People in the Tang Dynasty, Jian'an style

The towering crown, the dragon robe, and the drooping pearl tassels were just at eye level, and they shone brightly under the illumination of ninety-nine giant tallow candles.

All the ministers shouted "Long live the emperor" three times. Li Yuan accepted everyone's kneeling and announced that there was no need for formalities. Everyone knelt behind the desk, lowered their heads and looked solemn.

A minister came out and sang praises of the great achievements that the Tang Dynasty had made in the past year - how much the population had grown, how many acres of land had been reclaimed, and how much tax revenue had increased.

The final conclusion is that the past year was a victorious and glorious year for the Tang Dynasty. This was entirely due to the wise emperor who led the people of the world to achieve such achievements.

After finishing the work report, the gift presentation session began.

"Your Majesty, I wish you a happy new year, and I also wish the Tang Dynasty will enjoy eternal peace."

Li Shimin wished Li Yuan a happy new year and presented him with gifts.

Li Yuan said with a smile: "Oh? Let me see what gift the King of Qin gave me."

"Father, this is the Tao Te Ching written by me personally and I have recited it a thousand times. I am offering it to you to express my filial piety."

Taoism was the state religion in the early Tang Dynasty, and successive emperors of the Tang Dynasty regarded themselves as descendants of Li Er, the Jade Emperor. Li Yuan was very satisfied with the gift presented by Li Shimin.

"Well, Erlang, I like your gift very much. Thank you for your hard work."

"As long as my father is healthy and our Tang Dynasty is free from war, I will be willing to endure the hardship."

This method was suggested by Li Wenbin - in his words: The emperor is now rich and powerful, no matter how expensive the gift you get, can it be more precious than the ones in the palace?

Besides, if you really got it, I'm afraid the emperor would think too much about it.

The gift presented by Li Shimin was very elegant, and it hit Li Yuan's sore spot, making Li Jiancheng, who was standing next to him, very angry.

He spent countless money and finally got a statue of Laozi carved from a whole piece of jade from another place. Unexpectedly, compared with Li Shimin's gift, it became like bricks and rubble.

Li Jiancheng couldn't swallow this humiliation, and quickly gave a look to Prince of Qi Li Yuanji.

Li Yuanji understood and walked out and said, "Father, my second brother is taking advantage of the situation. This is actually very disrespectful to you, Father. Please understand."

After hearing this, Li Shimin became furious: "Fourth brother, what do you mean by this?"

Li Yuanji smiled sinisterly: "Second brother, what do I mean, don't you understand? You have been fighting for many years and have gained countless benefits, but what you presented to our father is just such a shabby gift?"

"Second brother, I want to ask you, how did you come up with this?"

Li Shimin's fair face turned purple, but he couldn't quarrel with Li Yuanji in front of Li Yuan, as that would mean he fell into someone's trap.

"Okay, stop arguing." Li Yuan's expression remained unchanged. "Today is New Year's Day. Are you two here to cause trouble for me on purpose?"

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Li Yuanji was wrong in this matter - the emperor had already said that he liked it very much, so why were you butting in on it?

However, Li Yuan's conclusion was that he was intentionally favoring Li Yuanji. Although everyone saw this, no one dared to speak for Li Shimin.

"Yes, Father."

Li Shimin said while suppressing his anger, but Li Wenbin refused to give in at this time: "Grandfather, there is one thing I don't understand. Can you please help me solve this puzzle?"

Li Yuan was stunned when he saw Li Wenbin coming out of the class. "Who are you?"

Li Wenbin: “…”

Li Shimin said quickly: "Father, this is my eldest son, Li Wenbin."

"Oh, I remember now." In front of all the officials, Li Yuan still had to pretend, "If you have any questions, just say it directly."

"Yes, thank you, Grandfather." Li Wenbin said loudly, "May I ask, Grandfather, which is more important, money or people's hearts?"

"Well... naturally, people's hearts are important. Once the money is spent, we can find another way, but if people's hearts are lost, then we can never get them back."

"Thank you, Grandfather, for clearing up my doubts. I would like to ask again, which one is more valuable, this Tao Te Ching, which embodies my father's filial piety and hard work, or the gift given by His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi?"

"This……"

Li Shimin was anxious: "Wenbin, don't mess around."

Li Wenbin bowed and said, "Father, you have spent so much energy praying for the Emperor's grandfather, which is filial piety; and I, your son, am speaking out for justice today, which is also filial piety."

Li Yuan stroked his beard and said nothing, but there was dissatisfaction in his eyes when he looked at Li Yuanji.

