Li Mushu did not use his official status to put pressure on others. He calmly discussed literary matters with Yin Zhaoxian, which reduced a lot of nervousness and also allowed him to reveal some of his ambitions and ideals.
Some things did sound a bit naive to Li Mushu, but Yin Zhaoxian was not a dreamer like other young people. Instead, he had his own set of ideas, policies and principles. It was just that they did not have much of a relationship so they only talked briefly about it, but it still allowed Li Mushu to get a glimpse of him.
"If Yin Jieyuan wants to realize his ambitions, he must live in a prosperous and flourishing world!"
Li Mushu sighed.
"Yin thinks that although the current Dazhen may not be as prosperous as the two words "golden age", it is also prosperous. If the people are strong, the country will be rich. If the country is rich and the people benefit, the people will be safe. This is a way of complementing each other."
Yin Zhaoxian gave a polite explanation but did not go into detail.
The two of them were chatting over tea in an elegant seat in the side hall. The servants were busy with the banquet in the palace and did not hinder them. When it started to get dark, some of the King of Jin's other confidants or friends arrived one after another. Sometimes Li Mushu would take Yin Zhaoxian to greet them.
As it got dark, the temperature continued to drop. Li Mushu was old after all, and he was shivering in the side hall, so he suggested that Yin Zhaoxian move together.
"Yin Jieyuan, why don't we go to the banquet hall? There are heaters, hot water, and carpets on the floor. It's much warmer than here!"
"Well, the prince hasn't come back yet, so we're going to the banquet hall?"
Yin Zhaoxian hesitated.
"Hehehe... Yin Jieyuan, relax. We are not holding the banquet in advance. Besides, many guests may have already arrived. They are all nobles. Who would want to suffer in this cold weather?"
'I am not a rich man.'
Yin Zhaoxian complained in his heart and followed Li Mushu to the banquet hall.
This could indeed be considered a family banquet at the palace. Some of Prince Jin's friends came with their families, and there was not much solemnity. The banquet was held in a large hall behind the courtyard of Prince Jin's palace. There were four or five round tables inside instead of individual tables. It was more like a New Year's Eve banquet in ordinary people's homes.
In addition to the round table, there are heaters in the four corners of the house that are tended by dedicated staff. When the door is closed, only a small ventilation hole is left, making the house very warm.
Apart from that, there was not much space left in front of the banquet table, at least not enough for large-scale singing and dancing performances, but it was enough for a few maids to sing along with the zither, pipa and strings.
When Li Mushu and Yin Zhaoxian entered the banquet hall through the side door with a thick cotton curtain, they immediately felt a surge of heat, which washed away the coldness in their bodies.
"Hahaha...Master Li!" "Master Li is here!"
"We have already enjoyed it here." "Just now I was thinking that Mr. Li is so afraid of the cold, why hasn't he come yet?"
"Hehe, I'm too old to stand the cold. If I hadn't found a quiet place with Yin Jieyuan to exchange poetry and literature, I would have come here a long time ago. Come on, let me introduce someone to you. He is the great talent of the time, Jieyuan of Jizhou..."
…
Seeing Li Mushu coming, the guests who had been staying in the hall to avoid the cold greeted him one after another. Yin Zhaoxian originally just wanted to be invisible, but Li Mushu obviously did not let him go and made him the center of attention after an introduction.
Ji Yuan and Lao Long had already stepped into the side hall and stood in the corner observing the layout here.
"Mr. Ying, your water palace is magnificent and bright, but it is an underwater palace after all. Soaking in the water on a cold day is not as comfortable as this place."
Ji Yuan made a joke with a chuckle and Lao Long curled his lips.
"The water palace has a constant temperature all year round, corals and pearls are dotted like stars, and there are enchanting beauties dancing to the chords of heavenly music. Here, hum, hum, it's far from it!"
Warmth, warmth, you don’t understand the feeling of warmth, brother!
As Lao Long spoke, he stretched out his hand and a pot of wine on the table along with two cups flew to the corner where he and Ji Yuan were, while the others were unaware of it.
Two glasses of wine were poured. The wine was bright yellow in color and had a very pleasant aroma.
"Is this the Jinyu wine from Gyeonggi Prefecture?"
Ji Yuan took the cup handed to him by Lao Long, and they drank from it together, tasting the flavor.
"Tsk, it's still not as good as Thousand Days Spring, not to mention Ambergris."
"It's considered acceptable among ordinary wines."
Lao Long tasted the wine and put it aside, and finally a servant on the other side noticed that there was less wine on the table.
"Oops, there's still a pot missing!" "Fill it in quickly!"
Yin Zhaoxian on the other side was not as reserved as before. After all, they were talking about their own experiences and some poems and songs.
"His Majesty has arrived~~~~"
Suddenly, the high-pitched voice of a palace eunuch was heard outside, and the originally lively banquet hall suddenly became quiet. Yin Zhaoxian even got goose bumps physiologically.
"Your Majesty?" "Your Majesty has come to the Prince Jin's Mansion?"
"Isn't His Majesty with King Wu tonight?" "This..."
"Just be patient, just be patient!"
Li Mushu acted more like a manager at this moment, asking everyone to remain calm, and then he told Yin Zhaoxian who was standing beside him:
"It's unusual to meet you, so even at a family dinner, we can't go beyond the rules of etiquette. Apart from the formalities, Yin Jieyuan should just keep quiet as much as possible."
"I save it!"
Yin Zhaoxian would rather be an invisible person.
