Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 499 What Night Is Today
"that's all?"
"that's all."
Zhu Ying spoke in a low voice, and the emperor listened carefully. After these six words, their conversation finally came to an end. The place where the two talked moved from the main hall of the Qianqing Palace to the east warm room of the Qianqing Palace. Seeing that the emperor had begun to pace back and forth in thought, Zhu Ying did not disturb him, but turned to the large bookshelf against the wall on one side and then rummaged through the books.
When the emperor suddenly came to his senses and wanted to stop her, he found that Zhu Ying was already holding a book and flipping through it with interest. Looking at the position where she was holding the book and the cover of the book, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Sure enough, the next moment, Zhu Ying noticed his gaze and looked up at him.
"Your Majesty, you are a little too idle, aren't you? You also read this kind of book? Aren't you afraid of being laughed to death if others find out?" Zhu Ying shook the book in her hand and said with a half-smile, "I was wondering before, how could Lu Sanlang have the courage to write about the private affairs between me and A Shou? Is it because you, Your Majesty, are backing him up? If no one told him, how could he have named the book "Dielianhua"? "
The emperor suddenly looked a little embarrassed. Fortunately, no one else was around at the moment. Even the eunuchs and palace maids who were his confidants had left far away. He could only laugh dryly and said, "What support? I heard from Chu Kuan that this book, like the book "The Blue is Better than the Blue", was almost sold out and had been reprinted several times, so I asked him to bring two copies for me to read."
"Your Majesty, if you put the blame on Liu Feng, maybe I would believe it. As for Eunuch Chu, he is the head of the Imperial Household Department, how could he be so idle?"
Zhu Ying chuckled, but put the book back as if nothing had happened. "Although this book is full of nonsense, Zhu Qing is at least straightforward and honest, and Zhang Tao is also a gentleman. Otherwise, if that damn fat guy distorts our story, I will definitely punish him!"
She raised her chin slightly: "Okay, it's getting late, I should go back, otherwise my grandmother and parents will be worried. Your Majesty, you are very busy, don't read these legends, they are for people who are bored."
Before Zhu Ying could take two steps outside, the emperor suddenly called out, "Yingying, Silang told me two days ago that Ah Liu told him a story about a knight from the Tang Dynasty, but he only listened to a little bit and didn't hear the rest. He only knew that the story was told to Ah Liu by Zhang Shou. He has been scratching his head these past two days, regretting that he didn't pass the exam to enter the Jiuzhang Hall and couldn't follow Zhang Shou to hear the rest."
"You might as well tell Zhang Shou that those guys under Lu Sanlang who couldn't read books and made a living by writing books are fine if they are asked to write stories about talented men and beautiful women, or stories about chivalry. They can barely write short stories with meaning, but they can only write clichés for long stories and can't produce good works. Since Zhang Shou has a story in his mind but doesn't have time, why not dictate the general idea to them and let them write it?"
Zhu Ying turned around immediately, staring at the emperor in disbelief, then burst out laughing and said, "Your Majesty, are you doing this for the Fourth Prince or for yourself? You are really like Grandpa Taizu in everything. Grandpa Taizu also likes reading. When he was writing Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin, he treated Luo Guanzhong and Shi Naian with courtesy, which left a good story!"
The emperor loved to be told that he looked like Emperor Taizu, and Zhu Ying's words had successfully pleased him. He pretended to be angry and said, "I didn't notice you coming to lobby for him. I asked you to lobby for him, but you refused. You are really a female foreign minister. I am so angry!"
Zhu Ying knew that the emperor was just pretending to be angry, so she immediately flew back like a butterfly, knelt down and saluted solemnly, saying, "Yes, yes, I got it. I will tell Ah Shou when I get back. Is that all right? Little Fatty Lu will be so happy. Ah Shou asked Old Man Lu to train so many typesetters in the public school. If he can come up with a bunch of stories for him now, he will be counting money with his eyes closed!"
The emperor couldn't help laughing when he heard Zhu Ying directly refer to Lu Wan as "Old Man Lu". After Zhu Ying left, he heard Zhu Ying's voice outside the door instructing Liu Feng, especially the one about not buying random books for the emperor. The corners of his mouth curled up even more. Not long after, he heard the girl's words from outside asking people to leave the palace, so he called Liu Feng in.
"Go to Yonghe Palace and tell them that I'm going to go see Concubine Yu and Mingyue."
During the time since the empress was deposed, the emperor has been living alone in the Qianqing Palace and has never visited the concubines. For this reason, Liu Feng has been summoned privately by the empress dowager and questioned several times. Hearing these words at this time, he was overjoyed.
