Eighteen, First Meeting Princess Qingle

Entering straight from Danfeng Gate, the Daxing Palace under the night is as bright as day, and the festive atmosphere is rich.

While walking, Li Jian introduced the layout of Daxing Palace to Zhou Xuan. The three main halls - Baoyuan Hall, Xuanzheng Hall and Zichen Hall. Baoyuan Hall is a place for holding large-scale celebrations and meeting envoys from various countries; Xuanzheng Hall is used to summon ministers and officials to worship; Zichen Hall is a temple for the emperor to handle daily government affairs. There is a Taiye Pond in the middle of the palace city. The halls around Taiye Pond are the place where the emperor and concubines live, that is, the harem, and there are also royal gardens for entertainment. The entire Daxing Palace is a grand scale, with palaces and pavilions lined up one after another.

The Baoyuan Hall with black tiles and red pillars, white walls and green ridges is like a giant eagle falling from the sky. In the square in front of the hall, a 8-meter-high mountain lamp is dazzling, and the silk and bamboo orchestra are overflowing. The five colors are fascinating and the five sounds are intoxicating.

Zhou Xuan was dazed and unknowingly forgot about his injured leg. He dragged the bamboo stick in his hand away without tying the ground. It was Prince Li Jian who gently pushed his arm to remind him, and then he pretended that he was afraid to bear the force on his left leg.

When we were about to arrive at Zichen Hall, a group of palace maids came towards the corridor, carrying glass palace lanterns, purple sandalwood palace lanterns, singing and singing, laughing and making noise. When we saw Li Jian, we quickly avoided the side.

Li Jian recognized that this was the palace maid of Jingxu Palace. Today, he went to Daxing Palace for a trip, so he asked, "Is Princess Qingle here?"

The palace maids were about to answer when a sweet voice came first: "Brother, I'm here."

I saw a tall palace girl carrying a carp lamp, and her waist came in a segment. In an instant, the clear moon in the sky and the gorgeous palace lanterns on the ground lost their color. All the orchestras and fireworks and lights disappeared in an instant. Zhou Xuan was deaf in his ears, and only the graceful figure five feet away came step by step. It felt that lotus flowers bloomed where the girl stepped on—

No rhetoric can describe her beauty!

Zhou Xuan has never seen a beautiful woman. His two wives can be called beautiful women. The little girl is even more beautiful in the world, but neither of them has ever made him lose his composure!

Amazing? No, there was no surprise at all. The irresistible beauty grabbed his heart in an instant, and he simply forgot to breathe.

Li Jian asked: "Huozhu, have you ever met your father?"

Princess Li Huzhu of Qingle glanced at Zhou Xuan and replied, "I've seen it. Now I'm going to my mother's place. My mother said she would show me a few paintings."

Zhou Xuan had already come back to his senses at this time and quickly retracted his gaze. It would be very rude to look at the Princess of Tang in such a selfless manner.

Li Jian smiled and said, "I know whose painting my mother wants to show you, it is not a new work by Gu Hongzhong, but a picture of a new foreign costume lady painted by the young master Zhou in front of him."

Princess Qingle looked at Zhou Xuan again, her clear eyes were a little novel. She looked downward and looked at Zhou Xuan's legs, as if she felt a little regretful.

Zhou Xuan bowed and said, "Caomin Zhou Xuan has met His Royal Highness the Princess."

Princess Qingle said "um", nodded and said to Li Jian: "Brother, then I'll go to my mother's place."

A group of palace maids surrounded Princess Qingle with colorful palace lanterns and walked away. Li Jian saw Zhou Xuan a little unconscious and smiled relievedly. He knew that his princess was beautiful, and no one would have their eyes straight when they first met him, and said, "Brother Zhou, let's go, my father is still waiting."

When he came to Zichen Hall, the eunuch on duty came in to report, and at this meeting, he sent an order to Zhou Xuan to meet him.

Zhou Xuan followed Li Jian and went to the hall limply. Seeing Li Yu sitting on the dragon chaise with kindness and looking at him with a smile, he quickly put down his bamboo stick and pretended that he was having a hard time kneeling down to give a big gift.

Li Yu waved his hand and said, "If Zhou Qing has any injury on his leg, he will be spared."

Zhou Xuan was reluctant to do so. When he came to ancient times, he was the least willing to kneel down to others. He immediately thanked him with a cane: "Zhou Xuan, the Caomin, thanked His Majesty."

Li Yu ordered the eunuch to bring two embroidery dots for Li Jian and Zhou Xuan to sit down and asked, "Zhou Qing, how is the outcome of the chess battle?"

Zhou Xuan said: "When I returned to the emperor, the Caomin won by chance."

Li Yu said "Oh" and asked again: "Who is the opponent?"

Zhou Xuan said: "Sun's partner of Zhaowu Army."

Li Yuhua raised his white lying silkworm eyebrows and said in surprise: "Sun Xuelu is among the 18th chess players. Zhou Qing can fight and win, and his chess skills are extraordinary."

