RNP Chapter 158 A Beauty Beyond Compare
Chapter 158 A Beauty Beyond Compare
At this point, Shen Shixi suddenly thought that they could first create a story about Tang Seng's parents and the origin of Tang Seng, and then perform it as an independent story.
They're just bored.
She gave a brief outline of the story, which captivated the Empress Dowager, but she couldn't imagine how the story could be performed on stage.
Li Yuanyin hurriedly stood up and said, "Wait here, I'll go find someone for you, and we'll get started right now."
He left, and Shen Shixi laughed. The Empress Dowager couldn't help but chuckle at her youngest son's eagerness.
Some noblewomen tried to curry favor with Shen Shixi, saying, "The story of Consort Chen must be good. We women are also waiting to see it. When the time comes, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager should not keep it to yourself, but should think of us women."
What kind of stage play is this? It just gives noblewomen a pretext to enter the palace.
The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Of course. When have I ever eaten alone? If there's anything fun, you're the first people I think of."
Li Yuanyin soon arrived with two people from the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau). There was an empty room nearby, so Shen Shixi moved over. She had seen Yue Opera and Peking Opera before, and found them quite interesting. She had even gone to try them out with her grandfather.
Art is inherently interconnected. As soon as Shen Shixi spoke, the Jiaofangshi and Fengluan understood his meaning. They immediately felt as if a door had been opened, and a brand new world was unfolding before them.
Shen Shixi explained the rules of scriptwriting to them. Just then, the singing and dancing stopped, so he spontaneously sang them a selection from the famous play "Xiao He Chasing Han Xin Under the Moon." Because of the historical context of the Han Dynasty, this time and place were easier to understand.
"My lord rose in rebellion in Mangdang, drawing his sword to slay the serpent, his fame spreading throughout the land. Obeying the royal decree, he surrendered, dividing his forces into two routes to pacify Xianyang. The first to enter Xianyang became the emperor, the second to advance and safeguard the court..."
As the emperor and his ministers were talking, they suddenly heard a powerful and resonant female voice. The words in the voice were immediately recognizable, and they were all captivated by the story.
The Empress Dowager was quite far away, so they could only hear a little bit of it.
Shen Shixi then performed a set of movements as a demonstration and sang a few lines. Li Yuanyin and the others were still engrossed in the performance when she stopped singing and said, "That's the gist of it, and the routine is the same. How you actually do it is up to you!"
Back then, Emperor Taizong of Tang personally guided the arrangement of "The Song of Qin King Breaking the Enemy's Formation," and no one thought Shen Shixi's actions were inappropriate. The key point is that, apart from Li Yuanke and a few other people present, no one recognized the voice of Consort Chen.
The emperor and his ministers were enjoying the story so much that it was over before they could get their fill.
Many people present were knowledgeable in music and thought it sounded really good.
Prime Minister Pei was particularly interested. "Your Majesty, are they rehearsing a new piece of music? What is it?"
Li Yuanke said, "I don't know either. It was Consort Chen's idea. Once it's arranged, I'll invite Prime Minister Pei to come and appreciate it."
Pei Xiang took it seriously, "Your Majesty must remember this, this old minister will remind Your Majesty when the time comes."
He was genuinely interested.
The emperor laughed and said, "Good!"
Today, a banquet is also being held at Cining Palace, and Shen Shixi naturally has to keep up with the preparations, mainly because the Empress is of no use.
Normally, when paying respects, the Empress Dowager only allows those of the rank of Consort to come; she doesn't even see those below the rank of Concubine. Since she doesn't like Consort Qiong, Shen Shixi is the only one she can see.
After a busy day, when everyone had left, the Empress Dowager kept Shen Shixi behind because she had something to say to her.
"The emperor has a large number of concubines, as you probably know, but there are only a few who are truly capable. The emperor is picky, and now he only favors you. He only goes through the motions with the others each month. It wouldn't sound good for either you or the emperor if word got out."
Shen Shixi thought to herself, "What does this have to do with me?!"
But outwardly, she lowered her head and said, "Your Majesty's decree will be obeyed."
"He never listens to what I say. I'm getting old, and I don't know how much longer I have to live."
Shen Shixi quickly followed, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager is blessed with great fortune, and it's the New Year, so please don't say such things. It frightens me to hear them."
