Lanke Chess Edge -
Chapter 148: An Unexpected Guest
Li Mushu did not use his official position to pressure others, and calmly discussed various literary topics, which greatly reduced Yin Zhaoxian’s anxiety. He also revealed some of his ambitions and ideals.
Some of the things he spoke of sounded a little naive to Li Mushu, but Yin Zhaoxian was not a dreamer like other young people; he had his own set of ideas, policies, and principles. They didn’t have that deep of a relationship at the moment, so they only spoke briefly about it, but it still allowed Li Mushu to get a glimpse of what he was like.
“If Yin Jieyuan wants to realize his ambitions, he must live in a prosperous and flourishing world!”
Li Mushu sighed.
“I, Yin, feel strongly that, although the current Dazhen may not be as prosperous as its so-called “golden age,” it is nonetheless thriving. If the people are strong, the country will be rich. If the country is rich and the people benefit, the people will be safe. These concepts complement each other.”
Yin Zhaoxian gave a polite explanation but did not go into detail.
The two sat in a side hall and chatted over tea. The servants were busy with the banquet in the palace, and did not hinder them. As it began to get dark, some of Prince Jin’s other confidants, associates, and close friends began to arrive one after another. Sometimes, Li Mushu would bring Yin Zhaoxian over to greet them.
The sky darkened and the temperature continued to drop. Li Mushu was getting old, and was shivering in the chill of the side hall, so he suggested that he and Yin Zhaoxian move to another location.
“Yin Jieyuan, why don’t we go to the banquet hall? There are heaters, hot water, and carpets on the floor. It’s much warmer than in here!”
“Ah, the prince hasn’t yet returned, are we allowed to go to the banquet hall?”Yin Zhaoxian hesitated.
“Hahaha… Yin Jieyuan, relax. We aren’t holding this banquet with advance notice. Besides, many guests have already arrived. They are all nobility and rich men. Who would want to suffer in this cold weather?”
‘I’m neither nobility nor a rich man. ’
Yin Zhao complained in his heart and followed Li Mushu to the banquet hall.
This could indeed be considered a family banquet that just to happened to be held in the palace. Some of Prince Jin’s friends had brought their families, and no one particularly adhered to formalities. The banquet was held in a hall behind the courtyard of Prince Jin’s palace. There were four or five round tables in the hall, instead of individual tables.1 It was more like a New Year’s Eve banquet that could be found in ordinary people’s homes.
In addition to the round table, there were also four heaters in the corners of the house that were manned by dedicated staff. When the door to the hall was closed, only a small ventilation hole was left in the room, making the space feel warm.
With all of that, there was not much space left in front of the banquet table; or at least, there wasn’t enough space for any large-scale song or dance performances. However, there was enough space for a few maids to sing, accompanied by the zither, pipa, and strings.
When Li Mushu and Yin Zhaoxian entered the banquet hall from the side door with a thick cotton curtain, they suddenly felt a burst of heat, which washed away the chill in their bodies.
“Hahaha… Master Li!”
“Mr. Li is here!”
“We have been enjoying the warmth here for quite some time.”
“Just now I was thinking about how that Mr. Li was so afraid of the cold, and wondering why you hadn’t come in yet!”
“Haha, I’m getting old and I can’t stand the cold. If I hadn’t found a quiet place to exchange poetry and literature with Yin Jieyuan, I would have come inside a long time ago. Come, come, let me introduce someone to you. He is Ji Province’s Jieyuan, a great talent of this age…”
……
Seeing Li Mushu arriving, the guests who had been staying in the hall to avoid the cold came over to greet him one after another. Yin Zhaoxian had originally wanted to be a wallflower,2 but Li Mushu obviously did not let him, instead made him the focus of attention with his introduction.
Ji Yuan and the Old Dragon had already stepped into the side hall and stood in the corner, observing the arrangements.
“Mr. Ying, although your water mansion is gorgeous and bright, it is an underwater palace after all. It’s not as comfortable to soak in water as being in this place is on a cold day.”
Ji Yuan joked, and the Old Dragon pouted
“The underwater palace has a constant temperature all year round, with corals and pearls dotting it like stars, and enchanting beauties dancing to the chords of heavenly music. Here, cough, cough, it’s quite far from that!”
You say that is warmth? Ah, it’s you who doesn’t understand this warmth, brother!3
As the Old Dragon spoke, he stretched out his hand, and a pot of wine and two cups flew from the table they were set on to the corner where he and Ji Yuan were stationed. No one else noticed.
