Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 496 Celestial Boy Offering Longevity
In the left hall of the Flower Calyx Tower, the Crown Prince sat at the very top, followed by Prince Qing, Prince Ruyang, and other members of the royal family, as well as other imperial relatives and officials.

Compared to the lively atmosphere in other halls, the atmosphere here was slightly more subdued. Firstly, the princes and nobles were all strictly observing etiquette and dared not overstep the bounds of propriety; secondly, the Crown Prince, sitting above, was clearly somewhat listless and showed no interest in people or things, so that no one else dared to speak or laugh freely.

The Crown Prince was clearly still reeling from the recent blow. Although he himself had not been punished, his father-in-law, Xue Tao, had been dismissed from his post, and several officials of the Eastern Palace had been executed, which was a significant blow to him.

The reason for this incident was that the Crown Prince wanted to gather actors to prepare for the Emperor's birthday celebration. With this incident, the birthday celebration naturally had to be postponed.

The other princes may have had similar thoughts, but after seeing the Crown Prince's fate, they all calmed down and dared not do anything similar again.

So when the palace servants announced that the next item to be presented was by Prince Shou, the Crown Prince and several of the older princes in the hall all changed their expressions slightly, becoming somewhat gloomy.

"I've always seen Shibalang as dignified and polite, but I didn't know he had any singing or performing skills. He was raised by Ning Bo. Brother Ruyang, do you know what skills he has?"

Seeing that the atmosphere in the hall was somewhat oppressive, Prince Qing wanted to lighten the mood, and at the same time, he was also curious, so he asked Prince Ruyang a question.

“Your Majesty asked me, but I, Hua Nu, truly do not know. In the past, I knew that Shibalang was well-versed in etiquette and never overstepped the bounds of propriety in his actions or words. But after he was granted a title, he began to associate with the current social elites, and with Consort Hui giving him guidance on personnel matters, I have not seen him for a long time, and I have no idea what kind of new skills he has learned.”

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Ruyang shook his head, and one could hear a hint of resentment in his words.

No sooner had the Prince of Ruyang finished speaking than Li Yuan, the Prince of Le'an, son of the Prince of Xue, spoke up from another seat: "I've heard that the Prince of Shou has recently been spending a lot of time with his cousin Zhang Dai. Zhang Dai holds the position of Assistant Musician in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and is known for stirring up trouble. Whatever the Prince of Shou is going to present today, it must have been orchestrated by Zhang Dai. Asking Brother Ruyang about this is a mistake; you should ask the Prince of Hedong. The Prince of Hedong is on very good terms with Zhang Dai and will surely know the truth."

After the Prince of Le'an finished speaking, the Crown Prince, who had been looking gloomy as if his father had died, suddenly snorted coldly and said rather impolitely, "This man is not a good person. It is not a good thing to associate with him too much!"

The Prince of Hedong was sitting in the lower seat drinking and chatting with Li Xia and a few others when he heard the topic of Zhang Dai being brought up. He immediately said, "Your Highness, there is no need to rush to conclusions. Although Coptis chinensis is bitter, it can be used to detoxify."

Zhang Dai was not a shallow person who could be seen through at a glance. People might feel ashamed of their own shortcomings because of his outstanding qualities, and even feel resentful and eager to distance themselves from him. However, if one gets to know him well, one will realize that he is a valuable and helpful friend.

"Before I even had a chance to interact with him, his followers had already caused a lot of trouble and disturbed people's peace. Whether he is good or bad, I'm afraid I will never have the chance to truly understand!"

When the Prince of Le'an heard the Prince of Hedong's words, which clearly defended Zhang Dai, he was naturally displeased and immediately snorted coldly.

His family suffered greatly from Zhang Dai's harassment. Not only had Zhang Dai brought people to provoke them before, but Xue Tao, who was impeached by Zhang Dai not long ago, was not only the Crown Prince's father-in-law but also his family's in-law. Not to mention the matter of his maternal uncle Wei Jian, who was convicted by him in his early years. Naturally, he harbored a lot of resentment towards Zhang Dai.

"Since you know there's no chance, why are you spouting nonsense? There are plenty of people and things in the world you have no chance with, are they all malicious?"

The Prince of Hedong was a reckless and unruly man. He would give the Crown Prince some face, but he didn't care much about his other cousins. Especially since Zhang Dai was already his prospective brother-in-law, how could he allow others to speak ill of his close relatives in front of him?

However, his prospective brother-in-law had offended quite a few people. After hearing what he said, not only the sons of Prince Xue, but also several sons of Prince Ning and several princes showed displeasure.

Seeing that he was about to incur the wrath of the crowd, the King of Hedong dared not cause trouble at the emperor's birthday banquet. So he pointed to the stage outside and said, "It's pointless to talk nonsense here. Let's watch the stage instead!"

Brother Ruyang has stated that Prince Shou lacks talent in performing arts, yet Zhang Dai has still arranged this play for him. If it is a resounding success, it will naturally prove that Zhang Dai is a good friend who can benefit others. If it is merely mediocre, then no matter how much you slander him, I will say no more!

He had been busy building a Taoist temple for his father and praying for his well-being, so he hadn't paid much attention to these matters. However, he had complete faith in Zhang Dai; if it was Zhang Dai who was doing it, it must be something that would amaze the world. If he couldn't even do this, how could this guy be worthy of his sister's admiration and fascination!
Upon hearing this, everyone applauded and cheered. They were at an age where they loved watching these kinds of playful rivalries.

