Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 385 Making up for the situation before it is too late

The sixth day of July, Huaqing Palace.

Yuan Siyi walked to the back hall and whispered: "Sage, Wu Daozi is back."

Li Longji was reading a memorial with a hesitant look on his face. After hearing this, he threw away the memorial in his hand, wondered for a moment, and asked, "Where did he come back from?"

"Back to the sage, Tianbao was in his fifth year. The sage sent him to the Jialing River to sketch and present the beautiful scenery of Sichuan to the emperor."

"Yeah."

Many years later, Li Longji had completely forgotten about it, but he was still quite happy to hear that Wu Daozi was back.

There is no shortage of offerings in the palace, and there are many people who are good at painting. Although Zhang Xuan is old, there are also Cao Ba, who is famous for his painting "Nine Horses", Chen Hong who painted "Eight Gongs", and "Double Riders". Wei Yan, Han Qian who painted "Herding Horses", and Wei Wuyi who painted "Strange Beasts".

Among so many offerings, Wu Daozi was regarded as the one favored by Li Longji, because he had participated in painting Li Longji's most glorious period. It was in the thirteenth year of Kaiyuan, when Li Longji was enshrined in Mount Tai. When he returned to Beijing, he passed by Jinqiao and saw Three hundred thousand feather guards lined up for thousands of miles, and their flags were neatly arranged. They were so excited that they asked Wu Daozi, Wei Wuyi, and Chen Hong to jointly draw the "Golden Bridge Picture". From then on, every time Li Longji saw Wu Daozi, he would think of the grand occasion and feel even more proud.

In comparison, the memorial I was reading just now is not so happy.

It was sent by Anxi, and the content was to impeach Gao Xianzhi. It was said that the Shi Kingdom had surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, but Gao Xianzhi used deceptive means to destroy his country and massacred people. This caused the prince of Shi Kingdom to publicize the matter to Zhuhu, who then united with Dashi to attack the four towns of Anxi.

Yuan Siyi didn't have any personal grudges with Xue Bai, but he was very curious about Xue Bai recently. He couldn't figure out why this young man who could have a bright future kept causing trouble. He stood on the opposite side of the prince and An Lushan, and was also at peace with Yang Guozhong. The heart is at odds.

When his mind turned from the possible bad news back to dance music, painting and other artistic matters, Li Longji's mood improved and he regained his strength.

Yuan Siyi immediately changed his words and said, "Old slave, I'll go and ask in person."

"Returning to the saint, it is the beautiful scenery of Jialing River that makes me forget to leave."

So, he picked up the royal pen and made two strokes on the memorial to express his rejection. Then he threw away the memorial and said: "Pass the decree to summon Wu Daozi."

Li Longji looked at this scene with joy. After a while, he turned his head and asked, "Isn't Xue playing cards yet?"

Soon, Li Guinian and Jia Chang came into the palace with dancers and cockfighting children respectively. They set up their formations and played the sheng and reeds, which immediately became full of fun.

"Keep sending people to urge you, the saint can't wait any longer."

Although he had not seen them for many years, when Li Longji saw these eyes, he immediately felt familiar and said with a smile: "My 'Painting Saint' is back."

He exited the hall in small steps, called over a confidant, and asked, "Are you sure Xue Bai is no longer in Lishan?"

"Invite Li Guinian, Jia Chang, Xue Bai and others. The royal banquet will be arranged in advance. I will drink and sing while enjoying the poems and paintings of the prosperous Tang Dynasty."

Speaking of paper, he thought of Xue Bai.

Yuan Siyi lowered his head, thinking that aging was inevitable. The saint had visibly aged a lot in the past five years, including his spirit. It can be seen that although Wu Daozi was obsessed with painting, he was not without any talent.

Li Longji has liked Gao Xianzhi very much over the years, because no other general can return victory reports as easily as Gao Xianzhi. It is also a great victory for destroying a country and capturing its owner.

In fact, Gao Xianzhi was not the type to sit on the defensive at all. After learning the news, he personally led 30,000 troops to attack Dashi in April and penetrate deep into its territory. At this time, someone suddenly impeached him, obviously they were not optimistic about this war and wanted to draw a clear line with Gao Xianzhi.

