Chapter 109: Stone City Still Empty River Country

Cough, cough.

During the banquet, Marquis Changning coughed twice, interrupting Li An's gaze, and signaled to the old eunuch beside the emperor with his eyes.

The Marquis of Changning is the Queen Mother's brother, but he is not a fool, but a wise man. He is able to gain a foothold in the court not only by relying on the Queen Mother's family relationship.

In the last years of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the country was in chaos due to internal and external troubles. At the same time, the Southern Qing Kingdom rose up and tore the Northern Wei Dynasty apart. The Zhan family took advantage of the chaos and became the emperor, changing the country's name to Qi.

However, the founding monarch of Northern Qi did not live long and died young, leaving behind only a young queen and some concubines.

Chen Pingping seized the opportunity and sponsored and instigated the princes and nobles of the previous dynasty and the war family to be dissatisfied with the collateral relatives of the previous emperor, and led his privately raised troops to rebel and besiege the city to force the palace.

If it weren't for Ku He's deterrence, the current emperor of Northern Qi would have changed long ago.

It was this Marquis Changning who, at the critical moment, took advantage of the chaos to crawl out of the dog hole, contacted Jinyiwei Shen Zhong, who was not the commander-in-chief at that time, and gathered the die-hard royalists to return to the palace, thus stabilizing the imperial power of the Zhan family.

"Your Majesty, shall we start the banquet?" The old eunuch flicked his whisk and asked the emperor softly.

He knew the priorities, and in such occasions, he would basically ask the little emperor for his opinion on small matters.

Seeing the emperor nod, he stepped forward and raised his voice: "Let's have the feast!"

In an instant, a large group of palace eunuchs rushed in without touching the ground, silently but in an orderly manner.

Zhan Doudou was wearing a black coat with gold trim and a jade belt with a coiled dragon on it. She swung her wide cuffs, and her outfit had an ancient style that made her look even more heroic.

"Mr. Li, although my palace is luxurious, is it worthy of the title of Immortal Palace?"

She looked contented, but Li An could still sense that she was a little reserved. She would occasionally glance at the Queen Mother, as if she cared deeply about her opinion.

There were several incense sticks on the table in front of him, and the smoke began to rise slowly.

The Queen Mother's expression was shrouded in smoke and nothing could be seen.

"Your Majesty, it's better to call you Sir."

The Queen Mother spoke in a gentle yet firm tone. She did not refute the Emperor's words "Immortal Palace", but instead corrected the title "Young Master".

Begonia Duoduo was yawning beside her, feeling bored and wanting to sleep. Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she picked up the grapes on the small table and threw them into her mouth with unnoticeable movements, her eyes narrowed slightly from time to time, showing that she was enjoying it very much.

Zhan Doudou smiled slightly when he heard this, and seemed relieved.

She ignored the Queen Mother's words. After the food was served, she raised her cup and said to the people below, "Welcome Master Li to Qi!"

"Welcome Mr. Sijue to join us!"

There was a chorus of echoes from the ministers in the audience.

Li An smiled widely, rolled up his sleeves and raised his cup in return, then drank it down in one gulp: "Thank you, Your Majesty, and Thank you, Queen Mother."

"Your Majesty's words about the Fairy Palace are worthy of the name. In my opinion, the scenery of the palace is unique, and nature and objects are integrated. The mountains, rivers and trees not only do not make the palace lose the majesty of the royal family, but instead give people a feeling of harmony between man and nature! It can be seen that the idea of ​​its builder is wonderful, which is really admirable."

Ang Lee ignored the "discomfort" between the two people on stage over their "titles" and instead praised the layout of the palace.

"what?"

Hearing the words "harmony between man and nature", Zhan Doudou was slightly surprised, his eyes curved, and he was extremely pleased.

Wei Hua, who was sitting in the front row, found an opportunity at this time and was eager to show himself. He said, "Sir, you are both great masters like the national teacher, but you are not famous for it. I often hear that your poetry and writing are amazing, and you are the best in the world after the Southern Qing poet Fan Xian. Why don't you write a couplet of poetry based on the scenery of the imperial palace to let everyone present have a look?"

Li An smiled slightly when he heard this, but said nothing.