"Nonsense, nonsense." Li Yuanji got anxious all of a sudden, pointing at Li Wenbin and cursing, "How dare you, a young boy, act so presumptuously in this Taiji Hall? Second brother presents such a gift, it's clearly to attract attention!"

"Your Highness, Prince Qi, my father once recited a poem after he got drunk, but unfortunately I only remember two lines of it."

"What poem?"

"Those who know me think I am worried, and those who don't know me think I am asking for something." Li Wenbin said loudly, "My father was upright and upright all his life, but in the eyes of His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi, he is evaluated like this. It's sad, so sad."

As he spoke, he sighed and shook his head. The civil and military officials could not help but laugh and admire Li Shimin's literary talent.

Some civil servants who were proud of their poetry originally looked down on Li Shimin, who was only good at riding a horse and fighting - he was just a crude warrior, and governing the world still depended on Confucian scholars like them. But now things were different.

Poetry is the best way to bring people closer together. These civil servants who talk about all sorts of things all the time are not sure that they can write a poem that can become famous all over the world.

"What a great sentence, 'Those who know me think I am worried, those who do not know me think I am seeking something'. The King of Qin is good at writing, and it should be made clear."

"I never thought that the King of Qin, who had spent his whole life in military service, could have such literary talent. I really admire him."

"No wonder everyone praises His Majesty the Prince of Qin as a man of both civil and military talents. It's true."

"Your Highness, Prince Qin, what are the other sentences?"

"Young Master Wenbin, do you still remember what happened next?"

This sudden flattery caught Li Shimin off guard, and he could only say modestly: "It's just nonsense after drinking. It can't be taken seriously. It can't be taken seriously."

A group of civil servants surrounded Li Shimin and Li Wenbin, causing chaos in the Taiji Hall.

"My Lords, Wenbin only heard it by chance, and I really can't remember the rest."

Being surrounded by those civil servants, even Li Wenbin, who was thick-skinned, felt a little overwhelmed, but he did not dare to beat these people - most of them were centrists, and there were even a few who were Doctors of Literature from the Eastern Palace.

If he really punched him, the impact would be no less than poking a hornet's nest.

Chapter 88: Watching the Sword Dance of Zhangsun

When Li Jiancheng saw that his men were surrounding Li Shimin and trying to curry favor with him, he was so angry that he almost fainted.

"My Lords, my Lords, this is the Taiji Palace, please pay attention."

Wei Zheng, the Eastern Palace Groom, saw that the situation was getting out of control and shouted hurriedly. The civil servants were suddenly awakened and realized that this was in front of the emperor and that such nonsense was simply deceiving the emperor.

Li Yuan rubbed his eyebrows, feeling a bit of a headache, but he couldn't blame anyone in front of so many people. His impression of Li Wenbin just became worse.

Li Wenbin was not too worried about this. Although Li Yuan was the emperor, he would only have half a year of good life at most - he was always very magnanimous to such people.

After everyone has finished congratulating each other, it is time to entertain all the ministers.

By this time it was time for the singing and dancing performance. Li Jiancheng had already arranged the personnel. An East Palace guard whispered a few words in his ear.

After hearing what the guard said, Li Jiancheng, who had been gloomy all the time, finally showed a smile on his face.

He stood up and said to Li Yuan on the high platform: "Father, I recently met a great dancer with superb dancing skills. This dancer is good at sword dancing. Please allow me to let her dance."

Li Yuan was very interested after hearing this: "Okay, then invite the person here quickly."

Li Jiancheng clapped his hands, and the music suddenly changed. It was replaced by a piece of music with faint sounds of war and iron horses. A slim woman in a green dress appeared in the center of the stage.

She was wearing a veil, revealing only a pair of sparkling almond-shaped eyes.

Li Wenbin took a look and nodded: "She is indeed a beauty. How can you be a thief?"

He was right beside Li Shimin. Changsun Wugou heard this and asked curiously, "Wenbin, how do you know this must be a beauty?"

"It's actually very simple, just look at her eyes." Li Wenbin said, "The eyes are the windows to the soul. A woman with such perfect eyes, even if she is not a beauty, is definitely above average."

As he was talking, he noticed that there was something wrong with Changsun Wugou's eyes.

After thinking for a while, Li Wenbin continued, "From what I have seen in my life, the princess' eyes are the most beautiful."

Of course, this was said in a low voice.

