Insufficient balance

  The fields are a vast expanse of golden yellow, and the autumn harvest season is approaching; in the city's streets and alleys, fallen leaves are increasingly abundant, and every morning, people walking on the bluestone roads can smell the smoke from the street sweepers burning leaves. Xue Chongxun got up early and added another layer of clothing, as the seasons change, and by the second half of the year, the weather only gets colder, with occasional thin layers of frost still visible on the weeds in the courtyard.

  Autumn has arrived, and winter is not far away. He had something on his mind, watching the weather turn cool, the end of the year approaching, and after the New Year it would be the third year of Jingyun. He remembered that there was no fourth year of Jingyun in history... That meant a drastic change would occur in the third year of Jingyun, specifically in which month, the first half or the second half? He really couldn't figure it out, only vaguely remembering that the famous Li Longji ascended to the throne because of an astronomical phenomenon, and Li Dan abdicated in his favor.

  So reforming the canal transportation system was not the most important thing on his mind, no matter how he struggled, if he was killed by others, everything would lose its meaning; the power struggle was what he cared about most, persuading Li Shouli, the son of Crown Prince Zhang Hua, to participate in the coup was his main goal this time.

  But now Xue Chongxun is still waiting in Luoyang and has not set out for Youzhou. He is waiting for someone.

  This man was a eunuch named Yu Liben, who served as an inner attendant. He was completely unknown and even his allegiance was not known to anyone.

  A month ago, the Da Ming Palace sent an envoy Yang Si Dao to come down and inspect the canal transportation line on behalf of the emperor. The eunuch who accompanied Yang Si Dao was Yu Li Ben, a palace eunuch who served as an imperial attendant. This person is usually very low-key, and everyone else can't figure out what his background is... But having a eunuch by the side of the envoy means he's probably one of the emperor's people; on the other hand, the camp of Yang Si Dao, the official appointed by the court, is very clear-cut - he's from the Crown Prince's faction, and everyone in the imperial court knows it.

  These two people walked all the way to Luoyang, and the officials of Luoyang City naturally had to welcome and entertain them. When setting up a banquet to receive them, Xue Chongxun also went, although Yang Sida and Xue Chongxun were not on the same road, they were still enemies from a deep level, but everyone was an official from the capital, so they had to be polite on the surface, and as officials, they were not rustic, so they always needed etiquette.

  A group of officials set up a banquet in the government brothel, with exquisite dishes and delicacies laid out to excess. There were also singing and dancing courtesans who sang and danced to entertain, and the women who poured wine between courses were all dressed in bright clothes, with their breasts half exposed, creating a lively atmosphere.

  The officials were not constrained, on the one hand they wantonly and unrestrainedly joked with the song girls, on the other hand they mutually flattered each other, the sound of laughter was endless. Xue Chongxun had experienced many such scenes of socializing and pretending to be friendly, and he also behaved naturally and elegantly, without putting on any airs just because Yang Sida was from the Crown Prince's side.

  Yang Sida flattered Xue Chongxun's "Three Rivers Law" in the capital, but Xue Chongxun smiled and said: "Today we meet with great joy, let's not talk about official business, otherwise wouldn't it be a waste of the beauty's thoughts?" After speaking, he laughed and pinched the cheek of the beautiful woman who was pouring wine.

  Xue Chongxun never took Yang Sida seriously, he was just a small role on the side of the crown prince... and eunuch Yu Li Ben was the one he had been waiting for.

  Xue Chongxun was talking to Yang Sida while keeping an eye on Yu Li Ben with his peripheral vision, because Xue Chongxun had never seen this eunuch before, and it wasn't until later when his mother introduced them that he knew such a person existed.

  Only the eunuch's hair was white, his figure was thin and delicate, his skin was very pale, a pair of peach blossom eyes with a pale and slender face, which had eight points of beauty. Unfortunately, the aesthetic tendency of the Tang Dynasty was not this type, the Tang people admired health and grandeur, and had no good feelings for sickly beauty, especially since Yu Li Ben was an androgynous person, such a delicate image could not get people's praise.

  His body was very clean, and his clothes had a straight crease. He didn't talk much, just smiled occasionally and responded with a few words, and he also ignored the woman next to him. The song girls knew he was a eunuch, so they kept a certain distance from him, making Fish Li look somewhat lonely.

  Yu Liben noticed Xue Chongxun looking at him, so he turned his head and nodded slightly. Xue Chongxun ignored him and continued to chat with Yang Sida and those courtesans.

  At this moment, the prostitute who had her face pinched by Xue Chongxun said in a charming voice: "Xue Lang has saved the people from the flood and fire with all his heart, earning him a good reputation. When will he spare some thought to save us poor women?"

  Xue Chongxun turned his head and smiled: "Are you also in a desperate situation? Won't be, right?"

  The woman puckered up her vermilion lips, heavily painted with rouge, and coquettishly asked: "What do you think, my lord?"

  Xue Chongxun said, "I thought you guys were better off than us. You all eat imperial rations and wear fine clothes and jade. All you need to do is accompany us in our leisure activities, without having to worry about anything. Unlike us, after drinking wine, we have to worry so much that our hair turns white. Fish Gonggong, isn't that right?"

  Yu Li Ben was somewhat surprised when he heard Xue Chong Xun call out his name in front of everyone, and then smiled and said: "The hair on top of my head has turned white by half."

  The woman retorted, "How can you say that? We sisters serve our husbands with all our hearts and minds. When they leave, we have to stay in an empty room thinking of them for a long time. But as for you men, humph! You turn your backs and forget us completely."

