Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 138 My sister-in-law's dancing skills are superb.

Gao Chengxin was quite unrestrained when he drank, one cup after another, but his alcohol tolerance was poor. He fell asleep at his desk after only a short while.

"My husband holds a palace post and usually dares not indulge in drinking. Today, with such honored guests arriving, I was so overjoyed that I became rude in front of them. I am truly sorry!"

Gao Chengxin's wife, Gong Wuniangzi, had been watching the situation in the hall from outside. When she saw that her husband had fallen drunk, she quickly entered the hall and said with a face full of shame.

Zhang Dai was also a little embarrassed, so he quickly stood up and said, "Sister-in-law, you are too kind. It was I, an unwelcome guest, who disturbed you. Brother Sixteen, you have been so kind to keep me company. Your kindness is deep and sincere. How could it be considered impolite? Since you have done so much, I, the unwelcome guest, should take my leave."

He actually had something to discuss with Gao Chengxin, but the guy was so drunk that they couldn't really talk about anything. Since he'd already gotten the host drunk, he felt embarrassed to stay any longer.

“Young Master Zhang, please wait! If you leave disappointed today, how will my husband and I have the face to invite you again in the future? If my husband finds out, he will surely reprimand me for failing to be a proper host.”

Gong Wu Niangzi first had her servants carry away Gao Chengxin, who was still fast asleep and drunk. Then she took her seat, poured herself a cup of wine, and toasted Zhang Dai, saying, "I am a poor, ignorant woman from a humble family, and I am ignorant of etiquette. I only know that I cannot let my guests leave disappointed. I will drink a cup first, and you may drink as much as you like, sir."

After saying this, she drank the wine in her glass in one gulp, her expression unchanged.

Judging from this, Zhang Dai seemed to be not only trying to avoid disappointing her, but also trying to get back at her husband.

However, this Lady Gong was indeed quite straightforward, so Zhang Dai no longer stood on ceremony. He also raised his cup and drank it all, then smiled and said, "My sixteenth brother and I are of one mind. You may simply address me by my birth order, sister-in-law."

Gong Wu Niangzi then gestured to the maid to fill Zhang Dai's cup with wine, and then said with a smile, "Since that's the case, then I will be presumptuous. Usually when my husband returns home, he rarely talks about outside affairs, but since I met Liu Lang, he has often praised me. I am so fortunate to be traveling with such a handsome and talented young man!"

Zhang Dai had socialized frequently since he came into this world, but this was the first time he had shared a drink and chatted with a woman.

Both being wives of eunuchs, this Lady Gong was much more poised and elegant than Niu Gui'er's wife, and her appearance was also more beautiful. Even without any affected coquettishness, she possessed a captivating charm.

After chatting for a while, Zhang Dai couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked, "Is your wife truly a disciple of Lady Gongsun? I have no intention of being disrespectful, but I have long heard that Lady Gongsun's sword dance is unparalleled in the land, but I regret that I have never had the chance to appreciate it."

"This is my background, so what is there to be ashamed of? It is true that I learned some basic skills from my master, but I have not mastered the true art. Since you admire this skill, I will humbly offer my humble attempt. I hope you will not laugh at me!"

After saying this, Madam Gong stood up and gestured for Zhang Dai to wait in the hall while she went down to change her clothes and prepare for the performance.

Zhang Dai had no intention of asking his sister-in-law to perform a dance, but since Madam Gong had said so, he did not refuse. He sat down at the table, sipping his tea and waiting, quite curious in his heart.

Before long, Madam Gong returned to the hall. She had changed from the ruqun she had been wearing to a colorful dance dress that accentuated her graceful figure. The light gauze over the colorful dress did not obscure her vision; instead, it made the curves of the dress appear more alluring and enigmatic.

Behind Lady Gong were two maids, one holding a pipa and the other a hujia. After the two maids entered the hall, they sat down and began to play a dance tune. The melody was very soothing at the beginning, and Lady Gong slowly drew the long sword she was using for the performance from its sheath in time with the music.

Suddenly the pipa music became more urgent, and Gong Niangzi also stretched her body and leaped several feet up to the melody, like a colorful butterfly suddenly startled by the spring breeze in a flower garden, seemingly a little flustered, but more agile.

Her long sword danced, like the blazing sun shining on the flowers on a spring afternoon. Her light gauze sleeves were like the swaying shadows of the trees, intertwining with the light and shadow of the sword.

Gong Niangzi had long, strong limbs, and her leaps and bounds were unimpeded, showcasing her graceful and healthy figure to the fullest.

Although it was a solo dance, it was dazzling to watch, leaving one unsure whether to follow the sword shadow that had transformed into the splendid spring light or to keep a close eye on the colorful butterflies frolicking and dancing in the spring sunshine.

Suddenly, the longsword flew from his hand, its white light piercing straight towards the roof beam. Just as Zhang Dai was about to look up, he saw that Madam Gong, also holding a light veil, floated off the ground and followed the sword's light towards the roof, like a sword immortal soaring through the air.

"Excellent skill!"

He first exclaimed in surprise, and then realized that the sword was passing through the copper ring under the crossbeam after it was in mid-air. Gong Niangzi first jumped several feet with the sword, and then used the hilt of the sword to catch the copper ring. Holding the white ribbon, she continued to jump up until she was more than ten feet off the ground and swinging in mid-air. The long sword that was caught in the copper ring fell down naturally.

