It was widely rumored in the capital that the governor of Heshuo was as handsome as a diamond and as ugly as a plain woman. He kept seventy or eighty concubines in his mansion to supplement his yang and yin. Some young men from the music school were selected to serve Xiao Ling, and each of them looked as miserable as if they had lost their parents.
When he saw General Xiao's true appearance at this time, he realized that all those rumors were false. General Xiao was clearly a stunning beauty. Not only were her features as pretty as a painting, and her radiant beauty, but her every move also had the grace of a hermit, making her more heroic than other girls in the boudoir.
The young man was originally afraid that he would be chosen by General Xiao to be taken back for love, but now he was afraid that she would not choose him - being taken for love by such a beauty would make his life worthwhile.
They all put their best efforts into playing the pipa, harp, drum, flute and zither, singing long songs, sword dancing and Hu xuan... eighteen kinds of martial arts were performed one after another.
These young men in the music school were already extremely handsome and talented, and they put in all their efforts to perform, so their singing and dancing were naturally splendid. The eyes were dazzled, and they had no time to eat or drink the wine, but only held their wine glasses and stared at the dance.
The Minister of Rites was secretly pleased with himself, for there was no one, male or female, who did not admire young girls and love lust.
He stroked the tip of his braid and said with a smile: "The customs of the Hu people in Hebei are very strong. General, you are not as ignorant as me. I am just showing off my skills in front of an expert."
At this time, seven or eight young Hu people were dancing the Huxuan dance on the dance mat. With their whirling steps, the gold and silver mud, gold embroidery, and colored glaze and crystal beads on their clothes flickered in the lamplight, which was dazzling.
All the young men were excellent dancers with graceful movements. They moved quickly on the tiptoes of the Xuanzhou red silk dance mat, and their bodies spun faster and faster as if they were about to take off.
As he spun, he took off his brocade painted half-arm, raised his arm high in the air and swung it, spinning it into a colorful flower.
Following the sound of a 羯鼓, everyone threw their brocade half-arms into the air, suddenly stopped spinning, and bowed in unison towards the seats of the guests of honor.
It takes extremely high skills to suddenly stop the rapid rotation, and Sui Sui couldn't help but cheer.
The young man stopped after performing the ceremony. Sui Sui noticed that the clothes under his brocade half-sleeves were made of thin and transparent silk, and were tight between his body, and the lines of the lining were clearly visible.
Cheng Zheng had never seen such a scene before. He was suddenly choked by a mouthful of wine. He covered his mouth with his sleeve and coughed continuously. He glanced at General Xiao beside him, but saw that she looked normal with a smile on her lips, and seemed to appreciate him very much. He couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
Huan Xuan at the top was more than just disappointed. He stared at General Xiao's face without blinking, as if he wanted to stare a hole through her.
Sui Sui said to the Minister of Rites: "I have never seen such a skilled Huxuan dance in my life. Chang'an is indeed a place where talents gather."
The Minister of Rites smiled with a frown on his face: "Excuse me, General."
He paused and said, "These are just trifles, not worthy of your general's attention. There will be a sword dance later, which is quite interesting and may be able to entertain the guests."
He smiled at the King of Qi as if to seek credit, raised his hands, and clapped slowly.
The young man dancing the Huxuan dance bowed and retreated quietly.
The sound of the 羯鼓 started again, and two young men came with long swords on their backs, following the beat of the drums. One of them was wearing a black outfit, showing his broad shoulders and narrow waist, and the other was wearing a white outfit, but his robe was wide and fluttering, which was quite reminiscent of the Wei and Jin dynasties.
When they got closer, Sui Sui discovered that the two boys looked exactly the same; they were actually twin brothers.
As soon as this person appeared, those handsome young men suddenly looked pale and gloomy.
He is not only extremely handsome, but also has an extraordinary bearing. He is as cold as a knife in black and as gentle as jade in white. He draws the long sword on his back and leaps and dances to the beat of the drum. He is as graceful as a startled swan and as swimming as a dragon. He is both hard and soft, and so is his swordsmanship. For a moment, one can only see the sword lights entwined, like white rainbows and lightning, like dancing silk.
Everyone was concentrating and holding their breath, and they didn't come back to their senses until the dance was over.
The 羯鼓 roared, and everything fell silent. The whole hall was completely silent, and then there was a burst of applause.
The young man sheathed his sword, walked up to General Xiao, knelt on his knees, and held the sword high in his hand.
Sui Sui discovered that the pair of male and female swords were also priceless swords.
The Minister of Rites said with a smile: "The sword is given to a hero."
After a pause, he said, "Your Majesty has heard that General Xiao does not like gold and jade hairpins, but only loves famous swords and sabers. Therefore, I have specially given you a pair of swords. The female sword is named Qingshuang, and the male sword is named Zidian. Please accept them, General Xiao."
Sui Sui bowed in the direction of the palace and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your generous reward."
She knew the origins of all the famous swords in the world. She could tell the details of a sword just by hearing its name. It turned out that the sword was originally hidden in the Palace of Chen Dynasty. Its whereabouts were unknown after the fall of the Chen Dynasty, and it turned out that it had flowed into the palace.
