There are eight thousand maids of the saint, and Gongsun is the first in swordsmanship.
Downstairs in the calyx, musicians played "Xihe Swordsman Huntuo" on copper and iron plates. Along with the majestic music, the disciples in red were flying all over the place, as if they were swimming dragons, creating a myriad of atmospheres.
At the end of the song, they left the stage amid cheers. Li Twelve Niang thought of the joke she heard when she met Xue Bai just now, wiped the sweat from her forehead, caught up with Aunt Gongsun, and asked: "Master, you adopted seven
Orphan?"
Aunt Gongsun said: "There are more than seven people who have been adopted as teachers."
"Is that true?" Li Twelve Niang said: "Xue Lang said that the seven orphan girls adopted by the master were famous in the world, and they were called the 'Qixiu'. There were also Seven Shows and Thirteen Hairpins, and they were all famous people.
How come my disciples have never heard of it?"
"Xue Lang is teasing you."
"ah?"
Li Twelve Niang was feeling disappointed when she suddenly heard an exclamation from the other side. She stood on the steps and turned around to see a dozen elephants slowly approaching. She was stunned and forgot to leave for a moment.
Calyx Tower.
She was fairly well-informed, and there were some eunuchs and palace maids around who had never seen an elephant before. They almost dropped the cups and plates they were holding on the ground.
The elephants were decorated with grand decorations. They walked to the square with clumsy steps, snorted and shook their ears as big as fans, which attracted countless admiration. What surprised people even more was their long trunks and their flexibility.
The ground rolls and dances in an orderly manner.
But one of the elephants refused to dance. Its long trunk was rolled up, its head was raised and it was howling wildly.
"It has something stuck in its nose!" someone with sharp eyes shouted.
"What is that?"
Soon, an eunuch came over with a tray.
The elephant seemed to have a human nature and stretched out its proboscis. What fell on the tray was a huge Ganoderma lucidum.
"This is...the elephant is offering blessings to the saint and congratulating him on his birthday!"
"What a miracle."
The onlookers stretched their necks and talked excitedly. They never expected to see such a wonderful thing in their lifetime.
The big Ganoderma lucidum was brought into the hall and presented in front of Li Longji.
"Saint, the spirit elephant is a blessing. If the saint gets this Ganoderma lucidum, he will live forever!"
"Okay!" Li Longji felt very good after hearing this, and said with a smile: "Bring another box of money, everyone will get a reward today!"
Gao Lishi looked at the Ganoderma lucidum first and asked in surprise: "Why is there still dirt on it? Is this Ganoderma lucidum just picked?"
This question stumped everyone.
"Back to General Gao, Ganoderma lucidum is not planted in Xingqing Palace."
"Go and see where this spiritual elephant was picked and given to the saint."
"Here."
After the elephant, the rhinoceros enters the scene.
Don't underestimate the fact that there are only a dozen animals. These rhinos are actually very precious. They are Javan rhinos, and they are tribute from the Java Kingdom in the South China Sea. The weather in Guanzhong has been much colder than in ancient times, and it is not suitable for these tribute rhinos to survive. Even if
They were placed in royal gardens and carefully cared for, and they would inevitably die due to acclimatization.
Therefore, the rhinoceros celebrating birthdays today represents the surrender of the vassal state. The powerful material and human resources of the royal garden are a symbol of the incomparable power of the Tang Dynasty and a portrayal of the great achievements of the saints.
There is only one emperor through the ages, nothing more than this.
However, this is not the most amazing thing. After many calls, the dancing horse finally came out.
The sound of neat hoofbeats sounded, as if there was only one horse coming. But when people turned around and looked, they saw a torrent of horses. Four hundred horses galloped together, showing the momentum of a thousand troops.
"Here comes the drum!"
Li Longji also became excited, his face was radiant, he personally climbed onto the high platform and walked to a big drum.
Of all the performances, only the horse dance was always directed by him personally, using his drumbeats.
He picked up the drumsticks, like a general holding a sword, a scholar holding a brush, and the dancing horses cheered and jumped onto the three-story wooden bed.
"Dong, dong, dong..."
As the drum beats, the dancing horses begin to shake their heads, their hooves follow the beat, leap and fly, the so-called "singing drums and electric shock, chasing pills and swords galloping"; they are dressed in brocade, with golden bells hanging around their necks, and beads on their manes.
The so-called "Purple Jade Ming Ke Lin Bao stirrups, green silk colorful ribbons with golden restraints"; in addition to dancing, they can even perform extremely difficult movements, stepping on the ropes hanging between the plank beds, the so-called "turning gracefully and staggering.
