Chapter 22 Chapter 22 - Sleeping, Looking at Beautiful Women and Writing Poetry
After Qingfu left, I took another short nap. Half asleep and half awake, the Eight-Legged Dance at the banquet had come to an end. The ministers took advantage of the intervals between watching the performance to toast and ask questions. The banquet was as noisy as the East Market.
Listening to the buzzing noise, my eyelids drooped lower and lower until they became a slender slit...
Boom!
Suddenly, a drum sounded, and the music shook the earth, which woke me up from my sleepy eyes.
I opened my eyes and looked forward, only to see the strong man beating the drum swinging the drumstick, causing the drum skin to vibrate and emit the long, lingering sound of a war drum.
Our dynasty had enjoyed peace for a long time, and the drums originally used to announce wars were used as musical instruments. All the ministers found it novel, except for a few white-bearded old men who had experienced war and shook their heads.
The rituals and music are in chaos!
Even more chaotic events were yet to come. Amidst the dense beating of drums, a group of neatly dressed women from the music academy, dressed in water-red feathered robes, filed out. They wore colorful bells and fluttered their colorful sleeves around them, like a group of soft petals surrounding a beautiful woman who was like a pistil in the center.
The woman looked a little older than me, with a plump figure and charming eyes. Wherever her eyes went, the men present swallowed their saliva at the same time.
There were even a few who had poor concentration, and their eyes emitted a bright green light.
After recognizing the beauty's identity, I admired her and thought to myself: When Xie Xiu Niang is not singing, she is not even in the top ten on the list of beauties in Chang'an City, but once she goes on stage, she can surpass even a fairy like Wang Fu Niang.
She was not very pretty, with eyes that were too thin, eyebrows that were too raised, and a chin that was too pointed. But precisely because of this, her temperament carried a charm rarely seen in the palace. If we use flowers as a metaphor, Wang Funiang was the alluring lotus, Wei Wan'er was the orchid in the valley, and Xie Xiuniang was the fiery dragon claw flower that bloomed on the shore of the underworld.
She is a famous flower, but I don’t know whether Li Siyan is willing to pick her.
When she walked to the center of the cloud tent and stood still, the sound of drums stopped abruptly.
The group of aqua-red dancers scattered in all directions, and the musicians sat cross-legged, holding stringed instruments.
Among all the people, only Xie Xiuniang was still standing. She bowed to everyone around her with great grace, and the rouge in the corners of her eyes was as red as blood.
Everyone held their breath as the show began.
The sound of stringed instruments began, and Xie Xiu Niang beat the hand drum and sang loudly:
Flying light, flying light, I offer you a glass of wine. I do not know the height of the blue sky, the thickness of the yellow earth, I only see the cold moon and the warm sun, burning the life of people...
There was silence all around. The ministers stopped talking and the palace maids stopped pouring wine. Only Xie Xiuniang's clear and high-pitched voice echoed in the cloud tent.
In the whole city of Chang'an, she is the only one who can sing such a brilliant tune.
The poem is titled "The Day is Short", which laments the brevity of human life and satirizes the absurdity of immortality. It is a very sharp song and should not have appeared at the palace banquet during the Shangsi Festival. However, Xie Xiu Niang was so bold that she not only dared to sing it, but also sang it beautifully.
…Naturally the old never die, and the young never cry. Why take gold and swallow white jade?
The drumbeats became more and more frequent, and her voice was like a ball of string thrown high in the air, rising sharply and then falling gracefully. This must be a voice that was shaped by Nuwa herself, otherwise how could she pronounce each syllable to perfection?
I looked at her blood-red lips opening and closing, listened to her gentle and compassionate singing, and for no reason I recalled what happened in the Purple Palace.
That day, Li Siyan was flipping through Li Changji's collection of works and happened to come across this poem. He didn't quite understand it and asked me what the allusion of swallowing white jade was and who Mr. Ren was.
I casually explained, "It's written in Baopuzi that those who swallow gold and jade will live as long as gold and jade. Master Ren is an immortal who ascended to heaven hundreds of years ago riding a green donkey on Mount Zhongnan."
Li Siyan sneered, "Does anyone still believe this? There are no immortals or ghosts in this world. It's better to pray to yourself than to pray to the heavens or the earth."
I said, "Your Majesty, how old are you this year? When the Qin Emperor and Han Wudi were young, they didn't believe in these magic arts. When they were old, one sent boys and girls to sea to seek medicine, and another took great pains to cast gold and bronze dew-collecting plates. Maybe when you are older, you will also start to refine medicine everywhere?