  Xue Chongxun smiled and said, "Being heartless is not as painful as being overly emotional. Who told you to be so sentimental?" But in his heart, he thought: Whores are heartless, actors have no integrity, I'll believe it when pigs fly that you remember me, a songstress like Meng Xiaoyu doesn't come around often.

  Several people beside him heard Xue Chongxun say this and laughed again. At this time, Yu Liben turned his head to Yang Sida, the interviewer, and said: "Does Commissioner Yang still remember the Shangqing Temple we visited?"

  Yang Sida put down his chopsticks and looked at Yuli Tangdao, "Remember, wasn't it just last night? Right, you really heard that 'female ghost' singing last night?"

  Yu Li Ben Dao said: "What the miscellaneous family wants to say is just that song."

  In this kind of occasion, talking about official business is not suitable, it's more interesting to chat about strange and weird news. As soon as Yuli Bon said that, both men and women became interested, someone looked at him and asked: "Did you guys encounter a female ghost last night? Was the female ghost beautiful?"

  Yang Si Dao smiled and said: "You're just bragging, I stayed in the room next to yours last night, how come I didn't hear anything? You probably just imagined it."

  Yu Li Ben said solemnly, "The Miscellaneous School doesn't joke around. I asked you early this morning if you heard it, but you were sleeping too soundly, no wonder I did. That melody was quite unique, I still remember it... Come, bring the zither."

  Anyway, it's all about having fun. Seeing the fish standing up straight, everyone chimed in: "It turns out that Mr. Fish is also musical, we should listen carefully."

  A maid brought a zither and placed it in front of Fish Li Ben, who washed his hands again in the copper basin and carefully wiped them dry with a white towel. Xue Chongxun saw this and had some expectation, as he himself was also very fond of music.

  The fisherman was ready with his gear and said to the prostitute next to him: "I'll play, you sing."

  "Is there a word?"

  Yu Li Ben Dao said, "Use the hum, not the words, listen carefully." After saying that, he took a deep breath, his expression changed, and with a flick of his finger, a segment of high and low, melodious piano sound came out.

  The hall suddenly became much quieter, with everyone's attention drawn to the sound of the piano. Xue Chongxun was also deeply moved, and the turmoil in his heart seemed to be washed away in an instant. The piano sound was clear and lingering, with a beautiful sadness that seemed to tell a tale of a heartbreaking love affair.

  Xue Chongxun couldn't help but take a few more glances at Yuli Ben, and didn't expect such beautiful music to come from the fingers of a eunuch.

  The girl's face showed some difficulty, but seeing Yuli's gaze, she had to force herself to hum a few times, unfortunately, her humming was far from the atmosphere of the guqin sound, and she stopped with a red face.

  Just then, Fisherman's fingers stopped abruptly, and everyone looked at each other in confusion, asking: "It sounds great, why did it stop suddenly?"

  Yu Li Ben closed his eyes and savored the atmosphere in the sound of the guqin, muttering to himself: "The latter part gradually becomes lower and lower, but the miscellaneous family didn't hear it clearly, so they can't play it out."

  Yang Sida smiled and said: "Look at what you're saying, it's really something you just happened to hear?"

  Mozi said: "Can Moists not talk nonsense?"

  At this time, Xue Chongxun couldn't help but sigh and say: "Listening to this tune, it seems a bit like the song composed by Li Guinian?"

  As soon as Xue Chongxun reminded them, some officials who understood music suddenly realized: "Xue Lang is right, there really are traces of Li Guinian. Fish Gonggong just came from Chang'an, didn't he bring new songs by Li Guinian and fool us?"

  Li Kuiyuan was a famous musician who often performed in the homes of wealthy families in Chang'an. Some officials present were from outside Chang'an, so whether or not they had heard Li Kuiyuan's performance, they all said it sounded familiar, implying that they had heard it before... In fact, they were showing off their experience as officials in Chang'an and their familiarity with grand occasions.

  Xue Chongxun pondered for a moment, then with a mischievous tone, he changed his words and laughed: "But upon careful consideration, it doesn't seem like Li Guinian's style either. He usually performs in grand mansions, and his compositions are quite majestic. The tune that Yu Gonggong played earlier had a hint of femininity to it, as if it were composed by a woman."

  Previously, the officials who were flattering Li's work suddenly felt a bit awkward and laughed it off, making some ambiguous comments... Because of mentioning Li, Xue Chongxun suddenly remembered a poem by Du Fu, "Encountering Li in Jiangnan": In the mansion of the King of Qi, I often see you; In front of Cui's ninth pavilion, I have heard your name several times. It is indeed a good scene in Jiangnan, and we meet again during the season of falling flowers.

  The poem's phrase is concise and profound in meaning. So Xue Chongxun remembered it clearly, but he certainly couldn't recite it out loud because it was completely inappropriate at this time. The guests present would find it very abrupt... That was a poem written after the Anshi Rebellion to reflect real emotions, now although the Tang Dynasty is politically turbulent, the country is still strong and has not declined at all, so there is no need to recite such a desolate poem.

  Yu Li Ben Dao said, "The miscellaneous family has been in the palace all along. If it's a song written by Li Guinian, wouldn't the miscellaneous family have heard of it? When I have time, I'd like to go to Shangqing Temple and stay overnight again, and listen to it once more. Could it be that it's really a divine and ghostly tune?" As he spoke, he glanced at Xue Chongxun.

  Xue Chongxun noticed the glance cast by Yuli Ben, and immediately pondered its meaning in his heart.

  The people around joked: "I heard that the female ghost is going to dig out her heart and lungs, so Fish Gonggong should be careful."