The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 94 Flowers and Swords

"How can I have such talent?" Li Qi sighed, "I am neither the eldest nor the heir, I lack talent, and my father does not think highly of me. If Prime Minister Li supports me, wouldn't that be pushing me into the fire pit?"

Li Heng asked, "Then why did you meet with him?"

"Well..." Li Qi smiled awkwardly, "Although I know that I am not talented enough, the opportunity is right in front of me, and I want to give it a try. When my brother is away, I will be in Chang'an. Let's see who dares to say bad things about us behind our backs."

Li Heng understood what Li Qi meant and said, "So you want to fight for it, but you're afraid of getting into trouble?"

Li Qi nodded, scratched his head and smiled: "Brother, you are knowledgeable and capable of making decisions. How about you help me make a decision?"

Li Heng thought for a moment and said, "I can't take this idea for you, but someone else will."

"Who?" Li Qi asked curiously.

Li Heng said, "Father."

"Father?" Li Qi frowned. "I always see through things like this but don't say anything. If Father did, it would be the time to make a decision. How could he make the decision for me?"

Li Ying shook his head and did not answer Li Qi. Instead, he asked, "Did Zhou Ziliang impeach Niu Xianke and Li Shizhi?"

Li Qi said: "I heard some rumors, but I'm not sure about the details."

Li Heng nodded.

He had a hunch that Li Longji would make some arrangements in the near future, but he was not quite sure about the exact time and to what extent.

He just hoped that this wouldn't affect him.

As Li Ying was thinking, Princess Xianyi's voice came from the other side: "Brother, we are going back. Do you want to stay a little longer?"

"Brother, your words are profound and unfathomable. I'll go back and think about it. I'm leaving first." Li Qi whispered to Li Heng, then went to Princess Xianyi and said, "Go back first."

Princess Xianyi nodded and told Yang Yuhuan, "Yuhuan, don't worry. The Imperial Medical Bureau has a way to treat wind sores. In a few months, I guarantee you will be as beautiful as before. When the time comes, I will give you some rouge. You will definitely be able to charm Shibalang."

Yang Yuhuan smiled and said, "Thank you, sister."

Li Heng stepped forward and together with Yang Yuhuan saw Princess Xianyi and the others off.

Then the two returned to the house.

Li Ying smiled and said to Yang Yuhuan: "Your method of disfiguring yourself is quite novel. Where did you learn it from?"

"Of course I learned it from you." Yang Yuhuan smiled and said, "The husband sings and the wife follows. If you can pretend to be sick, I can do the same."

As she said this, she took off her veil and asked, "If I really become like this, will you still love me?"

Li Ying thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Besides your stunningly beautiful face, you also have a great figure. I think I can do it."

"What if my figure is not in good shape?" Yang Yuhuan asked quickly.

Li Heng touched Yang Yuhuan's head and said seriously: "If you were... um... not good-looking before I knew you, then maybe not, but now, no matter what you look like, I will treat you the same as always."

"I don't believe it."

Yang Yuhuan laughed happily, then found Zhang Mujin's special potion to wash away the rheumatoid arthritis on her face, then picked up the bronze mirror to look at herself, and finally nodded with satisfaction, saying, "This is still much better."

Li Heng watched from the side and said with a smile: "I will go to the palace for a banquet tomorrow. If you don't go out, just wear a veil. There is no need to get these sores on. It's very troublesome."

"Yes." Yang Yuhuan nodded, "I will wait for you to come back, and then we can travel to Chang'an together."

Li Ying said, "It's a deal."

"Well, it's a deal." Yang Yuhuan replied.

……

…………

The next day.

Xingqing Palace, Hua'e Tower.

Li Longji, Consort Wu Huifei, important ministers and the prince had already taken their seats, and the food officer immediately served the meal.

The meals included roasted puffer fish, steamed bream, braised salmon, grilled venison and other delicacies from land and sea, and all were cooked according to "Chinese cooking methods, all in accordance with the sage method, without the use of pepper and cinnamon, and with the appropriate flavors of salt and plum."

