Chapter 934, Part 1: Lying Through One’s Teeth
In this world, Go was a game of chess. The first two lines talked about lighting a candle and playing a game of chess with one’s husband. The word ‘well’ would make Bi Linglong think about the secret tunnel to her bedroom. Then, she would imagine a scene where the two of them lit a candle in the secret passage.
With her literary background, Bi Linglong would naturally be able to pick up on Zu An’s play on words. She would feel as if he was warning her not to miss such a day. Even though she didn’t know what day he was talking about, it was definitely a rendezvous between lovers.
Is he hinting for me to wait for him in that tunnel tonight? Her heart began to pound when she thought of that. But what left her even more stirred were the last two lines. Red beans in this world were also called yearning beans. Her own name had even been used in this poem, so she felt as if it had been made just for her.
Bi Linglong thought, This guy really has no shame! Who’s yearning for you?! But she was starting to lose confidence. In the past few days, she had kept tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, her head filled with what had happened in the dungeon.
Don’t tell me I made it too obvious and he noticed? Ahh… that’s so embarrassing…
“Crown princess, is something wrong?” Rong Mo saw that Bi Linglong’s expression kept changing after she looked at that piece of paper, looking like she was embarrassed, but also annoyed. She had never seen the crown princess with such an expression in all the years she had served her. She subconsciously got on her toes in an attempt to see what was written on the paper.
However, Bi Linglong reacted quickly and folded the piece of paper, saying, “I’ve received Sir Zu’s report. I’ll make the proper arrangements.” She didn’t even dare to look him in the eyes after speaking.
Her thoughts were a complete mess. Where in the world does that guy get his boldness from? He gave me this love letter in front of so many people in the Eastern Palace? After all, if it were exposed, it would be a clan-eradicating crime!
She subconsciously thought about burning the piece of paper in the incense burner, but this thought was rejected as soon as it emerged. How could she throw away a poem that had been written just for her? She decided to find a secret place to hide it.
Zu An knew that Bi Linglong was no longer upset, but rather happy, when he saw her response. He sighed in relief. At the same time, he was quite baffled. What did I report to you about?
However, he just treated it as something she had said to appease the people around them and ignored it, saying, “Then I’ll have to trouble the crown princess.”
Bi Linglong saw the smirk on his face and thought, You must be so pleased with yourself right now, huh? After messing around with me like this…
As such, she harrumphed to express her own dissatisfaction. “But Sir Zu’s handwriting really is ugly. It looks like ants crawling across the paper.”
Rong Mo couldn't help but laugh. She couldn't help but feel that the crown princess didn’t dote on her as much as before Zu An had arrived. She was obviously happy to see the crown princess scold Zu An.
“The crown princess’ scolding is deserved.” Zu An was also sweating. He was aware of his handwriting skills too.
Bi Linglong said calmly, “You are the crown prince’s chamberlain, after all, and so you carry the duty of teaching the crown prince by example. It’s rather unacceptable for your handwriting to be that ugly. I’ll have the lesser tutor teach you, so learn how to write properly.”
Zu An felt a huge headache. He hadn’t expected to still be forced to study even after crossing worlds… He cursed inwardly. My chamberlain job is just a freaking title, what the hell can I even teach the crown prince? Does teaching him what to do in the inner room count?
Bi Linglong couldn't help but bite her lip when she saw his irritated expression. Why don’t you look happy at all? Don’t you realize I gave you this responsibility so you can stay in the Eastern Palace and keep me company a bit longer?
Of course, she would never say such words out loud. She could only hold them in unhappily.
…
Meanwhile, the court session had already wrapped up most important matters. Eunuch Wen shouted, “Present your cases to the emperor if there are more matters; if not, withdraw from the court.”
A bronze-skinned elder stepped forward and said, “This subject has a matter to submit to the king.”
The emperor gave him a look. He didn’t know what Murong Tong had to say to him, but he still nodded and said, “Permitted.”
Murong Tong thus said, “This subject received a new poem before the court session, and I feel that it can be made into a war song. I hope your majesty can approve of it.”
Those present in the court whispered among themselves when they heard Murong Tong’s words. They really couldn't understand why he would propose something of that sort.
Don’t tell me one of his kids wrote a poem, and he wants to use this as an opportunity for their promotion?
But the Murong clan was a clan that focused on martial talent. Their clan was full of thick-skulled muscleheads; even the Murong clan’s young miss was a tough tomboy. They had never heard of anyone in that clan having any talent in such a field.
Furthermore, back then, the court had suffered badly because of the fiend races’ war songs. That was why when they came back, they began to research their own war songs. Unfortunately, the results were mediocre at best. This was a world that prioritized cultivation, so the truly talented invested all of their attention into cultivation. There weren’t many who would study something trivial like poetry too extensively, so there had never been any suitable war songs.
Even so, there were many well-informed people. Many people were able to guess what Murong Tong was going to say.
Secretariat Assistant Director Yu Nan’s expression darkened. The previous night had been the most humiliating time of his life. He hadn’t wanted to ever recall it, and yet it had been brought up agai.
“What kind of poem?” The emperor’s expression remained calm. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
“This poem is called ‘The Sword and the Song—Spirited Ode Dedicated to the State Duke of Triumph’,” Murong Tong replied. At the same time, he read out in a loud voice, “Intoxicated, I turn up the light to inspect my sword; war horns resound when I wake…”
All of the civil and martial officials in the court felt that the song was extraordinary just from the title. The State Duke of Triumph was going off to war, so such a song would definitely be a great omen.
When they heard all of the lyrics, they all became impassioned. That was especially true for the old subjects who held civilian posts. They all overflowed with tears.
“What an amazing poem!”
“It’s been so many years. We now finally have a war song comparable to the fiend races’ war songs!”
“This is a blessing for our Zhou Dynasty, a blessing for the entire human race!”
…
Murong Tong nodded in satisfaction when he saw the others’ impassioned reactions. The Qin clan brothers had delivered the poem early in the morning. He had felt his entire body break out into goosebumps when he read it. He really wanted to raise his spear and return to the battlefield!
Even though he hadn’t written the poem, he still felt incredibly honored when he saw the others’ expressions of admiration.
“Sir Murong, were you the one who wrote this poem?” a great subject couldn't help but ask.
Murong Tong’s face heated up. He coughed lightly to hide his awkwardness and said, “This old one is a crude man; how could I write something like this?”
“Then may I ask which great master wrote it? Could it be that it was a teacher from the Royal Academy? Perhaps the libationer himself?”
“These incredible lyrics can greatly increase our army’s fighting strength! Just this contribution alone is enough to grant a title of nobility!”
Various subjects began to discuss the poem among themselves. The entire court became as noisy as a marketplace.
Yu Nan’s face twitched when he heard those words. Even though no one saw it, he felt as if he were being publicly condemned again.
On the other hand, Bi Ziang’s expression also changed. Things had always gone his way ever since he was little. The previous night was practically the first time he had failed. His arrogance made him feel extremely awful.
“Sir Murong, don’t keep us in suspense anymore. Who was it?”the other important ministers all asked with impatient expressions.
Murong Tong said, “It was the new Green Hat Viscount, Zu An.” He deliberately avoided the other title of the crown prince’s chamberlain, because he didn’t want to give the Eastern Palace any more support.
The smiles of everyone present froze when they heard Zu An’s name. The clamoring court immediately became dead silent.