Even if the emperor just said he was going to see Concubine Yu and didn't say he would stay overnight, it is still better than staying alone in the empty room in the Qianqing Palace every day!
When the emperor arrived at the Yonghe Palace, he saw only two palace lanterns hanging outside the door. Princess Yongping, the concubine who came out in person, brought only two palace maids with her. Her hair was even scattered on her shoulders, and she was clearly ready to sleep. When she saw him coming, Concubine Yu was as generous and frank as before, but Princess Yongping laughed and said, "Father, are you finally willing to leave the Qianqing Palace at night?"
Hearing this, the emperor was a little embarrassed, but his daughter's teasing and the concubine's resentment were completely different. So he could only cough and say, "I ate a lot of food at noon, and my stomach is still full now, so of course I have to go out for a walk."
"The food we had at noon hasn't been digested by the evening? If your words get out, father, people will say that those candidates for imperial chef are inconsiderate of the emperor's body!" Princess Yongping was rarely blunt in her words. Seeing that the emperor was just pretending to look up at the moon, she stepped forward to support her stubborn father and walked him inside, but she did not forget to gesture to Liu Feng and several palace servants who were following behind.
Seeing that they were tactfully lagging behind, she smiled and said, "You should have found a better excuse. I think you were too angry before, and you are still unhappy. That's why you came to talk to me. But talking is not as good as doing. I think you should go to the back yard to practice sword fighting and sweat it out."
Concubine Yu had never expected Princess Yongping to come up with such an idea. When she was about to object, she saw the emperor suddenly stop and turn around to look at her. As their eyes met, she suddenly thought of the first time the emperor and she had really been together since she entered the palace. It was because he had joined in when he saw her practicing sword skills. She was stunned unconsciously.
"Practice sword fighting to make yourself sweat... Mingyue, this is a good idea."
The emperor was in a bad mood a few days ago, and today he met Zhu Ying, the cheerful person, so he felt like coming out to relax. To be honest, he didn't know what to say to Concubine Yu - he was not the kind of person who liked to complain to others. Even when he had a falling out with the empress, he never complained to Concubine Yu, and Concubine Yu was the same, never mentioning that the empress was harsh.
But when he was young, he and Concubine Yu talked about the beautiful rivers and mountains, the magnificent scenery, and dreamed of leaving the capital and traveling around the world in the future. Now that he is old, it seems a bit inappropriate to bring up such things, because he was almost overthrown by the King Ye Rebellion just because he went to a Buddhist temple to burn incense. Although the emperor still often leaves the palace, he no longer holds out hope of leaving the capital to tour the world.
Therefore, Princess Yongping's suggestion undoubtedly solved a big problem for him.
When Concubine Yu came to her senses, she saw that the emperor actually moved his arms and then looked at her expectantly. She nodded slightly and said, "In that case, I will go change my clothes... Your Majesty, this casual dress with wide sleeves is not suitable for sword practice. You should change into something else."
After hearing Princess Yongping's suggestion, Liu Feng had already urgently sent people back to the Qianqing Palace to find the emperor's martial arts equipment. When he saw the emperor turning his head to look at him, he immediately made a gesture that everything was ready.
So, when the two of them arrived at the small courtyard behind the Yonghe Palace, Concubine Yu, who was holding the sword in her backhand, looked normal, but the emperor glanced at the narrow place and couldn't help but frowned: "It's really cramped to practice swordplay here... I remember that I specially reserved a piece of open space in the Imperial Garden to build a martial arts arena, and I also told you that you can go there anytime?"
Concubine Yu smiled, her face looking calm. "The Imperial Garden is one of the few places where concubines can relax. If I practice sword there, it will probably disturb many people. Also, there used to be many exotic flowers and plants planted there, and it would be bad if there were any bumps. I can practice sword in my own yard. Even if the place is a little small, it is quiet and comfortable, and I don't have to worry about other people talking too much."
The emperor was speechless. As the emperor, even if he was at odds with the empress, there was no place he couldn't go in the palace. If he was in a bad mood, he could go for a walk outside the palace. However, for Yu Fei, who was a palace concubine, when Jiu Niang was in the temple, she could only stay in the small Yonghe Palace with her daughter, Princess Yongping.
He tried to force out an apologetic smile, but in the end, the words turned into a sigh: "Okay, then I'll let you attack first, and I'll see if your swordsmanship is rusty!"
Princess Yongping stood at the very side, watching Concubine Yu sneer, and without saying a word she began to wield the sword with great speed and graceful posture. She couldn't help but recall her resolute rejection when her mother wanted to teach her swordsmanship when she was a child.
