Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 467 Traveling with the King
In the days following the execution of the prisoner, Zhang Dai remained somewhat dazed. The gruesome scene frequently resurfaced in his mind, preventing him from calming down for a long time.

At the same time, he couldn't help but sigh that he was still a bit of a theorist and a hypocrite. Just supervising the execution of prisoners had such a great psychological impact on him. If he were to go directly to the battlefield, he would probably find it even harder to adapt.

What about making great achievements and killing people like flies? Unless one is born with a cruel and cold-blooded nature, ordinary people will always need a gradual process of acceptance and adaptation!

Zhang Dai also considered that if he had the opportunity next year, he should try to become a judge's secretary for the general and gain experience in the army. He couldn't just think that he was a master of strategy and invincible after reading a few military books and risk his own and others' lives.

Despite his poor health, Zhang Dai still actively handled the lawsuits, and through his efforts, he brought about a change in the official atmosphere within the capital region.

Aside from the initial backlog of cases in the first few days, he wasn't always this busy. After all, Zhang Dai's reputation for integrity hadn't yet spread throughout the neighborhoods, and the people and matters that came to him for litigation were usually just those difficult-to-resolve conflicts within the capital city.

With these long-standing issues resolved, the number of new frictions and conflicts that arise is limited, and not all of them will come to Zhang Dai for resolution. After all, all three censors have the power to investigate and handle matters, and although Zhang Dai is famous for a time, he cannot overshadow all the censors on his own.

After these backlogged cases were dealt with, Zhang Dai finally had his first day off since joining the Censorate. Taking advantage of this break, Zhang Dai invited Prince Shou to come out of the palace for a get-together.

Back at the beginning of the year, he had said he would help Prince Shou prepare for the Thousand Autumns Festival to celebrate the Emperor's birthday. However, due to various personnel matters, several months passed and he was unable to find the time to do these things.

With the Emperor's birthday less than a month away, and Consort Wu Hui taking it quite seriously, sending people several times to remind him, Zhang Dai couldn't keep delaying any longer; he had to make a gesture.

He had just sent a message to the palace when, the very next day, Niu Guier and the other eunuchs accompanied Prince Shou to the Zhang family residence. Zhang Dai went out to greet them, bowing with a hint of shame and saying, "I made an agreement with Your Majesty at the beginning of the year, but I have repeatedly broken my promise. Only now have I been able to keep my promise. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"

As always, Prince Shou was mature beyond his years. Upon hearing this, he quickly shook his head and said, "Cousin, you are too kind. The previous agreement was just some entertainment and games. However, as a member of the court, you are responsible for upholding the law and serving the country diligently. How can you let entertainment interfere with your official duties?"

Upon hearing Prince Shou's reply, Zhang Dai couldn't help but sigh, "He really is a prince. At such a young age, he has already mastered certain conversational skills. When I was Prince Shou's age, I was most concerned about what food was delicious and what cartoons were good. Where did I get so many words from him!"
Zhang said that he was still receiving guests at home today. Zhang Dai did not want Prince Shou to be involved in too complicated interpersonal relationships, so he did not invite him to stay at home for a long time. He only met him briefly and then led Prince Shou to the music and entertainment venue in Anxingfang in the north of the city.

"On His Majesty's birthday, will you oversee the performances of traditional arts, or will you perform yourself?"

Upon arriving at the Music Official's Courtyard, Zhang Dai asked with a smile.

For him, the former was naturally easier. He only needed to select some skilled musicians from the Imperial Music Bureau to rehearse some new songs and dances, and then include them in the program list for the birthday celebration under the name of the Prince of Shou.

However, the latter is more difficult because it requires considering Prince Shou's own talent level, tailoring the performance content to him, and also considering whether the performance content is appropriate and aesthetically pleasing, which is quite challenging.

Upon hearing this question, Prince Shou looked somewhat embarrassed, and then said, "My mother has recently been teaching me to perform 'The Long-Lived Woman' in the palace, but I am not yet proficient. Would you like to perform it for my cousin?"

"The Long-Lived Woman?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai frowned. On one hand, he sensed his aunt's burning desire for advancement, and on the other hand, he was somewhat amused and exasperated.

"Long-lived Woman" is a dance song performed by a woman in a music academy, where she dances alone and sings auspicious and birthday songs. After it spread to the common people, it was renamed "Ill-fated Woman" and is often used as a lament by courtesans who feel sorry for themselves.

The dance itself is nothing special; what truly makes it unique is its performer, the modern-day saint.

During the reign of Empress Wu Zetian of the Wu Zhou Dynasty, she was in high spirits after the new reign title was changed and she held a grand banquet for her ministers at the Mingtang Hall in Luoyang. The current emperor and his siblings, as imperial heirs, took to the stage at the Mingtang Hall to perform. The current emperor, who was only six years old at the time, danced a song called "Long-lived Girl".

Consort Wu Hui had her son learn the dance "The Long-Lived Woman" and planned to perform it on the emperor's birthday. Her intention was obvious: to create a wonderful connection between father and son across time. But the question is, did the emperor truly cherish and enjoy this story from back then?
The once glorious Tang dynasty was suddenly replaced by the Wu Zhou dynasty. His father, who was doing well as emperor, was suddenly demoted to imperial heir. None of his siblings were adults, and they all had to perform on stage to gain favor.

Perhaps the sages of that time did not fully understand the specific meaning of all these changes, but looking back on this past story many years later, they probably wouldn't feel any overwhelming sense of nostalgia or longing.

There is a very simple piece of evidence: in recent years, the "Long-lived Woman" dance has been completely absent from all the songs and dances presented by the Imperial Music Academy. Did Consort Wu Hui think she was clever and humorous by arranging for her son to present this dance on the Emperor's birthday?

