Chapter 17 Yang Yuhuan

Zuo Xiangfu.

Li Xuan was in the courtyard, being taught the skills of official script by Li Ju, an assistant clerk and staff member of the Left Prime Minister's Office.

Li Ju was from the Longxi Li family. He was the first in the imperial examination in the 22nd year of the Kaiyuan reign. He is currently the secretary of the Menxia Province.

It may be because he had the same name as Li Longji's son Li Ju, who was executed for "treason", so Li Ju was not valued by Li Longji.

"We often hear that progress is rapid, and Qilang is just such a person!"

After finishing a piece of calligraphy, Li Ju exclaimed in admiration.

Since Li Xuan started practicing calligraphy seriously, his progress has been visible to the naked eye.

Unlike ordinary teenagers, Li Xuan is calm and composed. When he puts pen to paper, it seems as if he has poured all his energy into it.

Li Ju had never encountered such an attitude before.

"Teacher, you are too kind. You are a master of calligraphy. Compared with you, I am far behind."

Li Xuan had great respect for Li Ju, who taught him calligraphy, and always referred to him as his student.

Li Ju was also good at official script, inheriting the style of Chu Suiliang, a great calligrapher in the early Tang Dynasty. His writing was clear, beautiful, calm and dynamic.

This sense of elegance is very consistent with the aesthetic taste of calligraphy in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty.

This also made Li Xuan focus on learning the "Chu style", because Chu Suiliang's calligraphy broke the simple and quiet beauty of classical calligraphy and moved towards a freer expression, eliminating all the redundancy and leaving only the essence. And in the vigor, it embodies a majestic character, with a vertical and horizontal brushstroke, and a comfortable and unrestrained style.

In the hearts of literati of this era, Chu Suiliang is no less inferior to great calligraphers such as Ouyang Xun and Yu Shinan.

"Qilang, I have a good friend named Yan Zhenqing. His calligraphy is vigorous and powerful, majestic and magnificent, like the style of his ancestors. I think you are a man of courage, and he is more suitable to be your teacher."

He had also heard about Li Xuan's performance over the past two months.

Despite his young age, the poems he wrote put him to shame.

Yan Zhenqing and Li Ju passed the exam in the same subject, along with Du Hongjian, Xiao Yingshi and others.

As the first place, Li Ju visited Qujiang Xingyuan with Yan Zhenqing and they became close friends.

"I wonder what official position Yan Zhenqing holds now?" Li Xuan asked Li Ju.

He didn't expect that Li Ju was actually familiar with Yan Zhenqing. Although Li Xuan was clear about the general context of history, it was impossible for him to know all the details of the relationships between the characters.

You should know that calligraphers such as Ouyang Xun and Chu Suiliang only inherited the styles of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, but Yan Zhenqing truly connected the past and the future, and was the pioneer of the new style of calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty.

Although Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy reached perfection as he grew older, his calligraphy was already highly praised by his friends at this time.

"Yan Zhenqing is serving as the Liquan Wei in Liquan County, west of Chang'an. His family lives in Wannian. When I come back, I will take Qilang to visit him."

Li Ju told Li Xuan where Yan Zhenqing was.

"After hearing what the teacher said, I couldn't wait."

Making friends with people who are famous in history and admiring their style is Li Xuan's wish in this life.

"Seventh Brother..."

After Li Ju left, Li Xuan continued to bend over and practice calligraphy.

At this time, Li Yuying ran over holding a crimson peony, and next to her was a girl of the same age.

The girl had her hair in a bun, and wore an apricot-yellow short skirt with narrow sleeves. A snow-white shawl was draped over her arms. She had eyes as bright as stars, willow-shaped eyebrows and a beautiful nose, and was as delicate as a piece of jade.

"Seventh brother, write a poem about peony for Yuying. I want to add brilliance to my peony at the flower competition."

Li Yuying held up the peony flower and said to Li Xuan.

"Can't write."

Li Xuan had no time to fool around with Li Yuying.

"It is said in Chang'an that Zuo Xiang Qi Lang is a talented scholar. My friend Yue Yao has come to see you write poetry. Please write one at random, Qi Lang."

Li Xuan refused directly, which made Li Yuying very embarrassed.

"Seventh Brother..."

Seeing that Li Xuan was unmoved, Li Yuying grabbed Li Xuan's arm and acted coquettishly.

"Okay, just this once."

Li Xuan saw the young lady next to Li Yuying looking at him with doubtful and curious eyes.

