Last-minute preparation
This news struck like a bolt from the blue, exploding in the main hall. Even Ah Qiu was so shocked that he could not speak.
But A Qiu was shocked and immediately understood why Pei Yu and Fan Liancheng could not play.
Pei Yuanli's fate after his assassination attempt remains unknown. Although the matter has not yet been made public, the Jianzhang Division is facing an urgent personnel change. Pei Yu is naturally the best candidate to temporarily replace Pei Yuanli, while Fan Liancheng, as the most prestigious rising star among the new generation of soldiers, will most likely be transferred to share military power because of this incident.
Marquis Li Chongyu is about to arrive in the capital. The tens of thousands of Jianzhang Army of the Southern Dynasty's central army must not be allowed to get out of control at this time.
Otherwise, no one knows whether the Central Army mutiny will escalate into a palace coup or a political upheaval.
This is also why Gu Yi noticed that although she seemed to have a lot to say this morning, she didn't say anything more, because he needed to rush to the main hall to discuss the response.
Whether Pei Yu and Fan Liancheng can participate is a minor matter. Who's in the mood for music and dance right now?
Sun's wife stammered, "If there are only five people left, I'm afraid 'Yan Shi Ning' will be hard to present."
She had once seen the performance of "Heavenly Palace Musicians" by the Kucha tribe of the Music Bureau. Dozens of graceful and beautiful Hu girls, dressed in colorful clothes and holding lotus flowers, swirled in, creating an extremely grand and joyful scene.
An Daoling said in a deep voice, "The Music Bureau cannot back down."
Whether people were in the mood to watch music and dance or not was not a reason for the Music Bureau, the highest music institution in the Southern Dynasty, to retreat.
The true voice of the nation should resound when people are most confused and fearful, to cleanse their hearts and minds and set the record straight.
When a dynasty faces turmoil, what determines whether it can ultimately weather the storm is whether the people's hearts are united.
Shangguan Yuqi, who had been calm and composed all along, suddenly said, "Yuqi has a suggestion."
An Daoling said with a solemn expression, "Please speak, Miss."
Shangguan Yuqi said, "At this moment, all the military officers must be busy. We can ask among the civil officials if there is anyone who is knowledgeable in music and dance and can take their place. Although it may be difficult, it is better to ask than to worry about it here."
An Daoling suddenly realized. Poetry, books, rites, music, charioteering, and archery are the six arts of a gentleman, and also essential qualities for scions of noble families. Most of the court officials are from aristocratic families. Even though it is not common for nobles to practice dance nowadays, there are still families like the Shangguan family that have passed down sword dance for generations.
Although they may not have the honed skills of dancers or the seamless movements of martial arts masters, they still represent the highest level of the Southern Dynasties' elegant dance tradition.
An Daoling cupped his hands and said, "There is no time to lose. The officials are currently holding a court meeting before the Emperor. Please go to the Taigan Hall now to inquire."
The departure of Shangguan Yuqi did not affect the practice of A Qiu, Zhang Exu, and Cui Luzhu in response to the bell tolling and their drumming. In "Yan Shining," the dance performance still focused on the three of them.
Zhang Exu and Cui Luzhu are indeed outstanding performers who have trained hard since childhood and been carefully selected. Whether it is their sense of dance or their ability to express their form, spirit and charm, they are all admirable.
In this respect, even A Qiu was not as meticulous and precise as they were. A Qiu naturally had her own unique movements and breathing rhythms—but those were mostly derived from the agility and nimbleness of her stabbing skills.
However, when the three danced together on the drumhead, the stylistic differences were not obvious, because Sun Neiren choreographed different movements for each of them in each routine.
This also demonstrates the keen eye of Lady Sun. If the manpower is not fully utilized, a simple way to avoid weaknesses is to have each person display a different sequence of movements, while maintaining visual unity.
While the three of them practiced, Xiao Chang'an stood to the side with his arms crossed, watching with a smile.
But after only a short while, Xue Hongbi discovered that he was slacking off and immediately used a bamboo clapper to rush to the side hall to practice his part.
Xiao Chang'an smiled and pleaded, "Instructor Xue, I practice by myself without anyone to help me, so I don't know if my posture is correct or good. Why don't you stay here and keep me company?"
Xue Hongbi's almond-shaped eyes widened, and she was so angry that she almost laughed. Her response was to slap him directly on the knee.
With Xiao Chang'an's skills, he could have easily dodged, but he deliberately didn't. Instead, he shouted, "Oh dear, if the instructor breaks my bones now, we'll be short one man again tomorrow."
Xue Hongbi was forced to stop just as the bamboo stick reached his knees.
Xiao Chang'an glanced at her with a half-smile, and said softly, "Instructor Xue, you should treat me better. Now that the Pei family has had an accident, you will be a palace person for a long time. We will see each other all the time, so why do you have to make things difficult for me?"
Xue Hongbi laughed in anger, pointing at him with her bamboo stick and saying, "If you dare to look at our dancers again, I'll gouge your eyes out!"
Xiao Chang'an immediately said he dared not, and went to practice his skills with a smile.
When Xue Hongbi returned to the main hall, she put her hands on her hips and complained, "Why didn't Lord An ask about the character of the disciple before accepting him? This child..." Because An Daoling was present, she dared not say more and only muttered, "Even Shi Changqing back then didn't like to flirt like him."
Sun Neiren had already overheard Xue Hongbi and Xiao Chang'an arguing back and forth in the side hall, and thought to herself, "That's right."
The legendary xiao master Shi Changqing was once a charming and affectionate man, but that affection wasn't reserved for everyone.
Most of the time, he was even aloof and arrogant.