It's not that if this person tells you to write a poem, you have to write it. Even if you really want to write a poem, Wei Hua is not qualified to speak.

"Wei Hua, don't be rude!"

The Queen Mother spoke calmly.

It seemed that he was reprimanding Wenhua for his nonsense, but he did not mean to stop Li An from writing poetry. It was as if he was avenging the rude look he had just given him. Even Zhan Doudou put down the wine glass in his hand and responded: "Although what Wei Qing said is abrupt, it does make sense. Why don't you show your literary talent?"

"Since your majesty is interested, I will show my ugliness."

Seeing that he couldn't escape, Li An had no choice but to think about it. He couldn't lose face at this banquet.

Although Hong Kaijia, a disciple standing by, completely believed in his teacher, he still stared at Wei Hua with a bad look and gritted his teeth.

In half a cup of tea, Li Ang had already thought of the poem, and he raised the wine glass on the table and drank it all in one gulp.

Upon seeing this, everyone in the audience held their breath and fell completely silent, waiting for Mr. Sijue's wonderful work.

“The Stone City is still empty, the River Country is still empty, the Forbidden City is full of spring colors.

The seven-foot-long black hair is as green as the grass, which is extremely rare in the world.

The jade flowers have all withered, who will recognize them? The wild begonias are like weaving nets, which only make people add to the resentment and endless disappointment. "

Li An spoke loudly, and his voice echoed throughout the hall.

This poem was written by Sun Guangxian during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

The first part of the poem describes the city remains the same, but the river flows empty. The two lines "seven feet of black hair" describe the beauty of the emperor's favorite concubine, revealing the historical fact that the Northern Wei emperor was greedy for sex and lost his country.

The second half of the poem describes how the beauty withered like a jade flower after the fall of the Wei Dynasty, and no one admired her anymore. The last three lines describe how the wild begonia blossoms are still as flourishing as they were in the past, but people and things have changed, which only makes people sigh.

The original text describes the Later Chen Dynasty, but here it can be perfectly matched with the Northern Wei Dynasty, which is really incredible.

As soon as the poem came out, the whole audience fell silent!

Unlike the other ministers in the audience, the three women on the stage all blushed at the same time and glanced at Li Anlai who was standing in the audience with beautiful eyes.

Even Wang Shisanlang chuckled, which made Yan Xiaoyi and Hong Kaijia feel strange for a while.

The emperor looked at Li An in surprise. He just said it casually to liven up the atmosphere, and you produced such a work? This really put the scholars of Qi on the spot. Even the words "harmony between man and nature" just now, after careful consideration, are also shocking. Zhan Doudou thought of the Tianyi School founded by his master Ku He, which emphasizes the law of nature. However, this core doctrine has never been passed on to outsiders, but it was revealed by Li An at this time.

Is this the realm of a grandmaster?

The Queen Mother looked slightly annoyed, her face turned red more times today than in the whole year combined!

This poem is full of sadness and resentment, and reading it makes people feel depressed.

If that were the case, it would be fine. But the poem clearly uses the former Northern Wei Dynasty as a metaphor for the present. Isn't the former concubine the present self? The two sentences "seven feet of black hair" and "Jade Beauty" in the poem are obviously used to praise her beauty.

"That's a really nice phrase!" The Queen Mother nodded, her graceful curves fully exposed. "But are you hinting that I'm ruining the country with my beauty?"

Haitang Duoduo's face also turned red, and she stared at Li An with bright eyes, as if she wanted to see clearly what was inside this handsome head. She blushed because she was not well educated, and thought that Li An's words "wild begonias are like weaving" were referring to her.

Haitang Duoduo thought to herself: You are so good, Li An, a grand master, yet you tease me like this!

It is also Lee Ang's fault that he is too young, which makes people not overly respect him and often forget his martial arts skills as a grandmaster.

Before Li An could reply, Wei Hua jumped out again.

"Mr. Si Jue, don't you think this is too much? We have treated you so kindly, and this is how you repay us?"

"I asked you to write a poem about the scenery of the imperial palace, but you are full of resentment and longing. Your intentions are extremely sinister!" He turned around and said to the stage: "Your Majesty! Queen Mother..."

Li An interrupted with a smile:

"Why bother?"

　I'll post two more chapters later, I haven't returned home yet...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)