He raised his eyebrows and said defiantly, "I am not that kind of king. I don't ask for charity from gods and Buddhas. What I want, I have always taken by force. What's the point of begging for help from heaven and earth?"
I kindly reminded him, "Human power is limited. Our ancestors said, 'Respect ghosts and gods, but keep them at a distance.' This is the truth."
Li Siyan still maintained his arrogant attitude: "Only incompetent people would say that.
I was speechless: "...You are obviously an ordinary emperor, why are you so confident?"
He was amused by me and laughed out loud. He threw the poetry collection into my arms and ruffled my soft hair.
I slapped his stinky hand away.
That was the most peaceful time for Li Siyan and I in the past two years. We were even a little intimate. It may have given Li Siyan the illusion that we could live in peace, which directly led to a series of confusing behaviors he did afterwards.
I turned my gaze back to Xie Xiuniang.
She sang the entire song in a low, vibrato, and this amazing and short day ended.
The woman raised her eyes slightly, stepped forward, and saluted Li Siyan. After saluting, she did not retreat immediately, but maintained a graceful posture of bowing and said boldly: "Xie Xiu Niang from the Jiaofangsi greets the Saint."
Oh, this is a blatant seduction of the emperor!
I immediately went to see what Wang Funiang was doing. As expected, Wang Funiang's back was as straight as a newly unearthed stone tablet, and a bleak green cloud was faintly visible above her head.
I laughed out loud, my nose felt itchy, and I sneezed a little.
Not only her, but all the women present sensed a strong sense of crisis.
──Except for the little fool Shangguan Baolin, she might be the only woman present who seriously appreciated the singing and dancing. At this moment, she was looking at Xie Xiuniang's back with admiration on her face.
I understand them. There has been a saying since ancient times that a wife is not as good as a concubine, and a concubine is not as good as a mistress. This is not groundless speculation, but a summary of the results of thousands of years of research on male psychology.
I adjusted my sitting position and waited calmly to see how Li Siyan would respond.
But Li Siyan didn't say anything.
He didn't look at Xie Xiuniang, but kept his head slightly lowered, as if he was recalling something.
After standing for too long, Xie Xiuniang could no longer hold her composure, and the expression in her eyes slowly changed from complacency to disappointment and frustration.
I sighed.
She risked being criticized for her unlucky choice of music and insisted on giving the most stunning performance. Was it just for the sake of art? I don't think so. To put it bluntly, her real purpose was to impress the emperor.
As a girl from the Imperial Music Bureau, her life and property depended on the officers in charge. If she failed to please the emperor, her beautiful face might bring her disaster. As she aged, Li Siyan rarely visited the Imperial Music Bureau. This time, she performed before the emperor, perhaps making a last-ditch effort.
That's why she burst out with such amazing beauty. I heard an elder say that true beauty is the result of being homeless and fighting for the rest of one's life. It can only be found in desperate situations. If there is a way out, then how is it different from worldly mediocrity?
Everyone was waiting to see the emperor's reaction and what decision he would make about this amazing beauty.
Xie Xiuniang gently closed her eyes.
After a long while, Li Siyan finally came back to his senses and said in a hoarse voice, "You sang well, but I don't like this word. Please go away."
As soon as she opened her eyes, Xie Xiuniang's face turned pale in an instant.
Wang Funiang's face, which was covered with green clouds, quickly turned into a bright and cheerful one.
Wei Wan'er breathed a sigh of relief.
Shangguan Baolin seemed to be taking notes in his mind:
...On March 3rd, the Shangsi Festival, the weather was fine. His Majesty said he disliked Li Changji's poetry and would cater to his tastes and avoid his faults in the future...
Only I could not bear to see Xie Xiuniang's distraught look any longer, so I lowered my head, picked up the pen and wrote: Xie Xiuniang from the music school sings hard but the day is short, but the emperor dislikes Changji's poems, so he ordered her to leave.
She should have asked me when she chose the music. Li Siyan doesn't like bizarre and strange songs, but prefers the elegant and graceful Six Dynasties quatrains. For someone so irritable, her poetic taste is surprisingly like that of a little girl...
But now that things have come to this, there is no point in saying more. I shook my head, set the previous page aside to let the ink dry, and replaced it with a new piece of snow-white paper.
