allonlinenovel Chapter 92 Birthday Banquet (Part )
Chapter 92 Birthday Banquet (Part )
Last time, we finally finished talking about the reception of the diplomatic corps. Now we are going to enter the main event. Our protagonist has not appeared for three chapters. So how will Li Yi make a shining debut this time? Let's read on.
The sun finally couldn't hold on any longer and slowly slid westward. The royal family of Wei, civil and military officials, all took their wives and legitimate children to the royal hunting ground. The streets leading to the royal hunting ground were guarded by the imperial guards. Looking at the imperial guards standing upright on both sides, a sense of security naturally arose. The court officials and dignitaries were led to their corresponding seats by the palace maids, and the envoys also took their seats. The more than 500 seats in the banquet hall were already full. As night fell, it meant that the birthday banquet was about to begin.
As the eunuch in charge of ceremonies shouted, "The Queen Mother, Your Majesty, the Empress, and the Imperial Concubine have arrived! Everyone pay homage!" Everyone in the venue stood up and knelt down again, and the members of the delegation still paid homage with their own etiquette. Empress Xiao was wearing a black and gold dragon and phoenix robe. Her left hand was supported by Tuoba Jun, who was wearing a black and red dragon robe and a nine-bead crown. Her right hand was supported by Empress Gongsun Feng, who was wearing a black and gold phoenix robe and a phoenix crown. The three of them walked up to the main seat together. Empress Xiao smiled and said, "Stand up!"
The maids serving beside him poured wine, and there were also maids pouring wine at each table. Tuoba Jun stood up, raised the wine bottle and said loudly: "Today is not only the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, but also my mother's birthday. Please join me in toasting to my mother. I wish her eternal health, endless blessings, and a long life."
Everyone said in unison: "I wish the Queen Mother eternal health, everlasting blessings, and a long life."
Empress Dowager Xiao raised the golden cup and drank it all, then said with a smile, "Well, well, well, thank you, the Emperor and all the ministers. We have said enough polite words this morning. Now it is a birthday banquet, so let's eat and talk, drink and watch. I am very curious about what is different about this year's birthday banquet, let's start the banquet!"
The eunuch Tongqing shouted loudly: "Let's have the feast!"
Hundreds of palace maids then came in with wine and food in their hands. The serving process was very efficient, and various dishes were quickly placed on each table. Before everyone started eating, the Minister of Rites Kong Xiu walked onto the stage and read a toast aloud.
The toast by Kong Daru was written in a majestic style. While he was reciting, music started playing. It was the song "Long Live Me". With the accompaniment of the music, the already wonderful toast was even more harmonious.
After he finished reading, everyone toasted to the empress dowager again. After drinking this glass, Empress Dowager Xiao smiled and said, "Okay, no more toasts, let's eat!" Then she picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of food and put it into her mouth. Only then could everyone start eating.
At this time, the musicians were still playing the previous piece. Empress Dowager Xiao took a few bites of food and asked, "Emperor, when will the singing and dancing you mentioned start?"
Tuoba Jun smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother, let's start now. Tongqing told Li Changshi that it's time to start."
The eunuch Tongqing shouted loudly: "Let's sing and dance!"
As soon as Tong Qing's voice fell, Li Yi recited loudly:
The bright moon rises over the sea, and the sky and the cliffs share this moment.
Looking back at the night I left home, I miss my hometown for years.
In the north for thirty years, the southern geese have been wandering around for a long time.
Finally, there is peace and prosperity, with singing and dancing.
After the poem was recited, the lights in the direction of the stage were bright as day, and layers of white mist rose up from the stage like a rolling sea of clouds. On the white curtain, a bright moon rose from the sea. Then the music of "Cloud Palace Swift Sound" sounded. The fantastic stage and cheerful music instantly attracted everyone's attention to the stage.
Rows of fairies in fairy skirts and armbands danced on the clouds, their red silks fluttering and their skirts spinning. How could one not be fascinated by this ethereal fairyland on earth? As the lifting platform in the middle of the stage lifted up the leading dancer, it looked like a crane dancing between clouds and water. Everyone forgot that eating and drinking were the main purpose of the banquet, and all stared at the fairies on the stage.
Empress Dowager Xiao was also shocked by the scene and asked, "How did you do this? How did you move the sea of clouds here?"
Empress Gongsun Feng said with a smile: "My Queen Mother, that is the transformation of talent, not the real sea of clouds."
