Han Xizai called out to the sword master Liu Liuyao.
Everyone looked sideways and saw a young lady wearing a high hat and wide belt coming in with a sword. The young lady named Liu Liuyao was wearing a loose white robe with fluttering belts, and her dress was very elegant; she had her hair in a bun and a high hat on. Her face looked quite heroic, with a straight nose and straight cheeks. Her facial lines were not as round and soft as those of other young ladies, and with her hairstyle and makeup, she was indeed less gentle and more heroic.
In this elegant and gentle atmosphere, the appearance of such a person was somewhat out of place. However, people liked novelty and were paying close attention to her with great interest.
Li Ji, the pipa player and the sister of the deputy envoy of the Imperial Music Bureau, was very fond of this beautiful young lady who looked like a teenager, and immediately asked: "Madam Liu, which song do you want to dance to? I will accompany you."
Liu Liuyao raised his eyebrows and said: Just play the music and I will dance impromptu.
Li Ji smiled and said: Now that you say that, I'm going to play it at random.
I hope to hear good news, Liu Liuyao said provocatively.
Good, good. Everyone cheered as soon as they heard it. Sword dance is also a kind of dance. Usually people choose familiar songs and follow the rhythm. It is not easy to dance freely without messing up the steps.
Han Xizai said: If Li Ji plays the music randomly, it will be difficult for me to beat the drum.
Li Ji bent her knees slightly and chuckled, saying: Mr. Han is too modest.
The servants had already brought the 羯鼓 to the hall. Han Xizai rolled up his wide sleeves and stood in front of the drum with great interest, ready to go. Everyone forgot the soothing and quiet tune just now, and waited with great interest for the more passionate sword dance.
Suddenly, there was a slight clang of the scabbard mechanism, followed by the metallic sound of the sword being unsheathed, which was particularly obvious. Liu Liuyao pulled out a sharp sword and threw the scabbard directly to the ground.
Oh my! The champion Huang Can saw this and his face turned pale. He said in shock, "How can you use such a weapon for sword dancing? It's so dangerous!"
The Doctor of Taichang next to him comforted him: We are at Lord Han's mansion, Lord Han has his own plans, there is no danger at all, Liu Liuyao is probably able to handle it well.
Li Jiaming smiled and said: Mr. Huang is a scholar who reads books of sages, so he is naturally not used to occasions where people wield swords and guns.
Liu Liuyao heard the voices next to him and glanced sideways, revealing a hint of contempt for the young, newly crowned top scholar.
At that time, the sound of the pipa was like pearls falling on a plate. Han Xizai listened carefully to the melody and beat the drum to match it. Liu Liuyao threw his robe and suddenly his posture was elegant, and the sword light slowly shone in the light. The sword dance and the fluttering belt formed a gorgeous visual scene, and people couldn't help but cheer loudly.
Liu Liuyao's posture was light and smooth, which was quite in line with the beauty of dance, but he mainly used swords to stab, stab and wash, with slow and fast matching swordsmanship, and he was quite powerful when he attacked. This was not an ordinary sword dance, but a combination of dance and martial arts. Li Ji's pipa became more and more fast, like a waterfall. Liu Liuyao followed her rhythm, and for a while, the hall was filled with swords and shadows, waving like the wind, and the relaxed atmosphere was swept away, and the place was full of passion. Everyone was intoxicated and intoxicated.
Perhaps Li Ji was deliberately provoking Liu Liuyao, the rapid rhythm of the pipa never stopped, and she had already ignored the method of matching the rhythm of slow and fast. Although it was already night, it was the end of summer and the temperature was very high. Liu Liuyao's intense exercise soaked the ends of her hair with sweat, and the sweet sweat was shed during the sword dance.
At this moment, the sound of the pipa came suddenly. Suddenly, Liu Liuyao's body flew to the side, and the sword struck sideways at an extremely fast speed. People were stunned, as if they heard the sharp sword tip piercing the air. With a hiss, the sword tip pierced the eyes of the top scholar Huang Can, and then suddenly withdrew.
Huang Can's face immediately turned ashen, and by the time he realized what was happening, Liu Liuyao had already put away his sword and held it upside down behind him. Huang Langjun's body went limp, and he fell to the ground, scared to death.
Hahaha, the men and women who were hanging around together saw him make a fool of himself and burst into laughter.
After a while, Huang Can finally came to his senses, got up in a panic, and said angrily: This is too much!
Liu Liuyao clasped his fists and said: I was just joking with you on a whim, please forgive me.
Everyone tried to smooth things over, saying that the dancer was invited by Lord Han and would not hurt the guests. The hall was in a commotion.
At this time, no one noticed the two small holes in the back window. Behind the house, two people were standing and peeking in. They were Zhou Wenju, the Imperial Academy attendant, and Gu Hongzhong, the Academy of Painting attendant.
They had been bending over and spying there for a long time. Han Xizai's mansion was very large, and he was a civil servant in Jinling, so there were not many guards, so they stayed there quietly for a long time and were lucky enough not to be discovered.
What if they were discovered? The two men were fearless because they were ordered to spy. Even if they were discovered, Han Xizai could not do anything to them. If it were not for the order, they were the scholar-official class after all, and they would not be willing to do such a thing secretly.
