Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 175 The Old Dragon's Roar (Part 1)
"You child, you've always been competitive. If only you were a boy!"

Jiang Xia paused on the armrest with her knuckles, then suddenly let out a very soft laugh, almost a sigh.

“If you were a man, our Jiao Kingdom would have a successor.”

Meng Jiang lowered her head and remained silent, only hearing the sound of her father's robe brushing against the blue bricks.

When she looked up, she saw that Jiang Xia had already walked to her side, his fingertips gently brushing the red rope in her hair, the movement extremely light.

"That's all,"

Finally, Jiang Xia raised her hand and waved, her red silk sleeves sweeping across the candlestick on the table.

"Since you have chosen this path, I have no other choice. Now that there is no Liu Er left in this hall, I will see you off one last time. From now on, how you walk your path is entirely up to you."

"After all, by then, I will be far away in Jiao Kingdom, unable to reach you. Even if I wanted to help you, I wouldn't know where to begin."

As she spoke, Jiang Xia opened her palm, revealing a bronze seal. The moment the seal appeared, a faint, cold light emanated from the patina.

Under the flickering candlelight, the ball of light shimmered with patterns of crimson gold and dark blue, like the phantom of an ancient mythical beast writhing in the darkness.

Boom!
Jiang Xia held the imperial edict of the King of Jiao in his hand. With the edict in his hand, he was in harmony with the destiny of Jiao. The next moment, the bronze seal knob in his palm emitted a clear and melodious hum, as if the sound of a bell or chime was emanating from the depths of the seal knob.

Groan!
At his command, the red dragon relief on the dragon pillar in the hall, which was originally painted with cinnabar mixed with gold powder, now seemed to be infused with the essence of a living creature, and faint light seeped out from under the scales of the winding dragon body.

The dragon's head at the very front was the first to move. Its previously solidified whiskers suddenly trembled slightly, and its mouth opened slightly, spitting out a cloud of auspiciousness.

Startled by the strange phenomenon before her, Meng Jiang exclaimed, "Father, what... what is this?"

The auspicious clouds condensed and did not disperse as the dragon's head breathed in and out. At first, they were like cotton wool wrapped with gold dust, and then they swirled in the interplay of candlelight and the dim light of the seal.

She watched as the cloud rippled with dark blue waves at its edges, and a humming sound like vibrating harp strings emanated from its depths.

At the same time, the dragon raised its head, and the eerie light on its whiskers fell like shooting stars, disappearing into the auspicious clouds.

Jiang Xia said softly, "This is one of the treasures passed down by the Jiang clan of the Zhurong family in my Jiao Kingdom, the Old Dragon's Roar!"

Before the words were finished, the clouds had already condensed into the outline of the zither, with a half-dragon scale-shaped burnt tail curled at the end. The light threads seeping from the gaps in the scales transformed into seven strings, the core of the strings glowing with reddish gold and the tail of the strings hidden in dark blue.

Zheng!
The surface of the zither is covered with flowing cloud patterns, each cloud wisp concealing a tiny dragon-shaped phantom. As the strings vibrate, they connect head to tail, as if thousands of small dragons are swimming within the body of the zither.

Jiang Xia raised his hand and summoned the precious zither to his side. His face was solemn as he gently stroked the strings, feeling the great power within.

"Old Dragon's Roar,"

Meng Jiang looked at the precious zither in front of her father and noticed the strange phenomenon on the zither, which stirred her heart.

Jiang Xia said calmly, "This old dragon's roar is a treasure passed down by the founding emperor of our Jiao Kingdom. It is said to have been made by Yan Long, and after Yan Long ascended to heaven, it was obtained by our ancestors."

The Classic of Mountains and Seas, Book of the Seas Within, states: "Emperor Jun begat Yanlong, and Yanlong was the master of the zither and lute."

Emperor Jun, also known as Emperor Ku, was the father of the sun and moon and the Gaoxin clan. He was the first person to rule the world and attain the Dao of the Sage King after the Gaoyang clan severed the connection between heaven and earth. Yan Long was Emperor Jun's son. After Yan Long, the zither and se (another type of stringed instrument) began to exist in the world. Fuxi was the inventor of the zither, while Yan Long was the inventor of the se (another type of stringed instrument).