Ji Yuan and Lao Long looked at each other. This was interesting. The emperor suddenly came to his third son's house
"Let's go, open the door and welcome His Majesty!"
The door to the banquet hall was opened, and a gust of cold wind instantly blew in. The guests and servants went out and stood on both sides of the door to greet them.
As the footsteps outside approached, everyone in the banquet hall, from the guests to the servants, became visibly nervous and even uneasy.
This was also the first time that Ji Yuan saw the current Emperor Dazhen. He had a face of about fifty years old, a slightly plump figure, and was wearing a yellow robe and a rolling cloud crown. He was followed by a concubine, one was the current queen and the other was the biological mother of Prince Jin, Concubine Ren. Prince Jin was a few steps behind, following closely beside him.
From Ji Yuan's perspective, the Prince of Jin's expression could not be described as good or bad, just a little weird and awkward.
"Welcome to His Majesty!"
Everyone bowed and welcomed him in unison. Unless it offended the emperor, Dazhen would not have to kneel when meeting the "Son of Heaven".
"Okay, come in, I just want to have a meal."
The emperor waved away the many attendants beside him, and everyone followed him into the hall. Then they closed the door, and because there were so many people and the heater, the banquet hall became warm again in a short while.
Emperor Dazhen was sitting on the main seat and rubbing his hands just now, and now he took off his coat.
"It's still more comfortable here, third brother. Look at the layout, it feels like home."
The banquet hall has velvet on the floor and walls, so it’s warm even just looking at it, not to mention being there.
"What are you all standing for? Sit down, sit down. Aren't we going to eat? Third brother, when will the banquet start?"
"When my father arrives, of course we'll start the banquet right away."
"Why don't you hurry up? Your father and your two mothers are hungry!"
The noble lady also winked at Prince Jin, who quickly stretched out his hands in all directions and gave orders to his attendants.
"Everyone, please take your seats. This is a family dinner. Father is now the head of the family. Don't be shy. Tell the kitchen staff to start the dinner."
The Emperor also smiled at what Prince Jin said.
"Oh, by the way, father, I don't have too many singing and dancing here. Let's listen to a story. I specially invited a famous storyteller from the capital to tell the story. This person has many stories in his mind and is good at ventriloquism. When he tells the story, he is very interesting with his voice and emotions!"
"Oh? Not bad, not bad, quite innovative. I knew this would be interesting. Hahahahaha..."
The two concubines also smiled apologetically, and the guests also relaxed a lot.
Then the banquet began, and steaming dishes were brought in from the side door. There was actually a buffer compartment over there with cotton curtains on both sides to prevent the cold wind from blowing directly into the banquet hall.
Soon the table was filled with delicious food and wine. In the small space in front, maids came in with zithers, pipa and other musical instruments, and servants brought in screens, tables, desks, stools and chairs.
The maid played slowly, and the storyteller had already sat down at the table behind the screen.
Unlike ordinary storytelling, using a screen allows him to express himself more freely and his ventriloquism skills to be more vivid.
The emperor was obviously not interested in an unknown person like Yin Zhaoxian, or in other words, he was not interested in anyone he knew who was present.
With hot soup, hot rice, and fine wine, plus the storyteller starting to talk, the atmosphere at the dinner table became lively. However, compared to other places, it was less noisy and more engaging to listen to the story.
This skill of ventriloquism was the first time Ji Yuan had heard of it in his two lifetimes. There was clearly only one person behind the screen, but the sounds that came out were all kinds of strange, from children to old men, from chickens and dogs to wolves and eagles. All the sounds were extremely realistic, making the story he told extremely "realistic".
Ji Yuan and Lao Long even walked closer to the screen and took a look, confirming that there was only one person there.
On the other side, everyone from the emperor to Yin Zhaoxian and the servants who accompanied him were listening attentively. Even the maid who played the chords in harmony with the storyteller's plot had her tone mixed with the emotion of being attracted by the story.
New Year's Eve is not a suitable time to talk about fighting, killing, grudges and love. The storyteller prepared "Journey to the Dragon Palace in the Legend of Immortals". The strange and bizarre story is particularly fascinating.
When he was talking about one of the passages, the wake-up stick suddenly slammed on the table.
"That talented scholar couldn't resist his greed after all, and stole a precious pearl from the Dragon Palace while he was going to the toilet. The Dragon King naturally knew about it, and although he didn't say anything, he looked down on him and was no longer as enthusiastic as before. He sent him back to the county after dawn, and never invited this scholar Qian again!"
"Although this scholar used the pearl to gain temporary wealth, he gradually squandered his family fortune in his enjoyment, and after neglecting his studies, his talent and talent were gone, and he became very miserable in his later years..."
The music played by the maids also became more sad at this time.
After the story was told, perhaps because the storyteller's skills were so superb, the emperor was unexpectedly fascinated by it. He walked to the screen with a wine pot in hand, ordered the screen to be removed and a chair to be placed next to it, and asked questions about the gods again and again.
The storytellers did not dare to disobey the emperor's will and could only try their best to satisfy the emperor's curiosity. They racked their brains to answer questions about everything from fairy mountains and scenic spots to rivers and dragon palaces, and also told as many folk legends as possible about gods and goddesses.
Ji Yuan and Lao Long were standing at the banquet table closest to the edge, taking a bite of food with chopsticks from time to time. Looking at the old emperor who was persistent in questioning this talented storyteller, Ji Yuan smiled with a hint of sarcasm.
"It's a pity that the seat in front of me is empty at midnight, and I don't ask about the common people, but about ghosts and gods."