Li Jian said: "Father, Zhou Xuan was not only the best in Fenghua's three prefectures, but last year he traveled to Hongzhou with insects and won the leader of the Chongyang Insect Battle in Hongzhou. The rest of the other tea, wine, music, and painting are all excellent. What's even more rare is that Zhou Xuan has a loyalty to serve our Tang Dynasty. His sons talked to him and found that he had Guan Zhong and Zhuge's talent, and not only knew how to play with those children."

Li Jian praised too much, and Li Yu couldn't help but laugh: "Zhou Qing has Guan Zhong, Zhuge's talent? Jian'er, then you are so lucky."

Zhou Xuan's face turned red, and he compared him to Zhuge Liang. He was ashamed, but he was too timid at this time and had to hold on and said, "How dare Caomin compare with Guan Zhong and Kong Ming, but Caomin has always cared about the general trend of the world. Yesterday, Caomin and Chen Shilang talked about military tactics with Mr. Chen. Chen Shilang's humble opinions were quite commendable for Caomin-Chen Ji, the nephew of Chen Shilang, was a good friend who Caomin met in Hongzhou, so Caomin naturally had to go and ask questions when he entered Beijing."

Li Yu looked at Zhou Xuan with a smile and said, "Today's Lantern Festival, I only talk about the wind and moon, not the state affairs."

Zhou Xuan was shocked and only talked about the wind and moon. Don’t talk about national affairs. Li Yu said this first. Li Yu was really stupid. After a change of thought, he had already had the idea of ​​lobbying Li Yu. He said: "The Caomin knew that the emperor was proficient in music and had unparalleled lyrics and music. He had presented five lyrics during the day. I wonder if he could catch the eyes of His Majesty?"

Li Yu said: "I called you here for the sake of those five ci. Zhou Qing's ci is so amazing that three of the five ci are masterpieces that have been passed down from generation to generation - 'The flowers fall helplessly, and the swallows return like familiarity' - 'It's still chaotic to cut it, it's sorrow of separation' - wonderful, wonderful!"

Zhou Xuan said in his heart: "It's still messy when you can't cut it up. This is what you did by Li Yu. I plagiarize your masterpiece and you praise me. It's wonderful. This world is so wonderful!" He said modestly: "Your Majesty is too praiseworthy, and I occasionally feel something. I chant it into an article, it's not worth a smile."

Li Yu asked: "Zhou Qing, is that "Danxiang" your own musical plaque?"

Zhou Xuan said: "That is, the grass people love long and short sentences, but they hate too few songs. Most of them are small. Last night, I listened to the flute playing at home by Mochou Lake. I smelled the fragrance of plum blossoms. I suddenly felt that I chanted these long and short sentences, and created the melody of "Dark Fragrance" with my family's goats and Xiaofen."

Li Yu was excited and said, "Then please ask Zhou Qing to play this song for me. What instruments does Zhou Qing need?"

Zhou Xuan was sweating on his forehead. He could only play the harmonica. He used to be greedy for Fairy Jingyi's flute and learned from her for a few days. Later, when things were busy, he put it aside and said, "Your Majesty, silk is not as good as bamboo, bamboo is not as good as meat, so the grass people sing this song to Your Majesty."

Li Yu applauded and said, "It's great."

Zhou Xuan sang the "Danxiang" that Yang Xiaopin taught him to sing well:

"In the old days, the moonlight shines on me, and plays the flute by the plum blossom. It evokes the jade man, no matter whether it is cold or climbing. He Xun is getting farther away now, and forgets the spring breeze. But it is strange that the sparse flowers outside the bamboo, the fragrance is cold into the jade mat. The river country is silent. I sigh and send the road far away, and the snow at night has just accumulated. The green calyx is easy to cry, and the red calyx is silent and remembers each other. I remember the place where I joined hands, thousands of trees pressed down, and the West Lake is cold and green. I will blow it all over again, when will I see it?"

Li Yu's eyes were half closed and his hands pressed the rhythm. He was very intoxicated. After Zhou Xuan finished singing, he spoke, "There is still something that is not perfect in Zhou Qing's song, and I will change it for you."

Zhou Xuan quickly said: "It is a blessing for the people to be amended by Your Majesty."

Li Yu asked: "How much does Zhou Qing have in Gui Geng this year?"

Zhou Xuan said: "The grass-roots people are twenty-four years old this year."

Li Yu glanced at Li Jian and said, "Twenty-four, that is Changjian's son is one year old. It was when he was young. Why did Zhou Qing's poems always feel desolate? His deep feelings seem to be inconsistent with Zhou Qing's age. Take "An Xiang" as an example. This sentence "He Xun is getting farther away now, and he has forgotten it. The poem "Spring Breeze" is written. If the word "Gravely Aging" is changed to "Gravely Aging", the meaning of the poem is good. If a poet over 40 years old is thinking about the past, he cannot write such words."