The Empress Dowager looked at her and said, "One is Yuan Yin. You and he grew up together since childhood, and you always protected him. I also hope that you can help him more in the future. He is, after all, the Emperor's younger brother from the same mother. We can't let him always be inferior to his brothers."
The idea was to have her persuade Li Yuanke to grant Li Yuanyin the title of Prince.
Are you kidding me?!
Do you think she's stupid?
Shen Shixi said, "I will keep Your Majesty's words in mind. When the opportunity arises, I will advise Your Majesty to be respectful to your brothers."
Even the Empress Dowager couldn't tell whether she was being sincere or not.
"And then there's Tingyue. You and she grew up together, and she's deeply in love with the Emperor. I can't persuade her to stay! Now that she's entered the palace and her status is set, we can't keep her from ever seeing the Emperor."
"You should spend more time with Tingyue in your daily life, so that she can at least gain some face in front of the Emperor. Tingyue isn't ungrateful, and I will remember your kindness."
Shen Shixi was about to vomit blood. Wasn't this just digging a hole for her and causing her trouble?
So you want her to act as a pimp between the emperor and Yang Tingyue?
Is she just bored and has nothing better to do?
Shen Shixi said, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager has shown Tingyue such a kind and loving motherly heart, which has deeply moved me. I will advise Your Majesty to treat all the sisters in the harem equally. Only when the harem is peaceful can the court and the country be at peace, which is a blessing for the Great Zhou Dynasty."
The Empress Dowager was delighted. "You are sensible; I have always known that."
After leaving Cining Palace, Shen Shixi went to Qianyuan Palace.
They should at least put on an act!
Li Yuanke's party had already dispersed long ago. He hadn't drunk much today. He heard that the Empress Dowager had asked Shen Shixi to stay and talk, so he didn't go to Zhaoyang Palace. However, Consort Qiong requested an audience.
Consort Qiong rarely sought him out, so since she had come, she must have something to say, so he let her in.
After the ceremony, Consort Qiong, fearing that the Emperor would become impatient, went straight to the point without saying anything else: "Your Majesty, Madam Xu is vicious and deserves her fate. Now she has committed suicide, but it is pitiful that the Second Prince has lost his birth mother at such a young age."
"What's wrong with the Second Prince?" Li Yuanke asked.
Li Fude hurriedly stepped forward, "Your Majesty, the Second Prince is doing well. Consort Chen has ordered people to keep an eye on Chengming Palace, and they are taking very good care of his diet and daily life."
No matter what, Shen Shixi kept a close eye on the pregnant woman and the baby, because if anything went wrong with either of them, there would be no way to deny it.
Consort Qiong said, "I didn't say the Second Prince is bad, but he is still young... Your Majesty, am I qualified to be the Second Prince's foster mother?"
Seeing that the emperor was getting impatient, Consort Qiong decided to reveal her true colors.
I played a straight shot.
Besides, she really isn't good at speaking indirectly or making veiled accusations.
The key point is that Li Yuanke didn't like this approach.
Consort Qiong felt that it might be related to the Emperor's lack of education.
If Consort Qiong hadn't mentioned it, Li Yuanke would never have imagined that he had a prince without a mother. Consort Qiong had undoubtedly solved a major problem for him. "Since you want to raise him, then you can raise him. I will register the Second Prince under your name!"
Even though Lady Xu was unworthy to be the mother of a prince and would be a stain on the Second Prince's reputation in the future, for Consort Qiong, this was an extra blessing.
What's the point of raising a child who isn't even your own son in name?
Consort Qiong was overjoyed. After thanking the emperor, she hurried away to Chengming Palace to fetch her son.
Li Yuanke then remembered that Li Sihe was also not qualified to raise a prince, and he also had a third son, so who would raise him was another problem.
For an emperor, having sons is a key performance indicator (KPI), and having no one to raise them is also a problem, mainly because there are too few empresses.
Shen Shixi arrived and was utterly amazed to see Li Yuanke deep in thought. Even a handsome man with furrowed brows is still a handsome man. His prominent features, deep facial lines, and exquisitely beautiful eyebrows and eyes truly lived up to the saying: "His beauty is unparalleled, and there is no one like him in the world!"
Shen Shixi pounced on him!