Strong support
Xie Tiao replied, “The court has already decided that ‘Shao’ and ‘Wu’ will be the music and dance for the state banquet to welcome the Northern Qiang envoys. The Six Dynasties Grand Dance was passed down by the former kings. ‘Shao’ has the virtue of literature and ‘Wu’ displays the power of the country. It is a music and dance that only the emperor of the superior country can enjoy. Even the sage Confucius praised it. Therefore, no matter how powerful and majestic the Northern Qiang’s ‘Breaking the Formation’ music is, it is still a newly created music and dance and can never surpass the orthodox and elegant music of our China for thousands of years.”
Zhao Lingying smiled wryly and said, "This is the strategy we all agreed on in the hall. It was my idea. Using the 'Shao' and 'Wu' music against the Northern Qiang's 'Breaking the Formation Music' should have given us a better chance of winning. However, there is only one problem."
Zhao Lingying was the most talented woman in the dynasty, with extensive knowledge and a remarkable memory. Her ability to devise this solution was the best proof of her talent and strategic acumen.
If the "Shao" and "Wu" were to emerge, then the question of whether the Dayan or the Northern Qiang would be the legitimate rulers of the world would be as clear as the sun and moon, visible to everyone under heaven.
Compared to the brilliance and majesty of the national music pieces "Shao" and "Wu", even the grandest "Po Zhen Yue" is nothing more than a valiant warrior.
Everyone asked at the same time, "What is the question?"
Zhao Lingying's beautiful face also showed a worried expression, and she said with distress, "Then there is no one in the Southern Dynasty who has ever seen the Shao and Wu."
Those present exchanged bewildered glances, speechless. In the end, however, they all turned their gazes to A-Qiu, the newly appointed head musician specializing in court music.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, A Qiu felt his head was about to explode. He smiled bitterly and said, "When His Majesty promoted me to Grand Master of Music, I thought that the scores and dances of the previous generation of court music and dance were recorded in detail in the Imperial Music Bureau, and that we only needed to send people to rehearse."
Zhao Lingying rarely showed apology, saying, "The problem is that our Southern Dynasty was originally established as a vassal state of the Central Plains Dynasty. The ceremonial music and rituals belonging to the emperor have never been here. Even those bronze chime bells you saw last time were ceremonial instruments bestowed upon the Prince of Jianzhang by an emperor from countless generations ago, and were not of the standard used by the emperor. Not to mention the others."
A Qiu seemed to finally understand why Gu Yi had chosen to become the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. The Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was the head of the Nine Ministers. Although he seemed to have no real power, he controlled the orthodoxy of the country's rites and rituals. If a country did not have ancestral temples, ritual vessels, and music, it would be difficult for the people to regard him as the rightful and popular emperor.
After the fall of the two capitals, Luoyang and Chang'an, and the collapse of the Central Plains dynasty, the Southern Dynasty, originally a vassal state, ruled over the area east of the Yangtze River, naturally inheriting the legacy of the Central Plains dynasty. However, due to the continuous warfare at the time, no one had time to collect and preserve the ancestral temples and musical artifacts. Just imagine those precious tripods and chime bells in Luoyang; they must have become spoils of war for the Northern Qiang.
Xie Tiao had studied the zither under Gu Yi for many years and was well-versed in classical music. He said, "If it is only about restoring the music of 'Shao' and 'Wu', I can also help. My teacher left behind a manuscript of the music records of the previous generation in the Eastern Palace. If we compare it with the music history manuscripts stored in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and check the scores and solfège, we should be able to find the original music of 'Shao' and 'Wu'."
He looked at A Qiu and pondered, "The difficult part is that no one knows the postures and movements of the music and dance."
Zhao Ling replied, “That is indeed the case. Not to mention your generation, when we were on duty in the former Huan Palace, we had seen hundreds of kinds of dance and music, but we had never seen the ‘Shao’ or ‘Wu’ national music. At that time, the last emperor was fond of music and dance, but he only liked female musicians and not elegant music, so he never thought of restoring ‘Shao’ or ‘Wu’.” She couldn’t help but sigh as she said this.