Wu Daozi responded calmly: "The three hundred miles of Jialing River are all in my heart."

He couldn't help stroking his hands and laughing, and said: "Wu Qing is going to do something for me on the spot."

"No one has seen him for two or three days. If he is unable to get up from Mrs. Guo's bed, he is no longer in Lishan."

After blurting out this sentence, he remembered that he had not even had time to salute, so he quickly crossed his hands and bowed, saying: "I have grown old."

"Does he think he is Li Bai, and the emperor can't get on the ship?" Li Longji didn't know whether he was joking or really unhappy.

"I'll send someone to urge you again."

"You are so lingering that you can't forget to leave and present the drawings so that I can feast my eyes on them." Li Longji said, not forgetting to ask the chamberlain to summon the concubines.

In this regard, Yang Guozhong did not dare to specialize and asked the Holy Judge.

"it is good!"

Wu Daozi held the paintbrush in his hand and washed it in a wooden barrel, and the paint came out as red as rouge.

If a person is too unique, he will often become intolerable to the world.

It's ridiculous that Xue Bai was busy here and there, but in the end he was still the same as the worshipers and ministers.

Wu Daozi replied: "Reporting to the sage, there is no drawing."

Li Longji was overjoyed when he heard this. Before Wu Daozi could present his sketches on the Jialing River, he had already announced that he would be rewarded.

Today, there is a painting sage painting for him. Someone should play music, sing and dance for him, and someone should write poems and lyrics for him.

Over the past few years, Li Longji ordered the execution of these small chiefs who dared to betray him again and again in Chang'an. He enjoyed the supremacy of the heaven and the world, and he no longer liked it. Hear bad news.

Wu Daozi is nearly seventy years old, and his hair is pale and sparse. It is wrapped in a scarf, as if it is about to fall off at any time. There were wrinkles around his eyes, but his eyes were still shining.

The concubines in the palace also dressed up one after another, so the maids carried hot spring water back and forth. When the water in the basin was poured, the scent of the washed rouge filled the harem.

"It's been five years since you left. I'm still your minister and don't want to worship you in the palace." Li Longji smiled.

Li Longji was surprised: "You go to sketch, but you haven't had a single painting in five years?"

Wu Daozi smiled and replied: "This hall is too small, not enough for me to write."

"Xuan Wu Daozi comes to see you!"

Wu Daozi glanced at the royal couch and was stunned. He couldn't help but said in surprise: "The saint is actually younger than before."

The little eunuchs had ground all kinds of paints and arranged them colorfully. Wu Daozi took the pen and swung it decisively on the white and flawless wall. Everyone couldn't help but wait with bated breath, fearing that his strokes would be crooked.

As the emperor, Li Longji liked the feeling of being able to surprise him even though he did not completely fulfill his wishes. This is something that mediocre ministers cannot do. Only extremely smart ministers can have such witty words.

"Hahaha." Li Longji's mood became more and more cheerful, and he said: "When you go to the back hall to paint, the entire white wall in the hall will be the painting paper of the painting saint."

After waiting for a long time, many officials came in a hurry to attend the banquet.

Yuan Siyi stood at the palace gate and watched them hurrying in and out. It felt funny, just like King You of Zhou lighting the beacon and seeing the princes arriving in embarrassment.

It's getting dark soon, and Xue Bai hasn't arrived yet.

"Longgongmen, Xue Sheren should not come." Yuan Siyi ordered.

The duty of the scholar in Zhongshe is to be ready for the saint's call at any time. Xue Bai's failure to come today is dereliction of duty. Yang Guozhong already has a reason to remove him. If the saint is unhappy, he is afraid that he will be punished.

However, just as he finished speaking, someone galloped towards them on horseback.

"Shut up!"

Before the palace door could close, a vigorous figure dismounted from his horse and ran to Yuan Siyi. It was Xue Bai.

"Xue Lang is coming to the drumbeat of closing the palace gate."

"Forgive me, General Yuan, but I prepared a Valentine's Day gift for the saint, so I came late."

Yuan Sili reminded: "On the Qixi Festival, you are not allowed to give gifts to the saints."