The way she is dressed, it is obvious that she is the daughter of a noble family.

"Seventh brother loves me the most." Li Yuying smiled happily.

She even jumped to the table and started grinding ink for Li Xuan in a serious manner.

"Admiring the peonies."

"The peony in the courtyard is wild and without character, the lotus in the pond is pure and sentimental. Only the peony is the true national beauty, and the capital city is moved when the flower blooms."

Li Xuan did not hesitate much and wrote this masterpiece in one go.

"Seventh brother writes well. When I was competing with flowers, I wrote poems about Seventh brother. They must have envied me."

Li Yuying actually didn't understand what Li Xuan wrote. She just wanted a poem.

The girl next to him had a gleam in her eyes. It was the first time she had seen such a talented young man. He wrote a poem in one stroke, just like the legendary great poets Wang Wei and Li Bai.

"Yuying, who is this young lady from?"

Li Xuan asked casually after putting down his pen.

"Her name is Jiang Yueyao, and she also lives in Pingkangfang."

Li Yuying answered Li Xuan.

"Surname Jiang, what's your relationship with Li Linfu?"

After hearing this, Li Xuan frowned.

The surnames of the noble families can be counted. The Jiang family, which left the deepest impression on Li Xuan, is the maternal family of Li Linfu.

"That's my cousin."

Jiang Yueyao responded weakly.

She is Jiang Jiao's granddaughter.

Jiang Jiao was very favored by Li Longji at the beginning. However, because he was not careful with his words, he was demoted to Qinzhou by Li Longji in the tenth year of Kaiyuan.

As a result, the Jiang family fell.

Because Jiang Jiao loved Li Linfu very much when he was in humble circumstances, after he gained power, he treated his uncle's descendants as his own.

"Shuang'er, please ask this young lady to come to the front yard first. I have something to say to Yuying."

After Li Xuan learned of Jiang Yueyao's identity, he turned and smiled at Jiang Yueyao.

Jiang Yueyao suddenly felt something was wrong. She was a guest, and when Shuang'er came, she could only follow Shuang'er to the front yard.

"Yuying, how can you associate with Li Linfu's relatives?"

After Jiang Yuyao left, Li Xuan was very unhappy and scolded Li Yuying.

"What does it have to do with us if you beat Li Yi?"

Li Xuan had never said anything about Li Yuying. Seeing Li Xuan change his face immediately, Li Yuying was scared and very unconvinced.

Jiang Yueyao was her best friend. She had always thought that the quarrel between Li Xuan and Li Yi was just a quarrel between young people. Such things were very common among the nobles in Chang'an.

"Your father and your brother died without a burial place. Is it your business?"

Li Xuan regarded Li Linfu as his mortal enemy and could not tolerate his family having any contact with Li Linfu's family.

Because he knew that since Jiang Yuyao lived in Pingkangfang, she must be close to Li Linfu, and might even live directly in the Right Prime Minister's Mansion.

Historically, they died without a burial place. Li Shizhi was forced to die in Yichun County, and even his coffin could not be returned to his hometown.

When his elder brother Li Qian was carrying Li Shizhi's coffin to his hometown, he was beaten to death in the government office of Henan Prefecture in Luoyang by people sent by Li Linfu for no reason.

"Humph!"

But Li Yuying was rebellious. She couldn't understand and wouldn't listen to what Li Xuan said.

He immediately ran out with the peony flowers in his arms. After a few steps, he turned back and took away the copy of "Appreciating Peonies" written by Li Xuangang.

Li Xuangang did not stop Li Yuying, but looked at her back and murmured: "Let her go! Steady and cautious, step by step, is what I should do."

In the court, the invisible flashes of swords and sabers are the men’s business.

When Li Yuying grew up, she understood his good intentions.

After calming down, Li Xuan wrote another complicated calligraphy. Shuang'er came to report to Li Xuan: "Qi Lang, Da Lang asked you to go to the front hall."

"it is good!"

Li Xuan told Shuang'er to clean up the table and went to the front hall.

When he saw the imperial palace's ceremonial procession, he was surprised. Someone was coming from the palace. Why did his brother call him?

"Qilang, the Saint has summoned you. Please follow Attendant Lin into the palace to see the Saint."

As soon as Li Xuan entered the front hall, Li Qian said to Li Xuan.

Li Shizhi was still handling government affairs in the Menxia Province.

This was also what Li Linfu did deliberately, otherwise Li Shizhi would follow to Xingqing Palace and would hinder Li Linfu's plan.

