Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 156 The Lantern Festival
What to do?

Hongxiu never expected that she could handle those complicated interpersonal relationships with ease in Pingkangfang, but now she would be trapped in this nameless academy.

For a time, no solution could be found.

It can only be said that those involved are blinded by their own feelings. The people in Pingkangfang are all hypocritical, and no matter what choice they make, they have no burden in their hearts. But she has given her heart and soul to the academy, and with too many concerns, she naturally finds it difficult to make a choice.

There's no other way; leaving temporarily is absolutely out of the question. We can only take it one step at a time.

That day, she went to the nameless academy and apologized to Tao Mo repeatedly. This was the second time she had "changed her mind," the first time being about playing the female lead.

Tao Mo naturally offered her some words of comfort, telling her not to take all the blame upon herself when she encountered problems, but to speak up so that everyone could work together to find a solution.

This only made Hongxiu feel more ashamed, and she would rather Tao Mo scold her a few times.

After meeting Tao Mo, Hongxiu immediately threw herself into rehearsals, the only way she could repay Tao Mo's tolerance.

But after only a short rehearsal, Li Qiao suddenly came to the door again, specifically asking to see Wang Xi and Li Jieman.

"Father, what brings you here?"

Li Jie asked, full of curiosity.

It's still Chinese New Year, and Li Qiao usually visits relatives and friends during this time.

Li Qiao asked, "The Lantern Festival is just around the corner, how are your preparations going?"

Li Jieman immediately said confidently, "Father, don't worry. We can't speak for other things, but we can definitely beat Wu Chongwen and the others."

Li Qiao smiled and said, "With your words, Father can rest assured."

He didn't care about anything else; the key was to keep the Wu family in check. But this wasn't because of the Wang family; it was because he and Wu Xin were both in charge of education reform, and they were in competition with each other.

And being a scholar, he was quite concerned about competition in this area.

Wang Xi asked curiously, "Did you come here for this matter, Uncle?"

"Not at all."

Li Qiao said, "Actually, my uncle came here today for another matter."

"What is it?" Wang Xi asked.

Instead of answering, Li Qiao asked, "What is the purpose of your uncle's charity banquet?"

Wang Xi said, "Promote the culture of my Great Tang Dynasty."

"Exactly."

Li Qiao said, "Your performance was a great success. If it weren't for all the things that happened that night, your uncle would have come to reward you the next day."

Your performance was excellent; the foreign envoys were completely captivated, and they even requested to come here to learn Tang opera.

"Here?"

Wang Xi was startled.

Li Qiao said, "If your Wuming Academy knows anything about Tang opera, where else would you learn it if not here?"

Wang Xi blinked.

He hadn't thought of this at all beforehand.

Li Jie asked with difficulty, "Father, teacher."

Li Qiao said, "I'm worried that Mr. Yin might be unhappy, which is why I came to discuss this with you first. Also, regarding the matter with Tibet, I'm worried that they might clash with you."

Wang Xi and Li Jieman exchanged a glance, then Wang Xi said to Li Qiao, "Uncle, let's go and test the teacher first."

"That would certainly work."

Li Qiao nodded and said, "This matter is not urgent, but you must be prepared. His Majesty has given his word."

Li Jie nodded and said, "Yes, we understand."

After Li Qiao left, Wang Xi and Li Jieman summoned Huangfu Sengnian and went to the back hall to discuss matters. Wang Shuang did not come to the academy today because Wang Maozhong, who had spent many years in the military, possessed a strong sense of chivalry and valued the festival. He wanted to take Wang Shuang with him on a tour.

"I don't want them to come."

Huangfu Sengnian was very decisive.

Wang Xi sighed, "I don't want it either, but Xiaoman's father held a charity banquet to promote Tang Opera. So it should be a good thing that people take the initiative to come and learn from it. But the problem is that only our academy knows about these things."

Huangfu Sengnian couldn't help but frown and ponder.

They really hadn't considered this beforehand.

"Blame me too"

Wang Xi sighed, "It hasn't been fully considered."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "How about this, let the court send someone from the Imperial Academy to learn this opera, and then add this course to the Imperial Academy. But the premise is that they send a junior teaching assistant, not some doctor, we can't afford to send one."

