A gathering of wise men
An Daoling's voice came from outside, saying with delight, "Miss Shangguan's insight is extremely wise. I hope that our Dayan army, the Jianzhang Division, will eventually become a peaceful, benevolent, and kingly army in the hearts of the people, rather than a tiger and wolf army."
Everyone bowed and said, "Lord An." In this situation, hearing An Daoling's words, whether it was the officers of the Divine Hound Camp or A Qiu, Shangguan Yuqi, and Pei Yu, they all had a different and profound feeling.
While an army is essential for defending our territory, what people truly desire is a prosperous, stable, and enlightened living environment.
Following closely behind An Daoling was Xiao Chang'an, who was holding a purple bamboo flute.
An Daoling turned to him gently and said, “I have checked the musical scale of Shao with you and it is correct. You can play it now.”
Xiao Chang'an smiled, bowed, and agreed.
An Daoling then said to A Qiu and the others: "The Shao is a literary dance, and the music used is the xiao (vertical bamboo flute). As the Book of Documents says: 'When the Shao is played nine times, the phoenix will come to pay homage.' The props held by the dancers are peacock feathers, because the image of the phoenix's tail in legend comes from the peacock."
A-Qiu couldn't help but ask, "Why is it Xiao Xiao playing the music, and not you?"
Her question was not without reason. An Daoling's flute skills had long since reached a high level, second only to Shi Changqing, the "King of the Flute," in the former Huan Dynasty. Although Xiao Chang'an was exceptionally talented, he was probably too young and lacked the experience for grand national music performances like "Shao" and "Wu."
Knowing his concerns, An Daoling smiled and said, "The first part is 'Shao' and the second part is 'Wu'. The dancers wield shields and axes, and only the music of bells and drums can match the spirit of 'Wu' and be called 'drumming and dancing'. I will be in charge of the bell music part of 'Wu', so the music of 'Shao' can only be played by Chang'an."
He added, “The main musical instruments of ‘Wu’ are bells and drums. In addition to the xiao, the main musical instruments of ‘Shao’ should also include His Highness’s qin, because the qin is said to have been made by Fuxi, and Shun was also good at playing the qin. The qin is also a symbol of moral cultivation.”
When A Qiu thought of what Lord Liyang had said, "Xiao Chang'an plus Xie Tiao is at least half of Gu Yi," he finally felt at ease and began to feel that this unprecedented Shaowu National Music Festival was not so lacking in confidence.
Xiao Chang'an simply smiled, and seeing that A Qiu had no further questions, he said, "May I begin?"
Shangguan Yuqi said, "Wait a minute." Then she said to the warriors in the hall, "I have already taught you the movements of 'Shao'. You can try to practice it once while following the music of Lord Qingyao Guard."
A Qiu was surprised that Shangguan Yuqi had taken on the role of instructor while she was away. Only then did she understand what Shangguan Yuqi meant when she said, "I am the only person besides you who has seen the murals of the Shao and Wu dances and the dynamic movements of the Liyang God. If you are not here, I naturally have no choice but to take on the responsibility."
Judging from the timeline, it must have been that she had just left the Divine Hound Camp when Pei Yu had already counted the number of warriors and sent them to the palace.
Her heart was filled with emotion, yet she felt she had no words to express it.
With the young talents of this generation in the Dayan Palace court working together with such unity and concerted efforts, why should she worry about being unable to defeat the Northern Qiang, whether in battle or in dance competition?
The members of the Divine Mastiff Camp in the hall responded with a resounding roar.
An Daoling asked, "The emperor uses the Eight Rows Dance, but there are only fifty-six people here. Where are the other eight?"
Shangguan Yuqi and Pei Yu also cast questioning glances at A Qiu, because she had said at the Divine Hound Camp that she only needed fifty-six warriors and that she would make arrangements for the remaining eight.
A Qiu said confidently, "Of the remaining eight people, four are martial artists: Miss Shangguan, Commander Pei, General Xiao Fan, and myself. The other four will be selected from the dancers of the Music Bureau: Cui Luzhu, Zhang Exu, Lady Sun, and Instructor Xue."
She further explained, “The ‘Shao’ and ‘Wu’ are music for worshipping heaven and earth. Originally, they should all be performed by professionally trained dancers. However, we are short-handed at the moment, so we have temporarily called upon the warriors of the Divine Hound Camp and the various Flying Phoenix Lords. The dancers are not as graceful as we thought, but I believe that Cui, Zhang, Sun, and Xue are capable of taking on this task, as they are all excellent dancers and will surely inject vitality and strength into our sacrificial dance.”
Pei Yu frowned and said, "Won't it look a bit disorganized? There are men and women, warriors and musicians, old and young; it will look like a chaotic mess."
A Qiu said, "In terms of strength and experience, I think no one will question these eight leading figures. As for their appearance, both 'Shao' and 'Wu' are music for worshipping gods, and the performers will wear masks symbolizing the gods according to etiquette, so it is impossible to tell their age or gender."
Pei Yu said with relief, "That's it. Judging from their figures alone, everyone here is tall and slender, and there is little difference between men and women. Cui, Zhang, Sun, and Xue are all outstanding dancers of these two generations, and their figures are also tall and upright, making them look very uniform."
An Daoling then said, "Then go and invite the rest of the people over immediately. Let's test the overall performance today."