"Why would the saint summon me?"

Li Xuan was curious, wondering if his father had recommended him during the morning court session today.

"Attendant Lin said that the sage knew of Qilang's poetry, so he summoned him."

Li Qian answered Li Xuan.

He was also very happy. If he could be appreciated by the saint, perhaps he would be given an official title to establish his status.

It will be very helpful for your future career.

At this moment, Li Xuan was feeling uneasy. This was different from what he had expected.

He always thought that he could meet Li Longji only after he had made some achievements on the frontier.

I didn't expect it to be so sudden.

"When you meet a saint, you must know the etiquette and not act according to your own will."

After sending Li Xuan out, Li Qian gave Li Xuan many instructions, fearing that Li Xuan would act capriciously and disobey the sage.

"Don't worry, brother. I know what I am doing."

Li Xuan is certainly not a fool.

Riding on a steed, he headed for Xingqing Palace under the leadership of the eunuch Lin Zhaoyin.

Lin Zhaoyin was one of the eunuchs in the Ministry of Internal Affairs second only to Gao Lishi, and served as a constant attendant.

How noble is Gao Lishi? Normally, Gao Lishi is not needed to convey the imperial edict.

Xingqing Palace is divided into the palace area in the north and the garden area in the south by an east-west wall.

Li Xuan dismounted in front of the palace gate, then passed through the palace barriers and came to a horse farm full of flags in the southeast of Longchi.

In the pavilion on the east side of the horse farm, Li Longji was playing and fighting with an extremely beautiful woman.

Li Xuan was waiting not far away, and Lin Zhaoyin went to report.

He saw this scene and also saw the woman.

The woman was wearing a gorgeous palace dress. She had a plump and graceful figure, her hair was like clouds, and her round face was like a bright moon, white and flawless. Her eyes were full of spirit, her eyebrows were thin and long, and her red lips were tempting.

From a distance, it looks like an elegant fairy, exuding an incomparable temperament.

No amount of words can describe how stunning she is.

Li Xuan guessed that this should be Yang Guifei who had bewitched Li Longji.

It is more appropriate to call her "Niangzi Yuhuan" now.

As we all know, Li Longji's way of getting Yang Yuhuan was dishonorable.

It is a rare event in history that a father robs his son's wife.

Prince Shou Li Heng dared to be angry but could not say anything, because the blood of his three brothers was spilled at the East City Post Station and had not yet dried.

But this did not prevent Li Heng from secretly disgusting Li Longji.

In the 29th year of Kaiyuan, Li Longji's elder brother, Prince Ning Li Xian, passed away. Li Heng quickly declared himself Li Xian's adopted son and wanted to observe mourning for his adopted father for three years, acting more eager than Li Xian's biological son.

There was a rule in the Tang Dynasty that children were not allowed to marry during the period of mourning.

After all, Li Longji had robbed his son's daughter-in-law. If Li Heng did not marry again, he would not be embarrassed to give Yang Yuhuan a title.

Only after two years, when Li Heng finished mourning and remarried, could Li Longji give Yang Yuhuan a legitimate status.

Otherwise, it will be difficult to silence the people in the world.

"My dear, the Saint invites you!"

Seeing the person he was summoned arriving, Li Longji regained his serious expression and ordered Li Xuan to come in.

Li Xuan took a deep breath and slowly walked to the pavilion.

One is an emperor who created the Kaiyuan Prosperity and destroyed the Tang Dynasty, and who was both highly praised and criticized.

One is a concubine with a face that is "shy of flowers" and is criticized as a disaster to the country and the people.

The closer the distance was, the more Li Xuan could feel Yang Yuhuan's beauty.

In her every frown and smile, besides her stunning beauty, there was also a kind of coquettish charm that made Li Xuan's heart beat fast.

Although he was curious, Li Xuan did not dare to look at him any longer. When he reached the bottom of the pavilion, Li Xuan bowed to Li Longji and said, "I pay my respects to the saint. I wish you a long life."

"Greetings, my lady."

Li Xuan also did not forget to pay his respects to the beautiful Yang Yuhuan.

"Haha, you are indeed a handsome man. Come up and talk."

Seeing Li Xuan's praise, Li Longji stroked his beard and laughed, and allowed Li Xuan to enter the pavilion.

When Yang Yuhuan heard that a talented young poet had appeared in the royal family, she asked Li Longji to take her to see him.

The tall and handsome Li Xuan doesn't look like a scholar at all.

(End of this chapter)