The night was dark and silent.
While Emperor Jiajing was reading the poems, the authors of these poems were also keeping alert in the duty room of the Western Garden Cabinet. If Emperor Jiajing was still awake, who would dare to sleep? They had not received any response to the poems they had submitted.
This lodge was specially used by ministers and officials who were good at writing Qingci. Whenever Emperor Jiajing issued an order to present Qingci, these ministers would come to this lodge. It was close to Emperor Jiajing, which made it convenient for them to present Qingci. If Emperor Jiajing was not satisfied with the Qingci they presented, they would work overtime here to revise or re-write Qingci, saving travel time.
The Qingci Lodge is not large and the conditions are rather simple, with only simple tables and chairs and other practical furnishings, but the people sitting inside are some of the most powerful people in the entire Ming Dynasty.
At this moment, there were ten ministers in the house, including cabinet ministers Yan Song, Li Ben, Xu Jie and others, as well as Li Chunfang, Yuan Wei, Yan Ne, Guo Pu and others who were good at writing Qingci.
Since they received the order from the palace to present the Qingci at noon, whether they were in the yamen or at home, they rushed here to finish the Qingci, or came here as soon as possible to finish working on the Qingci, and then presented the written Qingci to Emperor Jiajing.
I submitted the poem early in the afternoon, but I haven't received a reply yet. It's already late at night, and there's still no news from the palace.
Is it good
Is it bad
Is His Majesty satisfied or not
They didn't know the emperor's attitude, but there was no letter from the palace at this time, so they were all a little uneasy.
They all knew the reason for writing the Qingci today. Emperor Jiajing's beloved cat, General Huwei, died. Emperor Jiajing was in a very bad mood. Not only could he not eat, but it was said that he even refused to take the newly-made elixir by Master Tao.
This has never happened before, which shows how bad Emperor Jiajing's mood was.
Living with the emperor is like living with a tiger
Jun Hu was unhappy today, so they naturally had to be more careful. The Qingci they presented to commemorate General Hu Wei had not received a reply yet, and just now Lord Yan asked a eunuch to inquire about it, and heard that the emperor had not eaten yet.
Although they have been writing Qingci for Emperor Jiajing for more than a year or two, and although they are confident in their Qingci works today, the above situations show that they are not optimistic. How can they not be nervous
Of course, this is not the case for everyone.
Elder Yan sat in the first seat, his face calm, holding a cup of tea and sipping it calmly, without any worry. This calm demeanor was much stronger than that of everyone else in the room. Of course, he had a reason to be calm. Today's Qingci was written by his son Yan Shifan. When Yan Song read it during the re-recording, he thought it was better than usual and was an excellent Qingci.
Yan Song was very confident that Yan Shifan could write Qingci. Yan Shifan had written Qingci for him more than once or twice, and Yan Shifan's Qingci had been praised by Emperor Jiajing more than once or twice.
Why let Yan Shifan write Qingci
It’s not that Yan Song can’t write Qingci. Yan Song gained the emperor’s favor by writing Qingci. How could he not write Qingci? It’s just that he has grown older in recent years, his talent is not as good as before, and his Qingci skills have also declined.
About three years ago, Yan Song found that his Qingci was not as good as in previous years. Emperor Jiajing was somewhat dissatisfied with his Qingci. At the same time, people who were good at writing Qingci, such as Li Chunfang, Yan Ne and Yuan Wei, also began to emerge.
No one knows the importance of Qingci better than Yan Song.
Yan Song was extremely worried about the decline of his Qingci skills, but there is always a way out. Once when Emperor Jiajing asked Yan Song to present Qingci again, Yan Song accidentally discovered a Qingci by Yan Shifan. He was so amazed by it that he presented it to Emperor Jiajing in his own name and received praise from the emperor.
From then on, most of Yan Song's ci were written by Yan Shifan, and Yan Shifan did not disappoint Yan Song. The ci he wrote were even more praised by Emperor Jiajing than Yan Song's during his heyday. Thanks to Yan Shifan's ghostwriting, Yan Song continued to enjoy the emperor's favor.
Yan Shifan was a genius, and his talent for Qingci was even better than Yan Song's. Yan Song himself had to admit that even in his prime, his Qingci were not as good as those of the boy in Donglou.
Today's Qingci was written by Yan Shifan, so why would Yan Song be worried
The person below Yan Song was Li Ben, who looked worried. Perhaps because he was old, he could not stand the night, so he ate several haha ...
Xu Jie was a newly appointed Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. He sat below Li Ben and poured tea for Yan Song and Li Ben from time to time. He did not consider himself a cabinet minister at all and did not even ask anyone to help him with small tasks such as serving tea and pouring water.
Li Chunfang, Guo Pu and others were still lacking in energy cultivation, chatting absentmindedly, looking out the door and window from time to time... ...
Yuan Wei was probably the one with the most relaxed expression among them. He glanced at Li Chunfang, Guo Pu and others with a disdainful smile and looked down upon their performance.
Yuan Wei is confident. He has the capital to be confident. Although his official position is almost the lowest among everyone, when it comes to Qingci, he, Yuan Wei, has never been afraid of anyone.
Fasting, temples, sacrifices... ...
Every time the emperor needed a poem, it was the stage for me, Yuan Wei, to perform. I was quick-witted, had a brilliant pen, and could compose a poem in seven steps... I couldn't remember how many times Emperor Jiajing praised me.
Not to mention
"The first turtle in Luoshui offered auspiciousness. Nine is a yin number and nine is a yang number. Ninety-nine equals eighty-one. Numbers are connected to the Tao. The Tao is in harmony with Yuanshi Tianzun. One sincerity can move. The two phoenixes in Qishan presented auspiciousness. The male chirped six times and the female chirped six times. Sixty-six chirps are thirty-six times. The sounds were heard in the sky. The Emperor Jiajing was born. May he live forever."
This is the poem that was framed and hung in the emperor's palace!
This is His Majesty's favorite Qingci, no doubt about it! This is what His Majesty said himself.
I dare not say anything else, but when it comes to Qingci, among the ministers on duty today, Yuan Wei is very confident about his Qingci.
Da da da...
A series of light footsteps sounded outside the guardhouse.
Everyone looked up and couldn't help but get excited. A young eunuch appeared in their sight.
"After reading the poems of the gentlemen, Your Majesty is ready to eat..."
The eunuch brought a message and then hurried away again because he had other things to do.
After hearing the news, the worried atmosphere in the duty room disappeared and everyone could finally put their minds at ease. In just a moment, worry turned into joy.
Although this eunuch only came to deliver a private message, not an official one, the facts were unmistakable. After His Majesty read the Qingci, he began to eat. Doesn't that mean that these Qingci made His Majesty very satisfied
You know, Your Majesty has not eaten since noon, so there is no need to explain the significance of this Qingci.
Rewards come second
What everyone values most is the appreciation of Emperor Jiajing.