Zhou Xuan was really impressed by Emperor Li Yu. He was indeed not simple. His ability to comprehend poetry was amazing. The word "An Xiang" was a masterpiece by Jiang Kui, a civer in the Southern Song Dynasty, and was originally created by the music. When Zhou Xuan selected this ci, he felt that the sentence "He Xun is getting older now" was not consistent with his age. He was very young, how could he say he was old? So he changed the word "Ageing Age" to "Ageing Age", which means that it was all old things that went away. Unexpectedly, Li Yu saw this subtle change in the ci realm!

Zhou Xuan changed his smiling face and said in a deep voice: "Caomin once told Your Majesty that Caomin is a native of Nanhai Ao. He has experienced the suffering of the country's destruction and family destruction. He is now living in the Tang Dynasty for two lifetimes. Although Caomin is only twenty-four years old, he is 60 years old. Caomin usually indulges in poetry and wine, and seems to be extremely happy, but who knows the pain in his heart? He can only reveal it in poetry, but he didn't expect His Majesty to see it at a glance!"

Li Yu nodded repeatedly: "Zhou Xuanzhen is a sad person for all ages - 'The carved railings and jade should be as carved railings and jade should be still there, but the red face is changed. How much sorrow can you have? It's just like a river of spring water flowing eastward.' If you weren't sad, you wouldn't be able to write such a masterpiece. It's a blessing to poems and a misfortune of Zhou Qing."

Zhou Xuan thought in a daze. Li Yu asked him twice and he didn't hear it. Li Jian was so anxious that he pushed him, and then he woke up and sued him and said, "Caomin remembered the past of his hometown. Please don't blame him for any rude things."

Li Yu asked Zhou Xuan'ao about the country? Zhou Xuan was careful and did not let his words have any loopholes. Based on the late Ming Dynasty, he virtualized the process of destruction of a dynasty. That dynasty had many similarities with the current Tang Dynasty. The upper nobles were eager to enjoy themselves and did not cultivate military equipment, which led to the northern barbarians becoming larger and subsequently destroyed the country.

After hearing this, Li Yu raised his white eyebrows and said nothing for a while.

Zhou Xuan said: "Tonight is Lantern Festival, so I shouldn't say this to Your Majesty. Please forgive me for your sins."

Li Yu said slowly: "What Zhou Qing said is quite ironic. Let's do this. The court will discuss tomorrow and decide whether to send troops to Song State."

Zhou Xuan took advantage of the hot railroad: "Your Majesty is wise, and your Majesty can make decisions on some things. Why should you discuss the court? There are many people and each person has a different opinion. If you discuss it for a few days, you will not discuss it. Once the uncle and nephew of Zhao reconcile, then the Tang Dynasty will inevitably suffer from the suffering of war."

Li Jian said: "Father, what Zhou Xuan said is very true. Our Tang State should immediately send envoys to Chengdu to show kindness to Zhao Defang, promise to provide him with money and food, so that he can see the hope of defeating Zhao Guangyi and support him with all his might. Our Tang army does not have to really go to war with Zhao Guangyi. We only have tens of thousands of soldiers in Shouzhou, Sizhou, Haozhou and Chuzhou. By taking a stance to attack Zhao Guangyi, we can restrain Zhao Guangyi, remove Zhao Defang's siege, and let his uncle and nephew continue to confront each other. Our Tang State's northern border can be safe."

Li Yu nodded and said, "It's good that there is no need to fight. What I'm afraid of is to cause trouble. Tomorrow, Wei Xuan will draft an order and select an envoy to go to Chengdu."

Zhou Xuan and Li Jian looked at each other and were both happy.

After coming out of Zichen Hall, Li Jian held Zhou Xuan's hand and said, "Brother Xuan has not only Guan Zhong and Zhuge's talent, but also Zhang Yi and Su Qin's argument. It is better to speak directly than to speak directly. Brother Xuan can use it in a superb way. I really admire him."

Li Jian personally sent Zhou Xuan back to the shore of Mochou Lake and saw Judge Fan, Gu Liuquan, Sanqi, and Siqi had already returned first. After asking, he found out that Gu Liuquan lost to Lan Xueting, and Sanqi defeated Yang Zhao. In this way, the Fenghua Army defeated Zhaowu Army by 2-1 in the first round. Half a month later, the two main players of Zhaowu will meet again and fight again.

Zhou Xuan was in a good mood this night, solved the temporary crisis of Tang Kingdom, and won the chess again. He was very interested and was ready to favor Xiaojiay. However, when he met Yang Xiaopin, he said with a blushing face: "Low abdominal pain."

Zhou Xuan is an experienced person. When he saw Yang Xiaopin's shy look, he immediately understood what was going on. He smiled and told Yang Xiaopin to keep warm and to use a thermos to make his belly feel more comfortable.

The young master is too knowledgeable, and Yang Xiaopin is so embarrassed that he can't raise his head.
Chapter completed!