Xue Bai was stunned, but still holding a big package to enter the palace. Yuan Siyi stopped him and said: "Xue Lang is going to the inner palace for an audience. I'm afraid it's not appropriate to bring foreign objects. Leave it to me."

"This is my gift."

Xue Bai said something and saw that Yuan Sili still stretched out his hand, so he handed the package over calmly and generously, and said with a smile: "Then please keep it carefully, General Yuan. This item is somewhat dangerous..."

~~

Painting and music are both elegant things, and they have something in common.

Li Linfu was also good at painting, and there were five people in his family who were famous for their painting skills and were called the "Five Lis", namely Li Linfu, his father Li Sixun, his uncle Li Sixun, his cousin Li Zhaodao, and his nephew Li Cuo.

Among them, Li Sixun has the best painting skills.

Li Sixun passed away as early as the sixth year of Kaiyuan, but his achievements in his life were extraordinary. In the Zhongzong Dynasty of the Tang Dynasty, he was Zong Zhengqing and the Duke of Longxi County. After the emperor came to the throne, he was granted the title of Duke Peng and was promoted to General Youwuwei. After his death, he was given the posthumous title of "Zhao" and was buried with him in the Qiaoling Mausoleum. He was good at painting landscapes, pavilions, flowers, trees, and animals. At that time, he was rated as "the best landscape painter in the country", which shows his ability.

In his early years, Li Sixun also painted the landscape of the Jialing River in the palace for the saint. He spent several months painting the painting with vigorous style and magnificent artistic conception. The saint liked the mural very much and praised it as "green landscape, golden and green", and it was known as "General Li's landscape".

In the eighth year of Kaiyuan, when Xingqing Palace was renovated and Datong Hall was renovated, the mural could not be preserved. Li Longji was very sorry that he later asked Wu Daozi to sketch in Shu.

Therefore, Wu Daozi felt extremely stressed about this matter. In order to be as good as Li Sixun, he stayed in Shuzhong for five years, watching the Jialing River day and night, and engraved its mountains, rivers, plants and trees in his heart before he dared to come back.

As the moon sets and the sun rises day after day, he sees countless waves under the starlight, and finally paints a splash.

The tip of the pen moved flexibly on the wall, not as if he was painting, but as if the water of the Jialing River in Wu Daozi's heart was pouring out.

This is what Xue Bai saw when he entered the back hall of Huaqing Palace.

Wu Daozi's back did not look old at all in his eyes, like a crane over the Jialing River, holding grass and trees in its mouth, building hills and valleys.

"Saint Qixi is in good health, my lord..."

Li Longji was standing behind Wu Daozi with his hands behind his back, watching intently. He raised his hand, interrupted Xue Bai's salute, and signaled him to be quiet.

This emperor had extremely high artistic attainments. At this time, he was deeply attracted by Wu Daozi's painting skills. He said with emotion: "Daoxuan's painting skills have reached several levels."

Because of the saint's posture, Jia Chang did not dare to fight cocks, and the entire apse was very quiet.

The concubine who occasionally came to the banquet arrived. She was surprised and slowed down her pace. She held the Cai Lian around her waist and took her seat softly.

Only Yuan Siyi understood the saint's habits. From time to time, he would pour a glass of wine into the saint's hands and let him drink while watching.

"listen."

I don't know how long it took, but Li Longshen suddenly spoke, looked around the hall, and asked, "Did you hear that?"

The ministers were stunned.

Li Longji stretched out a slender finger and put it on his lips to make a silent gesture, asking everyone to listen attentively.

"I heard the sound of the Jialing River. Did you hear it?"

Where Xue Bai looked, Wu Daozi had painted half of the wall, and the water of the Jialing River was already winding above the main hall.

He didn't hear the sound of water, only felt the strong breath of art.

"I heard it," Yang Guozhong responded. "When I saw Wu Gong's paintings, I felt as if I had returned to Shu."

"Bring me the piano."

Li Longji was in high spirits, played several pieces in a row, played the music gently and slowly. The lingering sound of the piano made everyone feel as if they were really among the leisurely mountains and rivers.

The moonlight was getting thicker, and Wu Daozi also made the final stroke.

