On the sixth day of July, Huaqing Palace.

Yuan Siyi walked to the apse and said in a low voice: "Sage, Wu Daozi is back." ”

Li Longji was reading a note, his face was uncertain, he threw away the letter in his hand when he heard the words, was puzzled for a moment, and asked, "Where did he come back from?" ”

"Back to the saint, Tianbao five years, the saint sent him to the Jialing River to sketch, and presented the beautiful scenery of Shuzhong in front of the emperor."

"Yes."

After many years, Li Longji has completely forgotten about this matter, but he is still quite happy to hear that Wu Daozi is back.

There is no shortage of offerings in the palace, and there are many people who are good at painting, although Zhang Xuan is old, there are Cao Ba, who is famous for painting "Nine Horses", Chen Hong who paints "Eight Princesses", Wei Yan who paints "Double Riding Picture", Han Gan who paints "Horse Herding Picture", and Wei Wuxi who paints "Strange Beast Picture".

Among so many offerings, Wu Daozi is one of Li Longji's favorites, because he has participated in the painting of Li Longji's most glorious time, it was in the thirteenth year of Kaiyuan, Li Longji sealed Mount Tai, and when he returned to Beijing, he passed through Jinqiao, and saw 300,000 guards lined up for thousands of miles, and the flag was purged, and he was very excited, so that Wu Daozi, Wei Wuxi, and Chen Hong jointly painted the "Golden Bridge Map". Since then, every time Li Longji sees Wu Daozi, he will think of the grand occasion at that time, and his heart will become more and more proud.

In comparison, the letter that Fang was looking at was not so pleasant.

It was sent by Anxi, and the content was to impeach Gao Xianzhi. Claiming that the State of Shi had surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, Gao Xianzhi used fraudulent means to destroy the country and kill on a large scale, causing the prince of Shi to publicize the matter to Zhuhu, and Zhuhu then united with Dashi to attack the four towns of Anxi.

In fact, Gao Xianzhi is not a character who sits on the defensive at all, and after learning the news, he has personally led 30,000 soldiers and horses to attack Dashi in April and go deep into its realm. And at this time, someone suddenly impeached him, obviously not optimistic about this war, and wanted to draw a line with Gao Xianzhi.

In this regard, Yang Guozhong did not dare to be good at it, so he asked for a holy judgment.

Li Longji has liked Gao Xianzhi very much over the years, because no other general can send back good news at every turn like Gao Xianzhi. It was also a great victory to destroy the country and capture its lord.

King Bolu Xiao, Khan of Turgish, King Shi, King Shushi, Li Longji has ordered the execution of these small chieftains who dare to betray him in Chang'an again and again for several years, enjoying the high ground of heaven and all countries, and he no longer likes to hear bad news.

So, he lifted the imperial pen, drew two strokes on the letter, expressed rejection, and then threw away the book, and said: "Spread the decree and summon Wu Daozi." ”

"Xuanwu Daozi is here!"

When his mind shifted from the bad news that might come back to dancing, painting, and other artistic matters, Li Longji's mood improved and he recovered.

Wu Daozi was nearly seventy years old, his hair was pale and thin, wrapped in a scarf, as if it was about to fall off at any moment. His eyes were wrinkled, but his eyes were still shining.

Although he hadn't seen him for many years, Li Longji immediately felt familiar when he saw these eyes, and said with a smile: "My 'painting saint' is back." ”

Wu Daozi looked at the imperial couch, was stunned, and couldn't help but be surprised: "The saint is actually younger than before. ”

blurted out a sentence, and he remembered that he hadn't had time to salute, so he hurriedly crossed his hands and said, "The minister is already dying." ”

Li Longji was overjoyed when he heard this, and he did not wait for Wu Daozi to present his sketch in Jialingjiang, and he had already passed on the decree and rewarded him.

Yuan Siyi lowered his head, thinking that aging was inevitable, and the saint had visibly aged a lot in the past five years, including that his spirit was not as good as before. It can be seen that although Wu Daozi is obsessed with painting, he is not without a city.

"As soon as Qing is gone, it will be five years, and I still don't want to worship in the palace." Li Longji said.

"Back to the saint, the Jialing River is beautiful, and the ministers linger."