Two glasses of wine were poured. The alcohol had a bright yellow color and a very pleasant aroma.
“Is this the Jinyu4 Wine of the Capital Prefecture?”
Ji Yuan took the cup that the Old Dragon handed to him, and the two of them drank together and savored the flavor.
“Tsk, it’s still not as good as Qianrichun, let alone Ambergris.”
“It’s not bad for ordinary wine.”
The Old Dragon sipped it and set the jug aside. A servant on the other side of the hall finally noticed that there was one fewer wine jug on the table.
“Oops, there’s still one jug missing here!”
“Hurry up and replace it!”
On the other side of the hall, Yin Zhaoxian was no longer as reserved as he was before. After all, they were merely chatting about their own experiences and some poems and songs.
“His Majesty has arrived—!”
Suddenly, the high-pitched voice of the palace eunuch sounded from outside. The originally lively banquet hall immediately quieted. Yin Zhaoxian even involuntarily got goosebumps.
“His Majesty?”
“The Emperor has come to Prince Jin’s Palace?”
“Isn’t his Majesty at Prince Wu’s side tonight?”
“This…”
“Don’t be restless, don’t be restless!”
Li Mushu was more like a manager at this moment. He asked everyone to remain calm, then gave instructions to Yin Zhaoxian, who was standing at his side:
“It’s unusual to meet him, even at family banquets, so we must not overstep the bounds of proper etiquette. In a moment we will make our formal greetings. Yin Jieyuan should try to keep quiet as much as possible.”
“I understand completely!”
Yin Zhaoxian wished he could be invisible.
Ji Yuan and the Old Dragon also looked at each other in bafflement. This was interesting. The Emperor suddenly came to his third son’s house?
“Let’s go, let’s open the door to welcome His Majesty!”
The door to the banquet hall was opened wide, and a gust of cold wind instantly blew in. The guests and servants exited and stood on both sides of the door to greet the arrivals.
As the footsteps approached from outside, everyone in the banquet hall, from the guests to the servants, grew visibly nervous and uneasy.
This was also the first time that Ji Yuan had seen the current Emperor of Dazhen. He looked to be about fifty years old, had a slightly plump figure, and wore a cirrus-cloud crown.5 Two concubines followed behind him: one was the current queen, and the other was Concubine Ren, the biological mother of Prince Jin. Prince Jin himself followed another couple steps back, close behind them.
From Ji Yuan’s perspective, Prince Jin’s expression was neither good nor bad, just a little awkward.
“Welcome, Your Majesty!”
Everyone bowed in unison to welcome him. Unless they had offended the Emperor, they did not have to kneel when greeting the “Son of Heaven.”
“Okay, let’s all go inside. I’m just here to have a meal.”
The emperor waved away the many attendants beside him, and everyone followed him into the hall and closed the door. Because of the number of people and the heaters, the banquet hall soon became warm again.
The Emperor of Dazhen sat in the main seat. He had been rubbing his hands to warm them, but now he took off his coat.
“It feels more comfortable here, Third Son. Look at this layout, it feels like a home.”
The banquet hall had velvet lining the floors and walls, so it was warm just looking at it, not to mention being physically present.
“What are you all standing for? Sit down, sit down. Aren’t we going to eat? you sit down? Third Son, when will the banquet start?”
“Father, now that the Emperor has arrived, we will naturally start the banquet right away.”
“Then why don’t you hurry up? Your father and your two mothers are hungry!”
Both noble ladies gave Prince Jin a wink, and the latter hurriedly stretched his arms wide and gave orders to his servants.
“Everyone, please take a seat. This is a family banquet. My father is now the head of the family. Please don’t be shy. Instruct the kitchen staff to start the banquet.”
Prince Jin’s words made the Emperor smile.
“By the way, father, I don’t have too many singers or dancers here. Let’s listen to a story. I specially invited a famous storyteller from the capital to speak. This person knows many stories, and is quite good at ventriloquism. When he tells a story, it is fascinating to hear all the voices and emotions!”
“Oh? Not bad, not bad, it’s quite an original idea. I knew this would be interesting, hahahaha…”
The two concubines smiled along, and all the guests greatly relaxed.
Then, the banquet began. Steaming dishes were brought in from the side door. There was actually a vestibule there, with cotton curtains on both ends to prevent the cold wind from blowing directly into the banquet hall.
