Chapter 1: The Treasure of Yi De, Crossing the Deep...

  Cai Jing, Liang Shicheng and Yang Jia added together sent five brocade boxes to Liang Xin. When Liang Xin opened them, the four brocade boxes from Cai Jing and Liang Shicheng had almost identical contents: two boxes of silver ingots worth a total of 10,000 guan, and two gold bars of excellent quality.

  It's no wonder that the two boxes of gold bars were given to Yang Jian, because all the civil and military officials in the court knew that Yang Jian had a special preference for gold. Whoever wanted to bribe him would generally choose to give him gold.

  It was the brocade box that Yang Jian had given to Liang Xiao, and when he opened it, Liang Xiao was still shocked by Yang Jian's generosity. It was also a sum of money, but the total amount was a staggering 100,000 guan. There was also a token, with which Liang Xiao could enter and exit the imperial palace at will in the future.

  After finishing breakfast and washing up, Liang Xin put on his eunuch attire as a palace attendant under the service of two maids. The style of the clothes was not much different from ordinary eunuch attire, only the color had changed to dark red, and the fabric was smooth satin.

  After changing into his uniform, Yang Jiaolong specially instructed Liang Xin to ride with him in the same sedan chair into the imperial palace. On the way to the imperial palace, Yang Jiaolong carefully explained to Liang Xin the content of his work as a eunuch attendant before the emperor.

  Yang Jia only emphasized to Liang Xin about Zhao Ji's preferences, the rules of flipping cards, and the procedure for changing the emperor's clothes. Among these three things, what Liang Xin remembered most vividly was the rules of flipping cards.

  According to the rules of the palace, every time the emperor and empress or concubines had **, Liang Xian must make a detailed record of the year, month and day as evidence of conception.

  Every evening after dinner, Liang Xian had to place the plaques with the names of the consorts on a silver plate and kneel down holding the silver plate high, waiting for the emperor's instructions.

  When the Emperor wants to go to a certain concubine, he will stretch out his hand and turn over her nameplate. Then Liang Xin has to immediately inform the eunuchs on duty to notify the concubine chosen by the Emperor to wash and prepare.

  Then comes the meat of the play, also the most exciting part for Liang Xin. After the princess finishes washing up, Liang Xin must go to inspect her, then let four eunuchs who serve the emperor wrap her naked body in a specially made feather cloak and carry her back to the emperor's bedroom.

  Just talking about this makes Liang Xin feel hot all over, imagine a normal man hearing that he can watch the emperor's wife naked at will, what kind of stimulation is that?

  After entering the palace, Yang Jia led Liang Xiao to Mount Wansui in Genyue to pay respects to Zhao Ji. Upon arrival at Mount Wansui, a small eunuch informed Yang Jia that His Majesty was painting in Xiongyuntai Pavilion.

  Yang Jian nodded and took Liang Xin directly to the Nest Cloud Pavilion, where he saw Zhao Ji. Just as Liang Xin was about to kneel down and pay his respects, Yang Jian quickly pulled him back and whispered, "The Emperor is contemplating a painting, don't disturb him."

  "Is this a portrait?" Liang Xin was slightly stunned, and only when he looked up did he realize that Zhao Ji was indeed holding a brush in his right hand, with his left hand pressing on the desk, his eyes closed as if in a state of ethereal bliss.

  After about five or six minutes, Zhao Ji suddenly opened his eyes and started drawing with a brush on the paper. After about ten minutes of drawing, Zhao Ji stopped abruptly.

  "It's not finished yet." Liang Xin thought to herself. Yang Jie led Liang Xin over and kowtowed, saying: "Your humble servant Yang Jie, your inferior servant Liang Xin, pays homage to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor, long live, long live!"

  "Take it easy." Zhao Ji frowned at his recent work.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  Yang Jian and Liang Xin stood up. Liang Xin reached out to carefully observe Zhao Ji's painting, with the eyes of having seen many masterpieces, this painting by Zhao Ji was indeed a masterpiece. The composition on the canvas was just right, although it was only a few simple strokes, but it had already captured the posture and spirit of the wild goose taking off very vividly.

  However, Liang Xin also noticed that there was a blank space on the painting paper, which should be missing a poem.

  Zhao Ji held his brush for a long time, unable to make a stroke. After a while, Zhao Ji put down his brush and sighed: "After all, it's impossible to finish in one breath, what a pity."

  "It's a pity that Your Majesty would abandon such a masterpiece. In my humble opinion, among all the paintings I've seen so far, no one can surpass Your Majesty's work in painting geese." Liang Xian gazed at the painting on the desk, speaking with emotion.

  Zhao Ji turned his head and looked at Liang Xin with a smile: "You this servant, also have research on painting?"

  "In my youth, I had dabbled in it, but compared to the Emperor's works, mine are truly not worthy of mention." Liang Xian said humbly, while secretly recalling all the paintings related to wild geese that he had seen.

