Return to the Tang Dynasty to be a villain

Chapter 16 Zhang Yizhi's Ambition
At just one glance, Qin Yi felt that there was something wrong with that person.

All the guests in Hua'e Tower were surrounded by beautiful women and were laughing happily.

But the man sitting in the corner had a sad look on his face. There was only a pot of wine on the table in front of him, and Hua Niang was not with him.

At this moment, on the wooden platform in the center of the lobby, a group of Hu Ji, whose clothes were scantily clad and whose pieces of clothing could only cover their private parts, were twisting their waists seductively.

But the man ignored the exciting dancers on the stage, and stared at the position diagonally above him.

Qin Yi walked forward a few steps and looked in the direction the man was looking. He could only see a man surrounded by several beauties.

Returning to his desk, Zhang Yizhi had already let go of the embarrassment in his heart.

I was playing the game of throwing pots with Xiaoyu and Ruoyun.

The three men threw their arrows at the porcelain bottle coming towards them and shouted as they poured wine into the mouth of the loser.

Xiaoyu and Ruoyun were also having a great time at this moment. They had already taken off their gauze clothes and were only wearing their hezi and going shirtless.

"Yunniang," Qin Yi sat calmly in his seat and pointed above his head, "Go ask who is there?"

Yunniang was gone for less than a moment and then returned without saying a word. She just stretched out a jade hand and looked at Qin Yi with a smile on her face.

Qin Yi knew that she was asking for a reward, so he took out a small string of money from his pocket and put it in Ruoyun's palm.

"The one above is quite influential."

After running back and forth like this, Qin Yi gave her a hundred coins, and Yun Niang immediately showed a beautiful smile on her face.

She snuggled up to Qin Yi and sat down, whispering softly in his ear with her red lips.

"That's Zhang Xuanyu, sir. He was formerly the general of the Right Golden Guard."

"It is said that last year, the Khitan Khan Sun Wanrong rebelled, and he went with General Wang Xiaojie, the commander-in-chief of the Qingbian Road, to suppress the rebellion."

"As a result, General Wang Xiaojie's entire army was annihilated in Dongshi Gorge, and this Lord Zhang was also injured and captured."

"After the Khitan rebellion was quelled by the Prince of Jian'an, although Lord Zhang was rescued, he was also dismissed from office by His Majesty the Holy Emperor and remained unemployed at home."

"So, this Mr. Zhang has become a frequent visitor to our Hua'e Tower."

So that's how it is. Qin Yi had some impression of Zhang Xuanyu.

According to historical records, he was indeed dismissed from his post because the Tang army suffered a major defeat in the Dongshi Gorge, and then disappeared from history books.

I just don’t know what the relationship is between the mysterious man I just saw and this Zhang Xuanyu?
Qin Yi looked at the strange man in the opposite corner silently. The man's whole body was hidden in the shadows and his face could not be seen at all.

Suddenly, everyone in the Hua'e Building became excited.

Both the guests and the Hua Niang gave deafening cheers.

Amidst the astonished gazes of Qin Yi and Zhang Yizhi, Ruoyun and Xiaoyu also cheered with joy.

"Madam Gongsun. Madam Gongsun, Madam Gongsun."

In an instant, the cheers became uniform, and wave after wave of cheers almost blew off the roof of Hua'e Building.

Xiaoyu and Ruoniang's eyes were also filled with fanatical excitement at this moment.

Qin Yi turned his head and saw a young lady holding a sword, who looked like a fairy, floating towards the center of the stage.

Lady Gongsun?

Qin Yi felt like his breath was choking.

In the old days, there was a beautiful woman, Gongsun, who used a sword to move around.

The viewer is as depressed as a mountain, and the world has been low for a long time.

Could this Lady Gongsun be the same Lady Gongsun mentioned in the poem “Watching the Sword Dance of Lady Gongsun’s Disciples” by the great poet Du Fu?
Legend has it that Du Gongbu wrote this poem, which has been passed down through the ages, while watching the sword dance performed by Li Shi'er Niang, a disciple of Gongsun Da Niang.