In mid-air, the dancer lightly kicked her toes, and the longsword flew up again. The dancer landed gracefully, the sword still dancing in mid-air, controlled by the dancer's flicking white ribbons, drawing beautiful arcs of sword light. Zhang Dai couldn't help but stand up from his seat to clap and cheer, but it seemed that the dancer was slightly distracted and lacked strength, the flying longsword suddenly fell to the ground, and Gong Niangzi's dance also stopped abruptly, panting heavily, her face covered in fragrant sweat.

"Having not danced for a long time, my skills have become rusty, and I have indeed made a fool of myself."

She sighed somewhat embarrassedly, then explained to Zhang Dai, "I was not very good under my teacher's tutelage, my skills are not refined, and my techniques have been rusty for a long time. Please don't misunderstand, Sixth Brother, that Gongsun Da Niang's skills are limited to this. Especially since you have recently trained a girl named Du Ba Niangzi, whose sword dance skills are even better than yours when you were young. If there is an opportunity, I will invite this junior sister to perform for you, Sixth Brother!"

"My sister-in-law's dancing skills are superb, which have already amazed me. How could I dare to underestimate the Fang family!"

Zhang Dai first waved his hand and said, "If things are really as you say, sister-in-law, I will certainly wait and see! I also have a good friend who admires Gongsun Da Niang's sword dance. I can invite him to watch it with me!"

He was talking about Du Fu. It's one thing for poets from such distant times, but this was someone from the same era who knew each other; he couldn't just copy someone's poems without contributing anything. When you encounter something good, you should share it and stimulate their inspiration. If you don't write something, then I'll just copy it!

Sword dance comes in many styles, and the one performed by Gong Wu Niangzi is clearly an indoor banquet performance to add to the festivities. It is a beautiful combination of strength and grace.

Although the woman was still being modest and regretting her mistakes at the end, Zhang Dai thought it was already outstanding. Her skill level was no lower than that of acrobats and dancers in later generations, and because it was more in line with the contemporary era, it had a stronger artistic impact.

No wonder Gao Chengxin wanted to marry this Lady Gong; putting everything else aside, simply watching her dance was a pleasure. And no wonder playboys like Wang Shouzhen couldn't forget her even after she was married.

After the sword dance, Gong Wuniang was quite exhausted. While she stepped back to change, Zhang Dai had a servant bring her paper and pen. It wasn't that he wanted to plagiarize anything; it would be disgraceful to get his master drunk while he watched another woman dance and then write poems to praise her.

He wanted to leave a letter for Gao Chengxin, reminding him to invite him to discuss matters related to Changshou Temple in the future.

While the valuable assets of Changshou Temple can certainly be separated and taken over, the temple itself can also serve as bait and leverage to reach agreements with other Buddhist sects that want to take over the temple.

Although the expenses for Zheng's Buddhist worship were not taken from his own hands, they did come from the Zhang family after all. As the future head of the Zhang family, he had the necessity and responsibility to get them back with interest!
When Madam Gong returned, he had finished writing a letter, so he did not linger any longer, stood up and bid farewell to the hostess.

"Sixth Brother is leaving already?"

Madam Gong was also a little nervous, fearing that she might neglect this important guest whom her husband valued highly, and she even wanted to keep the guest until her husband sobered up before personally seeing him off.

"I am already flattered by your hospitality, sister-in-law. If I were to stay any longer, I would truly become an inconsiderate guest who does not appreciate the host's hospitality."

Zhang Dai took his leave at this time because Ding Qing, who had left earlier to carry out orders, had returned and brought back ten bolts of colorful brocade as gifts.

He hadn't expected Gao Chengxin to value their friendship so much when he visited. He arrived empty-handed, but was treated to food and drink, and his sister-in-law even danced for him. It would be inappropriate to just leave like that.

Now that the gifts have arrived, and it's getting late, if he doesn't leave soon, he'll have to stay all night. If he really exhausts his sister-in-law, Gao Chengxin might just give him a good thrashing when he wakes up tomorrow morning. He's not even as good as Wang Shouzhen, and he's been quite worn out by wine and women these past two days.

Seeing that he was determined to leave, Madam Gong did not try to stop him. She escorted him to the screen wall in the front courtyard before stopping, and then arranged for a servant to accompany him all the way to Xinzhong Bridge.

Zhang Dai had also drunk quite a bit of wine, and the cool evening breeze made him feel a little dizzy. After crossing the Luo River, he wanted to go to Huixunfang Villa to stay overnight and ask the two maids if they were used to the place and if they were afraid at night.

But when he remembered that Ah Ying had mentioned earlier that his snoring had become louder recently, he abandoned the idea and headed straight for the mansion to the south. On the way, he instructed An Xiaochen, "Tomorrow morning, arrange some morning training for me in archery, horsemanship, and wrestling!"

While young people's bodies can certainly withstand the strain, they are still in their developmental stage and it's really not advisable to overuse them. They should pay attention to strengthening their constitution and nourishing their bodies!
Upon returning home, Zhou Lang arrived just then and said to Zhang Dai, "The Lord recently instructed me to inquire about the Buddhist practices of the palace women in the Western Garden. I have now obtained some general information and have come to inform the Lord."

"Let's go eat first, and we can talk in detail after we finish eating."

Zhang Dai was still a little dizzy from the wind, so he asked Ding Qing to take Zhou Lang to the public kitchen for a meal first, while he went back to his bedroom to take a shower and sober up before discussing business.

(End of this chapter)