  "Heh heh. I also just happened to get it by chance." Zhao Ji pointed at the last goose in a group of geese in the painting and said: "This group of geese landed on Wansui Mountain, and they can be considered to have a fate with me. However, now they are about to return, but one of them was shot down by a small eunuch using a slingshot. The geese flew away, and this goose alone searched for its companion in vain, and finally chose to die by crashing into the rocks, it's really pitiful."

  "I wanted to write a poem to describe the sorrow of this wild goose, but I've been racking my brains and can't come up with a good phrase, what a pity."

  Zhao Ji shook his head and suddenly saw Liang Xin's appearance of deep thought, after which her eyes lit up. Zhao Ji's heart moved, and he smiled and asked: "Could it be that you've already composed a poem in your mind?"

  Li Xian nodded and said: "To reply to Your Majesty, I also had some feelings when Your Majesty spoke. If Your Majesty allows it, I am willing to offer my humble opinion."

  "Alright, you come." Zhao Ji handed the brush in his hand to Liang Xin. Liang Xin took it and dipped it in the inkstone, Zhao Ji smiled and said: "You'd better create a masterpiece, otherwise, you'll be punished for disgracing my art."

  Liang Xian smiled and said, "This work of mine is based on the feelings I got from Your Majesty's lectures. Whether it's good or bad depends on how deeply or shallowly Your Majesty has impressed me."

  "Ah?" Zhao Ji didn't expect Liang Xin to dare to turn the tables on him, and after a slight pause, he threw his head back and laughed loudly: "Good, I'll wait with bated breath to see what kind of excellent lines you can come up with. If they're really good, I'll reward you heavily."

  "That slave has already gone to thank the saint."

  Liang Xin finished writing, the font used was Wang Xizhi's running script. This font matches Zhao Ji's painting style, which is simple and elegant, and it seems to be a perfect match, as if it were written by one person.

  After finishing writing, Zhao Ji walked up and took a look, smiling: "No matter what the content of the poem is, just based on your good handwriting, I will reward you well."

  Zhao Ji read the content written by Liang Xin, and just the first sentence of the opening paragraph shocked him. Zhao Ji's face changed greatly, and he muttered: "What is this thing called love in the world, which makes people promise to live and die together? The flying guests from all over the world, how many times have they experienced the cold and heat of the seasons? Joyful reunions are happy, parting sorrows are bitter, and among them, there are also foolish boys and girls, you should have a way. In the vast expanse of clouds and mountains, where is the shadow going?"

  "Good!" Zhao Ji applauded and shouted loudly, then turned his head to Yang Jia and said: "Go, go quickly, immediately find all the musicians in the palace for me. I want to listen carefully to this poem singing, what kind of flavor it is."

  Zhao Ji initially didn't utter a word, almost scaring Yang Jie to death, fearing that Liang Xin's poem would anger the emperor. At this moment, seeing Zhao Ji so excited, Yang Jie suddenly understood that Liang Xin's poem must have pleased the emperor greatly.

  Yang Jiaolong nodded excitedly and said: "Your Majesty, please wait a moment, I will immediately go and invite the musicians to come."

  Before long, the musicians in the palace arrived at Yang Jie's urging. Zhao Ji immediately handed over the painting he had just made to Jiang Cheng Mingdao, the chief musician: "I limited you to three days to compose a song for this poem, I believe that such a poem will surely bring about the world's transmission."

  "Yes, Your Majesty." Jiang Cheng took the painting and looked at it, and was also stunned for a moment. Then, he gave a sincere flattery: "Your Majesty's poem is indeed a rare masterpiece, I will definitely lead the Imperial Music Bureau to create a good melody with all our heart and soul."

  "Jiang Qingshu, you are wrong. This poem was not written by me, but by this imperial attendant, Liang Xin." Zhao Ji pointed to Liang Xin with a sideways glance.

  Jiang Chengming looked at Liang Xin and was shocked by his youth, and also admired his literary talent. Jiang Chengming bowed his hands and said: "Liang Huangmen is indeed a young hero, with extraordinary literary talent, I am inferior to him."

  Liang Xin didn't dare to be proud of himself, after all, the poem was copied from somewhere else, and he still felt a little ashamed in his heart. Seeing Jiang Cheng personally bowing and paying respects, Liang Xin hurriedly returned the courtesy, saying: "Jiang Shouxi is really too kind with his words, I am just someone who was moved by the emperor's deep emotions and happened to have a good hand at writing. The one who truly created this poem should be Your Majesty, who deserves the first credit."

  Qian Chuan and Wan Chuan can pierce through horses, but not through Liang Xin's buttocks. This proves that his buttock-piercing skills have reached the level of being able to thread a needle through a tiny hole. Yang Jiaolao, standing aside, felt comforted in his heart, sighing with relief that there is indeed someone who can carry on after him.