The gourd sheng stopped, and the elephant "mother and son" were circling to the center of the field and stopped. Ruan Shan blocked the orifices of each bamboo pipe with his fingers, only letting go of the longest one, and with a long sound of "woo", the true and false images heard it, and turned their heads with a brush to face the emperor. Then let go of the orifice of the second bamboo pipe, and the "mother and child two elephants" both lifted their front hooves, and only landed on the ground with their hind hooves, and the two front hooves were overlapped together, as if in a whimsical shape. When Sima Yan saw it, even the elephant knew how to salute him, and he was very happy. Immediately afterwards, the third bamboo pipe was released, the elephant's hooves fell to the ground, and the whole body also crawled down, the elephant's trunk was close to the ground, and the five-body shape was thrown to the ground. These two movements are normal and simple for other animals, but for bulky elephants, they are difficult and can never be done without training.

Seeing this, Shi Hui hurriedly shouted: "My lord god is mighty, such a giant divine beast is shocked and obedient by my lord, it can be seen that my lord is really the true son of heaven." ”

Of course, the ministers were interested, and they learned from the elephant and fell to their knees in unison. Xiao Mo pulled Shu Yan and knelt down. Sima Yan brushed his beard with his hand, laughed, and shouted "flat body".

Ruan Shan let go of the fourth bamboo pipe, which was originally an order for the elephant to get up. Unexpectedly, only the "baby elephant" stood up, but the elephant did not move.

Xiao Mo was startled, stabbed Shu Yan beside him, and said, "It's bad, Brother Shu, you have to smash the pot at the critical moment, why can't Brother Xiang come up?" ”

Shu Yan smiled, without the slightest hint of panic, "Look at it." ”

Only then did Xiao Mo know that there must be another mystery. I saw the "baby elephant" swinging back and forth on one side of the elephant's body with its long trunk, and then went around to the other side, also brushing a little bit. When he was done, Ruan Shan let go of the fifth bamboo pipe, and the elephant got up and spun around.

Only then did people see that the original "little elephant" wrote four big characters on the brocade draped on both sides of the elephant's body: "Jin Shi Yongchang" and "Guozuo Ten Thousand Years".

It was another congratulatory voice. Sima Yan was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth. At the end of the performance, a reward was immediately given.

"It's really amazing, what kind of posture does the water girl hide in this 'elephant skin bag', is that elephant trunk an arm? How do you write it? Xiao Mo asked Shu Yan curiously.

"You don't know, do you? I'll tell you. Shu Yan secretly told Xiao Mo the secret inside.

It turns out that people play the role of lions and elephants, and they have to land on all fours like animals. But in this way, for people, it means that the hands and feet are on the ground at the same time, and the legs are long and the arms are short, which is very inconvenient, so in most cases it is played by two people. But this time you need to play the role of a baby elephant, and it is not easy to find a person who can cooperate tacitly, so it can only be done by Shui Mei alone. In order to solve the problem of four-hoof walking, Shu Yan thought of a way. The water girl's legs are also used as the hind legs of the baby elephant, and a wooden staff is tied to each of her hands as the front legs. He bowed down, put on a fake elephant skin, held a large long brush in his mouth, put it in the elephant's trunk, only exposed the end of the pen, and wrote with his teeth on the barrel of the pen.

Xiao Mo listened to Shu Yan's narration and couldn't help but admire: "I see. The water girl is really smart. ”

When the two of them spoke, the ministers had already supported the emperor and returned to the main hall to sit down. The eunuchs had also lined up and were ready to make offerings.