Li Jie said with concern, "If they learn the opera, won't they steal our thunder?"

"That's not the case."

Wang Xi shook his head and said, "We certainly won't teach you everything we know; we'll only teach you the basics."

After a slight pause, he said, "Alright! Let's leave it at that for now. Let's focus on preparing for the singing competition first. Anyway, my uncle said there's no rush."

Before we knew it, the Lantern Festival had arrived.

On this Lantern Festival, the imperial court decreed that there would be a three-day holiday and the curfew would be lifted.

Therefore, at this time, both the government and the people hold various activities, and the entire city of Chang'an is brightly lit.

However, this year, everyone's attention is focused on the singing competition organized by the Imperial College.

This singing competition has been quite a rollercoaster ride, from initial high expectations to complete obscurity, and then to citywide attention.

Because of Li Linfu's scheme, the imperial court attached great importance to it and gave it a very high level of attention, allowing the Imperial Academy to hold the event at the Zhuque Gate.

The Vermilion Bird Gate is the main gate of the imperial city and the central axis of the entire Chang'an city. The gate is about forty meters wide and is generally used for holding celebrations. When Xuanzang returned from his pilgrimage, Emperor Taizong of Tang ordered Fang Xuanling to welcome him at the Vermilion Bird Gate.

Not only that, the emperor, the prime minister, and envoys from various countries also participated.

This is quite a show of respect.

The singing competition was scheduled for the evening because for the Tang people, the curfew was lifted only on a few days a year, so the citizens would stay up all night. Therefore, the event had to be held in the evening.

On that day, all the citizens ate lunch after noon and then rushed to the Zhuque Gate to grab a seat.

Before evening, the area in front of the Vermilion Bird Gate was already packed with people, a dark mass. If someone were to raise their arms and shout at this moment, it would probably take less than an hour to breach the imperial city.

That said, there are a great many guards, because the emperor will also be there today.

As night fell, Li Longji, along with Gao Lishi, Jiang Jiao, Zhang Shuo, Zhang Jiazhen, and others, arrived at the Vermilion Bird Gate. However, they were all dressed in plain clothes and were very relaxed.

Because it wasn't a grand event, they were just invited to attend.

Wu Xin hurriedly went to greet him. Today was finally his turn to shine, and he had to make the most of it. At the very least, it couldn't be worse than a charity banquet.

“So many people!”

Looking out, Li Longji could hardly see the end of the line. He then turned to Wu Xin and said, "Wu Jijiu, your singing competition is quite well organized."

Wu Xin hurriedly said, "I am ashamed. This is all thanks to Prime Minister Zhang's great help. Otherwise, this scene would not have been possible."

Zhang said with a smile, "Master Wu, please don't be modest. I only said a few words. All the specific matters were arranged by Master Wu." "I dare not! I dare not!" Wu Xin bowed and declined modestly.

He wasn't deliberately flattering Zhang Shuo; Zhang Shuo was a towering figure in the literary world, and a few words from him were worth more than ten thousand words from him.

At this moment, the foreign envoys also came forward and bowed to Li Longji.

They were all well-versed in the Tang Dynasty and very interested in poetry and prose. They were overjoyed to receive Wu Xin's invitation.

It is clear that the Tibetan affair did not affect them; on the contrary, it made them more inclined to submit to the Tang Dynasty.

Li Longji exchanged a few pleasantries with them, and then they all took their seats.

After sitting down, Li Longji asked, "Who are the participants?"

Wu Xin hurriedly said, "There were over a thousand applicants from the general public alone. After a selection process, fifty people were chosen from the general public. In addition, fifty people from the Imperial Academy also participated, including international students from various countries."

Li Longji chuckled and said, "Good! Good! It's a good opportunity to test whether the education at the Imperial Academy has made any progress."

Jiang Yanbo hurriedly said, "Your Majesty's words make me feel extremely uncomfortable."

Li Longji laughed heartily and said, "Dr. Jiang, please don't be modest."

After a slight pause, he asked again, "Will the Nameless Academy participate?"

The scholars from the Imperial Academy immediately changed their expressions.

Wu Xin said, "The Nameless Academy has been invited to participate."

Li Longji then asked, "Whom should be sent to participate?"

