Chapter 1135 7 years ago
Under the questioning of Yun Zheng and Miao Yin, Meng Ruowang slowly told the old story.
That was seventeen years ago.
Two years ago, Xiao Wanchou designed a plan to lure the Yu bandits, who had been harassing the southeastern coastal area for many years, ashore and wiped out six or seven Yu bandits in one fell swoop.
From then on, the Yu Kingdom no longer dared to harass the coastal areas of Daqian.
As the southeastern coastal area stabilized, Emperor Wen also began his eastern tour.
At that time, Meng Ruowang was only a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Rites and had almost no say in the court.
It was only because Emperor Wen would definitely need to meet with officials from all over the country during his eastern tour, and the Ministry of Rites had to arrange all matters according to the regulations, that he, a small doctor of the Ministry of Rites, had the honor to accompany the emperor on the eastern tour.
Emperor Wen was on an eastern tour, and Concubine Jing was waiting for an opportunity to meet Emperor Wen along the route.
It was not until they arrived in Jiming County, Hezhou that they finally got their chance.
Qinhai Lake in Jiming County is very famous. Meng Ruowang predicted that Emperor Wen would definitely visit Qinhai Lake when passing by Jiming County, so he secretly informed Concubine Jing.
Time goes back seventeen years.
The next day, Emperor Wen went to Qinhai Lake for a visit, and Meng Ruowang was fortunate enough to accompany him.
However, they did not act too ostentatious and just disguised themselves slightly, pretending to be members of a large caravan.
Qinhai Lake is actually not very big.
Qinhai Lake is famous because Li Xu, a great poet in the previous dynasty, once wrote three poems praising Qinhai Lake.
As Li Xu's three poems gradually spread, Qinhai Lake also became famous.
Next to Qinhai Lake, there is a pavilion called Li Pavilion.
"A lake of clear water reflects the clear sky, and the endless waves are like melting jade."
"The willows on the bank hang down green ribbons, and the mountain flowers are full of red makeup..."
Emperor Wen admired the beauty of Qinhai Lake while reciting Li Xu's poem. He also praised the accompanying staff: "This Qinhai Lake is really beautiful!"
The entourage nodded repeatedly and agreed.
At this time, Xu Shifu, who was the most capable of handling things, suddenly said, "Since Your Majesty is here in person, why don't you also write a poem for Qinhai Lake?"
"That's right, that's right!"
"Your Majesty's literary talent is not inferior to that of Li Xu of the previous dynasty. If your Majesty writes a poem, it will definitely surpass Li Xu's three poems!"
"No one in our dynasty has ever written a poem for Qinhai Lake that has been passed down to the world. If Your Majesty could write a poem, it would surely be passed down through the ages!"
"..."
With Xu Shifu taking the lead, everyone around Emperor Wen started to speak up and flatter him.
Although Emperor Wen knew that everyone was trying to flatter him, he still had some desire to compete with Li Xu.
"Then I will...compose a poem!"
Emperor Wen laughed, "I am just throwing out some ideas to inspire others. Later, all of you will come and compose a poem! The best one will be rewarded handsomely!"
Upon hearing this, all the ministers agreed.
Mu Shun: "Your Majesty, please wait a moment. I will ask someone to prepare the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone."
"Go!"
Emperor Wen waved his hand gently.
Mu Shun trotted over to the palace maid who was waiting in the distance and whispered, "Go prepare the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Prepare them carefully!"
"what?"
The maid was at a loss, "Eunuch Mu, please forgive my stupidity, how can I... do this carefully?"
"fool!"
Mu Shun glared at the maid in anger, "Think more about what His Majesty might need! After you have prepared it, think twice and make sure there is nothing missing before sending it up!"
After saying this, Mu Shun ignored the confused palace maids and returned to Emperor Wen.
When he came over, Emperor Wen was plotting something there.
The entourage stood behind Emperor Wen and did not dare to disturb him.
Almost half a quarter of an hour later, several palace maids came over with a lot of things.