The steps in the air are like red dust."
People had forgotten to exclaim and looked at this scene with their mouths wide open.
As the music ended, the dancing horse headed by it picked up a wine glass, climbed up the steps, climbed to the high platform, and knelt down in front of Li Longji.
To serve the emperor".
The music stopped, but the singer was still singing passionately.
"Jiliang is a thousand years old, and the gods are in the period of heaven and earth. The Great Yi has longevity in the mountains of Yunnan, and we can enjoy the Holy Ming Dynasty together."
"Long live the saint!"
I don’t know who shouted loudly first, and everyone inside and outside the palace cheered.
During the Qianqiu Festival in previous years, the atmosphere reached its peak here.
After that, the dancing horses were about to leave the calyx building. They seemed to be very reluctant to leave the saint, looking back frequently and unwilling to leave. The horse leader pulled the reins to pull them, and they obediently did not neigh.
A eunuch hurried back from a distance. He was so excited that he started shouting before he reached the saint.
“Growing Ganoderma lucidum!”
"What's the fuss about?"
"Report to General Gao, Ganoderma lucidum has grown on the pillars of Datong Hall, and there is also Shenguang Hall!"
The sound reached the ears of the high officials and ministers, and expressions of surprise naturally appeared on their faces.
"This is auspicious."
"Such auspiciousness, God bless the Tang Dynasty, God bless Your Majesty."
Yang Guozhong was the most excited one. He was so carried away by the successive happy events that he even ignored the etiquette of the ministers. He immediately rushed to Li Longji and said incoherently: "Your Majesty has divine, cultural, and martial arts, so the heaven has sent auspiciousness to you!"
I think it is particularly inadequate to designate His Majesty's birthday as the 'Qianqiu Festival', as the eternal life will eventually come to an end. I hope that Your Majesty will comply with God's will and take the meaning of 'Eternal Day' and change it to 'Heavenly Chang Festival'."
Li Longji looked deeply at Yang Guozhong.
He clearly saw through the flattery of these courtiers, but he still felt satisfied with these auspicious words, as if honey had been poured on his heart.
Because he has reached the height of being an emperor for eternity, the only worry that lies before him is the length of his life.
Last forever, what a wonderful meaning.
"allow!"
"May my emperor last forever and ever!" Yang Guozhong bowed his head and bowed.
The festive atmosphere was pushed to another level, and as a result, the prosperous age of the Tang Dynasty was also pushed to the highest level.
A fiery red sunset has fallen on the horizon and will set soon.
When night comes, it's time to set off fireworks.
~~
The candlestick was brought to the table, illuminating the slightly stiff smile on Li Heng's face.
He was holding a wine glass and saluting Li Longji from a distance, but Li Longji didn't see it. You was seriously joking with Yang Yuhuan, pointing to the sky outside the hall, as if talking about the fireworks ceremony for a while.
It doesn't matter if Li Heng puts down the wine glass, it doesn't matter if he doesn't put it down. It's just like the prince's position in his hand.
Fortunately, Li Chu came to rescue him immediately and called the saint loudly. The father and son toasted Li Longji at the same time and wished him a long life.
"Okay, okay, okay." Li Longji said three times in a row, and happily accepted the blessing in front of the ministers.
The admiration in Li Heng's eyes deepened, and filial piety seemed to flow out of it.
He chewed on the four words "Longevity without Borders" in his heart, and felt immense compassion for his ancestors and the country.
At this time, Li Tan was separated from his father and brother, and his accompanying eunuch stepped forward and whispered in his ear: "Du Wulang wants to meet, saying that there is something important."
"I'll go see him."
The saint was about to move on and climbed to the highest point to watch the fireworks, while the officials had to move to the open space in front of the Huaxe Tower. Li Tan left the meeting early and left the Huaxue Tower, and saw Du Wulang huddled in the corner, looking around.
"Why did you come just now?"
Li Tan casually handed over a pastry wrapped in oilcloth and said with a smile: "I know you are a tricky person, so I secretly packed a piece of butterfly pastry. This is unique to the palace. Try it and it will get into your mouth."
Although he is the grandson of the emperor, he is very loyal and treats Du Wulang very well. Just like in the past, Du Wulang would secretly bring food from home to Xue Bai.
Du Wulang took it, put it in his arms, and said, "I'm starving to death, but I can't bear to eat right now. Do you know that I was almost stopped outside the palace just now?"
"Why?" Li Tan said, "You are preparing a fireworks ceremony for the saint, who dares to stop you?"