"Oh? It must have consumed a lot of talent. It's not easy for a scholar to gather talent, but you guys are wasting it on this. What a waste!"
Tuoba Jun smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. The one who performed this magic is Li Yi, the most talented scholar in Shangjing. He is now the Minister of Music in the Ministry of Rites. He arranged all the singing and dancing programs for the banquet. What he lacks the least is talent."
Empress Dowager Xiao was surprised and asked, "Oh? Is this the talented scholar you told me about who can compose poetry and music at will?"
Tuoba Jun nodded and smiled, "It is this man. He had previously held a singing party on the Bishui Lake, which was very successful. So my son invited him to host this birthday banquet for my mother."
Empress Dowager Xiao looked at the fairy in the clouds and smiled, "Jun'er is thoughtful. I am enlightened."
Gongsun Feng smiled and said, "Don't be anxious, mother. This is just the opening song. The rest of the show will be a real treat." Empress Dowager Xiao said "oh" and focused on the stage.
After the dance, the fairy left, but the sea of clouds remained. Li Yi's voice could be heard from the stage, "Our Great Wei has been established for 127 years. During this period, there have been ups and downs. The efforts of four generations of kings have finally brought us peace. Now the country is peaceful and the people are safe. Foreign tribes are coming to pay tribute. A Di woman is seeking peace on the border and is dancing for the Queen Mother. I hope that our Great Wei will be on good terms with all the tribes on the grassland, without fighting or starting wars, and that our neighbors will be friendly and share peace."
The lifting platform in the center of the stage slowly lifted up the moonlight, music sounded, and the scene on the stage curtain changed, as if it was constantly flying in the air, flying higher and higher until it was between the bright moon and the stars.
Yuehua wore a golden crown, a golden tube top, and yellow flared pants, looking more like a little golden man. She danced to the music of "Dunhuang Flying Apsaras" and posed in various shapes. The red ribbons wrapped around her arms floated in the air, and she really looked like she was flying.
The screen finally stopped at the moon. The fairy was about to fly into the Moon Palace but stopped, looking down at the world from mid-air, as if she was reluctant to leave. Gu Zhou from the Di tribe delegation was overjoyed. This scene was no different from the Flying Lady in his dream. It was really beautiful.
Seeing his infatuated look, Zhai Baishan smiled and said, "Brother, have you fallen in love with that girl? Didn't the Queen Mother say that if there is a girl you like, you can tell her and she will make the decision for us!"
Gu Zhou smiled but said nothing after his thoughts were exposed. However, the Zoroastrian priest beside him said unhappily, "Don't talk nonsense, Baishan. This woman was obviously captured by the Wei State and forced to dance here. Have you ever seen such a dance on the grassland? This is clearly not the dance of our Di people. She must have suffered a lot here and been whipped a lot to dance like this."
Zhai Baishan was stunned and said, "Ah? There is such a thing? Brother, is what the priest said true? I saw that little sister was smiling and seemed to be enjoying it. She didn't look like she was forced."
The priest said, "Humph, you fool, what do you know!"
Gu Zhou smiled and said, "Don't argue over such a small matter. After the banquet is over, we will find a way to find this sister and we will know the answer by asking her."
The priest said unhappily, "Do you still need to ask? Is the young master really interested in this woman?"
Gu Zhou said: "The grassland is windy and lacks water. I think this sister must have grown up in the Central Plains. She has fair skin and is really a beauty. I really like her."
The priest snorted coldly: "Hmph, I'm afraid she didn't learn anything good in the Central Plains. She only learned the insidiousness and cunningness of the Central Plains people." Gu Zhou glanced at the priest and ignored him. He turned around and stared at Yuehua on the stage in a daze.
At this time, Yuehua had finished dancing "Dunhuang Flying Apsaras" on the stage, and sixteen women dressed similarly to her walked out of the lift. They squatted in a row waiting for the lift to land. When Yuehua came to a position level with the stage, they stood up together and lined up in a row.
The scene on the stage curtain changed to a golden lotus platform, on which Yuehua was standing. Then the music changed, and Yuehua stood in the front as the head statue in the melodious music of "Thousand-armed Guanyin", with more than a dozen pairs of arms extending from behind her, forming a circle and a fan, swinging up and down, like a golden peacock spreading its tail. Except for the queen, this kind of dance was the first time for everyone to see it, and everyone was amazed.
Empress Dowager Xiao clapped her hands repeatedly and said, "Great, this is really great. Was this dance also choreographed by Li Changshi?"