It depicts that when Gongsun Da Niang was dancing with a sword, the crowd of onlookers was as numerous as mountains and seas. They looked dazed, and as the sword danced, the sky and the earth changed color.

Sure enough, as the musicians of Hua'e Tower played a majestic and desolate piece of music, Gongsun Niangzi shook the sword in her hand and her body began to dance.

Lady Gongsun walked lightly and gracefully, and the sword in her hand danced like lightning, forming balls of dazzling white light.

As the rhythm of the music became faster and faster, Gongsun Niangzi on the stage almost became a shadow.

At this moment, everyone in Hua'e Tower held their breath and stared at the silver light shining in Gongsun Niangzi's hands on the stage.

Is this the real 'Chinese Kung Fu'?
Qin Yi was shocked. There really was a sword technique in this world that could dazzle people.

Finally, the instruments in the hands of the musicians stopped playing abruptly, and Madam Gongsun flew backstage, her clothes fluttering in the wind, like a banished celestial being from heaven.

In the silent lobby of Hua'e Building, thunderous cheers erupted again.

Zhang Yizhi's eyes were full of longing, and his gaze followed Gongsun Niangzi's departing figure for a long time without moving away.

"Young Master," Madam Gongsun's figure disappeared behind the curtain for a long time before Zhang Yizhi turned around and looked at Qin Yi with an unsatisfied look.

"Are there really immortals in this world?"

Qin Yi smiled and shook his head.

"Wulang, I don't know if there are really immortals in this world."

"But this Madam Gongsun, even if she is not a fairy, is still an extraordinary person, beyond the reach of ordinary people like us."

When Zhang Yizhi heard Qin Yi's words, he knew that he was able to enter Hua'e Tower today because of Qin Yi's invitation.

As for the dazzling Lady Gongsun on the stage just now, not to mention herself, even the young master Qin Yi might not take her seriously.

He dismissed the unrealistic fantasy in his heart and turned to look at Xiao Yu who was sitting next to him. If it weren't for Qin Yi, he would never have the chance to meet such a beautiful girl in his life.

"Young Master," Zhang Yizhi suddenly stood up and saluted Qin Yi with his arms folded, saying, "Thank you for inviting me today. If I have the opportunity to rise to prominence in the future, I will definitely not let you down."

Seeing that Zhang Yizhi was finally convinced by him, Qin Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He took out two strings of money from his pocket and placed them on the table, looking at Xiaoyu and Ruoyun with a smile.

"Wu Lang is staying here today. This is my small reward. Which of you two will open the door of your boudoir for him?"

Xiaoyu and Ruoyun have been drooling over Zhang Yizhi since the moment they saw him.

At this moment, seeing Qin Yi paying for a servant for him at night, he almost reached out to the table to grab the money.

Qin Yi looked at the two young ladies who had lost all their reserve and felt a little disappointed.

He knew that if it were him, these two Hua Ladies would definitely not be so enthusiastic.

In the end, Qin Yi added another string of money, and Xiaoyu and Ruoyun decided to accompany Zhang Yizhi together.

After waving his hand and letting them both go back to their boudoirs to wash and get ready, Qin Yi began to speak to Zhang Yizhi about what was in his heart.

"Wulang," Qin Yi filled his and Zhang Yizhi's glasses with wine, brought them to his mouth and drank them all, then looked at him with a smile.

"I've long seen that you're not one to settle for the status quo."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yizhi picked up the wine glass in front of him and drank it all, with a hint of embarrassment on his face.

"Young Master, you were born in a county mansion and have lived a life of luxury since childhood. How could you possibly understand the hardships faced by ordinary people like us?"

"I have been well-read since I was young, and I don't think I'm a mediocre person."

"But in this world, aristocratic families run rampant, officials collude with each other, and officials protect each other."

