Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 18 A New Song and a Cup of Tea

In the middle of March, all government offices had a day off. Zhang Shuo, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, had finished dealing with the accumulated affairs of the province early that day and returned home just after noon. Coincidentally, several young scholars came to visit him, so he simply held a banquet at his home to entertain them.

Some of the common people heard that Mr. Zhang Yangong was holding a banquet at his home today, so they spread the word and came to visit one after another. By the evening, the house was crowded with people and every seat was taken.

Most of the guests at the mansion today were literary men, each boasting their own masterpieces. The Zhang family had their own talented performers, and they had summoned them into the hall to sing the famous poems of the guests. The charming performers danced gracefully, their melodious voices reciting the renowned verses of the time, a truly harmonious accompaniment.

The guests present enjoyed this delightful performance, appraising the piece that embodied the talent of the time, and accepting the comments and praise from the other guests. They were all extremely happy and felt that their trip was worthwhile. If it were not for the hall of Zhang Yangong, there would be no other place to enjoy such a wonderful performance, nor would so many scholars and fellow travelers be gathered.

"The entertainers in Lord Yan's household are truly beautiful and talented, and their songs are among the best of their time. However, for today's gathering, it would be inappropriate to only sing the old tunes. Please, gentlemen, bear with me and allow my servant to sing a new song!"

After a few songs were sung, Wang Han, who was also present in the hall, stood up and spoke to Zhang Shuo and the guests with a smile.

When Zhang Shuo heard Wang Han say this, he immediately understood his intention and said with a smile, "Wang Ziyu's new words are indeed elegant and interesting. Please listen carefully and enjoy yourselves."

Not all the guests present liked Wang Han's flamboyant and exaggerated style, but when they heard what Zhang said, they all nodded in agreement.

Wang Han also smiled and waved to the people below the hall, and then the female entertainers who had followed him came up slowly, each holding a pipa, guzheng, sheng, and other musical instruments.

These female entertainers were all in their prime, and each of them was very charming. Some of them even surpassed the entertainers of Zhang Shuo's family in the hall, and they seemed to be stealing the show. As a result, several of the Zhang family members in the hall showed a hint of displeasure.

However, Zhang Shuo knew that Wang Han was arrogant and careless because of his talent. Because he admired Wang Han's talent, he did not take it to heart. He just waited with interest for the female entertainers to sing the lyrics.

He had recently inquired about this poem in the province, but was unable to find out who the author was. He became more and more curious and hoped to spread the word through this banquet.

"I advise you not to be stingy with your golden embroidered clothes..."

As the melodious and pleasant singing began, all the guests present had their eyes lit up and expressions of surprise on their faces. Then they closed their eyes and listened carefully to savor this song that they had never heard before.

The poem "Golden Threaded Clothes" is not very long. Even after being composed and sung several times in different tones, it can be finished quickly. However, the concise and meaningful words make people savor them for a long time.

"When flowers are ready to be picked, pick them now; don't wait until there are no more flowers to pluck! This is truly a wonderful poem, no less than the old saying 'Fine grape wine in a luminous cup'!"

Although Zhang Shuo had heard Wang Han sing it a long time ago, but now when he heard the female entertainers singing the new tune, he couldn't help but feel that it had richer meaning, so he also raised his glass to praise it.

Even if some of the guests present were dissatisfied with Wang Han's personality and behavior, after listening to this new poem, they could not help but sigh that he was indeed a man of outstanding talent.

However, upon hearing this, Wang Han stood up and waved his hand, saying, "You all have misunderstood. This new poem was not written by me. I found it on the road and was very fond of it. After returning home, I adapted it from an old Yuefu tune and taught it to my servants. I came to perform at your house today, hoping to take advantage of the gathering of all the talented people in your house to ask about the author. Are you all hearing this poem for the first time and don't know the author?"

After hearing this, everyone became curious, and then began to think and discuss who the style of this poem was similar to, who might have written it, or maybe Luoxia had added a talented poet at some point?

Just as everyone was discussing this, Wang Han suddenly stared down at the hall, pointed at a maid from the Zhang family who was quickly retreating, and said quickly, "Young lady, please wait! Yes, it's you! Turn around!"

Ah Ying, who was temporarily transferred here to help, was waiting outside the hall for food and wine when she suddenly heard the lyrics of the song that Ah Lang had taught her a few days ago coming from inside the hall. Naturally, she felt curious and carefully approached the front of the hall to look inside.

She couldn't make any sense of the chaotic discussions in the hall, but when she glanced around, she saw the middle-aged man who was traveling with his concubines and whom she had met outside the city when she and Alang returned to the city together that day. The middle-aged man suddenly noticed her, and she was so scared that she quickly pulled back, but was stopped by the middle-aged man with a glare.

Wang Han, realizing that this girl was the attendant of the young man he had seen outside the city that day, became excited. He walked down from the banquet table, stared at A Ying, and asked, "Young lady, whose attendant are you? And who was the young man who walked with you that day and taught you the lyrics? Where is he now?"

Ah Ying didn't understand the situation, so she naturally refused to answer. She just pursed her lips, lowered her head and said nothing.

"This is a maid in the family. Why don't you answer Master Wang's question quickly!" The steward of the Zhang family hurriedly stepped forward to explain, then turned to look at Aying and scolded her in a low voice.