Of course, this may not have been Consort Wu Hui's own idea. After all, she wasn't even born yet, and had nowhere to look through books to find stories. It must have been some old people in the palace who told her these things.

“The ‘Long-lived Woman’ is not suitable to be presented on Your Majesty’s birthday. If Your Majesty wishes to perform to show your filial piety, there is a piece that can be presented. The piece is called ‘Brahman’s Song.’ It is an old piece that was presented by Liangzhou and collected by the Court of Imperial Music. It has been modified and changed many times before, and the dance accompaniment has not yet been choreographed, so it has not been presented yet.” Zhang Dai thought for a moment and then said to the Prince of Shou. “Brahman’s Song” is the predecessor of “Rainbow Feather Dress Song.” Because its foreign accent is too strong and it has not undergone systematic arrangement and tuning, it is often just mixed into various music and dances as a kind of novelty enjoyment. It is not very valued in the Court of Imperial Music.

After Zhang Dai entered the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, he naturally did not want to let the dance music continue to be buried. He was also curious about what the real "Rainbow Feather Dress Dance" was like, so he gathered a group of the most outstanding musical talents from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the inner and outer music academies to try to revamp the dance music.

While his revised version may not be the historical "Rainbow Feather Dress Dance," it's likely very close, given the current top musicians' adaptations. Moreover, he's created several versions, so one is bound to be the most accurate.

The musical pieces themselves are all quite excellent, but the most crucial element is the dance, which hasn't been formally choreographed yet. Since the Prince of Shou needs to perform for his birthday, it's best to have him participate, choreograph the dance together, refine it, and put it into performance.

“My mother told me to follow my cousin’s arrangement, so I will instead offer this piece, the Brahman Song.”

Upon hearing Zhang Dai's words, Prince Shou immediately nodded without hesitation.

Upon hearing Prince Shou's reply, Zhang Dai couldn't help but sigh inwardly. While Prince Shou was indeed polite and mature beyond his years, far from having the bad habits of typical noble children, he was also somewhat weak, habitually trying to please others, lacking his own opinions, and not daring to insist on his own views.

It's hard to say whether it's good or bad that a prince like him was raised to be so submissive.

However, since Prince Shou was willing to listen to the arrangements, it saved Zhang Dai a lot of trouble. He immediately ordered his staff to gather the relevant dancers and musicians, first to perform the dance and music for Prince Shou, and then to find a way to integrate Prince Shou into the performance.

A group of people arrived at the stage where Zhang Dai usually supervised the lessons. He then arranged for the musicians to go on stage one by one. Suddenly, he noticed a somewhat unfamiliar young man standing behind the crowd, looking at him with a cheerful expression. He did not look like an ordinary entertainer or servant.

"Who are you? What brings you here?"

He had recently overseen the execution of Wang Maozhong's son, deepening their enmity. Although Wang Maozhong was not currently in the capital, he still needed to be wary of strangers with ulterior motives approaching. Noticing that this young man was somewhat strange, he immediately pointed and asked.

“Reporting to Zhang Xielu, this young man is not a musician in the academy, but Song Lang, the virtuous grandson of Song Kaifu, the Duke of Guangping. He was brought in by this humble servant.”

Upon hearing Zhang Dai's question, a musician quickly stepped forward to introduce himself.

When the young man saw that Zhang Dai had noticed him, he quickly stepped forward from the crowd, first bowed to Prince Shou, and then stood up and bowed to Zhang Dai, saying: "My name is Song Zhuo, formerly the Assistant Magistrate of Hefei County, Luzhou. I returned to the capital a month ago after completing my term of office. I am particularly fond of music and often visit the music academy to travel with the musicians."

Unexpectedly, His Majesty and Attendant Zhang were on a patrol today, and in their haste, I had no time to retreat, and could only blend into the crowd and follow them here. Attendant Zhang, with his keen eyes, recognized me at a glance. My apologies for my rudeness.

"So he is a talented scholar under the tutelage of Governor Song. I was able to recognize him at a glance, not because I have any special insight, but because Young Master Song is as outstanding as his name suggests."

Zhang Dai breathed a sigh of relief after learning the other party's identity. At the same time, he was quite curious about this grandson of Song Jing, and casually asked Prince Shou, "Does Your Majesty think what I said is correct?"

Upon hearing this, Prince Shou nodded hurriedly, looked at Song Zhuo and then at Zhang Dai, before saying, "What my cousin says is indeed true. This young Song is indeed in the same vein as Governor Song, and like my cousin, he is a descendant of an outstanding and extraordinary minister!"

"Thank you for your wise words, Your Majesty, and thank you for your praise, Attendant Zhang. Since I am not a member of this household, I should take my leave in due courtesy and dare not disturb you any further."

Song Zhuo quickly bowed and said, a hint of regret showing on his face as he spoke.

"This is not a place of great importance for theatrical performances. Since you, Song, are already here, let's make the best of a chance encounter and stay to watch the performances together. Lord Guangping is a connoisseur of music, and you, Song, must have inherited his family's talent. I hope you can offer your guidance and corrections!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai smiled and tried to persuade him to stay, saying that he also wanted to see what kind of person Song Jing's grandson was and whether he was worth getting to know and befriend.

"Since that's the case, then it would be impolite of me to refuse, so I'll humbly stay here! Although I've been serving as an official in Huainan, I've heard a lot about Zhang Shiyu's talent and achievements. Lately, when I've been visiting this area, I've often heard the local musicians speak highly of Zhang Shiyu. I admire him greatly and would like to travel with him!"

Upon hearing this, Song Zhuo's face lit up with joy, and he nodded to Zhang Dai.

(End of this chapter)