After cleaning up, Yan Liben washed the ink stains on his hands, put on his regular clothes and prepared to leave.
At this time, there was the sound of footsteps outside, and two people came in a moment later. One was Liu Qingze, a young eunuch who was a craftsman, and Yan Liben, a serious official, immediately saluted.
The other person was fair and fair, and Yan Liben did not recognize him, but from his dress and appearance, Yan Liben knew that he was a fourth-grade deacon and eunuch, and his rank was not low.
With a smile on his face, Liu Qing first introduced Yan Liben to Zhou Bing, the deacon and eunuch of Liangyi Palace.
Zhou Bing rushed to greet Yan Liben, but he looked very anxious. He said with a little politeness: "Your Majesty has sent Yan Jiancheng to the palace to see you. Please also ask the Jiancheng to follow the slaves into the palace immediately."
Liu Qingze nodded with envy. As a young eunuch, he had only seen the emperor from a distance in Chang'an Academy, but Yan Liben was able to get the emperor's decree to enter the palace. Who can have such a good family background?
In fact, he also knew that the Yan brothers would not stay under the influence of others for long. They already had a good reputation in the Chang'an literary world, and with their prominent family background, they should have been reused long ago.
For example, Yan Liben served as a young prisoner in the Sui Dynasty. He entered the officialdom and became a high-ranking official as soon as he came up. At that time, Yan Liben was just a young boy who had just turned fifteen.
It's just that their brothers later fell in love with the wrong person. A few years ago, the two brothers were officials in the Prince of Qin's Palace, and they were always suppressed by Prince Li Jiancheng's party. Later, Li Yuan was defeated, and everyone in the Prince of Qin's Palace dispersed.
Their brothers were also temporarily unlucky, and had to work as prisoners in the Shangyi Bureau and become subordinates. But after all, their family had a strong family background and they were a serious family of relatives from the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Even though they had a very unhappy relationship with the Yuwen clan...
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After leaving the general prison, he walked quickly without daring to delay.
On the way, Yan Liben asked rather uneasily: "Eunuch Zhou, does he know what the Supreme Being told me about? If you can't tell me, just pretend I didn't ask."
At this time, Yan Liben had actually been thinking about the cultural gathering last winter. Later, word spread that the Supreme Being came in person, lingered there for a long time, and finally beat up Wu Yuanshuang outside the Wenyun Hall.
It was said that he had a nose and eyes, but he didn't know whether it was true or not. His brother Yan Lide asked his friends several times, but he couldn't find anything.
However, he was a little frightened, because the person he met at the cultural gathering was a bit strange, and there was a Turkic woman accompanying him.
She was very similar to the rumored Concubine Ashina who was in charge of Zuo Senniu's Prefecture. At that time, she was so proud that she even forgot about the hero's book. He talked nonsense in front of that person for a long time, but he didn't know what he said wrong.
There are no words.
He didn't dare to tell his brother these things. Anyway, so many people in the Wenhui had seen them, and he, Yan Liben, was not the only blind person.
It's so late today, and the Supreme Being is calling... It's really unpredictable.
Zhou Bing listened carefully to his question and couldn't help but smile: "There is nothing that cannot be said. The reputation of Yan Jiancheng has been passed down to the capital. The Supreme Lord hosted a banquet in the Liangyi Palace for all ministers. He invited the Jiancheng to enter under the joyful drink. What else can he do for
What?"
Yan Liben immediately felt relieved, but the other half of his heart was still hanging on. He continued to ask: "Who recommended this official? I'd like to express my gratitude afterward."
Zhou Bing immediately shook his head and said, "This slave doesn't know."
After all, Yan Liben was young and had a very free and easy temperament. After he let go of his worries, he got close to Zhou Bing. Zhou Bing listened with a smile and replied from time to time, but never said much.
Nowadays, the status of the eunuchs in the palace is low, let alone making friends with foreign ministers, and they do not have much power in the palace. As a deacon of Liangyi Palace, he has a slave and a low profile, how can he dare to interact with Yan Liben?
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When Yan Liben arrived at Liangyi Hall, the lights were dimmed.
Yan Liben hadn't had dinner yet. He was so hungry that he smelled the aroma of food and wine wafting from the palace. He couldn't help but swallow his saliva, patted his belly gently, and thought about whether he could have a meal here...
Zhou Bingxian went in to report, and soon someone came out and led Yan Liben in.
The inner hall of Liangyi Hall was brightly lit. Yan Liben was almost in tears when he came in. He squinted his eyes and saw twenty or thirty people lined up on both sides. They were full of senior officials. The scene was really quite big.
Yan Liben is not stage frightened. He comes from a noble family and entered the officialdom at a young age. If he hadn't been memorizing words in recent years, he should have a place in this palace.
At this time, the two servants in the palace, acting as evaluators, were appreciating the poems. They did not recite them loudly, which was too offensive. They only wrote their comments on paper and sent them to the emperor for inspection.
Li Po was also complaining secretly, wanting to simply give today's Wenkui to Yang Shidao, but he regretted it in his heart. He even thought about whether he should end up personally to let these guys know what poetry is.
"Your Majesty Yan Liben, see the Supreme Lord."
Far away, Yan Liben fell to the ground.
"Get back on your feet." Li Po said. Now he was not in the mood to tease this person. When he saw Yan Liben getting up, he waved to him to come closer.
Yan Liben strolled forward, maintaining etiquette at all times, neither rushing nor rushing, and seemed very calm. However, after just a few dozen steps, he was sweating all over.