Shu Yan saw that it was not a plate on the plate, but a big gourd, so he smiled and said, "I guessed this, there must be no doubt that there must be wine in it." ”

Xiao Mo said strangely: "Why does it have to be wine?" ”

"What else can a gourd do besides wine? Can't you eat gourd? ”

"When you see a gourd, you eat a gourd? What are you talking about, is it still a little creative? However, if you want to talk about wine, there is also a question. ”

Shu Yan said aggrievedly: "When the two of us met some time ago, you understood all my repertoire arrangements, and when it was my turn to ask you, you refused to reveal it at all, and blamed me for not guessing." ”

Xiao Mo smiled and said, "Isn't I trying to leave you in suspense?" In fact, my dish is called gourd drunken shrimp. ”

"Gourd drunk shrimp? After boiling in a pot, put it in a gourd and soak it in wine? ”

"Vulgarity, isn't it? What is boiling in a pot? Only use gourds! Wine and seasoning are put into the gourd in advance, the live shrimp are washed, and without any cooking, they are directly put into the gourd and covered with the lid of the gourd. At first, you will hear the shrimp jumping up and down in the wine, as if you have just drunk the excitement, until then it slowly stops sounding, and it is so stuffy for two hours, the taste of the wine and sauce is completely immersed in the shrimp's body, and it is simply no longer fresh! ”

"I'm afraid you can't adapt to this way of eating raw, right?"

"Look at it again."

Shu Yan saw that everyone was not very enthusiastic at first, but when he looked at it again, they were all competing with each other.

"This method, just by the nose can not smell much aroma, mainly by the taste, don't look at it is not heated and cooked, but the taste is no matter what kind of cooked shrimp can not be compared."

"These shrimps, in the end, also experienced the feeling of being drunk and dreaming of death."

"Whether it's drunk and dreaming of death or drunkenness, it's much better than getting into the oil pot."

At this time, the feast has entered its climax, and only the last silk genus of the eight tones is left. Shu Yan's next piece is the traditional music "Deer Song". This song is a repertoire of court banquets throughout the ages, and it has never been missing. The instrument that matches it is also the qin that best represents the characteristics of traditional Chinese musical instruments among the eight tones. There are many kinds of pianos, including five strings, seven strings and even more than ten strings. The timbre of the piano is the richest: it can be euphemistic and tactful; It can be bright and melodious; If the melody slows down, the listener relaxes physically and mentally, and when it slows down, the strings are broken, and people forget to breathe; On the contrary, the tune becomes urgent, and the listener is then physically and mentally bright, and when it is extremely urgent, it is like a pearl falling on a jade plate, which makes people feel surging with blood. The joys, sorrows, sorrows, or moods of the player, or the depression in the chest, or the stillness of the water, or the chaos of a landslide, can all be plucked out through the fingertips. Of course, today's tune does not have these ups and downs at all, and the whole song has one style - feasting.

"Yo yo deer chirping, apple of the wild food. I have a guest, drummer and sheng......"

When he stepped onto the stage, Xiao Mo found that the musicians and dancers in this song were all wide-sleeved shirts, high-crowned silk shoes, and white-faced sons with elegant temperament, which were very different from those musicians and dancers in the previous songs.

"Brother Shu, although these people are not smiling, their movements are stiff, like puppets, but they have another meaning."

Shu Yan smiled: "That's nature, this is the real Yale." In the past, even if they were popular, they could only be regarded as loose music, or even a hundred operas. Those who dance and play are real musicians, and those who dance and dance can only be called performers at best. ”

Xiao Mo stuck out his tongue: "They are in the same court, is there such a difference?" ”

"Although the musicians and dancers are in the same palace orchestra, they are in different places, and they have their own jurisdictions, and there is no intersection in normal times."

"Tut-tut. I'm really speechless to you Chinese. On stage at the same time, the same performance, but it is divided into high and low. ”

"What's the solution? The rank is not determined by the performance of different repertoire in the here and now, but at the time of their birth. Those who are qualified to dance must have the corresponding qualifications: they must be the son of an official of more than 600 koku and less than 2,000 koku, and be in good shape and appearance, and between the ages of 12 and 30. Those who come from humble backgrounds are not qualified to join this ranks. ”

"Why is it between 600 and 2,000 stones, but what about the family background of more than 2,000 stones?"