Hearing the Prince of Hedong's confident tone, the Crown Prince frowned and looked outside. The Prince of Le'an and the others nodded in agreement. After all, the quality of a performing art piece is subjective, and there's rarely a universally accepted standard. Especially considering the Prince of Shou's young age, what amazing and difficult performance could he possibly deliver?
While the people in the hall were still arguing and discussing, the performance on the stage had already begun. The prelude to the "Brahman Song" was purely musical, without any singing or dancing. Moreover, due to the severe outdoor acoustics, the essence of the arrangement was not fully revealed. Therefore, this first half of the performance did not attract much attention or applause from the audience.

"How could Zhang Zongzhi be so negligent..."

Upon witnessing this scene, Wei Tao, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, couldn't help but feel a pang of regret, lamenting that he shouldn't have trusted Zhang Dai so much and that he should have personally overseen the final arrangement.

However, although the music was not very captivating, the props on the stage were much more abundant than those of the previous piece, especially a huge peach made of colorful silk that was very eye-catching.

This giant peach, over ten feet tall, sits on a base decorated like a jade mountain, flanked by sixteen graceful dancers in colorful costumes. These dancers, dressed like celestial maidens, stand around the jade mountain peach, creating a scene that is truly captivating.

However, without matching music and dance, the visual spectacle of this scene alone was short-lived and quickly became boring. Even the saint sitting high in the hall frowned slightly, feeling that the atmosphere that had just been created had been ruined by the performance.

However, after the introductory music ended, the subsequent melody became more and more soothing, and its penetrating power became stronger, making it clearly audible throughout the hall. The very distinct exotic style mixed with the ethereal Taoist ritual music created a unique combination that immediately caught the eye.

At the same time, the dancers on Jade Mountain began to dance gracefully. Even more amazingly, the Jade Mountain peaches beneath their feet slowly moved from the stage, heading straight for the palace. Since the Flower Calyx Tower was not an ordinary palace, its outer corridor did not have multiple layers of stairs, so the Jade Mountain peaches entered the palace with unparalleled smoothness.

Throughout this process, the dancers continued to dance to the melodious tunes, making it seem as if the celestial maidens from the Jade Pool used their magic to capture the Jade Mountain Peach from the sky and present it to the palace!
"Great imagery, great idea!"

Seeing this wondrous change on stage, the emperor in the hall couldn't help but clap and cheer. Hearing the emperor's praise, the courtiers in the hall also joined in the cheers.

However, this was not the whole story. As the Jade Mountain Peach "floated" into the hall, smoke immediately began to spread from below the Jade Mountain. The wisps of smoke were truly like auspicious clouds from heaven, exuding a faint fragrance, and soon filled the entire hall.

As everyone was still deeply inhaling the ethereal fragrance, someone suddenly pointed to the peach in the center of the hall and exclaimed, "That immortal peach, that immortal peach is splitting open, it's blooming!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked intently and saw that the dancers on Jade Mountain were each placing their slender hands on the peaches of immortality. The colors of the ribbons on the peaches kept changing and becoming more and more translucent. A figure gradually emerged from within them. As the smoke slowly dissipated, a fairy boy from Yaochi, with his hair tied in two buns and dressed in gorgeous clothes, stood there.

The celestial boy, holding a jade pot in one hand and a peach in the other, began to dance on the stage after his appearance, singing loudly as he danced: "The capital city is prosperous with cultural relics, praising the nation's well-being. Longevity wine is offered at the Jade Pool, and the Milky Way shines brightly on the imperial palace. Divine rain falls on the twin towers, and thunder pacifies all directions. May the immortal reign be long-lasting, and may spring's grace be everlasting..."

The fairy boy was none other than the Prince of Longevity. At this moment, the Prince of Longevity was dressed like an auspicious doll in a New Year's painting. He danced and sang as he slowly walked down Jade Mountain. The dancers on both sides danced beside him, surrounding the Prince of Longevity like stars surrounding the moon as he walked toward the imperial desk in the palace.

The sage was also overjoyed, and even couldn't help but open his arms to welcome it, as if the longevity wine in the jade pot of the Longevity King was indeed the longevity wine of the Jade Pool.

"The jujubes of Xuanpu Garden, the cups of the Queen Mother of the West at Yaochi. Your humble servant sings of this prosperous age, may Your Majesty live a long and healthy life!"

Accompanied by increasingly loud and urgent music, Prince Shou sang as he walked, until he was just a few feet away from the imperial desk when he finished singing. He then bowed deeply, holding the immortal fruit and jade pot high above his head.

"My son is truly a celestial being!"

Upon seeing this, the emperor's face lit up with joy. He even rose directly from his imperial bed, walked around the imperial desk, and went to the prostrate Prince Shou. He snatched the longevity wine and immortal fruit from the prince's hands and held them up to show the assembled officials.

Although Zhang Yue and the others were also enjoying the wonderful performance, half of their attention was still on the Sage. When they saw the Sage in such a state, Zhang Yue quickly signaled the people around him to rise from their seats and pay their respects. At the same time, he shouted, "Your subjects wish you a long and prosperous life, a thousand autumns and ten thousand years, and an everlasting immortal reign!"

(End of this chapter)