"It's a good one to linger, and I will present the sketch, so that I can feast my eyes." Li Longji said, and did not forget to instruct the chamberlain to summon the favorite concubines.

Wu Daozi replied: "Returning to the sage, there is no drawing. ”

Li Longji was surprised: "You go to sketch, you haven't painted a painting in five years?" ”

Wu Daozi calmly responded: "Three hundred miles of Jialing River are all in the hearts of the ministers. ”

"Good!"

As the Son of Heaven, Li Longji likes this feeling very much, although it does not completely meet his wishes, but can surprise him. This is something that mediocre ministers can't do, only the most intelligent courtiers can have such a punch line.

He couldn't help but stroke his palms and laughed, and said, "Wu Qing is going to do it for me on the spot." ”

Wu Daozi smiled and replied, "This hall is too small for the ministers to write. ”

"Hahaha." Li Longji's mood became more and more cheerful, and said: "When you go to the apse to paint, the entire powder wall in the hall will be painted on holy paper." ”

Speaking of paper, he thought of Xue Bai.

Today, there is a painter who paints for him, and someone should play music and dance for him, and someone must compose poems and lyrics for him.

"Summoning Li Guinian, Jia Chang, Xue Bai and others, the imperial banquet will be organized in advance, and I will sing about the wine while appreciating the poems and paintings of the Tang Dynasty."

It's ridiculous that Xue Bai is busy coming and going, but in the end he is still called with the worshippers and ministers.

Soon, Li Guinian and Jia Chang respectively brought the dancers and musicians and cockfighting children into the palace, and set up a formation, and the sheng spring moved, which was immediately interesting.

The concubines in the palace also dressed up one after another, so the palace ladies carried the hot spring water back and forth, and when the water in the basin was splashed, the fragrance of the rouge washed off was diffused in the harem.

Wu Daozi held a paintbrush in his hand and washed it in the wooden barrel, rippling a red color like rouge.

The little eunuchs grinded all kinds of paints and placed them in a colorful manner, and Wu Daozi held a pen and shook it decisively towards the white and flawless wall. Seeing that everyone couldn't help but hold their breath, for fear that his stroke would be crooked.

Li Longji looked at this scene with great joy, and after a while, he turned his head sideways and asked, "Xue hasn't played cards yet?" ”

"The old slave will send someone to urge again."

"He thinks he is Li Bai, and the Son of Heaven can't get on the boat?" Li Longji didn't know if he was joking or really unhappy.

Yuan Siyi immediately changed his words and said: "The old slave went to ask in person. ”

He walked out of the hall in small steps, beckoned a confidant, and asked, "Are you sure Xue Bai is no longer in Lishan?" ”

"No one has seen him for two or three days, and if it weren't for the fact that he couldn't get up on Mrs. Qiuguo's couch, he would no longer be in Lishan."

"Keep sending people to urge, the saint can't wait."

Yuan Siyi and Xue Bai don't have a personal grudge, but they are very curious about Xue Bai recently, he can't figure out why this young man who could have a promising future repeatedly wants to cause trouble, standing on the opposite side of the prince and An Lushan, and Yang Guozhong is also at odds with him.

If a person is too maverick, he will often be overwhelmed by the world.

After waiting for a long time, many ministers hurried to the banquet.

Yuan Siyi stood at the palace gate and watched them hurrying slowly, with a sense of funny, just like King Zhou You, after lighting the beacon fire, he saw the waiters who arrived in embarrassment.

The sky is about to get dark, and Xue Bai has not yet arrived.

"Fall to the palace gate, Xue She people should not come." Yuan Siyi commanded.

The duty of the Zhongshe scholar is to wait for the sage to summon him at any time, Xue Bai is already dereliction of duty if he does not come today, Yang Guozhong already has a reason to remove him, if the sage is not happy, I am afraid that he will be punished.

However, the voice fell, and someone rode a horse to this direction.

"Phew!"

Without waiting for the palace gate to close, a sturdy figure turned over and dismounted, and ran to Yuan Siyi, it was Xue Bai.

"Xue Lang, this is stepping on the drumbeat of the closed palace door."

"General Yuan, forgive me, I prepared a Qixi gift for the saint, so I came late."