Looking at these palace maids, Mu Shun couldn't help but shake his head secretly.
"Hurry up, lay out the paper!"
Mu Shun went over to ask the palace maids to do the preparations, and he even deliberately found fault with everything, saying this was wrong, then that was wrong, leaving the palace maids at a loss as to how to arrange those things.
"Mushun, are you ready?"
Emperor Wen asked impatiently.
"alright, alright!"
Mu Shun put the paper that had just been pulled aside back into place and waved his hand to signal the palace maids to leave.
Emperor Wen walked quickly to the prepared table, took the imperial brush handed to him by Mu Shun, dipped it in ink, and began to write.
The lake is shimmering and the water is soft, while green trees surround the small building.
Egrets fly to look for old dreams, red fish swim away to play...
"Ding dong..."
Just as Emperor Wen picked up his pen to write quickly, the clear and pleasant sound of a piano suddenly rang in everyone's ears.
Along with the sound of the piano, there was also pleasant singing.
The piano sounds melodious and the singing is gentle.
Emperor Wen held the pen in his hand and did not put it down for a long time.
At first, Emperor Wen did not hear the content of the song clearly, but after listening carefully, he could hear it clearly.
"The lake is misty, the boats are rowing, the dancing is beautiful, and the songs are soft..."
Emperor Wen listened quietly, his eyes involuntarily falling on the painted boat in the middle of the lake.
Emperor Wen did not come to his senses until the moving singing faded away.
"Mu Shun, call that Huachuan over to see who is playing the piano."
Emperor Wen no longer cared about writing poetry and stood up to give instructions to Mu Shun.
"Yes!"
Mu Shun took the order and quickly asked someone to board the boat to bring the painting boat from the center of the lake.
After nearly two quarters of an hour of hard work, the painting boat finally slowly came to the center of the lake.
Emperor Wen looked at the painted boat eagerly, but he saw no one getting off the boat.
The imperial guard got off another painting boat first and came to Emperor Wen to report: "Sir, the woman in the painting boat seems to be frightened and dare not show her face."
"Scared?"
Emperor Wen was surprised and rebuked the guards, "Can't you speak to others properly? Go and apologize!"
The guard gave a dry laugh and quickly ran to the side of the boat to apologize to the people inside.
The guard apologized for a long time before the curtain in front of the painted boat was slightly lifted.
A gentle and peaceful face came into Emperor Wen's sight.
However, before Emperor Wen could take a closer look, the woman in the painted boat immediately timidly lowered the curtain.
Mu Shun noticed the flash of disappointment on Emperor Wen's face and stepped forward to apologize: "My lady, we are not bad people. My master is also quite knowledgeable about music. He heard your piano playing and wanted to exchange piano skills with you. Please get off the boat and have a chat..."
Mu Shun talked for a long time before the woman in the painted boat lifted the curtain again and looked at everyone timidly.
This time, Emperor Wen finally saw the woman's face clearly.
The woman was also quite pretty.
However, Emperor Wen was also used to seeing all kinds of women.
He smiled and nodded to the woman, and took the initiative to invite her: "Miss, can you get off the boat and have a chat? Don't worry, we are not bad people!"
However, after hearing Emperor Wen's words, the woman immediately lowered the curtain again.
Emperor Wen looked at it with a mixture of laughter and tears, but he could do nothing about it.
As an emperor, he couldn't send people to rush into the painted boat and rob the woman in broad daylight, right?
Just when Emperor Wen was feeling helpless, the curtain of the painted boat was lifted again.
The woman just now walked out slowly.
When Emperor Wen was about to greet the woman, she walked to the side of the painted boat and opened all the curtains.
The next moment, a woman bent down and walked out of the painting boat, holding a guqin.
When the woman straightened up, a gentle and beautiful face appeared in front of everyone.
The breeze from the lake blew her skirt, like a lotus flower that emerged from the mud and remained unstained, swaying gracefully in the wind...
(Yes, you read it right, this chapter is about water)