"It's so difficult for ordinary people like us to stand out."

When Qin Yi heard Zhang Yizhi's words, he couldn't help but nodded.

He knew that what Zhang Yizhi said was true.

The original Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, was able to establish the Tang Dynasty because he had the support of the Five Gates and Seven Hopes, the thousand-year-old families.

In today's court, most of the power is still controlled by those aristocratic families.

In addition to the founding heroes of the Tang Dynasty and the new nobles such as the Wu kings, the children of poor families at that time really had no channels to enter the officialdom.

Even if some gifted individuals passed the imperial examinations with their own abilities, they were still marginalized.

Their basic fate was to be sent to remote and wild areas to become local officials, and they would never have the opportunity to enter the political core of Chang'an.

And Zhang Yizhi is not an unlearned person.

After becoming Wu Zetian's lover, he took Li Jiao, Zhang Shuo, Song Zhiwen and 26 others to collect poems and songs from all dynasties, and compiled a collection of poems and songs, "Three Religions Pearls", which lasted for 1,313 volumes.

Zhang Yizhi's own works such as "Boating and Attending the Banquet in Response to the Imperial Decree", "Attending the Banquet at the Princess's Southern Residence and Finding the Word 'Wind' in Response to the Imperial Decree", "Horizontal Blowing Tune: Going Out to the Frontier", and "Summer Tour to Shicong Mountain in Response to the Imperial Decree" also show that he has a certain cultural accomplishment.

When Qin Yi thought of these things, he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion in his heart.

Zhang Yizhi could be considered a man of both talent and beauty, but because he became Wu Zetian's lover, he eventually became a victim of the struggle for imperial power.

If not, with Zhang Yizhi's talent and appearance, he would definitely be the male protagonist in the story of "Talented Man and Beautiful Woman".

"Wu Lang," Qin Yi shook his head at Zhang Yizhi, "I know the ambitions in your heart."

"Oh?" Zhang Yizhi was already a little drunk at this moment. He looked at Qin Yi with hazy eyes, "Young Master, why don't you tell me what my ambition is?"

"To lie on a beautiful woman's lap while drunk, and to hold the power of the world when awake, is what I wish for."

Qin Yi said softly, and Zhang Yizhi was suddenly shocked when he heard it, and felt that his drunkenness had disappeared.

He was about to argue when Qin Yi waved his hand, signaling him to finish his words.

"A true man, if he cannot leave a name for himself in good renown for a hundred years, must at least leave a name for himself in infamy for a thousand years."

"It's only natural for Wulang to have such ambitions. What's wrong with that?"

"Drunk on the lap of a beauty, awake in power"

"If I cannot be remembered for a hundred years, I will be remembered for a thousand years"

Zhang Yizhi murmured Qin Yi's two sentences. Qin Yi's unconcealed arrogance shocked Zhang Yizhi deeply.

This first sentence comes from Huo Qubing, a famous general of the Western Han Dynasty.

The original text reads: "Drunk on the lap of a beauty, awake holding a murderous sword. I do not seek a priceless jade, but only a murderous sword. As long as the Xiongnu are not destroyed, how can I return home?"

But in modern times, it has become the introduction to countless time-travel novels.

The second sentence comes from Huan Wen, a great general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He said: If a person cannot leave a good reputation for centuries, then he should leave a bad reputation for eternity.

Regardless of whether these two sentences were correct or not, they made Zhang Yizhi, a young man full of vigor and vitality, feel his blood boil.

"Young Master," Zhang Yizhi's eyes lit up with flames, "Tell me, how can I do this?"

Qin Yi looked up and saw Ruoyun and Xiaoyu walking towards them happily.

Knowing that the two of them were ready, he came to invite Zhang Yizhi to go to Wushan together.

"Five days," Qin Yi said with a smile, stretching out his right hand and spreading out his five fingers. "Enjoy yourself tonight, Wulang. Within five days, I will give you an explanation."

(End of this chapter)