Shu Yan snorted: "Most of the people above two thousand stones are from families, how can the children of the family be musicians?" ”

"Those above two thousand stones are disdainful, those below six hundred stones are not qualified, and there are so many levels from the music and dance alone!"

"It's not up to you and me to decide how many grades we have, this piece has been played for most of the time, so can you tell me what kind of food to match my music?" I really can't think of anything to do with silk threads and cooking! ”

"I can't think of anyone, so let me see it." Xiao Mo clapped his hands, and the waiter brought a saucer, and there was a fish on the plate. What is unique is that the fish is not placed flat on a plate, but is suspended from the stand with a silk thread, and the tail is also fixed with a silk thread.

Shu Yan looked at it, but he didn't know why: "The shape is very chic, what kind of name is it?" ”

"This dish is called ice silk snow carp, and it can also be called sitting and eating fish."

"What is a silver carp?"

"Snow carp is a rare fish, the appearance and size are similar to silver carp, but the whole body is white like snow, and the meat is very delicate, so it is called snow carp. Although this fish has an excellent taste, it lives on the bottom of large rivers all year round and is not easy to catch. It is only in winter that it swims to the surface. In addition, this fish also has a characteristic, that is, once it comes into contact with iron and pottery, the whole body will turn black with snow, and the taste will be greatly reduced. ”

"It turns out that there are such hypocritical fish, but how can it be called 'sitting and eating for profit'?"

That's the beauty of this dish. Since it is so hypocritical, I simply do not let it touch any iron pottery utensils. When fishing, you don't use a net, just dig a hole in the ice and use an ice wire tied with inverted spines. After catching it, do not put it into the basin, still hang it with a silk thread, go directly to the scales, pick up the dirt, and then put it into the ice cave to add ingredients to marinate for a day, take it out when you need to do it, pour it 7749 times from beginning to end with boiling oil, at this time the fish meat has been like a garlic clove, the fish skin is only a thin layer like garlic skin, and then slowly pour the adjusted soup from the fish mouth, even if it is completed. Not only does it not touch any metal or pottery during the whole process, but it also remains in an upright state from the moment it leaves the ice and is caught until it is finally served on the table, so it is called a fish stand. ”

"Oh, it turns out that this 'fish stands', not the other 'fishing profits', but how can you sit and eat?"

Before Xiao Mo could answer, he saw Biyu burping, walked from the table, and said, "Shu Da Teaching, you are so smart, why can't you even understand this?" 'Yuli' means that the fish stands and waits for people to eat, and 'sitting and eating' means that people sit and eat fish, so it is called sitting and eating fish. ”

The reason why Biyu left the table was because the food and music distribution of the eight genera had been completed, and the next step was the part of the four yi offerings. Yuwen Xi agreed with him that the identities of the two people must be exchanged before the envoys of the Quartet toast the emperor. Otherwise, it would be a great deal to delay the toast and lose the face of the tribe.

Xiao Mo looked at Biyu's well-fed and satisfied look, and said indignantly: "Of course you understand, because it is you who sit and eat, and it is us who are profiting, of course my brother Shu can't guess!" ”

Biyu was confused: "Why do the two of you sit and eat fish?" ”

"I was pretending to be smart just now, why are you pretending to be confused now? I, Brother Shu, have taken the burden of both of you alone. And you, not only did you not share his worries, but also enjoyed the achievements of the two of us, isn't this sitting on the profits? ”

Biyu tasted Xiao Mo's fresh cooking skills happily today, and was very satisfied, even if he was ridiculed by Xiao Mo for a few words, he didn't care at all, he grinned with a salivating face, and walked out of the hall to find Yuwen Xi.

From the beginning of the preparation at the time of the rooster's crow to the perfect end of the eight rounds of food and music, the Yuanzheng Conference has been going on for several hours. Sima Yan's health has deteriorated recently, and he feels even more physically exhausted at this moment, so he asked the ministers to continue to enjoy themselves and go to the side hall to rest for a while.

Some people died, but not completely......