Given the nation's strength and abundance of musical talent at the time, yet it never considered restoring the nation's true voice, the fall of the former dynasty was its own doing.
After thinking for a moment, A Qiu said, "Since there is music, then it's easy. I can go back to the Music Bureau and ask Lady Sun and Lord An for advice. Perhaps they can come up with a solution. If it has really been lost, we can ask Lady Sun to rearrange and design the movements according to the music, just like 'Yan Shi Ning,' so that our dynasty can revive it."
Zhao Lingying shook his head and said, "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed this time. Your style, that of your Lady Sun, still comes from the lineage of Yan and Zhao dancers and Zheng and Wei courtesans. This is because the Yuefu dancers were originally female entertainers, while the Six Dynasties Grand Dance system, to which 'Shao' and 'Wu' belonged, was music and dance used by nobles for self-cultivation and worship. Not to mention, according to historical records, the servants of the Six Dynasties Dance were all noble sons, and they were men. You can imagine how different it is from ordinary courtesan music."
"As for Lord An," Zhao Lingying pondered for a while, then smiled bitterly, "he is the foremost person in the Music Bureau today. In terms of broad knowledge and profound understanding of music theory, probably no one can surpass him except for the Junior Tutor. However, I still don't think he has ever seen or learned the Six Dynasties Grand Dance."
A Qiu was about to ask why Zhao Lingying was so certain that Duke An had never seen or learned the Six Dynasties Dance. After all, An Daoling was of a higher generation than Zhao Lingying, so how could Zhao Lingying, as a junior, know his background? But she immediately understood:
An Daoling was a eunuch, which is why Zhao Lingying believed he could not possibly know the Six Generations Dance. Zhao Lingying had already stated that the Six Generations Dance, which was performed to worship the gods of heaven and earth, could only be learned by the sons of noble families within the ruling class, and was used to serve the gods of heaven and earth in ancestral temples.
In short, on occasions such as sacrifices at the Imperial Ancestral Temple and national fasting, music and dances performed by slaves or eunuchs would not be presented. Unfortunately, Consort Sun and Duke An were precisely these two types of people.
A Qiu frowned and said, "If that's the case, regardless of where the music and dance come from, we will first face the difficulty of selecting performers. If we can't use the musicians from the Music Bureau, where can we find so many noble sons to rehearse 'Shao' and 'Wu'?"
Zhao Lingying said nonchalantly, "What's so important about this? What I just said was merely the rule of the previous generation. As for this dynasty, it's not up to you and me to decide right now. So what if they are courtesans or noblemen? We're all born of parents."
She suddenly remembered something and said with a pursed mouth, "If that's the case, I suggest selecting people from the Divine Hound Camp. Seven or eight out of ten sons of powerful officials in the court serve there. Transferring them over to learn and rehearse with the dancers of the Music Bureau would be a good idea."
For the first time, A Qiu experienced Zhao Lingying's magnanimous and open-minded side. She had previously thought of her as the most sarcastic and sharp-tongued of the four guards, but she did not know that beneath the shrewd and sharp exterior of this first talented woman of Dayan, she also possessed the magnanimity and responsibility to treat people equally.
She remembered something and immediately bowed, saying, "I have a request, and I wonder if Your Highness can grant it."
Zhao Lingying said lazily, "It's just a matter of needing people and money. Just say it. If it's for staging the 'Shao' and 'Wu', the court will certainly give it its full support."
A Qiu secretly praised her for her cleverness and insight, but did not expose her. She only said, "When we staged 'White Silk' last time, we received a lot of help from Prince Ye Fusu, the ruler of Wanxiang Kingdom. He is a man of great learning and has traveled to many countries. He is knowledgeable and can bring the art of using incense to its extreme. This time, I would like to invite Prince Fusu to the palace to discuss the matter together."