Although both the qin and se are stringed instruments, the qin is slender, usually with five or seven strings, a smooth soundboard, and sound holes such as the dragon pool and phoenix pond on the bottom. The se, on the other hand, is wider, has more strings, sometimes as many as fifty, and a slightly convex soundboard.

"Since our ancestors founded the country, our Jiao Kingdom has benefited from the strategic importance of the Xiaohan Pass and the fertile land of the Luo River. Throughout history, there has been little turmoil in the country, and the succession of the throne has been orderly. Therefore, there has never been an opportunity to unseal the old dragon's roar."

"Now, I bestow upon you the Old Dragon's Roar, hoping you will make good use of this zither," he said, tapping the body of the zither with his knuckles, and the phantom of the small dragon in the cloud pattern raised its head and roared.

As the fingers touched the strings, the strings vibrated, producing a clear and melodious sound, like the low murmur of an old dragon just awakening. A sudden gust of wind rose outside the hall, causing the window frames to tremble slightly. At the same time, all the candles in the hall rose into three-foot-high crimson flames, with wisps of dragon-shaped flames swirling around the precious zither.

“My lord and father,”

Meng Jiang called out softly.

Although the Old Dragon's Roar was not the most powerful treasure passed down by the ancestors of Jiao Kingdom, such a national treasure was far superior to ordinary treasures.

If the Jiao Kingdom had not enjoyed decades of peace and tranquility since its founding, a national treasure like the Old Dragon's Roar would have been extremely difficult to pass down to this day.

"Don't act like a child."

Jiang Xia snorted and gently pushed the zither into Meng Jiang's arms.

Zheng!
Meng Jiang's fingertips lightly touched the body of the zither, and she suddenly felt a slight coolness spreading from her palm. All five strings vibrated in unison, producing a clear and melodious sound.

The precious zither in her arms seemed to possess a spirit; the zither's body, with its cloud-like threads of light, wrapped around her fingertips, and faint dragon roars emanated from the depths of the strings, yet just as it was about to break, they transformed into lingering melodies.

------

It is almost 9:00 AM.

On the eaves of Jiaoguo Inn, copper bells sway gently in the morning breeze, like shattered jade.

Wu Wenhe used the newly ground graphite on his desk to sketch on the silk.

The postmaster hurried to the corridor and said, "Minister Wu, the minister sent word that the discussion at the Mingtang has been completed, and the matter of granting the state a diplomatic mission has been agreed to!"

"it is good,"

Wu Wenhe looked up at the swaying bamboo shadows outside the window, tapped his knuckles on the table, and chuckled softly, a laugh containing an expected certainty.
"The matter is accomplished."

"With the marriage of Xu and Jiao, the continuation of the nation's lineage is promising!"

A green shadow flashed inside the house, and Qu Zhao was already leaning against the door frame. Seeing that Wu Wenhe's face was full of joy, he chuckled and said, "Congratulations, old man Wu, your trip to Jiao Kingdom can be described as a complete success."

"The marriage alliance between Xu and Jiao is a perfect match, and in the future, none of the states in Henan will dare to underestimate the State of Xu."

His gaze swept over the still-wet ink stains on the desk, and he said slowly, "However, I am really curious, after Meng Jiang marries into the State of Xu, will your ruler really be able to control her as you say?"

"What kind of young hero must Xu Boshang be to be able to subdue this woman?"

Qu Zhao traveled to Jiao State in Yuzhou at the request of Jiao Bo to teach the princes the art of playing the qin (a seven-stringed zither). He had served as Meng Jiang's qin teacher and thus knew Meng Jiang's temperament.

Unlike Wu Wenhe, who was not accepted by the states with the surname Mi, he came to Jiao State because he was recommended by the states with the surname Mi.

After all, the states of the Mi clan prospered by relying on Jingzhou, which was the foundation of the Jiang clan's Zhurong clan. After the Xia emperor appointed the Jiang clan's Zhurong clan as one of the Four Sacred Mountains, half of Jingzhou became the Zhurong clan's private territory.

If the states of the Mi clan wanted to survive in Jingzhou, they could not afford to offend the Zhurong clan of the Jiang clan.

Wu Wenhe put down his wolf-hair brush, his fingertips tracing the still-damp patterns on the silk betrothal letter, and said, "Whether we can control it or not, you'll have to wait and see. But for now, this marriage alliance is entirely beneficial to the Xu Kingdom."

(End of this chapter)