In addition to delicacies from land and sea, there are also vegetarian soups, desserts and cakes, which are all available, and are exquisitely made with great color and taste.

When the dishes were served, people from the Imperial Food Bureau, including the Chief of Food, Chief of Wine, and Chief of Pharmacy, tasted the food first. After that, Li Longji gave the order and everyone started eating.

After eating a few mouthfuls of food and drinking the wine in the glass, Li Longji ordered someone to play the music and dance of Kucha.

I saw the Kucha musicians coming in, followed by several eunuchs pushing in a huge lotus.

The music started, lotus flowers blossomed, and then two dancers in tight, waist-hugging dance costumes appeared in front of everyone.

The two dancers danced to the sounds of the xiao and pipa from Qiuci. Their dance moves were sometimes graceful and elegant, and sometimes bright, agile, unrestrained and cheerful.

When dancing, her sleeves may either hang low and flutter, or she may raise her arms and fold her sleeves. Her eyes are charming and her waist is captivating.

Li Longji listened to the music, watched the dance, and nodded his head in ecstasy. After a while, he asked Li Heng, "Shi Ba Lang, does this dance have a name?"

Yang Yuhuan had already given this dance a name, but Li Heng did not say it directly. Instead, he said, "I am waiting for my father to give it a name."

Li Longji said happily: "Great! This dance has the Hu Xuan style of the Hu people and the soft dance style of the Han people. It looks like a Zhezhi. How about calling it "Bending the Zhezhi"? "

Hearing Li Longji explain the secret of this dance, Li Heng exclaimed in his heart: "He is indeed a famous art lover!"

Li Ying thought to himself and said respectfully: "The name given by my father is not only nice to hear, but also speaks out the true meaning. There is nothing more suitable than this in the world."

Li Longji smiled and said, "The key is that this dance is well choreographed. It has removed some of the barbarism, but has retained its charm and has incorporated the strengths of Central Plains dance. This kind of choreography cannot be done even by ordinary dancers, and it is something that only famous dancers can do."

Li Longji praised the choreographer greatly, but Li Heng felt uncomfortable no matter how he listened to it. He could only suppress his dissatisfaction and said with a smile: "Thank you for the praise, father."

Li Longji said: "You are thoughtful, so I will reward you."

After Li Longji finished admiring the calligraphy, Gao Lishi walked in with a memorial and presented it to Li Longji.

Li Longji pretended to take a look, waited for the dance to end, and said to everyone: "Today is a happy day, I don't intend to deal with official business, but the people involved in this matter are all here, why not tell them."

As he spoke, he handed the memorial to Gao Lishi and motioned him to show it to everyone else.

Li Linfu's mood did not change much after reading the memorial. Zhang Jiuling was stunned after reading it. Niu Xianke hurriedly stood up after reading it, knelt down and said, "Saint, I...I...am innocent!"

Niu Xianke believes that he has come this far through his merits, has done nothing wrong, and has a decent character.

He felt that he was an honest man, so how could he be impeached for no reason? He wanted to defend himself.

However, Zhou Ziliang impeached him on the grounds that he was illiterate and incompetent, unqualified to be a prime minister, resulting in him being a figurehead, which made him at a loss for words.

So he hesitated for a long time and just said the word "not guilty", and couldn't say anything else.

　Regarding Li Longji's motivation for building the Ten Kings' Residences and the Hundred Grandsons' Courtyard, in addition to confinement, there are many other reasons, such as the imperial examination system led to the court being full of talented people who could govern the local areas, for example, some princes previously did not want to go abroad and stayed in the palace, which led to some scandals, for example, most of the princes who had gone abroad before behaved recklessly in the local areas, etc. I mainly refer to Chen Liping's "Research on the Royal Family in the Tang Dynasty".

　　As for the dispute between Li Linfu and Zhang Jiuling for the position of prime minister, there are many literatures on the research and the materials I referred to are quite diverse.

　　If you are interested, you can join the group to discuss. Group number: 826898620.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)