Her eyes fell on the young couple. Their temperaments were completely different, but there was the same arrogance between their brows, which was completely different from those fawning and seductive girls.
The Minister of Rites asked, "Why don't you serve wine to the general?"
A trace of humiliation flashed across the eyes of the young man in white. He pursed his lips, rolled up his sleeves silently, picked up the wine pot, poured wine into the Sui Sui cup, then held up the wine cup and said softly, "I wish the general eternal blessings."
Sui Sui took the wine glass and asked him, "What's your name?"
The young man in white said, "My surname is Chen, and Qingshuang is my name."
It is easy to know that he is most likely of royal bloodline, who fell into the teaching house after the fall of the country.
She glanced at the young man in black again: "Who is older than you?"
The young man in black had a smug look on his face, and the young man in white hurriedly said, "I am your elder brother."
Sui Sui nodded slightly: "Okay, you dance well."
He turned to his attendant and said, "Give me a reward."
The attendants brought the rewards, and Sui Sui personally took a pair of jade disks from the golden plate and gave one to each of the people.
The Minister of Rites said, "I am grateful that General Yu has not abandoned us. Please allow these two servants to serve as your swordsmen."
Before he finished speaking, there was a crisp "clang" sound. It was the King of Qi who suddenly knocked the wine glass heavily on the rosewood dining table. The gilded wine glass collided with the hard wood, making a sound like metal and stone, which scared everyone.
The Minister of Rites looked in the direction of the voice and saw the Prince of Qi's palace sinking like water, with a pair of eyes shooting towards him like sharp arrows.
His heart trembled, and cold sweat broke out on his back. Could it be that he was too enthusiastic and took over the show? After all, it was the King of Qi who was ordered to host the banquet, and he seemed to be overstepping his authority.
But on second thought, it was the King of Qi who had a cold face and ignored people. In order to make the guests happy, he could only stand up reluctantly. Why did he hate him? Did he think that he was unruly to give beauties to women? But those actors were given by the emperor, and the King of Qi knew about it. Why didn't he say it earlier if he was not used to it
The old man scratched his chest, but couldn't figure it out.
General Xiao was the only one indifferent in the whole hall. He just glanced at the main seat indifferently, and his eyes did not even linger on King Qi.
She turned around and bowed to the Minister of Rites, saying, "That's really disrespectful."
The Minister of Rites was afraid that she would refuse, but he didn't expect her to accept it so readily. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: "My two sons are naughty, thank you General Xiao for not abandoning them."
The assistant minister of the Ministry of War also laughed and said, "General Xiao is a straightforward person."
Sui Sui smiled slightly and asked the servant to take the young man away.
Cheng Zheng silently clenched the wine glass and stared at the wine in the glass in a trance. When he heard that the young man's surname was Chen, he guessed that he was related to the royal family of the dynasty. General Xiao probably couldn't bear to see him fall into the music house and entertain people with singing and dancing, so he accepted him, just like she had saved him in Luoyang. But he still felt a little uncomfortable.
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard General Xiao say, "Those young Hu people danced the Hu Xuan dance very well, and the one who played the pipa and the flute was also very skilled. It really opened up the world for us."
The Minister of Rites heard the music and understood its meaning: "It is his great fortune to be favored by the general."
After saying this, he called his subordinate and told him to pack up the musicians and dancers and send them to General Xiao.
She accepted all who came. Some of these young men were handsome, good at dancing, and pleasing to the eye. Only a fool would push them away. Anyway, these young men would not have a worse life with her than in the music school - and the more willingly she accepted them, the more at ease the emperor would be.
General Xiao accepted all the beauties in no time, which was better than he expected. The officials sitting next to him immediately became closer to her. For a while, the guests and hosts were all having a good time, except for His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi, whose face seemed to be covered with a layer of frost. He just drank one cup after another and didn't even eat the food. He just stared at General Xiao's face, as if her face could be used as a drink.
Sui Sui didn't go to see him, but watched the singing and dancing for a while, then turned to whisper a few words with Cheng Zheng, reminding him of some unspoken rules at the banquet. In Huanxuan's house, they were talking and laughing, and they were very close.
Xiao Ling only brought Cheng Zheng to the banquet. Although he was a commoner, he impressed everyone. When the officials came to toast General Xiao, they also toasted him as well.
Sui Sui knew that he had a small capacity, so he raised his hand to block the drink for him and explained, "Mr. Cheng is ill and can't drink much. Please drink for him with the next cup."
That being said, no one dared to force her to drink. They just picked up the wine glass and touched her lips. But even so, someone felt as if a poisonous needle was piercing her heart.
Everyone was drinking so much that they didn't pay attention to the expression of His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi.
Before he knew it, it was already midnight. He glanced at Cheng Zheng and saw that he looked a little distressed. He knew that he could not hold on any longer, so he said to Huan Xuan, "I am not very tolerant of alcohol. Please excuse me for not staying with you for long."