"Supervisor Yuan, he has his own reasons to stop him."
Du Wulang even said a kind word for Yuan Siyi, and then whispered in Li Tan's ear: "He suspects that there is something wrong with the fireworks, and he is afraid that someone wants to assassinate the saint."
"Don't be joking." Li Tan reminded Du Wulang very calmly and seriously, "This is not a joke."
"Really." Du Wulang said, "I quietly told you that not long ago, I found arrow clusters in the raw materials of fireworks."
"Who is in charge? Xue Bai?"
"Other people don't know, but I know that Xue Bai just invented fireworks and didn't care about other things at all." Du Wulang said, and asked: "Do you know why the saint held this fireworks ceremony?"
"Why?"
"It seems that he is just for fun, but in fact he asked Xue Bai to hand over the production methods of fireworks and gunpowder to the weapons supervisor, and he will be the supervisor. Although he is a fireworks master, he only chases the little ladies every day, and never comes once
Fireworks Workshop.”
Li Tan said: "I, brother, went with him once."
"Oh, then he only went there once."
Li Tan immediately realized something was wrong and asked, "Are you solely responsible for that?"
"Xue Bai asked me to go to the fireworks house and stare, but I just stared." Du Wulang said: "Only me, what can I be responsible for?"
"How could this happen?" Li Tan asked in surprise: "Who is in charge of such a huge fireworks workshop?"
"Of course it is the general supervisor, and all the craftsmen are transferred from the general supervisor."
"Li Qiwu?"
Li Tan whispered a name.
He was fully aware of the changes in important official positions in the court. He knew that after Li Linfu's death, Li Qiwu sent gifts to Yang Guozhong and took away the official position of prisoner from Li Xiu.
There was a fire in Xuanyangfang that year, and it is said that it also burned from Li Qiwu's house to Madam Guo's house, almost burning the imperial concubine to death.
On the surface, Li Qiwu is now Yang Guozhong's man. But Li Tan knows very well that the reason why Li Qiwu offended Li Linfu and was demoted is because he was close to Li Shizhi and was a real member of the East Palace Party.
It was actually Li Qiwu, who had not attracted anyone's attention before today, and had arranged important events quietly?
But once something happens, how can it really go unnoticed?
Thinking of this, Li Tan was horrified. He immediately turned his head and looked in the direction of Li Heng. He saw that Li Heng had already taken his position with hundreds of officials. Surrounded by so many officials, it was impossible to speak to the prince.
.
He turned his eyes and accidentally saw a figure not far away, whispering something to a young eunuch.
Li Tan recognized it as his eldest brother Li Chu at a glance.
Li Chu had a conversation with someone and made a move to look up at the height of the calyx building. After that, he quietly turned into the shadows on the other side of the corridor and did not know what he was doing.
"Brother?"
"What's wrong?"
"It's okay." Li Tan turned around, looked into Du Wulang's eyes for a long time, and asked, "Can I trust you?"
"Everything I said is true."
"Hide it for me."
Li Tan acted decisively and made a decision immediately. He patted Du Wulang on the shoulder and ran away.
~~
"Coming."
Yuan Siyi was watching Li Qiwu's busy figure from a high place when Fu Chulin suddenly whispered and pointed to a figure walking in the palace.
That is Li Chu, King of Guangping.
Li Chu walked in a hurry, occasionally looking back to see if there was any movement around him.
It's so mysterious, it does seem like it has ulterior motives.
But Yuan Siyi did not make an immediate conclusion in her mind, but recalled the conversation she had just had with Xue Bai.
He thought that Xue Bai might be deceiving him, but Xue Bai said calmly and calmly: "It's useless for Superintendent Yuan to doubt me again. This matter must not involve me."
At that time, Yuan Siyi probed: "Xue Lang is the fireworks master. If something goes wrong tonight, do you still want to avoid taking the blame?"
"right."
Xue Bai responded to this word with determination.
This made Yuan Siyi start to beat her heart, and then she suddenly thought of the saint's reaction.
The saint will not go up to the Calyx Tower tonight, but may still put the white marble statue up there. In other words, the saint was aware of the danger in the fireworks ceremony before he reported it to the saint.
Who said that?
Xue Bai.
"Boom - bang -"
The first fireworks have already bloomed above the Tongyang Gate of Xingqing Palace, crackling into beautiful patterns.
There were countless people inside and outside the palace who were amazed at the same time.
"The saint lives a long life, forever!"
Some people were cheering hard, trying to compete with the fireworks in terms of volume.
This joyous sound covered everything up, leaving no one to pay attention to anything else.