Yuan Sili reminded: "Qixi Prayer Festival, it is not up to you to give gifts to the saints. ”

Xue Bai was stunned for a moment, still holding a large package to enter the palace. Yuan Siyi stopped him and said, "Xue Lang went to the inner palace to meet him, I'm afraid it is not appropriate to bring foreign objects." Leave it to me. ”

"This is my gift."

Xue Bai said a word, and seeing that Yuan Sili was still stretching out his hand, he calmly handed over the package, and said with a smile: "Then please General Yuan take care of it, this thing is a little dangerous......

~~

Painting and music are both elegant things, and there are similarities.

Li Linfu is also good at painting, and there are five people in his family who are famous for their painting skills and are known as "Five Lis", namely Li Linfu, his father Li Sixu, uncle Li Sixun, cousin Li Zhaodao, and nephew Li Miao.

Among them, Li Sixun's painting skills are the highest.

Li Sixun died as early as the sixth year of Kaiyuan, but his life achievements were very remarkable. In the Tang Dynasty, it was Zong Zhengqing and Longxi County Duke. When today's son ascended the throne, he was named Peng Guogong, the official to the right general of Wuwei, and after his death, he was called "Zhao" and was buried in the bridge mausoleum. He is good at painting landscapes, pavilions, flowers, trees and animals, and the people of the time rated him as "the first landscape of the country", which shows his ability.

In the early years, Li Sixun also painted the landscape of the Jialing River for the saint in the palace, and spent several months, with strong brushwork and wonderful artistic conception. The sage liked the mural very much, and praised it with "green landscape, golden and green", and was known as "General Li's landscape".

In the eighth year of Kaiyuan, Xingqing Palace was rebuilt, Datong Hall was rebuilt, and the mural could not be preserved. Li Longji regretted it greatly, so he later asked Wu Daozi to sketch in Shu.

Therefore, Wu Daozi was extremely stressed about this matter. In order not to be inferior to Li Sixun, he stayed in Shuzhong for five years, watched the Jialing River day and night, and engraved its mountains, rivers, grass and trees in his heart before he dared to come back.

Day after day, the moon sank and the sun rose, and he saw the countless waves under the starlight, and finally splashed ink.

The tip of the pen moves flexibly on the wall, not like painting, but like pouring out the water of the Jialing River in Wu Daozi's heart.

When Xue Bai entered the apse of Huaqing Palace, he saw such a situation.

Wu Daozi's back did not look old at all in his eyes, like a crane in the sky above the Jialing River, holding grass and trees in his mouth, building a hill and a ravine.

"The saint is in good health on Tanabata, and the minister ......"

Li Longji stood behind Wu Daozi with his hands and watched intently, raised his hand, interrupted Xue Bai's salute, and signaled him to be quiet.

This emperor has extremely high artistic attainments, and at this time he has been deeply attracted by Wu Daozi's painting skills, and said with emotion: "Daoxuan's painting art has gone up several floors." ”

Because of the saint's posture, Jia Chang did not dare to fight cocks, and the entire apse was very quiet.

Occasionally, the concubines who came to the banquet arrived, and they slowed down their pace while being surprised, and sat down softly with the color practice on their waists.

Only Yuan Siyi understood the habits of the sage, and from time to time poured a glass of wine and handed it to the sage, allowing him to drink while watching.

"Listen."

I don't know how long it took, Li Long suddenly spoke, looked around the hall, and asked, "Did you hear that?" ”

The ministers were stunned.

Li Longji stretched out a slender finger and put it on his lips to make a silent motion, asking everyone to listen attentively.

"I heard the sound of the Jialing River, have you heard it?"

Where Xue Bai's eyes fell, Wu Daozi had already painted half of the wall, and the Jialing River had already meandered above the main hall.

He didn't hear the sound of water, he only felt the smell of art.

"I heard you." Yang Guozhong responded, "When the minister saw Wu Gong's painting, it seemed that he had returned to Shuzhong." ”

"Bring the harp."

Li Longji was very interested, twisted lightly and slowly, and played several songs in a row. The sound of the piano makes everyone feel as if they are really in the leisurely landscape.

The moon is getting thicker, and Wu Daozi also fell to the end.

Suddenly, the scenery of the Jialing River for three hundred miles jumped on the wall.