Huan Xuan was watching her every move. When she went to ask Cheng Zheng, he naturally paid attention to her. He said coldly, "General Xiao is too modest. It is well known that General Xiao can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk."
When the Minister of Rites heard this, cold sweat broke out on his forehead. The other party was tired and wanted to leave early, but why did the host stop him? He quickly tried to smooth things over: "Although General Xiao has a huge appetite, he is exhausted after all. He will have to go to the palace to see Your Majesty early tomorrow morning. You must get drunk at the palace banquet tomorrow."
Sui Sui smiled and said, "It's a deal."
After saying this, he stood up, bowed to everyone, and left with Cheng Zheng and his attendants.
Huan Xuan stared straight at General Xiao's back. After she disappeared behind the curtain, he stared at it as if his sight could penetrate it.
After the guests left, the Minister of Rites finally breathed a sigh of relief, took a sip of wine, and said comfortably: "My lips are almost worn out from talking so much."
The assistant minister of the Ministry of War said, "Mr. Song has really made great contributions today."
The Minister of Rites put down his wine glass and stroked his beard with a serious look on his face: "Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission."
The assistant minister of the Ministry of War added: "I didn't expect Xiao Ling to be described as such. Those rumors are really outrageous."
The Minister of Rites said, "Who says she isn't? But her mother, Madam Su, is a beauty, and General Xiao Yan is also a handsome man. It would be strange if his daughter were plain-looking."
"That makes sense, but since it's been spread everywhere, I just believed it," said the Minister of War. "But Xiao Ling is a straightforward person. I thought she would be polite to some extent."
The Minister of Rites said: "It is often said that heroes are often tempted by beauties."
He was chatting idly, but to Huan Xuan, it was like stepping on his heart and doing the Hu Xuan Dance.
He gulped down a glass of wine, and finally could not sit still any longer, so he stood up, said "Excuse me", and walked out the door.
He just couldn't stand the gossip and didn't think about where to go.
He will enter the palace tomorrow. He can go back to the palace or go to Penglai Palace. No matter where he goes, it will be better than staying here.
What was the point of him staying? It was an obvious matter, and asking for clarification would only bring humiliation upon himself.
He walked out while thinking, but his legs were out of control and took him to the backyard.
He was familiar with the layout of the posthouse and found Xiao Ling's courtyard with ease - because he had stayed here when he returned to Beijing from the northwest. It was just that it was late autumn at that time, and now it was severe winter, and the scenery was just as bleak.
The wind and snow had stopped, the sound of the orchestra in the courtyard gradually faded away, and there was silence all around, as if the world had come to a stop.
The only sound was the crunching of his leather boots on the snow.
There was no one guarding the gate of the courtyard, and the guards had gone somewhere. The door was not locked, as if the owner of the house had expected someone to come.
Huan Xuan was about to push the door open and walk in, he raised his hand and suddenly remembered that the first time he had physical contact with Xiao Ling was at Changle Inn.
At that time, he didn't even know her last name. He only knew that she was a hunter's woman. He summoned her to sleep with him in the middle of the night, threw her a thin spring shirt and told her to take a bath. Then he despised her for not being a good enough fake and drove her out.
If he had been nicer to her at the beginning, would she have hesitated a little more when she left
Huan Xuan suddenly lost the confidence to push the door, and his hand in the air fell back to his side.
Just then, the door was pushed open from the inside with a creaky sound.
A figure in white walked out of the door. It was Cheng Zheng.
When Cheng Zheng saw Huan Xuan, he paused involuntarily, with a look of surprise on his face. Then he came to his senses, remembered the difference between people of high rank and low rank, and bowed, saying, "Greetings, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi."
Huan Xuan seemed not to hear. He put aside his previous hesitation. Now he had only one thought in his mind: he wanted to find that heartless woman and ask her clearly.
He crossed the courtyard in three steps.
There were two female guards guarding the door. When they saw him coming up to stop them, one of them said, "Your Highness, please stay. The general has already gone to bed."
The voice sounded familiar. Huan Xuan glanced at her and found that it was the "Lu" he had met in Youzhou.
Huan Xuan sneered: "I want to see Xiao Ling."
Tian Yuerong was about to say something when a familiar voice came from inside the door: "Your Highness, please come in."
Before he finished speaking, Huan Xuan had already pushed open the door.
The room was a little dim, with only a red candle burning beside the couch. Sui Sui had already changed into her pajamas and let her hair down, with her long hair draped over her shoulders, apparently preparing to go to bed.
Seeing him come in, she simply took a coat from the clothes rack, put it on her shoulders, stood up and walked towards him.
The dim candlelight gave her a warm glow, and the sharp breath like a knife blade faded a little, and the figure in the mountain pool courtyard seemed to have returned.
The long-lost fragrance lingered around his body, as if to wrap him up like a cocoon.
He glanced around and his eyes fell on the screen behind the bed.
Sui Sui folded his arms and said to him, "There is no one else in the house, Your Highness, there is no need to look for him."
Huan Xuan withdrew his gaze, pursed his lips and said nothing, feeling a little relieved in his heart.
Sui Sui continued, "If there really is someone who is evil, I don't have to hide him."