"Boom - bang -"
Then, fireworks one after another shot from the palace wall into the sky, illuminating Xingqing Palace with colorful fireworks.
It's like daylight.
Li Chu was stunned for a moment, and was surprised to find that he was actually exposed in front of many guards and palace people because of this light.
He reacted quickly and simply took off his crotch and strode towards Li Qiwu.
Li Qiwu is busy coordinating the setting off of fireworks.
This is not his duty. He is the general supervisor, so he only needs to make fireworks. But today, Xue Bai was delayed in transporting the fireworks into the palace. There was no time to decorate and set them off. Li Qiwu immediately took action and mobilized the personnel of the general supervisor to help.
Since the fireworks are made by the craftsmen who will be in charge, of course they have experience in setting them off.
It is conceivable that tonight the saint Long Yan will be very happy, and the reward will be no less.
As for Xue Bai's credit, Li Qiwu was confident that he could get at least half of it. Because he was very smart, he kept his voice low at first, allowing Xue Bai to bear a lot of criticism, and then came forward at the last moment to win the saint's favor.
"Hurry! There must be no interruption between each firework!"
While he was busy, Li Chu rushed to Li Qiwu and pulled him over anxiously.
"What is King Guangping doing?"
Li Chu didn't answer, and pulled him to a deserted place before whispering: "Someone is impeaching you for assassinating a saint."
"Absurd!" Li Qiwu immediately retorted, "It's simply nonsense. How dare I have any evil intentions?!"
Li Chu said: "Did you or Xue Bai make these fireworks?"
Li Qiwu had also been in official circles for a long time, and he was keenly aware that there might be risks involved, so he thought about it while stroking his beard.
But he had already planned how to seize the credit, and was very confident in the batch of fireworks he supervised. Finally, he nodded and responded in a calm voice: "It is the general who oversees the construction. Although Xue Bai is the fireworks master,
In fact, I just spend my whole day leaning against the red and green."
When Li Chu heard this, his expression changed, and he spoke faster: "I got the news. Just now, the supervisory censor Yang Xuan has come forward to impeach the fireworks workshop for hiding arrow clusters in the raw materials, which may be detrimental to the saint... Tell me, it's the calyx."
The biggest one in front of the building?"
"Yang Xuan? Arrow cluster?"
Li Qiwu felt more and more ridiculous and asked: "Wang Guangping believes in the words of a fool, but he doubts me?"
"I am definitely not doubting you," Li Chu said, "but I am worried that Yang Guozhong will raise another big case against us..."
Li Qiwu didn't listen to him anymore, but went to get two fireworks and said, "Is this the arrow cluster that Yang Xuan mentioned?"
Li Chu looked around and saw that it was a paper shell in the shape of a bamboo tube with wires hanging on it. There was an arrow cluster inserted in the front of the bamboo tube. It was made of stone and polished into a heart shape, with a piece of money tied to it.
"This is?"
"The saints sprinkle money at the Calyx Tower every year. This year, these fireworks can do the job. These are my specially made rocket fireworks, called 'A Hundred Flowers Blooming in Colors'."
As Li Qiwu spoke, he placed the bamboo tube on the battlement with the arrow cluster pointing upward, and used a torch to light the fuse. When the fuse burned out, with a "whoosh" sound, the arrow cluster flew into the sky, creating beautiful fireworks.
The money and stone arrow clusters will probably fall to the ground.
"A thousand of these rockets were placed above the Calyx Tower." Li Qiwu said, "This is the biggest firework tonight. Once it blooms, it will be extremely dazzling!"
"Won't it hurt the saint?"
"I personally supervised and arranged it. How could it possibly harm the saint?"
Li Chu was a little stunned and asked: "Why doesn't anyone else know about this?"
"How can we let others know before the unveiling?"
"Then what's going on all this?" Li Chu was a little confused, "It's just for no reason, why should I tell you?"
"Who leaked the news to Wang Guangping?"
"A young eunuch, claiming to be..."
Li Chu suddenly stopped talking.
The young eunuch claimed to be sent by Yu Chao'en. Since it was not known that Yu Chao'en secretly helped the East Palace, he didn't think much about it at the time and immediately believed it.
Now that I think about it, I'm afraid this is a trap.
But who can be ensnared by such false accusations?
~~
"Your Highness."
Li Hengzheng raised his head and looked at the fireworks in the sky. Hearing this, he looked away, looked at Li Fuguo, and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Li Qiwu wants to see you."
"At this time?" Li Heng whispered, "Wait until the royal banquet is over."
"I'm sorry, my slave."
