Long live the Emperor!
A Qiu was puzzled, so An Daoling added, "I strongly suspect that it is the source of this chaos, and Princess Wansui went to the West Market specifically for it."
A-Qiu asked, "Could you please explain in more detail, so that I can be prepared?"
She had to be extra careful here. If the half she held was what the Princess desired, then the half in her master's study probably hadn't come without reason either.
She needs to understand the seriousness of the matter before deciding how much to reveal to An Gong.
An Daoling stood up and looked at the palace lanterns and candlelight gradually lighting up under the corridor outside the window. He said with some difficulty, "This can be considered a secret of the previous dynasty. Do you know that the father of the current Marquis of Guannei, Li Chongyu, and the former General Li Mingyuan, once visited the Jianzhang Court in the fifth year of the Xiyuan era?"
A Qiu knew little about the past events of the previous dynasty, but he happened to know this one. The reason was that during that court audience, Hu Miaorong, one of the three leading dancers of the previous dynasty, was given to General Li Mingyuan and then taken back to Xueyang Pass.
She replied, "I have heard that Miss Hu, a fellow student of Madam Sun and Madam Xue, was given to General Li on that occasion."
A fleeting look of sadness crossed An Daoling's face as he sighed, "General Li is indeed a hero, and it is common knowledge that he is not interested in women. Yet the emperor bestowed Miao Rong upon him as a reward for a state gift he had brought with him."
Whether it was feudal lords paying homage or exchanges between states, tributes or ceremonial gifts were always presented. The practice of presenting a complete troupe of music and dance as a form of ceremonial rite has been recorded since ancient times.
The Kucha music and dance troupe that Li Chongyu has sent ahead is the ritual for this pilgrimage.
But the gifts Li Chongyu sent to pay homage were clearly not limited to this. He also returned Hu Miaorong, the white-robed dancer bestowed upon him by the previous emperor, and made it clear to all the people under heaven that she had a happy and fulfilling ending despite the lowly fate of imperial power and a musician.
It also demonstrates to the world General Li Mingyuan's integrity, moral character, and moral integrity.
The emperor even gifted a white silk dancer who had captivated the world with her dance. What, then, was the state gift that General Li Mingyuan presented? Even A Qiu was intrigued.
Although General Li Mingyuan was granted a marquisate, he was known for his aversion to money, distributing all his salary to his subordinates. The Shuofang army was a strong and elite force, yet Li Mingyuan himself possessed nothing. Therefore, when Hu Miaorong was bestowed upon this marquis, even Xue Hongbi sighed, fearing she would spend her life washing clothes at Xueyang Pass, her skin roughened by the wind and sand, and even her desire for revenge diminished considerably.
Where would a general like this find the money to prepare a decent state gift?
Seeing A Qiu's curious expression, An Daoling smiled. After a moment, he said, "Although General Li was poor, he put a lot of thought into the state gifts that time. He presented them to His Majesty at the time," he paused, then continued, "and to the Empress, which were three Han Dynasty bricks that he obtained from Chang'an."
A-Qiu didn't understand why he paused slightly when he mentioned the word "Empress." But her mind was only on the Han Dynasty bricks, so she quickly asked, "Are those Han Dynasty bricks still there?"
An Daoling smiled wryly and said, "It was said to be a state gift, but actually he heard that the Empress at the time was searching for information on music and dance from previous dynasties. Han bricks are made of clay and, although they are antiques, they are not as valuable as gold, silver, or jade. However, those three bricks have the image of Han Dynasty dancers with long sleeves dancing on them. It is said that they came from the imperial tombs in Chang'an. They would be of no use to anyone else. After he got them, he treasured them as if they were precious treasures and brought them to the Empress with great care."
After the southward migration, Chang'an was never seen again, but one could still see every brick and tile of Chang'an. In a corner of the empire's collapse, one could see the former grandeur of the Han Dynasty. General Li Mingyuan's intentions and feelings, though simple, were profound, and this can also be seen from them.
An Daoling continued, "Since it was a gift to the Empress at the time, it should have been kept by her. After the war, many changes and disasters occurred in the palace, and no one paid attention to the whereabouts of these bricks anymore."
A Qiu thought this made perfect sense. After all, the palace had stored no less than ten million precious artifacts throughout the ages. These three bricks were, in a sense, a gift from a previous general, but they weren't as precious as the Imperial Seal of the State. They were simply cataloged and stored away; no one would be watching them every day.
An Daoling turned to look at A Qiu and sighed, “This is where the trouble began. After all, it has been twenty years since this incident, and the original artifacts are no longer traceable. But just recently, a rumor that has spread from who knows where has begun to circulate throughout Jianzhang City, centered around the West Market, and it is about these three Han Dynasty bricks.”
A Qiu suddenly became focused. This was because it was a turbulent time, with three thousand Shuofang soldiers already stationed in the capital, and Li Chongyu about to come to court. The fact that someone had suddenly mentioned these three Han bricks was clearly not unfounded.
Thinking of the half-broken brick in her hand, A Qiu's mind raced, and she said, "Could it be that someone forged those bricks and spread rumors to deliberately damage the relationship between the court and Li Chongyu?"
An Daoling smiled wryly, "It's basically as you guessed. Rumor has it that the Empress accepted the bricks that General Li gave her back then, but in reality she looked down on them and later ordered them to be smashed and thrown into the pigsty in the palace to build walls. Some people secretly took some out of the palace, and only recently have these broken bricks started circulating in the antique stalls of the West Market."
A-Qiu was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
Whether this matter is true or false, stirring it up at this time will undoubtedly greatly exacerbate the conflict between Li Chongyu of the Shuofang Army and the Southern Dynasty regime.