After Liu Liuyao finished the sword dance, Han Xizai stood up and left for the intermission. Everyone laughed and joked with their prostitutes, forgetting the joke. Only Huang Langjun looked angry and very dissatisfied with the dancer, but he was helpless in Han Xizai's house, so he didn't seem to want to do anything.
Gu Hongzhong was still waiting, but Zhou Wenju, the imperial attendant of the Imperial Academy, had lost his patience and whispered, "I will go back to the palace to report first, Brother Gu, please stay for a while." But it seems that there is nothing exciting after this.
When Zhou Wenju returned to the palace, Li Yu was still awake, but had already returned to the rear court. After hearing the eunuch's report, Li Yu hurriedly summoned Zhou Wenju to the palace that night to discuss the matter.
Li Yu dismissed his attendants, leaving only the eunuch Gao Ji, and Queen Zhou Xian beside him. Everyone in the court knew that Queen Zhou Xian was Li Yu's favorite, and the king had never visited other concubines except his wife, and some people even gave advice and admonishments on this matter.
I pay my respects to the king and queen. Zhou Wenju bowed.
Li Yu hurriedly asked him to get up and asked about the night banquet at Han Xizai's house. Zhou Wenju first said the names of the court officials who participated in the banquet, and then said: First, Li Ji, the sister of Li Jiaming, the deputy envoy of the Jiaofang Department, played the pipa, and the dancer Liu Liuyao danced with the sword. When I left, I saw that Han Gong and the guests were tired, and it should be over soon.
Li Yu certainly didn't want to know what Han Xizai had done, he wanted to know the details. That's why he sent Zhou Wenju and two others to spy on him. Zhou Wenju and two others were good at painting. Li Yu knew a little bit about music, chess, calligraphy and painting. He was best at music, but he also knew painting. He knew that all painters were good at observing details, otherwise they couldn't paint well, which was one of the reasons for choosing people.
Li Yu asked Han Xizai in detail what he said, what emotions he expressed, and what posture he had on a certain occasion, hoping to guess what Han Xizai was thinking.
After Zhou Wenju gave a detailed description, Li Yu allowed him to leave.
It is often the ministers who guess the emperor's intentions, but the king is the other way around. Why is he so interested in Han Xizai? Zhou Xian asked softly.
Li Yu said: "Han Xizai is a man of great insight. When my father was in power, I listened to his speeches many times, and they were all quite methodical. But recently, when the country had a major event, he hesitated when asked for his advice. What does he mean?"
After hearing this, Zhou Xian pondered and said: Your Majesty is right. Logically, the new king has ascended the throne and values him very much. He should try his best to gain recognition from the king and consolidate his position.
Li Yu said angrily: Han Xizai looks down on me
Upon seeing this, the trusted eunuch hurriedly advised: "Your Majesty, why bother with Han Xizai? He doesn't know how to appreciate your kindness. Your Majesty should just dismiss him from office and let him go back to live."
Li Yu suppressed his anger and paced a few steps: "We can't act rashly for the time being. Jinling and even Jiangnan have a large number of scholars and commoners who have fled south. There are also many people who have fled from the north. Han Xizai is the most important one among these people. My attitude towards Han Xizai involves a wide range of people; Han Xizai's attitude can also reflect the general thoughts of those people who have fled south to the north."
After hearing this, the eunuch hurriedly said: Your Majesty is far-sighted.
Zhou Xian then asked softly: Lin Renzhao came to Nanjing, and many people impeached him. How does the king intend to deal with him
Li Yu was so anxious that he rubbed his temples: Tokyo also sent people to say that Lin Renzhao was building warships in Wuchang, questioning our intentions. They also said that Lin Renzhao made the local officials in Jiangbei of Zhou Dynasty feel uneasy, which might cause conflict and casualties, which would be detrimental to the relationship between the two countries. The Zhou Dynasty envoys urged our country to transfer Lin Renzhao away from Wuchang.
Zhou Xian said that even Tokyo is paying special attention to Lin Renzhao.
Li Yu said: Yes, so this person should be a capable person. But such arrogant and brave generals will be bold and reckless if we don't pay attention to them. I have to be careful that he will not be restrained by the court after he becomes powerful. Imagine that this person drags our country into the quagmire of war. If the court relies on him to fight again, it will be threatened. He is a Fujianese, how loyal he is, who can see through him
Li Yu turned around and said seriously: There are still some considerations. Lin Renzhao is a war advocate. If I follow him, I will have to go to war with the Zhou court. Who among the Chinese people supports war, who wants to sell out their master for glory, and who just goes with the flow and cares about their own fertile land and mansions
Zhou Xian was speechless after hearing what he said.
Li Yu said: The various forces in the country have their own agenda, like a tangled mess. If we hastily start a war without sorting out the situation, it will inevitably be difficult to coordinate, and the country will fall faster.
Zhou Xian asked softly: "Your Majesty, do you think that once the Zhou army attacks Zhou Xingfeng in Langzhou, the next target will be the Southern Tang Kingdom?"
It goes without saying, it's obvious. Li Yu said coldly, but people like Lin Renzhao think too easily or are too scheming. It sounds reasonable at first, I won't be easily fooled by him
Zhou Xian said: Your Majesty must quickly promote some loyal civil and military officials to revitalize the situation. I look forward to your Majesty competing with Guo Shao and defeating him.
Li Yu hurried back and forth: I am now trying to figure out who are the loyal ministers and who have ulterior motives.