Zhang Sun Wu Gou blushed, and seeing that no one was paying attention to this side, she said with a slight frown: "You are talking nonsense again, be careful that someone hears you!"

While the two were talking, the woman had already started dancing with the sword.

Then I saw the sword flashing on the stage. The woman was as graceful as a startled swan and her movements were extremely fast. Soon the stage was filled with her green silhouette.

Li Shimin stared at her intently: "Haha, this woman is too much for an ordinary man to handle."

Zhangsun Wugou nodded and said, "Indeed, it is said that the women of our Tang Dynasty are all heroic women. With their sword skills and footwork, ordinary people are no match for them."

The woman had a graceful figure and her swordsmanship was quite sharp, and the civil and military officials around her were fascinated by her.

When the woman made the sword gesture and held the sword upright behind her, there was thunderous applause and cheers in the Taiji Hall, and even Li Yuan couldn't stop clapping his hands.

"Prince, this sword dance is great. I like it very much. Everyone should appreciate this dancer, and you should appreciate it too."

Li Yuan praised him. Li Jiancheng was happy in his heart, but he pretended to be calm: "Thank you for your praise, father. Making you happy is the greatest reward for me."

As he was speaking, he suddenly had a bad idea in his mind and said to Li Shimin: "Erlang, you have good literary talent. Today, my father is happy. Why don't you improvise a poem to boost his momentum?"

Li Shimin: "...Your Highness, what are you talking about? I don't have any literary talent."

Li Yuan smiled and said, "Shimin, don't be so modest. The poems you just wrote are very good, which is enough to prove that my son is a talented writer."

Li Shimin was helpless and he didn't know what to say. Should he say that the poem was not written by him? Wouldn't that be a crime of deceiving the emperor?

"What's wrong, King Qin? Could it be..."

Li Wenbin stood up and said, "Grandfather, please allow me to report that my father did not want to study because he had his own reasons."

"How to say?"

Li Shimin was shocked: this little bastard is just talking nonsense, when did I ever write such a poem. But he didn't dare to interrupt Li Wenbin, so he listened to him continue:

"Replying to Grandfather, I once saw my mother perform a sword dance for my father by chance. At that time, my father composed a piece called "Watching the Sword Dance of Changsun Lady". My mother liked it very much, and, and..."

Changsun Wugou was stunned: What does this have to do with me?

Seeing Li Wenbin suddenly speaking hesitantly, Li Yuan said unhappily: "What's wrong? Tell the truth quickly."

Li Wenbin seemed a little ashamed: "In reply to Grandfather, my father and mother agreed not to read this poem to anyone else. So..."

As soon as he said this, a burst of snickering sounded in the Tai Chi Hall.

"The King of Qin and the Princess are indeed a loving couple, hahahaha."

"If that's the case, then let's not get to the bottom of it."

"That's right, that's right, Master Pei is right."

Li Yuan's expression eased a little, but he suddenly remembered something: "Since your father can't read it out, then you can do it. It just so happens that you heard it, didn't you?"

"Ah this..."

"Why, are you deceiving me?"

"My grandson dare not. Father, please forgive me. I will read it to you right away."

"In the past there was a beautiful lady named Changsun, whose sword dance moved the four directions.

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

Huo Ruyi shoots at the nine sunsets, as powerful as the dragons flying among the emperors.

It comes like thunder to absorb its wrath, and ends like the clear light of the river and sea.

Her crimson lips and beaded sleeves are lonely, and in the evening there are disciples who spread the fragrance.

The beauty of Linying dances to this song in Baidi with great spirit..."

A long poem of several hundred words was read out. There was silence in the Taiji Hall at first, and then thunderous applause broke out.

When Changsun Wugou listened to this poem, her face turned red with shame and she dared not raise her head.

It was indeed Li Wenbin who recited the poem "Watching Lady Changsun's Sword Dance", but apart from her and Li Wenbin, no one knew under what circumstances this poem was recited.

That time, both Li Wenbin and Changsun Wugou were a little tipsy, and Changsun Wugou pulled him to perform a sword dance for him.

You said you would perform a sword dance, so just perform it. Why are you wearing less and less clothes?

Listening to the poem that Li Wenbin was reading, Zhangsun Wugou couldn't help but think of what happened that day. She didn't know why she suddenly felt something slippery on her thighs...

"Good poetry, good poetry."

"Although there are only a few hundred words, it feels like you are there in person. The beauty of Chinese characters is really admirable!"

"Just from listening to this poem, I can imagine that the Qin Princess's dance must be a hundred times more graceful than the sword dance just now."