Gongsun Feng smiled and said, "My Queen Mother, Li Changshi is the first outer disciple of Buddhism, and this dance is called "Thousand-armed Guanyin". It is said that he got inspiration from the statue of the Thousand-armed and Thousand-eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva when he was worshiping Buddha, which led to the creation of this dance."
Empress Dowager Xiao asked, "Oh? Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva with a thousand hands and eyes? I haven't worshipped Buddha for a long time. In the Southern Liang Dynasty, Buddhism was the state religion with many believers. When I was young, I accompanied my father, mother, brothers and sisters to worship Buddha. Since I married into the Wei Dynasty, I have never been to the temple to see it. I don't know when this Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva became a thousand-handed and thousand-eyed one. Queen, will you accompany me to the temple to have a look in a few days?"
Gongsun Feng had an idea when he heard it and said with a smile: "I will follow my mother's arrangements. It just so happens that two Buddhist Vajras have emerged from the Xishan Temple on the upper Xishan Mountain. Now it has been renamed the Vajra Temple. Why don't we go to the Vajra Temple for a walk?"
Empress Dowager Xiao nodded and said with a smile: "Two Buddhist Vajras? That's really not easy. Well, you can arrange it. Anyway, I have nothing to do, so it's good to go out for a walk."
Gongsun Feng nodded in agreement, but she was extremely happy in her heart. Tuoba Jun saw through the Queen's mind, and this trip could be said to kill two birds with one stone. On the one hand, he could meet his sister Gongsun Chan, and on the other hand, he could use his status as the Queen Mother and Queen to restore the reputation of the Vajra Temple and eliminate the influence of previous rumors.
So he raised the wine cup to toast the queen, saying: "The queen is considerate. Let me offer you a drink. It is a blessing for the Wei Dynasty and for me to have such a virtuous queen like you." Gongsun Feng understood what the emperor meant and raised his cup to drink with him.
Yuehua's two dances were over, and everyone hurried off the stage. The mist on the stage had dissipated, but the sound of flowing water could be heard. The scene on the curtain changed to a lonely boat on the river with the moon and mountains on both sides. The music started again, and a singer in a white long dress rose from the center of the stage amid the sound of gurgling water, singing affectionately:
"When will the bright moon appear? I raise my cup to ask the sky. I don't know what year it is in the palace of heaven.
I want to ride the wind and go back, but I am afraid that it is too cold up there in the jade buildings. I stand up to dance with my shadow, but it doesn't seem like I am in the human world.
Transfer to Zhu Pavilion, low Qi household, according to sleepless.There should be no hate, what is the long time to go to the other time?
People have joys and sorrows, separations and reunions, and the moon waxes and wanes. This is a difficult thing in ancient times. Nung, moon and new moon. "
As she sang, the picture on the screen kept changing. The moon waxed and waned, and clouds covered the moon. The scenery on both sides of the river also changed. Sometimes the mountains and rivers were steep, and sometimes the river was wide and the water was slow. As she sang, the solitary boat seemed to sail into the Bishui River. On both sides of the river were the scenery of Shangjing City, with pavilions, towers, and beautiful buildings. For a moment, the night view of Shangjing was displayed like a scroll.
Tuoba Jun was shocked and said, "This seems to be the scene I saw when I invited Li Yi to dinner that night. He actually moved it here?" The familiar scene on the screen resonated with everyone present. They all lived in Shangjing City, but they didn't know how long it had been since they had appreciated the night view of Shangjing, and how long it had been since they had taken a boat down to enjoy the scenery on both sides of the river.
Dugu Yu looked at a building that he was most familiar with and shouted, "Brother, look, isn't that the Exiled Immortal Building?"
Dugu Long slapped him and knocked him out, scaring the maidservant nearby so much that she almost screamed out. Dugu Long smiled and said, "It's okay, my brother can't hold his liquor, he drank too much, let him get some sleep, it's okay." Dugu Rong smiled and said nothing, pretending he didn't see it, and continued drinking, eating and watching the singing and dancing on the stage.
It was not so lively at the Nangong family. Nangong Ting was drinking alone while watching the singing and dancing. Nangong Xue was wiping the Ruyun Sword while watching the singing and dancing. This behavior frightened Nangong Qi so much that he was fidgeting. He said, "Sister Xue, can we put away our swords? This is the Queen Mother's birthday banquet. Can we stop waving swords?"