Suddenly, the scenery of the three-hundred-mile Jialing River suddenly appeared on the wall.

"Wonderful!"

Countless voices of praise resounded in the hall.

Wu Daozi exhausted all his strength, dropped the brush in his hand, and fell onto the thick carpet in the hall.

It took Li Sixun several months to paint the Jialing River. He was extremely meticulous in his work, even the small flying insects on the vegetation were revealed, and countless details were piled up into a magnificent masterpiece. Wu Daozi knew that Li Sixun had reached the pinnacle of this painting method. So he did the opposite.

In just one day, he painted the artistic conception of Jialing River with simple brushwork. The magnificence of the mountains and the charm of the water are concentrated in every stroke.

Hearty and smooth, all in one swipe.

This is a contest between Wu Daozi and Li Sixun, who has been dead for many years. It has nothing to do with the outcome, but only the love for painting.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Wu Daozi looked at the landscape in front of him and laughed heartlessly. A bottle of wine was handed to his hand, he took it without looking and drank.

It wasn't until the saint's voice rang in his ears that he knew who had just handed him the wine bottle.

"Li Sixun's achievements in several months and Wu Daoxuan's achievements in one day are both extremely wonderful!"

Li Longji also laughed loudly, raised his wine glass, shared a drink with the ministers, and said: "You gentlemen, you can see that my Tang Dynasty is not only a prosperous age of civility and martial arts, but also a prosperous age of expanding territory and poetry. The prosperous age of Fu, the prosperous age of calligraphy and painting."

"I congratulate Your Majesty!"

Yang Guozhong immediately raised his cup and praised him again. Afterwards, the ministers looked at the mural again and gave their comments one after another.

"Wu Gong's pen is better than the elephant, and his integrity is high."

"Daoxuan's brushwork is upright, straight, easy to calculate, and easy to move."

"As expected of Wu Dai, he is in charge..."

Amidst the praise, Wu Daozi turned around and looked around the hall. When his eyes fell on Xue Bai, he paused and looked at him carefully.

Xue Bai knew why. He had been protected by Zhang Jiuling and He Zhizhang. Wu Daozi had studied under He Zhizhang, so he might have heard about it. Although we haven't met each other in recent years, we may have heard of them.

"Daoxuan, what are you looking for?" Li Longji suddenly asked.

Wu Daozi came to his senses and responded: "I haven't seen Aunt Gongsun for many years."

It was from Aunt Gongsun's sword dance that he understood Wu Dai's writing style. After finally coming back, he was looking forward to seeing his old friend. But he didn't know that the saint was now afraid that the sick person would absorb the emperor's vitality.

Li Longji liked Wu Daozi's painting very much. Before he could reward him, he asked Yuan Siyi: "Has Mrs. Gongsun recovered?"

"Back to the saint, she just had an occasional illness and has recovered."

"Invite her to meet Daoxuan tomorrow and take a look at this painting."

Li Longji still didn't see Aunt Gongsun. He turned to Xue Bai and asked, "Where are you drunk today? It's too late for the emperor to call you."

"I don't dare. I made a special Valentine's Day gift and want to give it to the saint."

"On Taizhen's birthday, you didn't give me a big gift. Only now do you think of making amends." Li Longji smiled and said, "It's too late, I demoted your middle school student."

He really had this intention and had already given instructions to Yang Guozhong.

Xue Bai thought to himself that Wang Zhongsi was not "dead" in early June, and many things could be figured out slowly. Things are different now, and it is natural to "make up for the lost situation" of the Tang Dynasty.

"Answer the sage, this gift can only be seen at night, so it is suitable to be seen during the Chinese Valentine's Day banquet while watching the Morning Glory and Vega."

"Ah."

Li Longji made up his mind to make Xue Bai an official and demote him from his official position. He finally caught the clue and would not let him go easily.

Seeing this, Yang Yuhuan calmly said: "Since the saint said it's too late, I won't read the gift whether you give it during the day or at night, unless you write a poem."

"Yes, today the painting sage is here to paint, and it is also time for Xue Lang to write a poem!"

At this time, the person who agreed was the consort Cui Huitong. This person had no power and was just having fun.

