After dinner, Wan'er assigned two eunuchs to lead Meimei and Lin Runan out of Kunning Palace. They wandered around the palace until they reached a large courtyard, where they saw Li Qiuge and Su Yulang. Meimei looked around but couldn't find Su Yunu. Li Qiuge said:
"Yu Nu has caught an epidemic disease and is lying in bed. If she could hold on, she would come!"
Meimei said hurriedly: "If she is sick, she should just rest. Why force her to come? But if she is not here, no one can be the main dancer!"
Lin Runan said: "Then you go up!"
Li Qiuge nodded: "We have selected the best string music and accompanying dancers, and the young master will personally be the main dancer, so there is no room for error!"
Meimei smiled and said, "No problem! Check and tune all the instruments, and practice some more while you can!"
At night, a bright moon rises slowly from the east, casting pure and soft light. The Fengyi Terrace in the Imperial Garden is surrounded by seats. Princes, nobles, high-ranking officials and talented people sit below the throne like stars surrounding the moon. The night breeze blows, and the aroma of wine and flowers mixes together and drifts everywhere. Even if the person is not drunk, the heart is intoxicated.
The Empress was not feeling well and could not attend the moon-viewing banquet, but the Emperor could not be left alone, so Concubine Li and Concubine Le sat on his left and right, along with a dozen or so invited concubines who sat a little further away.
The Queen Mother was also invited. Next to her sat Concubine Chen, who served her wine, tea and fruits from time to time. The Queen Mother was smiling and seemed very happy.
The emperor raised his glass and chatted and drank with his ministers. When the glass was empty, Concubine Li and Concubine Le filled it up. When the ministers toasted and the emperor was drunk, he smiled and passed the glass aside. Concubine Li took it and drank it. It didn't matter if Concubine Li got drunk tonight, but Concubine Le could not get drunk.
The dancers from Takagi Kingdom came up to perform songs and dances. A dozen women in brightly colored clothes held two flowery fans and danced for a long time. With just a few movements, the music was melodious and pleasant, very pleasant to listen to. Especially the Yaoqin played by the prince of Takagi Kingdom himself, which was melodious, ethereal, gentle and graceful, successfully creating a pure and selfless mood, which was fascinating.
The prince recited several poems to the moon, expressing his homesickness and praising the beauty of the moon. The talented people at the banquet praised the prince of Gaomu Kingdom, saying that he was of great talent and literary talent. Then they each displayed their extraordinary talents and spoke eloquently, reciting poems about the moon one after another, each one more gorgeous than the last, and each sentence more beautiful than the last. The prince of Gaomu Kingdom didn't even have time to blink after listening to them. He now understood what it meant to be lifted up and then thrown down hard.
Meimei and her band were arranged to sit in an inconspicuous corner, listening carefully to people reciting poems and verses. In her opinion, no matter it was the prince of Takagi Kingdom or the talented people of this dynasty, each of them was as sour as could not be more so. The poems praising the moon recited, although the words and sentences were gorgeous, were suspected of piling up. These people probably didn't know Li Bai or Su Shi, these two great talents were masters in chanting about the moon, they could learn from them!
After the poem competition, it was the turn of the beauties of this dynasty to dance and sing. The string music started, but no one came on stage. Meimei was a little sleepy, but Lin Runan was still energetic. Meimei leaned on Lin Runan's shoulder, but saw Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi not far away. Huh! They came to join in the fun too
The ancients also had a crazy nightlife. Even when the moon was at its zenith, they were still urging each other to drink and clinking glasses. If the food on the table got cold, someone would replace it with hot food, and no one would show tiredness on their face.
The emperor above did not look abnormal, but he was extremely resentful in his heart. The two concubines around him behaved abnormally. Concubine Le, who was supposed to be relied on for an important task, saw that the emperor smiled at Concubine Li a few more times, and she was so angry that she rushed to drink for the emperor. As a result, she did not get drunk, but her legs were so weak that she could not stand up, and she could not sit steadily. She could not dance. Concubine Li, who drank a lot of wine, was not drunk either, and sat upright, but she could not dance!
Now is not the time to be angry. The emperor glared at Ji Qing and said that he had to find someone to replace Lepin, otherwise he would make a fool of himself and lose face in front of the prince of Gaomu! He said that he would compose a new song and dance to praise the moon, how could he break his promise!
The successor appeared, Liu Cairen, who wrote new lyrics and choreographed the song and dance with Lepin.
Cairen Liu was very talented. She was the daughter of a prominent family in the capital and a noble household. She had also learned singing and dancing. However, her figure was not as graceful as Concubine Le's, and when they danced the same dance, the Emperor only liked to watch Concubine Le. This was a big blow to her, and she gradually stopped dancing. Unexpectedly, she would have the opportunity to show off her dancing skills again tonight.
Liu Cairen's dancing was mediocre and disappointing. Prince Gaomu praised her politely, spoke a few words to the officials of his dynasty who were accompanying her, then turned to talk to the people in his own delegation, smiling with great pride.
The emperor's face darkened and he winked at Ji Qing, saying, "There are many outstanding singers and dancers in the palace, so bring in a few fresh and good-looking ones!"
Ji Qing went down, and soon came back up, playing: "The maids in the Queen's palace occasionally came up with beautiful poems about the moon, and also composed a dance music. I would like to present it to you. Please appreciate and comment on it, Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, His Royal Highness the Prince of Gaomu, and all the adults!"
The emperor was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded: "Okay! Perform it immediately!"