However, the young maid had no idea whether this would benefit A-lang or not. She allowed everyone's gaze inside and outside the hall to focus on her, but she just lowered her head and said nothing. Someone else came forward and whispered, "This is the maidservant who serves Liu Lang. She rarely attends formal occasions, let alone a room full of distinguished guests, so she is too shy to speak."

Wang Han smiled again after hearing this and said, "The family traditions of Lord Yan are truly upright. Even a mere maidservant is dignified and cautious, not daring to speak ill of her master. But don't worry, young lady. I'm asking you today because you're curious about who wrote the lyrics to 'The Golden Threaded Robe'."
All the gentlemen present are your close friends and confidants. They are very impressed by this poem, but we do not know who wrote it. Therefore, we can only ask you: where did your husband hear it from, or did he write it himself?

Ah Ying finally understood the reason for the incident. She raised her pretty face, which had turned pale with nervousness, and said word by word, "This was made by my husband himself. It was not stolen from anyone else."

"Is your husband at home right now? Can you invite him to meet me?"

After hearing this, Wang Han's face immediately showed joy. He was able to write the words "Don't laugh at me sleeping drunk on the battlefield", and he himself was a heroic and unrestrained person. He felt that the words "When there are flowers to be picked, you must pick them immediately" were quite similar to his own poems. In his heart, he regarded the author as a soulmate and wanted to get to know him very much.

Zhang Shuo in the hall had never expected that the new poem he had praised earlier was actually written by his son. He was greatly surprised and quickly raised his hand and ordered, "Quickly call my son here to meet the wise men!"

This is what happened when Zhang said he would summon Zhang Luo. After listening to Aying's explanation, Zhang Luo's nervous mood was slightly relieved, but he soon frowned again.

His plan was to leave the Zhang family as soon as he had saved enough money, find a place to start over, and not want to develop complicated interpersonal relationships in the Zhang family, so as not to increase the chances of his new identity being discovered in the future.

But now that I've been summoned, I really have no reason to refuse. I can't say that I'm still infected with the disease and I'm afraid of infecting you guys.

The servants outside the door were urging him again, obviously getting impatient. Zhang Luo could only quickly change into a clean outer robe, then walked out of the door, following the two servants towards the living room, while thinking in his mind how to deal with it later.

Inside the Zhang family's hall, the feast continued, but everyone was preoccupied, and the atmosphere was no longer as lively as before. Wang Han, in particular, was eager to meet a close friend and frequently glanced outside the hall.

Zhang Shuo had a thoughtful look on his face. It was only after the servant reminded him that he remembered this illegitimate grandson in the family. He learned that the other party was just a naughty teenager who had been educated in the clan school for a few years. He had not received any further education and had not shown any special characteristics before. Therefore, he felt a little suspicious. Could it be that there was a genius in the family, but he was unaware of it?

As soon as Zhang Luo appeared at the entrance of the hall, he noticed that everyone in the hall was looking at him. However, he was not an inexperienced person and was not at all nervous. After a moment of composure, he quickly walked into the hall and bowed to Zhang Shuo, who was sitting upright in the hall, looking down at him. He said, "Grandson greets you, great father! I was playful and wandering around the courtyard, unaware that you had summoned me. I was so slow to come in and pay my respects, keeping you and the other distinguished guests waiting. This is truly rude. Please forgive me."

Zhang Shuo was not familiar with this grandson. If it weren't for the occasion today, he wouldn't have thought of summoning him. Seeing that the young man had a decent demeanor and conversation, his frown relaxed slightly. But before he could open his mouth to ask, Wang Han beside him couldn't help but laugh and said, "Sixth son of the Zhang family, do you still recognize me?"

"Mr. Wang's talent is outstanding and his reputation is well-known. How dare I not recognize him?"

Before Zhang Shuo could say anything to excuse himself, Zhang Luo could only turn slightly to nod towards Wang Han and speak, feeling a little excited about paying homage to a historical figure.

After hearing this, Wang Han laughed again and said, "When we met that day, you were so frivolous, I'm afraid you didn't expect me to come and visit you. What you say now may not be sincere. I am deaf to vulgar words now, so I need you to come up with a new one to cleanse me. If you can satisfy me, I can forgive your previous arrogance."

"Everyone here is from the Fang family. Even though I am a reckless kid, how dare I show off in front of you!"

Zhang Luo waved his hand again after hearing this. Although he was forced to come, he didn't want to be too prominent and leave too deep an impression on the guests. He had been secretly happy not to see his father Zhang Jun when he entered the hall earlier, but now he missed him a little.

The relationship between father and son is bad, and Zhang Jun must not like him to show off in front of others. Although Wang Han is relentless, Zhang Jun should speak out to stop him.

Zhang said that because he was not sure about the depth of his grandson's knowledge, he originally planned to meet him briefly, hide his shortcomings in front of others, and then test him carefully later.

But when he saw that his grandson was well-mannered, well-spoken, and had a previous work as a foundation, Zhang Shuo paused for a moment before placing the cup of tea on the table and pushing it forward. Pointing at the teacup, he said, "Master Wang is a man of high caliber and renown, a man of great reputation throughout the capital. How could you, a boy, deceive him? Now, since I have forgiven your past behavior, I will write a new poem on this theme, in any rhyme or word, as a token of my gratitude to Master Wang."

(End of this chapter)