Wu Xin hesitated for a moment, then suddenly looked at Jiang Yanbo.

Jiang Yanbo hurriedly replied, "It seems there's no explanation."

Wu Xin frowned. "What kind of work are you doing?"

Li Longji didn't seem to mind, waving his hand and saying, "It's alright, it's alright. Wang Xiaoque just loves to surprise people, haha!"

Han Xiu then said, "I don't think that the nameless academy can bring any surprises in this singing competition."

Li Longji glanced at Han Xiu and said, "Is Minister Han willing to make a bet with me?"

Han Xiu replied without hesitation, "Your subject is willing."

Almost all the ministers present said in unison, "We also wish to participate."

"Everyone looks down on my sparrow so much." Li Longji's temper flared up as well. "Fine, fine, fine. Today I'll be the dealer, and you can place your bets, big or small. Just bet on whether Wuming Academy can make it into the top ten. The prime ministers are all here, so whether it's good or bad, no one can cheat."

Jiang Yanbo said, "I bet five thousand coins that Wuming Academy will not make it into the top ten."

Li Longji glanced at Jiang Yanbo and suddenly asked, "Is your wife here?"

Jiang Yanbo was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "What does this have to do with my wife?"

Li Longji chuckled and said, "I'm just worried that if your wife doesn't agree, Dr. Jiang won't be able to come up with the money."

Gao Lishi, Jiang Jiao, and the others all laughed.

Everyone knows that Jiang Yanbo is notoriously afraid of his wife.

Jiang Yanbo immediately flew into a rage, "Even if I have to sell everything I own, I will not let Your Majesty down."

Han Xiu said, "I am willing to vouch for Dr. Jiang."

Li Longji chuckled and said, "I've figured it out; none of you have high hopes for the Nameless Academy."

Everyone remained silent.

I'm not optimistic about it.

Li Qiao hurriedly said, "I'll bet ten thousand coins that Wuming Academy will make it into the top ten."

"it is good!"

Li Longji said with great interest, "Today, you and I, brothers, will join forces and kill them all without leaving a single one alive."

Upon hearing this, the Turkic envoy Dunshan whispered to the young Turkic prince beside him, "Mi'er, it seems that all those who have come today are young heroes of the Tang Dynasty. Take a good look at them."

The Turkic prince glanced shyly at Dunshan, then nodded gently.

Just then, a commotion was heard from the bottom of the steps.

"We have more people, so you can send out more if you're so capable."

"Exactly! There's no limit to the number of participants, so why can't we all go together?"

"Go, go, go, find that person in charge. What kind of scoundrel dares to stop me, young master?"

"It sounds like a sparrow's voice."

Li Longji glanced around nervously, then hurriedly ordered, "Go and see what's going on."

Wu Xin quickly replied, "Yes, sir."

He quickly descended the steps, just as Wu Chongwen was walking towards him.

"what's up?"

Wu Xin said anxiously.

Wu Chongwen said, "Father, Wuming Academy said that the entire academy will participate, which is more than a hundred people."

Wu Xin was dumbfounded. "More than a hundred people? Are they here to cause trouble? If so, why not just hold it at their academy?"

Wu Chongwen added firmly, "They will only sing one song, but they will all participate."

"It's all your fault, you brat."

Wu Xin frowned and said, "They didn't intend to participate at all, but you insisted on provoking them to come."

Wu Chongwen said awkwardly, "I never expected them to be so outrageous."

"Wait a minute!"

Wu Xin returned to the stage and said, "Your Majesty, Wuming Academy said that all students in the academy should participate together, which means there are more than a hundred people."

Han Xiu frowned. "The Imperial Academy only sent fifty people. Do they think this singing competition is for their Wuming Academy?"

Wu Xin added, "They only recite one poem."

"See! The surprise is finally here," Li Longji chuckled.

Jiang Yanbo replied, "How can you say that?"

Li Longji said, "Why not? Is there a rule?"

Everyone remained silent.

There are indeed no regulations, because it's usually a solo performance, with at most a few musicians. Can poetry and prose be performed in a group?

Outrageous!

Li Longji said, "Quickly let them in."

Wu Xin nodded and said, "Your subject obeys."

(End of this chapter)