As soon as he finished speaking, several figures flew past on the field, and a large sky-blue curtain covered the place where Meimei and the others were sitting. In just two or three minutes, the curtain was pulled open, and people saw a scene with a fantastic and fresh layout, like a fairyland. The moon was bright in the sky, and the silver light was like a gauze. In the distance, the rockery, flowers, trees, pavilions and towers were like a dream. In the nearby clear water pool, there seemed to be a faint smoke rising. On the green grass, eight graceful women in white danced lightly. The sound of string music was ethereal and soft, slowly floating from a distance, gradually approaching, lingering in the ears, so beautiful that it made people dare not breathe.
Prince Gaomu couldn't help himself and stood up suddenly. He almost walked over, but was stopped by the envoy next to him. He realized his mistake and bowed to the emperor to apologize. The emperor gestured for him to sit down, a satisfied smile appeared on his face, and he said to Concubine Li:
"Only the Queen can understand my thoughts best. This is what I want!"
Concubine Li fed the emperor a sweet fruit and smiled gently, "Your Majesty, please eat this. This fruit helps you get rid of alcohol. The Empress asked me to persuade you to eat it more often! The Empress is wise and virtuous, and we are stupid and cannot compare to her!"
Lepin, who was standing by, leaned against the emperor and said in a long voice, "Your Majesty, why don't they dance on the stage? Why on the grass?"
The emperor pushed her away and said, "Sit down, Concubine Le. The envoy is watching us!"
Concubine Li sighed softly, "Lepin is really something. She doesn't even know how much alcohol she can drink. If she can't drink it, she shouldn't fight for it. She's getting even more drunk!"
He ordered the eunuchs and palace maids beside him: "Don't let Concubine Le lose her composure in public, help her down!"
The palace maids came up to help her, but Concubine Le refused to leave. Concubine Li came over and tried to persuade her softly, but Concubine Le grabbed her sleeve and couldn't pull it free. She was anxious and angry, and with a stern face she signaled the eunuchs and palace maids to come up together. The emperor focused his attention on singing and dancing, and ignored the two women around him. Concubine Le was eventually sent away by Concubine Li.
The beautiful string music is clear and far-reaching, and the graceful and beautiful singing voice penetrates the night sky, which is pleasant to the ears and intoxicating. The moon-themed poems are beautiful and meaningful, just like a fresh and magnificent painting in front of your eyes, which is full of emotion and charm, making you forget yourself:
When will the bright moon appear? I raise my wine glass and ask the sky.
I don't know what year it is in the palace of heaven.
I want to ride the wind and go back, but I am afraid that the jade buildings and jade palaces will be ruined.
It's lonely at the top.
Dancing with shadows, it seems like I am not in the human world!
Turn around the red pavilion, lower the beautiful window, and shine on the sleepless.
There should be no hatred, why does the moon always appear full when we are parting
People have joys and sorrows, separations and reunions, the moon waxes and wanes,
This has always been difficult to achieve.
I wish you a long life, and we can enjoy the beauty of the moon together even though we are thousands miles apart.
The singing came from a woman behind a jade harp. She was pushing the harp and slowly standing up. She was wearing a snow-white satin dress that wrapped around her slender and voluptuous figure. She was dancing lightly with her skirt fluttering in the wind like a fairy descending to earth. She had her hair done in a double flying bun and a thin, long veil covering her head. Her gold and pearl hairpins were shining brightly, and her gorgeous face was faintly visible under the veil. She was truly like a fairy with a peerless beauty. One could only admire her from afar and not get close. After the singing and dancing, the string music stopped, and the dancers surrounded the masked woman and scattered into the flowers, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Everyone woke up from their beautiful state of mind. Before the busybodies could suggest that the dancers come forward to ask for rewards, a young man in brocade robe and embroidered clothes walked out from the banquet. He was tall and handsome, with a ribbon on his forehead. He bowed to the emperor, turned around, picked up the wooden hammer in front of a multi-sided drum, and struck it with a bang. Another piece of music followed. This time, the dancers on the stage were all young and handsome men. When Meimei and Li Qiuge choreographed this sword dance, they only wrote the music but not the lyrics. It was the majestic and domineering, yet heart-wrenching "The World".
The singing and dancing stopped again, but everyone on the field was still immersed in it. Prince Takagi was completely stunned. No matter it was the beautiful, graceful and soft dance to praise the moon, or the masculine and breathtaking sword dance, they all made him feel like crying. He sat on the seat in a daze, unable to speak for a long time.
The Emperor looked at the Prince of Qi who had disappeared into the crowd, his expression changing unpredictably. The Empress Dowager's eyes were a little blurry, so she asked the Emperor:
"Is that child the King of Qi?"
The emperor smiled and said, "It was far away, so my son couldn't see it clearly!"
The Queen Mother said: "Alas, this sword dance is beautiful, but it is too fast, you come and I go, I didn't even see it clearly!"
"Do you want to see it again, mother?"
The emperor asked with a smile, and the queen mother shook her head: "Forget it, watching them dance around makes my eyes blurry! The dance of praising the moon in front is really good, and the girl is not bad, she really looks like Chang'e from the Moon Palace. I remember all the outstanding singing and dancing girls in the palace, why don't I seem to have seen this one? And they are far away, one dance follows another, and I didn't have time to ask her to watch. My son, why don't you let them come up now, and I will give her a reward!"
The emperor smiled and said, "It's late at night, and the princes of Gaomu Kingdom are so tired. I will reward them together tomorrow!"
The woman stood up from behind the zither and began to dance. He became suspicious. He sang again and recognized that it was not Qin Meimei. Who else could it be
Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi said that Meimei's cyclamen has string music and dance, which is as beautiful as fairy music. The queen sent the music and dance just to add icing on the cake, but unexpectedly it saved the day. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)