"Wonderful!"

Countless voices of praise resounded in the hall.

Wu Daozi's strength was exhausted, the paintbrush in his hand fell, and the person also fell on the thick carpet in the hall.

Li Sixun painted the Jialing River for several months, and it was extremely meticulous and meticulous, even the small flying insects on the grass and trees were also delicately visible, and they were piled up into a brilliant masterpiece with countless details. Wu Daozi knew that Li Sixun had reached the pinnacle in this kind of painting. Therefore, he did the opposite.

In just one day, he used a rough brush and ink to paint the artistic conception of the Jialing River. The magnificence of the mountains and the charm of the water are condensed in every stroke.

Hearty, with a wave.

This is a contest between Wu Daozi and Li Sixun, who has passed away for many years, with nothing to do with victory or defeat, but only about his love for painting.

"Hahahaha."

Wu Daozi looked at the landscape in front of him and laughed unpassionately. A jug of wine was handed to him, and he took it without looking, and drank it with his head up.

It wasn't until the saint's voice sounded in his ears that he knew who had handed him the flask.

"Li Sixun's work for several months, and Wu Daoxuan's traces for a day, are all extremely wonderful!"

Li Longji also laughed, raised his wine glass, and raised a glass with the ministers, and said: "You can see that my Tang Dynasty is not only a prosperous era of cultural governance and martial arts, but also a prosperous era of expanding territory, a prosperous era of poetry and songs, and a prosperous era of calligraphy and painting. ”

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

Yang Guozhong immediately raised the cup, and praised it again.

After that, the ministers looked at the mural again and gave their comments.

"Wu Gong's pen, the pen is better than the elephant, and the backbone is self-exalted."

"Dao Xuanzhi's brushwork is high and straight, the conversion stops the score, and it is easy to play and move into the wind."

"It is worthy of Wu to take the ...... of the wind"

In the praise, Wu Daozi turned his head and glanced around the hall, and when his eyes fell on Xue Bai, he looked at him carefully.

Xue Bai knew why, he was protected by Zhang Jiuling and He Zhizhang, and Wu Daozi had studied under He Zhizhang, perhaps because he had heard about it. Although they haven't seen each other in these years, they may have heard of each other.

"Dao Xuan, what are you looking for?" Li Longji suddenly asked.

Wu Daozi came back to his senses and responded: "The minister hasn't seen Aunt Gongsun for many years. ”

It was from the sword dance of Aunt Gongsun that he understood Wu Daidangfeng's brushwork, and finally came back, looking forward to seeing his old friend. But he didn't know that the saint was now afraid that the sick person would inhale the vitality of the Son of Heaven.

Li Longji liked Wu Daozi's painting very much, and before he had time to reward it, he asked Yuan Siyi: "Aunt Gongsun has recovered?" ”

"Back to the saint, she only had a minor illness and has been cured."

"Summoning her to come to see Dao Xuan tomorrow and see this painting."

Li Longji still didn't see Aunt Gongsun, turned his head to Xue Bai and asked, "Where are you drunk today?" The Son of Heaven dared to be late. ”

"The minister didn't dare, the minister specially made a Qixi gift, and wanted to dedicate it to the saint."

"Taizhen's birthday, you don't give a big gift. Only now do I remember to make amends. Li Longji said: "It's too late, I have degraded your Zhongshu people." ”

He really had this thought, and he had already instructed Yang Guozhong.

Xue Bai thought to himself that Wang Zhonghei had not yet "died" at the beginning of June, and many things could be slowly figured out. Now that it is different, it is natural to "make amends" to this Datang Society.

"Answer: Sage, this gift must be seen at night, so it is suitable for watching morning glory and Vega at the Qixi banquet."

"Huh."

Li Longji made up his mind to let Xue Bai be a courtier, and wanted to demote him to a serious errand position, but he finally caught the handle and did not let it go easily.

Seeing this, Yang Yuhuan said quietly: "Since the sage said that it was late, he didn't care if you offered gifts day or night, unless you wrote a poem." ”

"Yes, if you paint a saint today, you should also go to Xue Lang to write a poem!"

At this time, it was the horse Cui Huitong who agreed, this person didn't have much power, it was purely for fun.

