Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 162 After the Dance and Poetry, the Competition Continues

After Zhang Dai finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent. Especially the Prince of Ruyang, who stood at the forefront, his handsome face blank, opening his mouth several times but uttering no sound.

He thought his questioning was incredibly powerful and would leave the other party speechless and unable to respond. Then he could take advantage of the situation to continue his rebuke and make Zhang Dai lose face.

However, he did not expect Zhang Dai to be so brave. Not only was he not stumped by Zhang Dai's questioning, but he also dared to turn around and criticize him for making bad friends. His words, which were ostensibly praising but actually criticizing, made him even more indignant. In his haste, he did not know how to fight back.

Prince Ning had been watching this scene with a smile on his lips, but when he saw his son being cornered by the boy's sharp words and unable to respond, his brows furrowed slightly, and his gaze toward Zhang Dai became even more disgusted.

He was of a superior status and not one of those worldly people who were eager for fame and fortune, so he had no reason to be angry with a mere young junior. The main reason for his dissatisfaction was that he had a very close personal relationship with the Du family of Jingzhao. Du Wan of the Du family of Jingzhao was a student of his and topped the imperial examination in the twelfth year of the Kaiyuan era. Du Mengyin, who was originally the top candidate in the Jingzhao prefectural examination this year, was Du Wan's nephew.

In a sense, the Du uncle and nephew could be considered disciples of Prince Ning. While Prince Ning had no intention of recruiting talent or building his own power base in the political arena, it was still quite interesting for him to invite some literati to compose poems, hold banquets, and cultivate their minds.

Zhang Dai was recommended by Princess Yuzhen to take a supplementary examination, and subsequently took the top spot in the Jingzhao Prefecture examination from Du Mengyin. Prince Ning had no opinion on this.

With so many scholars studying under him, he couldn't possibly be overly attentive to everyone; after all, he was cultivating retainers, not recruiting ancestors. Moreover, to be fair, given Zhang Dai's talent, this title of top scholar in the capital prefecture was well-deserved.

What truly displeased Prince Ning were the two lines of poetry Zhang Dai wrote in the Duting Post Station. Although Du Wan was the top scholar in the provincial examination of the twelfth year of the Kaiyuan era, there was another talented man who was more admired by the contemporary public than Du Wan, namely Zu Yong from Luoyang.

Although Zu Yong was highly talented, he was arrogant and conceited. When he took the essay exam, he did not follow the subject restrictions when composing poetry. Although he eventually passed the imperial examination, his ranking was not high. Therefore, some arrogant scholars argued that Zu Yong should have been ranked first, and that Du Wan's reputation was undeserved.

The imperial examination system was not simply a matter of selecting officials based on merit; it involved many factors, so there were always some questions raised every year, which people were used to.

However, there was quite a bit of noise that year. Du Wan was a disciple of Prince Ning and was very powerful, but Zu Yong was not just a simple poor but talented man. He was a disciple of Zhang Yue.

Zhang Shuo was at the height of his power at the time, and although he did not speak out directly about this matter, many of his disciples had been making a fuss about it for a long time.

Of course, these noises, apart from adding some noise and embarrassment to the parties involved, have no real effect. Therefore, they were quickly forgotten after the selection season ended, and the focus of attention quickly shifted to the Fengshan ceremony the following year.

This time, Zhang Dai once again had a dispute with the Du family members over fame and position, and even wrote a poem to satirize them. The poem was sharp and widely circulated, inevitably leading to people referencing the past incident. Even Prince Ning felt offended.

Although Prince Ning was indifferent to fame and fortune, it did not mean that he would accept and tolerate all ridicule. Therefore, he expressed his dissatisfaction in private to those close to him.

However, given the vast difference in their social standing and the scarcity of their interactions, he saw no reason to go out of his way to confront the other party over such a trivial matter and risk being branded as bullying the weak. He didn't think much of it when his son, by chance, reprimanded the other party at the banquet.

But now it seems that this boy's words are sharp and difficult to refute. Seeing his son's momentary embarrassment at being speechless, Prince Ning was naturally displeased, but he did not speak immediately. Instead, he first looked at the Emperor.

This has become an instinct he has developed over the years: whenever the sage is present, he will never actively express his own views on people and things, but will always closely follow the sage's attitude.

The sage's expression was initially somewhat indifferent, and after listening to Zhang Dai's words, it did not change much. However, he took a sip of the wine cup in his hand, and his eyes revealed a hint of contemplation.

Prince Ning took in the subtle changes in his expression. After seeing this, he pointed to his son and said, "What Zhang Lang said is good advice. The sons of the imperial family have many followers. If one is not careful in choosing friends, one will inevitably encounter both the good and the bad! For this advice alone, I shall offer you a cup of wine."

As he spoke, he personally poured a cup of wine and ordered the eunuch standing beside him to bring the cup to Zhang Dai.

Zhang Dai was also somewhat taken aback by Prince Ning's move. After making his counterattack, he was still pondering the possible reasons and consequences of his feud with Prince Ning, but unexpectedly, Prince Ning turned around and offered him wine, so his reaction was a little slow.

"Since your elders have given me this gift, should I simply accept it?"

When the emperor saw the eunuch who had brought the wine arrive at the table, Zhang Dai remained unmoved, and the emperor immediately let out a cold snort. He himself treated his elder brother, Prince Ning, with great courtesy, so naturally he would not allow anyone else to be disrespectful to Prince Ning in front of him.