As she said this, she was thinking of someone else: Bai Shi of the Zhuyou Sect.
Since this Six Generations Dance was a ritual to worship the gods of heaven and earth, she always felt that its origins must be connected to or similar to witchcraft. Gongye Fusu and Bai Shi were respectively an outer disciple and an inner disciple of the Divine Witch Sect. If she could get their opinions, it would greatly increase her chances of victory.
Another reason was that she had promised Bai Shi to help her find her two elder masters. Now that she knew Qi Luo and Qi Shang were in the palace, she should immediately inform Bai Shi, saving her the trouble of searching for them alone in the capital.
The reason for mentioning only Gongye Fusu is that mentioning him alone is sufficient. If Gongye Fusu were to enter the palace, Bai Shi could easily be disguised as his maid and infiltrate the palace.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she said this, Xie Tiao and Xiao Chang'an, who were present, both looked rather uncomfortable.
Zhao Lingying saw through these young people's thoughts. She smiled slightly and said, "What the Grand Master of Music said makes sense. We are at a loss right now, so we should pool our wisdom and efforts. If we can get help from Gongye Jia, we will have an even greater chance of winning against the Northern Qiang. It won't just be about music and dance."
Xiao Chang'an didn't react much, but Xie Tiao felt inwardly ashamed. He simply felt embarrassed that A Qiu had chosen the layman Gongye Fusu to help, instead of him, Gu Yi's musical successor. Xiao Chang'an likely felt the same way, as he was An Daoling's personally trained music disciple. Both Gu Yi and An Daoling were top-tier musicians in the Southern Dynasty, and their successors were naturally exceptional. A Qiu's words made it seem as if the music couldn't function without Gongye Fusu; as men, they both felt somewhat embarrassed.
A Qiu didn't care about any of that. Logically speaking, Gongye Fusu was someone who frequently entered the palace, but the reason she brought this up in front of Zhao Lingying was so that her relationship with Gongye Fusu and Bai Shi could be made public in the palace, so that Zhao Lingying wouldn't find out and become suspicious later.
Having received Zhao Ling's promise, she immediately said, "Then I will go to the Music Bureau right now to seek advice from Lord An."
Xie Tiao also said: "I will begin to correct and restore the scores of 'Shao' and 'Wu' immediately."
From the moment the court meeting ended until now, Zhao Lingying finally showed a relieved expression, smiling and saying, "Talented people emerge in every generation. With successors like you, we can rest assured." After saying this, he left gracefully, without explicitly stating who "we" were. But according to A Qiu's guess, it was naturally the former four Flying Phoenixes, plus Emperor Xie Lang.
Just as A Qiu was about to take her leave to go to Tangli Music Academy, Fan Liancheng unexpectedly said, "I'll go with you."
Judging from Xiao Chang'an's expression, he seemed to want to go with her, but he finally smiled and held back.
A Qiu was also puzzled, so she followed Fan Liancheng out of the East Palace.
She and Fan Liancheng headed towards Tangli Music House, passing through corridors and bridges without any delay.
But as they walked, A-Qiu realized something was wrong.
It turned out that Fan Liancheng claimed to have come with her, but it turned out that A Qiu led the way all the way, while Fan Liancheng followed silently behind, seemingly not very familiar with the geography of the inner palace.
A Qiu wanted to chat with her for a bit, but felt he couldn't find a way to start a conversation.
After all, she had never seen Fan Liancheng's face under the mask since they met, and she didn't know if they could be considered acquaintances.
Fan Liancheng noticed her hesitation and readily said, "I want to accompany you out of kindness. The palace has been quite unsettled at night recently, and Miss Shangguan and Xiao Chang'an have rarely been on duty, so they are unaware of this occasion. I have also rarely been to this inner palace in the past, so I am indeed not familiar with the route. I hope you will forgive me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com