Li Fuguo first confessed his crime, then leaned close to Li Heng's ear, and carefully put the words into the ear hole at a distance that was almost close to kissing him.
"He said that once the big fireworks are lit, the sky will change."
Li Heng's pupils suddenly widened.
He was in a daze and felt extremely surprised. At the same time, he had too many questions to ask Li Qiwu.
Unconsciously, his fingers were numbing slightly. He raised his head and looked up. At the height of the Calyx Tower, the figure of the saint stood there, as if he was forever out of reach.
Li Fuguo waited quietly for his reaction. For a long time, the prince did not move.
"Your Highness?"
Li Heng suppressed the doubts in his heart and shook his head to show that he was not moving an inch.
He is the prince, and he will lead all the officials to stand here to congratulate the saint on his birthday and wait for the saint to sprinkle money. Where can he go at this time?
Do more and make more mistakes, just in case you are suspected.
He was just waiting for the fireworks to go off.
~~
Diligent Government Affairs Main Building.
Compared with the brightly lit Calyx Xianghui Building in front, this place seems much quieter, giving people a sense of emptiness after the prosperity.
But in fact, each Long Wujun was lined up in the building silently.
Li Longji stood in front of the window, holding a telescope, looking at the fireworks in the sky, thinking deeply.
"Sage, we have found out." Gao Lishi came over and reported in a low voice: "Xue Bai made a false accusation. The so-called 'arrow cluster' was not used to assassinate the driver. The prince and Li Qiwu did not commit any actual treason."
Li Longji did not answer, as if he was intoxicated by the beautiful scene in the sky.
Gao Lishi waited for a while, and with the painstaking efforts of maintaining the stability of the country, he began to analyze.
"The old slave found out that Xue Bai didn't pay attention to it after he became the fireworks master. He left everything to Du Qi. The fireworks were all made by the general supervisor. Du Qi's son was also confused. He accidentally saw a few arrow clusters and also
After a thorough investigation, Xue Bai was informed, and that’s how Xue Bai came to complain in a hurry yesterday..."
Yesterday, before Yuan Siyi entered the palace, Li Longji met with Xue Bai.
Xue Bai was very alarmist, saying that he felt many abnormalities after returning to Chang'an. For example, King Jianning recommended Du Wulang to join the army for the palace for no reason, invited him to play Cuju, and went to the fireworks workshop with King Guangping to inspect, and even Du Wulang was in the fireworks
Arrows were found in the ingredients.
"With all this, I am worried that if there is any rebellion in the East Palace, I beg your Majesty to put your safety first."
At that time, Li Longji didn't believe Xue Bai. However, these small changes that Xue Bai said were indeed true, which made him want to see what the East Palace wanted to do, and that's what happened tonight.
Gao Lishi quickly found out the truth, it was just a frame-up. However, just like the Du Youlin case, after the truth came to light, the saint remained silent.
"Since it was a misunderstanding, I thought it was time to demote Xue Bai's position as Zhongshu Sheren."
While talking, news about Yuan Siyi was also sent over.
"Sage, Supervisor Yuan sent someone to tell King Guangping about Li Qiwu's impeachment. When he heard about it, he immediately went to see Li Qiwu, and the two talked alone for a long time..."
Gao Lishi immediately shook his head in his heart, secretly thinking that King Guangping was still too young to be calm. If he went to see Li Qiwu at this time, wouldn't it mean that the East Palace was secretly dealing with Li Qiwu, which completely violated the sage's rule?
taboo.
As for the next words, the eunuch who delivered the news didn't dare to say anything. He hesitated for a while before speaking.
"The slave took the talisman of the prisoner and went to see Li Fuguo, and said what the saint told him, the prince... the prince..."
"How did the prince react?" Li Longji asked.
This was the only question he asked since he was waiting for news here.
"The prince...has no response."
Gao Lishi's heart trembled again, secretly thinking that the prince was too calm and still. In such a situation, he was still motionless, which would inevitably make the saint think that he was waiting for the emperor's death.
There is another question, why did the prince believe it so easily? Did he discuss it with Li Qiwu?
Li Longji sighed and said, "General Gao, I plan to..."
"call out--"
The biggest fireworks exploded in front of the calyx building, and the sound was so loud that all his words were drowned out.
However, Gao Lishi vaguely heard what the sage said was "I plan to depose the prince."
Faced with this problem again, he no longer knew how to deal with it. Xue Bai's attack on Dong Palace was actually much more ruthless than Li Linfu's.
He looked at the brilliant fireworks above the calyx building, hoping that tonight would pass safely...