Xue Bai pretended to be helpless and said: "I offer gifts to the saint, but I have to write poems to present the gifts."

This non-serious and playful tone made Li Longji feel relaxed, and he said: "That's it. All the ministers should show their talents tonight."

In short, it's time for the courtiers to perform their talents, as if performing arts is equivalent to showing loyalty.

Xue Bai now has little interest in writing poems before the emperor. When he picks up his pen, he just feels like An Lushan dancing the Hu Xuan dance. But since An Lushan was able to cover up his rebellious intentions with his spinning dance steps, Xue Bai did not hesitate to write poems to imitate him.

"The autumn light of silver candles paints the screen coldly, and the light fan blows at the flowing fireflies."

"The sky is as cool as water at night, sit and watch Altair and Vega."

It’s past Ziwu and it’s already the seventh day of July, so a poem like this is fitting for the occasion.

Yang Yuhuan read it in a low voice, but felt something was wrong. I think this poem is beautiful, but the wording in it seems a bit desolate. It seems to describe a frustrated palace man spending the Chinese Valentine's Day alone in the cold palace.

"Complain." Li Longji pointed at Xue Bai and scolded: "I haven't demoted you yet, and you dare to complain."

"I don't dare, I just express my feelings."

Although it was a criticism, Li Longji recognized the level of this poem and said: "Okay, give me your gift, don't be so cold and cold again."

"Don't worry, saint, this gift will definitely be lively."

~~

The gift has been kept by Yuan Siyi's people.

He didn't know what it was because Xue Bai said it was dangerous. After carefully opening the package and looking at it, he didn't dare to continue opening it. All I knew was that it was a paper box, quite heavy, and when I smelled it closer, there was a pungent smell.

"I'm afraid it's not poisonous. Don't let it get close to the saint."

With such a preconceived impression, Yuan Siyi heard that the saint wanted to see Xue Bai's gift, and was ready to remind the saint.

However, Xue Bai spoke first and took the initiative to inform, saying: "Sage, my gift is somewhat dangerous. The saint can stand at the gate of the palace and watch."

"I have never seen such a storm, so I am afraid of a little thing like you." Li Longji sneered disdainfully.

Xue Bai continued to remind: "It is a bit noisy. I hope the guards will not make a fuss."

Chen Xuanli said nothing, but turned to look at his subordinates, as if asking them, "Are you going to be scared?"

What responded to him was a pair of eyes filled with pride. The guards obviously thought that Xue Bai looked down upon them.

Of course, they were still very cautious in their hearts. There were already armored guards standing silently at the door of the palace, blocking the saint.

Xue Bai then walked down the steps, took the big package from a young eunuch's hand, walked to the bottom of the steps, opened it, and placed it on the ground.

"Lend me the lantern," he said to the young eunuch behind him.

Then, he took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, rolled it into a small paper stick, lit the fire in the lantern, lit the fuse, covered his ears and ran to the side.

After receiving Xue Bai's reminder and seeing his behavior, everyone thought that there was going to be a big movement and formed their formations one after another.

Some pungent smoke came out.

The atmosphere gradually became tense.

"call out."

Accompanied by this whistle-like sound, a fire light lit up in the dark night, soared into the night sky, and exploded with a "bang" in the air, exploding into dots of starlight.

Xue Bai put down the hands covering his ears and looked up, feeling that the fireworks were a bit crude.

But, I haven’t seen it for a long time, but it still looks good.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, a little disappointed when they found that the expected big movement was nothing more than that, but the next moment, they saw the gorgeous fireworks in the sky.

Yang Yuhuan always knew that Xue Bai could come up with something refreshing for her as long as he was willing, so he always had expectations.

But when the fireworks came into view, she was still pleasantly surprised.

She liked all the beautiful things in the world, the stars in the sky, the silhouette of Xixiuling Mountain, and the dazzling brilliance blooming in the middle. This made her couldn't help but hold up the hem of her skirt, ran out of the hall, and ran down the stairs.

Like a curious child, wanting to see more clearly up close.

But after running up a few steps, the fireworks had already disappeared.

Yang Yuhuan stared at the dark sky with his eyes widened. The next moment, with a "whoosh" sound, another firework shot up, higher and bigger than the last one.