Xue Bai pretended to be helpless and said: "I offer gifts to saints, but I still have to write poems to offer gifts." ”

This non-serious, playful tone made Li Longji feel relaxed, and he said: "That's right, tonight all the secretaries should show their strengths." ”

In short, it's time for the courtiers to perform their talents, as if performing is equivalent to showing loyalty.

Xue Bai is now not interested in writing poetry in front of the emperor, and when he lifts the pen, he only feels like An Lushan who is dancing Hu Xuan dance. But An Lushan can not only use the constantly rotating dance steps to hide his rebellious intentions, but Xue Bai is not bothered to write a poem to emulate.

"The silver candle autumn light is cold on the screen, and the small fan flutters lightly."

"The night of the heavenly steps is as cold as water, sit and watch the morning glory Vega."

After the meridian, it is already the seventh day of the seventh month, and such a poem is appropriate.

Yang Yuhuan read it in a low voice, but he also felt that something was wrong. I think this poem is beautiful, but the words in it seem a little bleak, but it seems to depict a frustrated palace man who spends Qixi alone in the cold palace.

"Grumble." Li Longji pointed at Xue Bai and said, "Before I am degraded, you dare to complain." ”

"I don't dare, I just feel it."

Although he criticized it, Li Longji recognized the level of this poem and said: "Okay, offer your gift, don't be so cold and cold." ”

"Rest assured, saint, this gift will be lively."

~~

The gift has been kept by Yuan Siyi's people.

He didn't know what it was, because Xue Bai called it dangerous, he carefully opened the package and looked at it, but he didn't dare to continue to open it. I only knew that it was a paper box, quite heavy, and when I got closer, there was a pungent smell.

"I'm afraid it's not poisonous, don't let it get close to the saint."

With such a preconceived impression, Yuan Siyi heard that the sage wanted to see Xue Bai's gift, so he was ready to open his mouth to remind the sage.

Xue Bai spoke first and took the initiative to inform, saying, "Sage, the minister's gift is a little dangerous, and the sage can stand at the gate of the hall and watch." ”

"I have never seen such storms and waves, and I am afraid of your little object." Li Longji sneered disdainfully.

Xue Bai continued to remind: "Its movement is a bit big, and I hope the guards don't make a fuss." ”

Chen Xuanli didn't speak, but just turned his head to look at his subordinates, as if asking them, "Will you be scared?" ”

He was greeted by a pair of eyes with pride, and the guards obviously thought that Xue Bai despised them.

Of course, in their hearts, they were still very cautious, and the guards who had already been clad in armor stood wordlessly at the gate of the temple and blocked the saint.

Xue Bai then descended the steps, took the large package from the hand of a small eunuch, walked to the bottom of the steps, opened it, and put it on the ground.

"Lend me the lantern." He said to the little eunuch behind him.

Then he took a piece of paper from his sleeve, rolled it into a small paper stick, lit a fire in the lantern, lit the fuse, and ran to the side with his ears covered.

When everyone got Xue Bai's reminder and saw him like this, they all thought that there was going to be a big move, and they all took a strict battle.

Some pungent smoke came out.

The atmosphere gradually became tense.

"Huh."

With this whistling sound, a fire lit up in the dark night, soared straight into the clouds, and exploded in the air with a "bang", exploding into a little starlight.

Xue Bai put down the hand covering his ear, looked up, and felt that this firework was really a little shabby.

But, I haven't seen it for too long, and it's still good-looking.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and found that the expected big movement was nothing more than that, and they were a little disappointed, but the next moment, they saw the brilliant fireworks in the sky.

Yang Yuhuan has always known that Xue Bai can make something refreshing to her as long as she is willing, so she has always been looking forward to it.

But when the fireworks came into view, she was still pleasantly surprised.

She likes all the beautiful things in the world, the sky full of stars, the silhouette of the West Embroidery Ridge, and the dazzling brilliance that blooms in the middle, which makes her can't help but lift the hem of her skirt and run out of the hall and down the stairs.

Like a curious child, he wants to see more realistically up close.

But after only a few steps, the fireworks had already disappeared.

Yang Yuhuan's eyes widened, staring at the black sky, and the next moment, with a "boom", another firework sprang up, higher and bigger than the previous one.