After Xie Xiu Niang left, the banquet returned to its usual bustle, with the ministers playing games, drinking and singing, and having a great time.
They dared not be unhappy. This was the emperor's dinner party, and if you sat there with a gloomy face like a wooden man, it was clear that you did not take the emperor seriously. The censors present would immediately arrange for you to submit a series of impeachment petitions against you.
To show respect, regardless of whether they were truly happy or not, all the ministers put in their utmost effort to pretend to enjoy the banquet. However, the happier they looked, the colder Li Siyan looked.
He seemed to be still thinking about the poem he hated.
Later, when Wang Funiang and Wei Wan'er toasted him, he just forced a smile and raised his glass to touch his lips.
We were like two aliens, indifferent to the feast of joy and prosperity.
But he was disappointed and I was tired.
I was briefly awakened by Xie Xiuniang's song. After being alert for about a quarter of an hour, I was knocked down by sleepiness again.
This can't be blamed on me. When I was in the Ye Ting, my job was to pour night incense, so I would go back to my room in the middle of the night every day and sleep until noon. Yesterday, I was suddenly taken back to the Zichen Palace. Although I was there, my daily routine remained in the Ye Ting, which resulted in me being very, very sleepy today, with a nap frequency of up to five times in an hour.
As my upper and lower eyelids were engaged in their twenty-seventh battle of glares, Qingfu trudged towards me, squatted beside me, and angrily said, "You want to sleep at the banquet."
It's not a question, it's a firm exclamation.
"It's okay at other times, but today is different. The entire court is watching you. If you dare..."
"How could Grandpa Qingfu misunderstand me? I didn't mean to offend him. I just wanted to sleep." I said dejectedly, "I didn't fall asleep until three o'clock last night."
Qingfu paused: "You only slept for an hour and a half last night?"
I nodded, showed him the five handkerchiefs I used to blow my nose, and added, "Not only am I sleep deprived, I'm also sick."
Qingfu lowered his eyes and looked at me.
I picked up the sixth handkerchief in a pretentious manner and sneezed loudly.
His stern attitude softened a bit, and he frowned and said, "If you really can't hold on any longer, go outside and rest."
Without saying a word, I turned my head and stared at my friend the Imperial Censor. He was reciting poems and making drinking games with other young officials. His hearty laughter kept coming into my ears, making me feel itchy.
After watching for a while, I said pitifully to Qingfu, "I don't want to go outside, Grandpa Qingfu. I want to go write poetry."
"No." Qingfu immediately refused: "I can't let you embarrass yourself."
I wanted to say bullshit, I am very good at writing, but then I thought, this is not a problem of writing skills, but a problem of employee management.
"Okay." I said dejectedly, "You don't need me right now. I'll go take a rest over there."
Qingfu breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at me sideways: "Don't take too long."
I stood up and walked out.
Suddenly, a gentle female voice came from not far away. I turned around and saw Wei Wan'er looking at me with a smile. She said, "I've heard of Madam Shen's literary reputation for a long time. Madam Shen has stood up. Are you going to join the poetry competition too?"
My butt froze in mid-air: “Huh?”
Wei Wan'er was still smiling, pointing to the dozen or so young officials gathered in the center of the cloud tent, and urged, "It's about to begin, Madam Shen, hurry up."
I looked at the talented people gathered together, and my hands suddenly started to itch. I really wanted to go!
Although I am eager to make a move, I am just a commoner with no official position. Without the approval of Li Siyan and Qingfu, I dare not hang out with these pillars of the court.
Qingfu coughed lightly behind me, his lips moving as he said, "Answer Wei Cairen properly."
I bowed briefly to Wei Wan'er and said politely, "Thank you for the reminder, but I'm not going to participate in the poetry competition. I'm just feeling unwell and want to rest for a while. I'm sorry for spoiling your mood. Chen Ying apologizes to you."
Wei Wan'er was slightly disappointed, but she had a good temper and didn't embarrass me. She just nodded and said, "Mrs. Shen, what are you talking about? I was wrong. Since you are not feeling well, you must rest well and don't overwork yourself."
I smiled and nodded, then followed the procedure to submit my request for leave to Li Siyan: "Your Majesty, I..."
Li Siyan said coldly: "You want to leave now?"
I explained: "No, I just want to sit in a quiet place..."
He interrupted me coldly: "Who allowed you to go down? Didn't you hear Wan'er ask you to write a poem?"