The Shuofang Army prepared for war north of the Yangtze River, and at its furthest point, it reached the lands of Yan and You. They were all soldiers from humble backgrounds who did not care about formalities. General Li Mingyuan was also a miracle. Because he came from a peasant family, he rose through the ranks due to his military merits, stood out in the Shuofang Army, and eventually became the true supreme commander of this army of soldiers.
People of such backgrounds would have no common ground with the refined and elegant tastes of the noble families of the Southern Dynasties, and would never be considered one of their own.
Therefore, General Li Mingyuan's efforts to find Han Dynasty bricks for the Empress were already an attempt by General Li to get as close as possible to the Jianzhang aristocratic families in hopes of engaging in peaceful dialogue with them.
Han dynasty bricks may have an elegant style, but they are ultimately just earth and not particularly valuable. They symbolize the simple and honest nature of Li Mingyuan and the Shuofang Army.
Given the arrogance and extravagant style of the Southern Dynasties' aristocracy, it's not entirely impossible that they would discard it simply because they looked down on it. After all, painting walls with peppercorns and using silk screens to block the way were the fashions of the nobility at the time. If a noble family were to give bricks or tiles as gifts, they would be laughed at and seen as a sign of contempt for the recipient.
A-Qiu asked with difficulty, "Is this matter true?"
An Daoling suddenly said, "Of course not! I was by the side when the late Empress acquired this brick. I personally made a rubbing of the portrait on the brick, compiled it into a book, and then personally delivered it to Qiwu Palace for safekeeping. How could it be as the rumors say? And Empress Wen, how could she be such a despicable person who flatters to your face and stabs you in the back?"
At this moment, A Qiu suddenly felt that she had heard the second key point. She asked again, "Empress Wen? This former empress who received the Han bricks as a gift from General Li, is she Empress Shangguan, the creator of the White Silk Dance that I danced?"
An Daoling's eyes suddenly flashed with a desolate look, and he sighed deeply, "It is indeed Empress Shangguan. What other empress in the world could make people, regardless of whether they are from foreign tribes or their own kind, from the borderlands to the central plains, fall in love with her demeanor and virtue? The only thing she could not have was..." He suddenly stopped speaking, his expression filled with endless desolation.
Since entering the palace, this was the first time A Qiu had heard anyone mention Empress Shangguan. Her only connection with this legendary empress was that she had practiced the "White Silk Dance" choreographed by Empress Wen, which had amazed the court that year.
She had no recollection of the Empress, so she did not understand why Duke An was so moved when he mentioned the late Empress.
A Qiu clearly heard himself say, "First, we need to verify whether this matter is true or false. If it is false, we only need to show the original Han Dynasty brick, and the rumors will be dispelled."
An Daoling shook his head and said, "It can't be true."
Aqiu asked, "Then may I ask you, Lord An, since the Han bricks were collected into Qiwu Palace, have you ever seen them with your own eyes again?"
An Daoling, reminded by her, changed his expression and said, "You mean, even if this brick was not destroyed by Empress Wen, it is possible that it was later stolen from the palace by someone else and damaged."
A Qiu said, "That's right. As long as the result of the broken bricks is there, and someone adds fuel to the fire and spreads rumors, that would be an insult to General Li. Since the facts are established, who can say for sure what the process was?"
An Daoling remained silent and sat heavily back in his chair.
A moment later, he called out, "Go and fetch the archives and records from the fifth year of the Xiyuan era of the Music Bureau."
The yellowed pages bear the seal of the fifth year of the Xiyuan era of the Yuefu (a period of imperial reign), and are sealed with fire clay, indicating that no one has opened them since.
An Daoling said with a desolate expression, "I sealed this booklet myself back then. If it weren't for this matter, I'm afraid I would never open it again in my lifetime."
This is also the fate of most of the records in the inner palace. They are often not opened again until hundreds of years later.
Each page, meticulously drawn with illustrations and text, is a heartfelt expression of the craftsmen of that time, and also a piece of a bygone era.
It is conceivable that An Shihe, the "master of the flute" among the four constellations of Tianji, and once a man of great elegance, spent most of his life in the music bureau.
"May you live a thousand autumns and ten thousand years," "May the Xiongnu chieftain be granted peace through marriage," and "May you serve the heavens as one."
On the page that An Daoling turned to, the first thing that caught A Qiu's eye was these three lines of auspicious words written in ancient seal script.
An Daoling explained, “These three portrait bricks are all engraved with auspicious words, and they should be artifacts unearthed from the tomb. This is also the reason why the rumor said that Empress Wen destroyed and discarded them, and it was also a mockery of General Li for being illiterate and using tomb artifacts as state gifts. But in fact, Empress Wen knew this, and I knew it too, because Chang'an has suffered many wars over the centuries, and it is almost impossible to find a complete brick or tile from hundreds of years ago in the palace.”
On the brick inscribed with "May you live a thousand autumns and ten thousand years," there is a painting of seven drums and two plates, with a figure resembling a shaman dancing and singing on it. The raised part of his left sleeve seems to represent the sun and moon, while the right side appears to be accompanied by a divine dragon in a dance.
The scene of "the Chanyu's marriage alliance" appears to be a banquet, with guests and hosts seated separately. In front of the seats, there are dancers with long sleeves holding cups and spinning around, their skirts fluttering as they step on round drums.
The inscription "Serving the Heavens" depicts carriages and horses ascending into the sky on clouds, while two rows of women descend from the clouds, raising their sleeves as if to welcome the deceased. The billowing clouds suggest that the inscription was intended to welcome the deceased to heaven.
A Qiu's fingers unconsciously traced the "Long Live the Emperor" inscription.
If I remember the image correctly, the half I got in the West Market earlier is one half of this portrait stone.
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