The movements of "Shao" and "Wu" are not particularly difficult. For these martial artists who are already familiar with martial arts or dancers who are skilled in dance, they can memorize them in a short time. However, precisely because the movements are simple and unadorned, it is extremely difficult to find that elegant yet rugged and grand quality.
Of all the people, only Zhang Exu, Cui Luzhu, Sun Neiren, and Xue Hongbi were originally dancers. When they arrived at the rehearsal hall of the Imperial Music Bureau, Sun Neiren and Xue Hongbi were alright. The former had experienced the rise and fall of two dynasties in the palace, her hair had turned gray early, and she had long been accustomed to the ways of the world. The latter had been a favorite concubine of the Pei family and had seen the world. In addition, she was older than these younger people, so she was not intimidated.
But when Zhang Exu and Cui Luzhu entered the exercise hall and saw so many imposing men standing there, they couldn't help but shudder.
As dancers, they were used to being the center of attention and scrutiny, but having grown up in the imperial music troupe, they had never seen so many men. Although there were guards in the palace, they rarely saw outsiders, even other palace maids, as they practiced their skills in the music troupe. Seeing so many strangers made them instinctively nervous.
A Qiu smiled and frankly introduced them to the officers of the Divine Hound Camp: "These two are my teachers and senior masters who taught me dance and music. As for these two, I think you have heard their names before. Cui Lüzhu and Zhang Exu are the top dancers of this dynasty, and they are the people that your Divine Hound Camp once planned to ask the Music Bureau for."
The officers, who normally kept their heads down and dared not look directly at women upon their arrival, were all aware that palace women were noblewomen and not to be casually looked at by soldiers from outside the palace. However, upon hearing A Qiu's words, they all raised their heads in surprise, their gazes involuntarily falling on Zhang Exu and Cui Luzhu.
At this moment, I'm not looking at them for any other reason than pure curiosity. Firstly, although the two contemporary dancers have become famous beyond the palace, few people have actually seen them in person. Secondly, I also want to see what the person that Elder Jianzhang specifically requested looks like.
At this moment, Cui and Zhang, along with Sun's wife and Xue Hongbi, were all without makeup and dressed in the same training clothes as them.
These people glanced at them briefly before awkwardly looking away, their thoughts mostly being: in any case, we are all on the same stage now, serving the country; past holidays are no longer important, we just hope they won't hold it against us.
Pei Yu also smiled calmly and said, "I hope the two instructors will not blame me for not offering help that day."
She was referring to the incident when the Divine Hound Camp forcibly demanded Cui and Zhang's help, and Sun Neiren and Xue Hongbi had tried to seek her assistance but were avoided by her.
Sun's wife calmly said, "Miss also has her own difficulties and position, which we understand very well. We didn't have much hope to begin with, but we always thought we would do everything we could to have no regrets."
Xue Hongbi had been terrified of this young lady when she was in the Pei family, but dared not say much. She only said, "It's good that you've returned from Guangling after winning the battle. I'm sure Madam is also very concerned about you."
Pei Yu smiled and said, "The music and dance troupe under the leadership of Lady Sun is very good, excellent. I am very pleased to see that the women of your troupe can earn the respect of the world through their own efforts." He then said to Xue Hongbi with delight, "Master Xue has now found her place. If there is anything I can do to help you, please remember that we are still family."
Although she said that, Xue Hongbi didn't dare to really regard her and Mu Huaying as her own family, so she could only nod and agree.
Only A Qiu understood that Pei Yu's words were specifically addressed to the officers of the Divine Hound Battalion behind her, so that they would understand her attitude as the commander-in-chief towards the Music Bureau.
That is, she maintained a respect for elders towards both Sun and Xue, and also for the women of the Music Bureau. She hoped that the Divine Hound Camp would also maintain a respectful distance from the Music Bureau in the future, rather than regarding them as objects that she could poison.
As expected, Pei Yu shouted at the officers of the Divine Hound Camp, "This is the Imperial Music Bureau. You are here to learn to dance. Why don't you pay your respects to the two senior instructors, Sun and Xue?"
In any other place, these officers, born into noble families and promoted through military merit, would never bow to Sun and Xue, two women who were also dancers. But as Pei Yu said, this was the location of the Imperial Music Bureau, and Sun and Xue were instructors in the Music Bureau. Here, these officers could only treat them with the respect due to disciples.
More importantly, there was also a high-ranking musician, A Qiu, who had once wreaked havoc in their Divine Mastiff Camp, looking at them thoughtfully.
Fifty-six warriors bowed in unison, saying, "Greetings, Instructor Sun and Instructor Xue. Greetings, Miss Cui and Miss Zhang."
Neither Sun Neiren, Xue Hongbi, nor Cui Exu, nor Zhang Lüzhu ever imagined that on this day in their lives, they would actually see the core officers of the Divine Hound Camp, whom they feared even in their dreams, greeting them so politely.
In truth, they weren't necessarily all bad people. Their white robes with red trim made them stand out, exuding both heroic spirit and handsome charm.
However, they had never regarded the women in the music bureau as equals, as living, breathing individuals with flesh and blood. Instead, they simply listened to the slander and ridicule of others, thinking that the dancers and musicians were merely objects of amusement, and why should they look up to these women?
When one wears the same clothes as them and practices the same lessons in the same hall, one's thoughts and feelings will no longer be the same as before.
But what left them speechless and completely changed their impression of geisha was what happened next.
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