If we're talking about deep affection, it's mostly directed towards his musical skills with the xiao and dizi (vertical flutes and bamboo flutes).
If he usually saw these musicians, he would mostly just ignore them.
Behind the chime bell stand, the refined and easy-going An Daoling paused for a moment, a bitter smile appearing on his lips, and said, "He is still a child, please bear with him, you two instructors."
He himself was extremely reserved around women throughout his life, and Xiao Chang'an's master, Li Wujiu, the sect leader of the Hidden World Sect, was also a free-spirited and indifferent person who never cared about such things. He couldn't understand where Xiao Chang'an got his detached and romantic nature from.
As for whether he will change when he grows up, it's hard to say. But whether he changes or not, Xiao Chang'an will definitely not be bound by him, and An Daoling is very clear about this.
Xiao Chang'an's nature is such that he cannot be restrained by anyone.
Almost simultaneously, A-Qiu, who had just finished practicing and jumped off the drumhead to watch the two elders' exchange, also suddenly thought of this section.
Xiao Chang'an.
When Lie Changkong reminded her, he clearly said, "You should be careful with your own friends."
But she missed Xiao Chang'an.
The reason she singled out Xiao Chang'an was probably based on an assassin's instinct. She instinctively wouldn't consider anyone who posed a hidden danger as a friend.
From the moment Xiao Chang'an appeared, she felt he was eerie and unpredictable, exuding a strange and sinister charm.
Xiao Chang'an had never treated her badly; on the contrary, he had helped her in times of danger on several occasions. This was probably why Lie Changkong also considered him her friend. And if Lie Changkong had this impression, it was naturally from Gu Yi.
When Gu Yi went to Jiangbei to meet Li Chongyu, he took Xiao Chang'an with him alone.
This shows that Xiao Chang'an's relationship with Gu Yi is not as simple as that of an ordinary Flying Phoenix Guard.
Only Xiao Chang'an was someone who had interacted with both her and Gu Yi, and their relationship seemed to be quite deep.
A Qiu had no doubt that, given Xiao Chang'an's status as a disciple of the Hidden World Sect and An Daoling, coupled with his possession of the Heavenly Secret Token and the distance between him and Gu Yi, he was absolutely capable of harming Gu Yi.
Just as she also has the ability to harm Gu Yi.
Only those you trust can hurt you.
She had been ignoring him all along.
The sound of unhurried footsteps came from outside the hall, approaching from afar; there were three people in total.
It was accompanied by cheerful laughter that was as refreshing as a spring breeze.
The people in the hall looked at each other, wondering who this was.
At this moment, the situation is tense both within and outside the court. Although the Music Bureau is far removed from political struggles, it has also been affected and shrouded in gloom. Who else could be so carefree and talk so openly and laugh so freely in the current situation?
But after hearing only two sentences from that clear and bright voice, A Qiu was able to guess about 70-80% of the person's identity.
And most of what was hanging in my heart has been put down.
At this moment, who else could be chatting and laughing, with nothing to do but her "three-inch tongue is more powerful than a million soldiers", her eloquent and flattering senior brother who is good for nothing and talks a lot of nonsense, the high and mighty Left Prime Minister, the one-word hall master of Lanling Hall, the Jade-faced Marquis of Liu Gongyi Xiu, who else could be there?
Although Gongyi Xiuren was useless, his musical skills were not bad. He had been learning the flute from his master Wanqiqing since childhood, and his jade flute "Xuelongyin" was still quite famous in the brothel entertainment circles.
His looks and height were acceptable. After all, besides his master, he was the most handsome man in Lanling Hall, otherwise he wouldn't have been called "Jade-faced Marquis Liu".
Her martial arts skills were passable; she ranked third on the Immortal Exile List and second in the Lanling Hall, right after A Qiu.
Thinking about it this way, her senior brother seems to have quite a few good points, except that he talks too much nonsense and is a bit indecisive.
It remains to be seen which other unlucky soul was temporarily conscripted by Shangguan Yuqi.
After all, this dance performance had more failures than successes, but since it was to be presented at a state banquet, if anything went wrong, it was rumored that no matter how many days you had practiced, how professional the staff was, or how tight the time was.
Failure is failure, and losing face for the country is losing face for the country.
A Qiu was confident that it was unlikely that she, Zhang Exu, and Cui Luzhu would make a mistake. After all, the skills they had acquired through their daily training in the dance troupe by Xue Hongbi and Sun Neiren, two former troupe leaders, were not in vain.
After several days of practice, Xiao Chang'an and Shangguan Yuqi, the two Flying Phoenix Guards, were able to handle their duties without any problems.
The problem most likely lies with these two new recruits who were temporarily brought in, as they only have one day left.
But A-Qiu wasn't really worried about his eldest brother, Gongyi Xiu, because from childhood to adulthood, he had never seen anything that could stump him or prevent him from getting through it.
Even if he hadn't practiced a sword technique for half a year, if his master said there would be an assessment tomorrow, he could master it overnight and pass.
He can talk eloquently about a book that has never been discussed before, after flipping through it once.
Its extensive citations and detailed arguments are so compelling that even the original author would question, "Did I really express this viewpoint?"
In short, there's nothing in the world that the senior disciple of Lanling Hall can't fool.
But A Qiu doubted whether the imperial court could find another person like him.
As expected, the first person to step into the hall was Shangguan Yuqi, whose face was ashen.
She simply bowed to An Daoling to indicate that the matter was settled, and then said nothing more.
Shangguan Yuqi is indeed aloof and refined, but it's rare to see her with an angry expression. This is because those who cultivate Qi generally have a peaceful mind and don't have many extra emotions.
A Qiu felt a chill for her incessantly noisy senior brother.
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