Her eyes lit up instantly, more beautiful than fireworks.

"call out."

"boom."

"The east wind blooms flowers on thousands of trees at night, and even blows down the stars like rain."

Around Lishan, I don't know how many people were looking up at the fireworks at the same time, and some people whispered such words.

~~

One after another, no matter how beautiful the fireworks are, they stop quickly.

Xue Bai stood there covering his ears, deliberately not listening to the surprised praises and cheers around him. He felt like An Lushan who had just finished dancing the Hu Xuan Dance and was already out of breath.

"Xue Lang, Xue Lang, put your hands down, there is so much noise."

Yuan Siyi squeezed out a smile on her face and stepped forward to lead Xue Bai back to the hall to be a saint.

They climbed the stone steps and saw Yang Yuhuan still standing there looking at the sky and reminiscing.

Seeing Xue Bai, she said directly: "Ah Bai, I want to see more."

"The production is still small at the moment. Let me see enough next time."

Yang Yuhuan couldn't help but smile.

She always retains her innocent side, and her smile is more beautiful than fireworks.

But Xue Bai had other things in his mind, so he quickly restrained his mood, passed her by, and followed Yuan Siyi to Li Longji.

"This thing is called fireworks?"

"Back to the saint, yes."

"Very good, I will appoint you as the Fireworks Envoy and make fireworks for me."

"I accept the decree and thank the saint for his grace."

Xue Bai could see out of the corner of his eye that Yuan Zai was there, but he didn't know whose mission sounded less serious, Yuan Zai's flower and bird envoy, or his own, the fireworks envoy.

Seeing that he was becoming more obedient, Li Longji nodded with satisfaction and said, "Now that you are back, You Ye will continue to serve you part-time."

Yang Guozhong was stunned for a moment, glanced at him, and once again felt the threat posed by Xue Bai.

Xue Bai knew that this was Li Longji's intention, but he was also prepared to favor him. The emperor did not want his most favored ministers to get too close, and intentionally or unintentionally set them against each other.

"I accept the decree and thank the saint for his grace!"

"This year's Qianqiu Long Live Festival will be held at night." Li Longji said with his hands behind his hands: "I want to have fun with the people. When the time comes, I want the most beautiful fireworks to bloom over Chang'an City."

"I accept the decree." Xue Bai said slowly, still in the restrained tone: "I will not let the saint down."

There was less than a month left before the Qianqiu Long Live Festival, and according to his plan, there were still too many things to prepare.

The generals of Longyou still need to be contacted, and a little bit of news about his life experience needs to start to leak out...

~~

The joy brought by the fireworks has not completely dissipated.

Yuan Siyi accidentally glanced at the many ministers accompanying him, but did not see Prince Li Heng among them. He couldn't help but think that the prince's situation was getting worse. Xue Bai, who is now becoming more and more favored by saints, is obviously from the line of King Qing.

The reason for this idea is because of the documents Li Linfu reviewed before his death. But Yuan Siyi had noticed something was wrong, but couldn't explain it.

At dawn, the tired saint took a rest and it was Gao Lishi's turn to take duty.

When Yuan Siyi returned to his residence, the first thing he did was to ask Fu Chulin if he was back. He learned that Fu Chulin had been waiting for him all night.

"how?"

"Grandpa, I'm afraid things are not that simple. The water is very deep."

Fu Chulin did not directly talk about the situation when he went to see Zhang Xuan, but said: "My child checked again. According to the time of the painting, the child in Concubine Xue's arms was not Li Qiu, the fourth son of the deposed prince. In addition, There is someone else,"

"Who is that?"

Fu Chulin turned her head and glanced at the door to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then whispered: "Master, do you still remember what Wu Huaishi said?"

Yuan Siyi's eyes flashed and he understood.

He quickly walked to the desk, opened the locked drawer, took out the documents, turned to the map of Tanshan, Fuping County, and murmured: "It seems that this is the burial place of the child. Ge Nu is really I don’t think he’s dead.”

"But if he's not dead, where is he?"

Fu Chulin asked pointedly, and then said: "When I was in Zhongnan Mountain, I found someone who also went to find Zhang Xuan..."

(End of this chapter)