Liu Yao was sitting among a group of court musicians, looking a little out of place.
Not only because of his tall stature, but also because of the beard on his face.
If Da Jin men have beards, they only have long beards, but there are really no men like him in the palace.
The head of Le Shu, whose surname was He, looked at Liu Yao and nodded, then shook his head.
"Congratulations, Master, what do you mean?" Liu Yao felt a little uncomfortable, and he already showed an attitude of keeping away from strangers.
Manager He naturally didn't want to get close to him, but he had no choice but to say: "The shakuhachi I heard you play last night was quite good, but it was a bit too sharp and not suitable for the joyful atmosphere of the Great Winter Banquet."
"What do you want?" Liu Yao was very open-minded. The best musicians in Dajin were all here. No matter how confident he was, he was very impressed after hearing the practice performance of this group of people.
"It would be better to be gentler." Director He thought for a while, "Does Brother Liu have a wife?"
"Oh, this has never happened before." Liu Yao was a little embarrassed.
"Then let me ask you this, do you have any sisters with you?" Director He changed the question again and laughed himself.
"I have been the only one since I was a child, surrounded by brothers." Liu Yao is very honest.
"Do you have a favorite woman?" Mr. He had a very good temper and his voice was very soft.
"What's the point of this?" Liu Yao didn't understand.
"Let's put it this way, the song you played was the song "Song of Love", where the lovers are separated on both sides, thinking about it day and night, and feeling sad all the time. But Brother Liu actually played the brotherhood of an iron horse and an iron horse. This is not right. ?”
Before Chief He finished speaking, several musicians around him also laughed and explained patiently: "When a woman plays this tune, she will tend to be tender, and there will be a delaying sound when playing this tune. When a man plays this music, there will be a hint of determination, but there must be a lingering sound at the end, so that people can feel the man's bondage and reluctance."
"Why don't you give up?" Liu Yao asked again.
"Would you miss the woman you like but you can't see her often?" Director He inspired him.
"I have never had a woman I like." Liu Yao actually sighed softly.
Director He and several other musicians couldn't help laughing, "Brother Liu is in his twenties this year?"
"twenty-three."
"You shouldn't? Men from Dajin already have wives and concubines at your age."
"My family is a little poorer, my parents are gone, and no one is planning to get married." Liu Yao grinned.
"Okay, just imagine it. A pretty woman is the object of your affection, but you can't see her every day, so you always feel a little melancholy."
When Mr. He began to describe, large swaths of snowflakes suddenly fell down, and the musician sitting at the door played the Yao Qin, and the clattering sound was somewhat sad.
When Liu Yao looked over, he saw a figure swaying at the door. Among the fragrant shadows on the temples, there was a familiar face with a graceful smile.
"Third sister." Liu Yao whispered in his heart, but when he saw her face clearly, he felt timid.
The girl's face was crystal clear, and her skin was as smooth as snow. There was a small dimple on her oval face, which made her look slightly shy.
The yellow skirt and coat is embroidered with a phoenix, the pink smoke gauze skirt is meandering to the floor, the hands are holding soft emerald green gauze, and a peony flower is inserted diagonally in the misty temples. It is really a bit: the eyebrows are blooming and the green is far away. The temples are thickly stained with the smell of spring smoke.
"Slave/slave/lower official/subordinate/commoner... I have met the queen."
The musicians in the Peony Garden, the palace people, as well as some of the imperial troops and temporarily recruited musicians, saw Yang Xianrong coming in and saluted in a messy manner. The sound of the Yao Qin suddenly stopped, but the buzzing voices became Another kind of music.
Seeing such a scene, Yang Xianrong laughed and asked, "Fortunately, I heard that there are many people here before I came here, but I didn't expect there to be such a large number of people."
Director He knelt in the front row and quickly replied: "We gathered everyone in Peony Garden yesterday, and it was a bit chaotic."
"Well, you guys practice. I'm just here to take a look." Yang Xianrong's eyesight was very good. He spotted the bearded Liu Yao at a glance and laughed.
Liu Yao looked at her, as if he felt unfamiliar.
The beauty in palace attire obviously has the same face as the pretty girl from Mingyue Tower or Beijun Mansion, but now it is so different, and she even has a sense of superiority and alienation.
He took a half step back without leaving a trace and lowered his head.
"Mr. Congratulations, Master Sun, let me tell you, who are the shakuhachi players? Bring them over." Yang Xianrong entered the inner hall of Peony Garden without stopping, "It's too cold outside. It’s snowing, so don’t let everyone stand outside and find some warm place.”
"Yes, yes, thank you Queen for your consideration." Director He quickly thanked her again.
"By the way, I heard that I was full of food and hungry, so I brought some food here. I'm afraid it's a little cold, so you can ask someone to heat it up. It's all food from Mingyue Tower, it's very good." Yang Xianrong pointed to Zhang Liang and hoeed the food boxes they were carrying, borrowing flowers to offer to the Buddha, but it didn't cost her any money.
"Oh, the Queen is such a good person!" The braver musicians shouted happily.
"Okay, let's practice quickly." Yang Xianrong said with a smile, "Is that Brother Liu over there? Don't stand so far away, come here quickly."
She looked at Liu Yao, and Liu Yao also looked at her.
"This is Brother Liu, oh, Lord Sun brought him here, oh, that, oh..." Chief He was speechless for a moment. He only knew that this person came to the palace for the Queen's performance at the Great Winter Banquet, but he didn't know the specific details. How to do it, so he didn't know what to say.
"Well, let's find a separate room and let these musicians go there." Yang Xianrong saw that Liu Yao had no intention of coming over, so he had no choice but to walk towards him, "Brother Liu, thank you for your hard work."
"Oh, not bad." Liu Yao still looked at her with burning eyes.
There is an independent small courtyard in the Peony Garden, which is where Chief He and other palace officials usually live.
Now she was left alone to let the queen speak to the musicians who played the shakuhachi.
Yang Xianrong sat down, and many people from Tianyuan Palace followed her. Zhang Liangxue and Cui Xi stood beside her, as if they were bodyguards.
The place here was originally small, but now there are so many people here, it is even more crowded.
"Hey, you guys go out, there is a charcoal fire here, it's so stuffy that you can't breathe." Yang Xianrong waved his hand, "Just stay here, the musicians. You all go to the door."
"Yes." Many people retreated.
"Everyone just practice the song "Saucais Blanc"." Yang Xianrong asked Lan Xiang to take out the human bone shakuhachi that Aunt Yu gave her, and handed it to Liu Yao in front of him. He didn't express any concern at all and just whispered. : "Brother Liu, it is said that this is made of human bones. Can you tell something?"
After hearing this, Liu Yao's eyes tightened, he took the shakuhachi and looked at it carefully, his expression gradually became serious.
(End of chapter)