Soon, the table was filled with delicious food and wine. In the small space at the front, maids entered with a zither, a pipa, and other musical instruments. Servants brought in screens, tables, stools, and stands.
The maids played slowly, and the storyteller had already taken his seat at the table behind the screen.
Unlike ordinary storytelling, using a screen allowed the storyteller to express himself more freely, and to make his ventriloquism more vivid.
The Emperor was obviously not interested in an unknown person Yin Zhaoxian; in other words, he was not interested in anyone currently present who he didn’t already know.
With hot soup, hot rice, and fine wine, plus the start of the storyteller’s tale, the atmosphere at the dinner tables had become more lively. However, compared to how other establishments might have been, it was far less noisy here, and more people were engaged in listening to the story.
This was the first time Ji Yuan had heard of this ventriloquism technique in either of his lifetimes.6 There was clearly only one person behind the screen, but all kinds of strange sounds burst out, and voices ranging from children to old men, from chickens and dogs to wolves and eagles. All the sounds were extremely realistic, making the story even more “lifelike.”
Ji Yuan and the Old Dragon even approached the screen to take a look, confirming that there was only one person behind it.
On the other side of the hall, everyone, from the Emperor himself to Yin Zhaoxian to the servants who accompanied them, were listening attentively. Even the maids who were playing the chords in harmony with the storyteller’s plot mixed their music with the emotions of being engrossed in the story.
New Year’s Eve was not a suitable occasion to talk of fighting, killing, grudges, and love. Thus, the storyteller had prepared a story called “Tales of Immortals: The Journey to the Dragon Palace in the Eastern Sea.” This bizarre, supernatural story was particularly fascinating.
As he related one of the passages, a clapper suddenly struck the table with a loud “smack”!
“That talented scholar, in the end, couldn’t resist his greed. He stole an precious pearl from the Dragon Palace while he went to the restroom. The Dragon Lord naturally knew of his deeds, and, although he didn’t say anything, he despised him, and was no longer as welcoming as before. He sent him back to the county after dawn, and never invited this Scholar Qian again!”
“Although this scholar used the pearl to obtain a moment of wealth, he gradually squandered his family’s fortune for his pleasure, and after neglecting his studies, lost his talent. In his later years, he was destitute…”
The maids’ music became a little more desolate at this moment.
After the story was finished, perhaps because the storyteller was too skilled, the emperor unexpectedly became a little obsessed. He walked to the screen with a jug of wine in his hand, ordered the screen to be removed and a chair to be placed next to it, and repeatedly asked questions about the immortals over and over again.
The storyteller did not dare disobey the Emperor’s will, and could only do his best to satisfy the Emperor’s curiosity. He racked his brains to answer questions about everything from the immortal mountains and scenic views, to rivers and their dragon palaces, and related as many folk legends as possible.
Ji Yuan and the Old Dragon stood at the banquet table closest to the periphery, taking a bite of food with their chopsticks from time to time. They watched the old Emperor’s persistent questioning of this talented storyteller. Recalling what he had heard of the Emperor in recent years, Ji Yuan smiled somewhat mockingly.
“At midnight the zither and se are played, before the feasting hall; they are unmoved by gold and jade, yet intoxicated by ghosts and gods.”7
- More traditional/formal banquets, like the True Dragon’s birthday banquet, for example, will have each guest seated at a small individual table arranged in order of rank/social hierarchy, where the closer to the host, the more important the guest. Here it’s just a bunch of big tables scattered throughout the room.
- Lit: invisible
- JY is thinking
- 金玉 (jīnyù): gold and jade/precious
- The full name of the crown is 卷云冠 (juǎnyún guān), and oh boy did I go down a rabbit-hole. Guan are a special kind of Hanfu headwear that only cover a small part of the head, usually court attire. Laws on what kind of guan and who can wear them change a LOT over the centuries, as do the styles of guan. I couldn’t find an exact match for the words used here, but based on the manhua (ch. 93, though the manhua didn’t draw him in a yellow robe, so…) and a very very deep research binge, my best guess is a Mianguan, specifically of the Ming dynasty
- I mean, it’s a real thing though. They might be using “ventriloquism” to refer to the performance art of impersonation or changing voices
- 夜半琴瑟宴前作，不迷金玉醉鬼神 JY’s being fancy again, speaking in poetry – it’s another couplet, with 7 characters on each line.
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