Yan Liben had never had such an experience before walking in front of the imperial court in front of a crowd of high-ranking officials. Under the gaze of these people.
What he felt at this time was just four words, like a glow on his back.
As he got closer and closer, his eyes adapted to the lights in the hall. He looked up, his heart suddenly thumped, and his head felt a little dizzy. Sure enough, what he saw was exactly that face.
If he was still conscious, he would definitely be thinking in his heart at this time, you said that you are an emperor, you have nothing to do, just stroll around, and you have to pretend to be in front of me, does it hurt?
He quickly came back to his senses and felt that this was not a bad thing. At least it made the emperor remember his name, Yan Liben, right? Otherwise, he would have no chance to appear here at this time.
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Li Po looked at his changing expression and felt slightly refreshed.
The emperor travels incognito and gets to know people, and is actually waiting for this moment. Seeing the other person's expressions of joy, surprise, and fear will greatly satisfy the emperor's vanity.
Li Po did not reminisce with him, but for a brief moment, Yan Liben left a very good impression on him. He was young, talented, and had a lively temperament.
Especially when the two brothers disparage each other, they are witty and humorous, making people laugh.
"I called you here because I want you to draw a picture to remember today's meeting. The people in the palace are all chosen for a moment. You must not make them look ugly, otherwise I will not be able to save you."
A joke immediately made Yan Liben relax. The king's gentle attitude and teasing tone made people feel like a spring breeze. Yan Liben finally had his bad luck gone and started to get lucky?
As he bowed and accepted the promise, a look of pride appeared on his face.
Li Po wanted to laugh when he looked at him. He waved to him and asked him to come closer. He took out a piece of paper from the desk and handed it to Yan Liben. He said with a smile: "This was done by Yang Shidao from Zhongshushe. You
His poems must be preserved in the paintings, and the artistic conception must be consistent.”
The ministers in the palace couldn't help but be surprised. Most of them didn't know who this person was. How could he be treated like this by the Supreme Being? The painter in the palace? He didn't look like him... Why was he still wearing casual clothes? It was so ungraceful.
In whispers, Yan Liben's name soon spread in the palace.
Yan Liben was born in the Yan family of Jingzhao, and was the son of Yan Bi, the consort of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. He was talented and good at painting, and he worked in construction. He should have served as a general supervisor.
As soon as a rough resume is published, no matter what the talent is, it will already have weight in the minds of the ministers, and coupled with the personal approval of the Supreme Being, it will be even more extraordinary.
In fact, this time alone, Yan Liben took advantage of him. Being able to spread his name to the ears of important ministers was not an ordinary opportunity, and the benefits to his official career were self-evident.
After that, a seat was added at the end of the hall. Yan Liben took his seat and began to look around, taking in the furnishings and layout of the hall. Then he carefully observed the appearance of the ministers in the hall. Zhou Bing stood beside him, serving the pen and ink.
From time to time, Yan Liben would stand up and watch, as if a rabbit had wandered into a pack of wolves, standing out.
The effort required to create a painting is not comparable to that of writing a poem. On the one hand, the dexterity of the mind is also taken into consideration, and the painter's skill is also taken into consideration. It cannot be accomplished in one go.
It would take a few days to make a picture of Liangyi Palace having a good time. He had to hurry up and make a preliminary sketch. The environment of Liangyi Palace was second to none. If he couldn’t remember, he could come back and have a look at the officials and the emperor in the palace.
The image must be roughly sketched at this time.
Once immersed in it, Yan Liben concentrated on it and forgot about everything else.
The ministers paid a little attention and then ignored him.
The emperor had expressed his position, and Minister Zuopushe Wen Yanbo took advantage of the situation and announced that Yang Shidao, a member of Zhongshushe, was today's leader, and passed his poems to everyone to watch and comment on.
At the same time, it also meant that the first great scholar of the Tang Dynasty was born. The emperor took the lead, and all the ministers raised their glasses to pay tribute to the man in the book house, Yang Shidao, the great scholar of Guanwen Palace.
Yang Shidao was overjoyed and stood up to express his gratitude and humility. The atmosphere gradually became warm.
Then the music started, singing and dancing followed, and the officials temporarily forgot about the complicated government affairs. They listened to songs and watched dances, pushed cups and changed cups, and there was a scene of peace in the palace.
Li Po felt it while drinking, and he felt pretty good.
The relationship between the king and his ministers would invisibly become closer on such occasions. Although it was far from the time for singing and dancing, neither he nor his ministers could immerse themselves in government affairs all day long. After all, we are all human beings.
, rather than a machine.
It seems that such an event can be held every few days, so that everyone can relax and feel the warmth and friendship from your Majesty.
Roughly speaking, it was actually because he felt that the life of dealing with government affairs and receiving ministers all day long in the Tai Chi Hall was a bit too boring, and wanted to have some fun.
This is almost the case for kings throughout the ages, but wise kings know how to exercise discretion, while dull kings indulge in wine and sex all day long.
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The banquet lasted until midnight, and all the officials left drunkenly. No one was drunk, and many people stopped drinking when the time came.
They are all important ministers of the court, and no one will behave in a dissolute manner in front of the king, especially in public. Once they make a fool of themselves, it will probably spread throughout the court and the public tomorrow, and most of them will not be well-known, but will be laughed at.
Maybe someone is displeased with you and wants to read your book, saying that you have behaved inappropriately before the emperor. That would be called a loss that outweighs the gain...