently stroked it. "The poem 'Song of the Wine' has such twists and turns. It's not easy to compose this piece well. The main reason is that I don't have the heroic spirit of the poem, nor do I have the artistic conception of enjoying life to the fullest, and not letting the golden cup face the moon empty..."
"I thought about it all night last night. It seems that there is nothing satisfying in my life, so it is difficult to grasp what it is like to be happy to the fullest."
"Besides, these five-colored horses and furs worth thousands of gold, I'll go out and exchange them for fine wine, so we can share our eternal sorrows... I don't think I have such sorrows. I don't know what your son, now that he's become the most powerful emperor in the world, could have to worry about."
"so……"
Huqin plucked the strings a few times and looked at Xu Yunqing. "It's not that I want to reject Rong Duoer, but after reading this poem, I found it difficult to write... Yunqing, I really can't compose this song. At least, I don't have any idea yet."
Xu Yunqing thought for a moment and said, "Let's ignore this for now and go for a walk on the streets of Chang'an."
…
…
Imperial Palace, Yiyang Palace.
This palace is extremely large, only slightly smaller than the Hall of Mental Cultivation where the emperor lived.
Qin Bingzhong, Yan Beixi, and Dong Kangping and his wife arrived yesterday afternoon. They took a short nap in the afternoon, and in the evening, the emperor's tutor, nine concubines, two generations of prime ministers, and the prince's tutor Wen Xingzhou hosted a simple but high-standard welcoming banquet in this retirement palace.
Zhuo Yixing, Nangong Yiyu, Wen Xingzhou, Qin Bingzhong, and Yan Beixi are of similar age, Meng Changping and Qi Kangping are of similar age, and Yan Xiwen and the other two are of course the younger generation.
Even though they are the prime ministers who are second only to the emperor in Daxia, they are still juniors here!
Fu Xiaoguan and Yan Xiwen are just supporting roles.
When the Wu Dynasty and the Yu Dynasty still existed, as the left and right prime ministers of the Wu Dynasty, he had long heard of the chief minister Yan Beixi and the great Confucian scholar Qin Bingzhong of the Yu Dynasty.
Prince Taifu Wen Xingzhou was originally a great scholar of the Wu Dynasty. He had been to Jinling several times. He had met Yan Beixi and was even more familiar with Qin Bingzhong.
So they are the protagonists of this welcoming banquet.
The banquet was lively. Zhuo and his group, Nangong Yiyu and Yan Beixi talked about the past, which even Fu Xiaoguan had never heard of. For example, the Wu Dynasty had planned to launch a war against the Yu Dynasty, and the Yu Dynasty had allied with the Fan State with the intention of attacking the Wu Dynasty.
Ultimately, these things never happened due to issues such as national strength or domestic conflicts, but at that time, each country served its own master and was of course calculating against each other.
Now, suddenly everyone is under the same roof, suddenly everyone has grown gray-haired, and has retreated behind the scenes, and it is time for them to enjoy their retirement.
However, Wen Xingzhou and Qin Bingzhong were talking about the birth of the "Neo-Confucian Code". They lamented the decline of the sacred learning and were pleased with the advancement of the concept of governing the country according to law.
That night, Zhuo and his group of three also stayed in the nursing home. As they grew old and had walked such a long and bumpy road, they had many stories to tell, and Fu Xiaoguan also had a lot of wine.
Of course, they couldn't be allowed to drink too much, so Fu Xiaoguan stayed here until late at night, until they fell asleep contentedly.
At noon, Fu Xiaoguan, dressed in plain clothes, brought Ning Siyan and Liu Jin to the Yiyang Palace again.
He originally thought that these old people slept very late last night and would probably get up later today, but he didn't expect that when he stepped into the main courtyard of the nursing home, they were already sitting around the tea stove drinking morning tea.
Zhao Hou hurried over, and Fu Xiaoguan asked, "Have you all had breakfast?"
"Your Majesty, they have all been used."
Fu Xiaoguan walked over, greeted everyone, and then sat down.
"I was a bit anxious to invite you to Chang'an. I didn't expect the cold in Chang'an to be so different from that in Jinling. Is it nice living here? Is it cold? I'm afraid you won't be used to the food, so I set up a small kitchen in the Yiyang Palace. Just tell Zhao Hou what you want to eat, and he will serve you specially."
Yan Beixi's old face, with a wisp of long beard, smiled cheerfully, "It's nice here, and it's not too cold. We just discussed it a while ago. Chang'an City is the capital of our Great Xia. We have to go and see it no matter what..."
"Just prepare a few carriages for us. Don't alarm anyone. There's no need to alarm anyone. Go and do your thing. We'll go for a stroll on our own."
"Okay, Chang'an is quite big, even bigger than Jinling City. Don't get too tired walking around, we have plenty of time."
As he said this, he turned to Liu Jin and gave him an order: "Go prepare a few carriages. Remember to light the stoves in the carriages and spread the Persian tribute blankets inside the carriages... That's it. When you are ready, come back and let me know."
Liu Jin bowed and retreated. Madam Dong looked at her son-in-law with joy, thinking back to when they were in Jinling, this kid had climbed over the wall of her own house and had a tryst with Dong Shulan...
Who would have thought at that time that he would become the emperor of Da Xia!
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