I was completely stunned and stupidly let out another "ah".
Wei Wan'er widened her eyes in surprise, staring blankly at me and then at Li Siyan.
Li Siyan said calmly, "If you want her to go, then let her go. Don't worry about whether she's tired or not, or whether she needs to rest or not. She's just a servant who can't make her own decisions. She's not that valuable."
Wei Wan'er was also confused, biting her lower lip lightly, looking a little helpless.
I gave her a kind smile, but if she had looked closely, she would have noticed that I was secretly grinding my back teeth.
Before Wei Wan'er could come up with a proper rebuttal, I said with a smile, "Your Majesty is right. I'm not that precious. So, I'll follow your Majesty and the talented lady's wishes and finish this round before leaving."
Li Siyan said nothing, but stared at the fruit plate in front of him with his eyes downcast, as if he wanted to stare a hole in the steamed pear.
Seeing that Li Siyan forcibly called me back for Wei Wan'er's little request, Wang Funiang's beautiful little face turned pale and blue, and she was so jealous that she was about to bleed out of vinegar.
She had a bad day today. First, I gave her a bad temper, and then there was Xie Xiuniang, whose beauty and even the format of her name were comparable to hers, trying to compete for her favor. After Xie Xiuniang was finally eliminated, Li Siyan started to dote on Wei Wan'er again...
She snorted sarcastically, "Sister Wei, why is she so polite to her? His Majesty has already said that she is just a servant now. It is only through the grace of His Majesty and sister that she is allowed to exchange a few words with the court's most trusted officials. She can't even say thank you. She is really rude."
She said I was unruly? I opened my eyes wide in surprise.
I immediately showed her what true unruliness meant, and retorted, "That's right. When this servant was learning from the old Taifu, you, Lady Wang, were still playing in the mud in the countryside of Qilu."
There was a sour look on her face originally, but after I uttered this sarcastic remark, her expression froze and turned pale.
People at that time valued blood and surnames, and judged people's status based on family background and talent. Even though I am now in a desperate situation, I still stubbornly and sincerely look down on people like Li Siyan and Wang Funiang who are not only inferior but also extremely frivolous.
I glanced at her with extreme arrogance. "It's true they are trusted ministers, but in this place, everyone's talking about poetic talent. Concubine Wei has heard of my reputation for poetry and recommended me, and I'm indebted to her. Do I really need Concubine Wang to tell me what to do?"
"You!" Wang Funiang was shaking with anger.
"What do you mean?" I said, "Ms. Wang is a respectable person. She should speak more elegantly."
After saying that, I didn't even give her a glance, but lifted my skirt and walked towards the center of the cloud tent.
Several young officials had already been waiting there. When they saw me coming, they all stood up and nodded to me, "Madam Shen, long time no see."
My good friend, the Imperial Censor, was among them. He winked at me and chuckled softly, "You even dare to contradict the favored Empress. Your temper hasn't changed at all."
I said, "She's lucky. I'm sick today and don't have the energy to curse."
I bowed to them one by one, smiling politely, and said, "Excuse me, my Excellencies, for keeping you waiting. I was arguing with Lady Wang a little while ago, and I tripped, so I'm a little late. I'm sorry, but let me offer you a toast first."
After saying that, he poured himself a glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp.
It was so fast that Qingfu didn’t have time to rush over and kick my wine jug away.
I wiped my mouth, chuckled and said, "Good wine!"
The young officials praised me for my straightforwardness. We were all young people, and after exchanging a few words, we became familiar with each other spontaneously. I have seen many such literary gatherings since I was a child. They were full of fluent conversation and laughter. As we were talking, I suddenly felt like I was back in the past - it would have been even better if Meng Xu and my brother were there too.
I chatted with them and inevitably drank a little more. In my drunken state, I happened to catch a glimpse of Li Siyan sitting high up at the table.
He sat alone at the highest point, playing with a new wine glass in his hand. Wang Funiang was complaining about me to him with tears in her eyes, but he looked perfunctory and indifferent.
Seeing Li Siyan unhappy, I was overjoyed. I turned around and enthusiastically praised my friend, the Imperial Censor: "Brother Jiang, this is a brilliant statement! It's like a poem and a book accompanying Kang Le, and the young and the old are even feasting together at Yonghe. I haven't seen you for two years, and you've really grown in talent!"
He was very proud of himself, shaking his head and saying, "Thank you, thank you. Now it's your turn. How are you going to respond?"
I thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll make a couplet: Drinking at night, watching the jade being polished, and in the morning, the bells will ring again after a few days."
He laughed and said, "It's more neat than it is, but lacks some spirit. It's not as good as before."
I scolded him: "I knew you couldn't say anything nice!"
Another young court official stepped in to smooth things over: "Madam Shen is serving in the imperial court, so she's naturally busier than the rest of us. Who is like you, studying your collection all day long without doing any serious work?"
Censor Jiang laughed heartily. "Brother Sheng, why are you exposing my past? My superior is at the table, and we can't let him hear it!"
I immediately said, "That convenient? Got it, let's go complain to him now!"
Everyone laughed so hard that they fell over.
A group of people joked and chanted more than ten lines as if playing a game. They were all young officials who had passed the imperial examination and had extraordinary literary talent. I could only be considered lower-middle among them, but even so, I was extremely satisfied.
It's just because it's too lonely in the palace. I can chat about family gossip with Xia Fugui, Xiao Jinlian and others, but I can't talk about poetry and essays. The Dog Emperor and Wei Xizi can discuss literature with me, but I can't get along with them.
Chatting and reciting poetry with the young ministers today brought me back to the days when my brother took me to various literary gatherings. He held my hand and boasted to his friends: This is my sister, Chen Ying. She is not good at writing articles, but she is good at poetry.
The warmth of my brother's palm seemed to still linger in my hand, and in a flash I was back to the present moment. A deep sadness welled up in my heart. These were the people who wrote the poem together, but my brother was no longer with us.
I couldn't help but turn around and look at the arrogant Li Siyan - the source of all the misfortunes in our family.
His face was as cold as frost, extremely stern.
It's really strange. Today is the Shangsi Festival. He invited all the civil and military officials in the court to have fun and feast, and even took out his precious time to ridicule this laid-off attendant. Why is he still unhappy?
I wasn't the only one who noticed the superior's melancholy. Just after finishing a round of poetry, Censor Jiang seized a moment and, somewhat fearfully, whispered to me, "Is Your Majesty in low spirits today?"
I shook my head. "It was fine in the morning, but then, for some reason, he kept looking unhappy."
Censor Jiang wanted to ask more, but suddenly saw Li Siyan's cold gaze shooting towards him. He shuddered all over and jumped back a dozen feet like lightning, not daring to talk to me anymore.
The people around also noticed that His Majesty was not in a good mood, and the chatter and laughter gradually died down. Some of the more perceptive ones even realized that the problem might lie with me. After that, when I spoke to them again, they just smiled and passed it off perfunctorily, and their attitude was much more distant than when we first met.
It so happened that the poetry couplet was given to a young man from an aristocratic family who was not good at writing. He scratched his head for a long time, but could not come up with the next couplet, and was unwilling to admit defeat. Everyone remained silent tacitly for a while, and the scene suddenly became awkward.
However, in just a short moment, with the joint efforts of Li Siyan and this young man from an aristocratic family, a good poetry meeting was turned into a mess.
I suddenly felt very bored.
Several young ministers were sitting here, seemingly free and unrestrained, displaying their talents, but in fact, their every word and action was under the emperor's scrutiny.
When he is normal, we can still be more unrestrained, but once he shows the slightest displeasure, everyone's tongue seems to be restrained. How can we speak freely and socialize with each other at will?
I felt suffocated, so I stood up, bowed deeply, and said, "It is a great pleasure to write poetry with you gentlemen today. However, I didn't sleep well the night before, and I feel a little dizzy. I am afraid I can't continue writing poetry. So, please do as you please, and I will take my leave now."
Seeing me take my leave on my own initiative, all the ministers breathed a sigh of relief and politely tried to keep a few of them.
The one who tried the most hypocritically to keep Li Siyan was that bastard Jiang Yushi. He said insincerely, "What a pity! Why not join us for a few more rounds before leaving?" while secretly observing the emperor's reaction. Seeing that Li Siyan's brows began to gather again, Jiang Yushi changed the subject: "...Of course, health is more important. We will discuss this another day. Madam Shen, go and get some rest."
I was so angry that I laughed and said arrogantly, "Don't forget, your superior is at the table. Be careful or I'll complain to him!"
Amid the laughter of the ministers, I made a face at him, picked up the manuscript I had just written down, walked through the cloud tent, and went straight to Wei Wan'er.
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