After speaking, Zhang Dai had not yet sat down. Upon hearing the emperor's words, he immediately bowed and respectfully accepted the wine cup with both hands. He then bowed deeply towards Prince Ning's seat and said, "Your Majesty's gracious gift is too much for me to bear. I admire the harmonious family relations of the imperial clan, and I cannot bear to see such a precious gem tarnished. Therefore, I have dared to offer my advice, and my words, though perhaps harsh, are only out of genuine feeling and not intended to offend. I dare not refuse this gift from an elder; I accept it with trepidation and will cherish it dearly!"

After saying this, he raised his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp. Then, with a respectful expression, he handed the cup back to the eunuch and bowed deeply to Prince Ning.

Their mutual posturing eased the awkward atmosphere in the hall. The still somewhat stiff Prince Ruyang then sat back down, no longer pressing Zhang Dai about what a rotten rat was, lest he be accused of being tainted by something else.

At this moment, the person most displeased in the hall was naturally Wang Maozhong. Seeing that everyone in the hall had been completely led astray and had long forgotten his daughter's earlier performance, he was naturally unwilling to accept this. So he rose again and said, "A joyous gathering of ruler and subjects should not be dulled! Let my daughter perform again to please..."

"Lord Huo has a beloved daughter whose beauty and talent are admirable, and the royal family also has a young disciple who also has talents to offer!"

Before Wang Maozhong could finish speaking, the sage waved his hand to interrupt him. Then, the sage looked at the Prince of Ruyang and said with a smile, "Hua Nu, do not let worldly feelings trouble you. Today you should enjoy yourself to the fullest. Go and perform for us, so that our relatives and friends can appreciate the talent of my son!"

There were many young members of the royal family in the hall. The sons of the Emperor, Prince Ning, and Prince Xue alone numbered more than twenty, and there were more than a dozen who were growing up. Prince Ruyang was the oldest and was the eldest grandson of Emperor Ruizong. He was also the most handsome and dignified.

Therefore, the sage was quite fond of this nephew. Seeing that the nephew still looked somewhat unnatural after taking his seat, the sage called him up to the hall to display his talents, hoping to dispel the nephew's unhappiness.

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Ruyang indeed became more energetic again, stood up from his seat, and walked lightly into the hall.

With a graceful movement, he unfastened his brocade robe, revealing a more comfortable and figure-hugging brocade half-sleeve underneath. His eyes sparkled with confidence, and even before he began to perform, he had already drawn applause and cheers from the young men and women of the surrounding families, while his elders also looked on with admiration.

Just then, Prince Xue, who was seated at another table, suddenly spoke up: "Hua Nu's skills are superb and her talent is outstanding, as many of her relatives and friends already know. However, dancing alone is inevitably boring. If she were to dance with peers in the palace, it would not only be more enjoyable to complement each other, but also allow them to compete and see who is better, thus greatly enhancing the experience!"

Everyone applauded and cheered upon hearing the suggestion. Even the most beautiful flower needs green leaves to set it off, and the Tang people, who were fond of duels and betting, were naturally even more enthusiastic about it. However, when it came to who would step forward to be the green leaves, all the young men shook their heads and declined, refusing to go on stage as mere accompaniments.

At this moment, Prince Zhong pointed at Zhang Dai and said with a smile, "The sixth son of the Zhang family is the beloved grandson of the Duke of Yan. He is also exceptionally talented and highly regarded. I have only heard of his name in the past but have never seen him in person. Now that we are here, would you be fortunate enough to have the opportunity to see him?"

Seeing the two brothers-in-law trying to embarrass him by making him appear in the audience, Zhang Dai couldn't help but sneer inwardly. However, he remained seated and unmoved, waving his hand in refusal to listen to the jeers from the crowd.

He even stumbled over choosing a thank-you dance; how could he compare to these royal children who were born to eat, drink, and be merry?

"Hua Nu excels in music, dance, and various theatrical arts, while Liu Lang is skilled in poetry and prose. Each has their strengths and weaknesses, so it's not good for them to compete on the same stage!"

Seeing these members of the imperial clan ganging up on her nephew, Consort Wu Hui was secretly displeased and immediately frowned and said in a deep voice.

As Consort Hui spoke, those who had been jeering all quieted down and dared not continue their commotion and pressure. However, the Emperor spoke again: "Although we are not of the same talent, we may still be able to compete on the same stage. Hua Nu, please perform your dance, and Zhang Dai, please compose a poem on the theme of the New Year. After the dance and the poem, we can then have a contest. What do you all think?"

Upon hearing the sage's words, everyone applauded and cheered. Zhang Dai, however, frowned slightly, inwardly fuming, "You Li family are here to embarrass me today? You've even come up with the Seven Steps Poem!"
Just wait, once I'm in charge next year, you can jump around as much as you want. You're not allowed to stop until you've finished copying all the Tang poems!

Of course, he only dared to complain in his heart for now, and let the eunuch offer him pen, ink and paper in front of him, while he quickly began to compose.

With a confident smile, the Prince of Ruyang turned his gaze to Wang Maozhong's daughter, who was still in the court musicians' quarters, and stepped forward with a smile, saying, "Young lady Wang, would you be willing to accompany me on the 'Zhezhi' piece?"

The young woman, Wang Rouniang, was gazing at Zhang Dai, who was sitting at the table, frowning and composing. Upon hearing this, she quickly looked away, stood up, and replied, "Although I can play, I am not very skilled, and I fear I might disrupt Your Majesty's dance..."

"My lady, just play the instrument; it doesn't matter if you make mistakes!"

After saying this, the Prince of Ruyang took the golden bell used for performing the Zhezhi dance from the palace servant and hung it on his body, stretching his limbs in preparation for the dance.

(End of this chapter)