"I don't want to learn swordsmanship. I don't want to be like Zhu Ying, who only knows how to fight and kill! Besides, what's the point of practicing swordsmanship? I can't become a master who can defeat thousands of people. If I have to rely on brute force to defeat everyone, then when I encounter difficulties in the future, others will just watch from afar as I fight on my own... Mom, don't you think you have always been too competitive?"
"There are some things in this world that you can rely on yourself for, but there are some things that you can't rely on yourself for! I don't want to learn martial arts. Even if I really can't even tie a chicken, I can still rely on my smart brain, and I can still rely on my father to help me! Most importantly, I don't want to learn from Zhu Ying!"
However, at this moment, seeing the emperor suddenly join in with a sword, the two swords clashed, and in an instant it was like two balls of silver light dancing under the moon, which was very beautiful. She couldn't help but think of what it would be like after Zhu Ying married Zhang Shou in the future, and what it would be like when that hot-tempered and impulsive girl faced the elegant gentleman Zhang Shou. But thinking about it, she smiled again unconsciously.
She still has time to worry about Zhu Ying? Shouldn't she think more about herself?
The Emperor and Concubine Yu didn't know what Princess Yongping was thinking. Or rather, the parents would have thought more about their daughter when they had free time. But at this moment, after the initial soothing pure sword dance, the two of them gradually turned into a real fight, and now they had no time to think about other things.
Because Concubine Yu's movements were getting faster and faster, and her sword was getting more and more fierce, and correspondingly, the emperor's countermeasures were also getting faster and faster, and the initial intention of being humble had long since disappeared. When the fight reached its climax, if both of them were holding blunt swords, I'm afraid Liu Feng, who was standing behind Princess Yongping, would have cried out.
The emperor, who was already in high spirits, had completely forgotten that the person in front of him was his beloved concubine and the mother of his daughter, and he gradually began to scold. It had also been a long time since Concubine Yu had displayed her sword skills so thoroughly. Although she was not as obsessed with fighting as the emperor, her usually calm face, with only a cold and faint smile, gradually showed a blush.
At this time, not to mention that Liu Feng was gradually getting a little scared, even Princess Yongping was not in the mood to watch the fun after seeing the two people's posture. She subconsciously wanted to take two steps forward, trying to stop this entertainment activity that was becoming less and less like sword dancing and more like a real sword fight, but she was then forced back by the strong wind.
Liu Feng, who was behind him, saw that the situation was not good, and hurriedly stopped Princess Yongping, then said carefully: "Princess, when the emperor goes crazy during martial arts training, he only sees his opponent and no one else. You must be careful not to hurt him by mistake. He may not be able to hear you even if you shout at him now. Otherwise, why don't you ask Concubine Yu to stop and give it a try?"
"My mother is a woman, and she is weak to begin with. What if she stops, but my father doesn't have time to stop?" Princess Yongping really regretted her suggestion. If she had known that her parents would be so reckless when they went crazy, she would never have dared to let them dance with swords. Fortunately, she didn't learn this, otherwise if she was pulled over by her father to practice with her...
Seeing that Princess Yongping was unwilling to warn Concubine Yu, Liu Feng could only sigh inwardly, then he stepped forward and shouted, "Your Majesty, Concubine Yu, you two are almost there, can this be considered a draw?"
The last half of his words was just a tease, and he didn't expect the two of them to answer at all. So when the emperor and the concubine answered almost in unison, he was dumbfounded.
"Who wants a tie?"
Almost at the same time when these four words came out, the emperor and Concubine Yu swung out their swords at the same time. With the sharp sound of the two swords clashing, the two of them exchanged seven or eight moves in a flash, and finally they were exhausted and staggered back almost at the same time. In comparison, Concubine Yu obviously retreated three or four steps more, and she even stumbled and almost fell because she was not standing firmly.
Fortunately, Princess Yongping had been paying attention the whole time. She hurriedly caught up with her mother and supported her. She then glared at the emperor angrily, "Father, how could you really regard mother as an opponent? Even if it was a blunt sword, with so much force, if it hit me, wouldn't it be bad?"
The emperor let go of the blunt sword in his hand and let it fall to the ground with a clang. He then let out a long sigh and showed a very relieved smile on his face. However, he was a little embarrassed by Princess Yongping's questioning. He could only laugh dryly and pretend that he didn't hear it. "I haven't practiced for a long time, Concubine Yu, your martial arts have not deteriorated at all!"