Her eyes lit up at once, and they were more beautiful than fireworks.

"Huh."

"Bang."

"The east wind blooms thousands of trees at night, and the stars are like rain."

Around Lishan, I don't know how many people were looking up at the fireworks at the same time, and some people whispered such words.

~~

One after another, no matter how beautiful the fireworks are, they still stop quickly.

Xue Bai stood there with his ears covered, deliberately not listening to the amazing admiration and cheers around him. He felt like An Lushan who had just finished dancing the Hu Xuan Dance, and his heart was already out of breath.

"Xue Lang, Xue Lang, put your hands down, what a big move."

Yuan Siyi squeezed out a smile on his face, and stepped forward to lead Xue Bai back to the upper hall.

They climbed the stone steps and saw Yang Yuhuan still standing there looking at the sky and reminiscing.

Seeing Xue Bai, she said straightforwardly: "Ah Bai, I still want to see it." ”

"It's still too little now, let Sister Ah see enough next time."

Yang Yuhuan couldn't help but smile.

She has always kept her simple side, and this smile is more beautiful than fireworks.

But Xue Bai thought of something else in his mind, quickly restrained his mood, passed by her, and walked in front of Li Longji with Yuan Siyi.

"It's called fireworks?"

"Back to the saints, yes."

"Very good, I will make you a firework maker and make fireworks for me."

"Command, thank the saint for his grace."

Xue Bai's afterglow could see that Yuan Zai was also there, but he didn't know that Yuan Zai's flower and bird envoy, compared with his own fireworks envoy, whose dispatch sounded more serious.

Seeing that he was becoming more and more obedient, Li Longji nodded with satisfaction and said, "Now that you are back, You Ye will make you continue to serve as well." ”

Yang Guozhong was stunned for a moment, his eyes glanced, and he once again felt the threat brought by Xue Bai in his heart.

Xue Bai knew that this was deliberate by Li Longji, but he was also ready to favor him. The emperor did not want his most favored courtiers to get too close, and consciously or unconsciously set them against each other.

"Decree, thank the saint for his grace!"

"This year's Long Live Festival has been changed to a banquet at night." Li Longji said: "I want to have fun with the people, and when the time comes, I want the most beautiful fireworks to bloom in the sky above Chang'an City." ”

"Commandment." Xue Bai still had that restrained tone, and said slowly: "The minister must not let the saint down." ”

There was less than a month left until the Thousand Autumn Banzai Festival, and according to his plan, there were still too many things to prepare.

The generals of Longyou still have to be contacted, and there will be a little rumor about his life experience......

~~

The joy of fireworks hasn't completely dissipated yet.

Yuan Siyi inadvertently glanced at the many ministers who accompanied him, but did not see the crown prince Li Heng among them. He couldn't help but think to himself that the prince's situation was getting worse and worse. At present, Xue Bai, who is more and more favored by the saints, is obviously the Qingwang family.

The reason why he had such an idea was because of the documents that Li Linfu read before his death. But Yuan Siyi had already sensed that something was wrong, but he couldn't say it.

Waiting until dawn, the tired saint rested, and it was the turn of Colliers to be on duty.

Yuan Siyi returned to the residence, and the first thing he did was to ask Fu Baolin if he had returned, and learned that Fu Baolin had been waiting for him all night.

"How?"

"Grandpa, I'm afraid things are not so simple, the water is very deep."

Fu Baolin did not directly say that he went to find Zhang Xuan, but said: "The child has re-checked, according to the time of the painting, the child in Concubine Xue's arms is not Li Li, the fourth son of the abolished prince, but someone else,"

"Who's that?"

Fu Zhaolin turned her head to look at the door to make sure that no one was eavesdropping, and then whispered: "Grandpa, do you remember what Wu Huaishi said?" ”

Yuan Siyi's eyes flashed and understood.

He quickly walked to the side of the desk, opened the locked drawer, took out the documents, flipped through the map of Danshan in Fuping County, and muttered: "In this way, this is the burial place of the child, and the brother slave really thinks that he is not dead." ”

"But if you're not dead, where are you?"

Fu Zhaolin asked meaningfully, and said: "The child is in Zhongnan Mountain, and I found that a person also went to find Zhang Xuan......

(End of chapter)