Chapter Twenty: Supreme

  Finally back, update update...

  After standing still for a moment, Gao Qiang first ordered someone to inform Yan Qing, asking him to arrange Bai Chenxiang's previous plan to change clothes and dress up. After a while, he went to the secret room with all his might. Then he calmed down his emotions, repeatedly reciting in his heart "The Son of Heaven is also an ordinary person". At the same time, he went through the words he had already thought of in his heart, and then went to see the emperor.

  That secret room was on the top floor of the North Building, with only one passageway leading to it. More than a dozen imperial guards in plain clothes were scattered along the way, blocking the passage so tightly that not even air could leak through, sniffing around like vicious dogs. Gao Feng arrived at someone's summons and was led to the door of the secret room, where he handed over his message.

  After a brief pause, the eunuch announced in a loud voice, "His Excellency, High Commissioner Jin, requests an audience." The official inside took a few deep breaths, lifted the curtain and entered. Before he even looked up, he fell to his knees with a thud and exclaimed loudly, "I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

  "Is the one kneeling really Gao Qiang, the beloved son of the Gao family? Come closer and let me take a look." This voice must have come from the mouth of the current emperor Zhao Ji. At first glance, it only sounds clear and bright, making people feel quite close to him, but there is no majestic aura at all.

  Gao Jian hastily stood up, walked a few steps to the front of the main seat, slightly raised his head to look at the situation in the room. He saw his father, Gao Fu, standing opposite him with his hands hanging down, smiling and accompanying him. There was another person standing beside him, about 50 years old, not very tall, with an ordinary appearance, who could be described as "honest and unassuming". This person was also sizing up Gao Jian from head to toe.

  Just now, when Gao Yu's confidant came to report, he had already said that this time Zhao Ji went out of the palace in disguise, with only two ministers by his side. Apart from Old Man Gao Yu, the other was Zheng Ju Zhong, the current head of the Imperial Secretariat and a scholar of the Hanlin Academy. This person is the cousin of the currently favored Empress Zheng, and because Empress Zheng's maternal family had no powerful people, this jinshi of the Chongning period hastened to acknowledge him as a relative, borrowing the opportunity of Empress Zheng's favor to rapidly rise through the ranks, jumping from an unknown minor official in the capital to the position of head of the Imperial Secretariat with real power, and also holding the concurrent post of scholar of the Hanlin Academy. The momentum was quite astonishing, causing people at the time to look on with envy. Just looking at how Zhao Ji went out of the palace incognito tonight to attend this kind of gathering, and only brought him along apart from Gao Yu, who is the number one military officer and has followed him since he was the Prince of Duan, it can be known that this person's position in Zhao Ji's heart is not ordinary.

  "I wonder how Ye Mengde is communicating with that guy after taking my lavender essential oil? If he can secretly help me tonight, the outcome may be unpredictable...". Just as I was muttering to myself, I heard Zhao Ji's gentle voice from above: "Gao Qiang, speak up and look at me, I have something to ask you."

  He hastily lifted his head, but didn't dare to look directly at the emperor. He slightly raised his eyelids and saw that the person sitting above was wearing casual clothes, with a pale complexion and a refined appearance. Three strands of whiskers hung down to his chest, giving him quite a literary air. But looking closer made him even more afraid. With a respectful tone, he said: "Your Majesty asks, your humble minister dares not speak without thinking." Whether what he said was thorough or not was another matter altogether.

  Zhao Ji was persuaded by Gao Huan and Zheng Zhong today, and he secretly left the palace to watch this good show. Everywhere is an eye-opener, and this performance not only has rich content and high quality but also has a new and unique concept that no one has ever tried before. It's refreshing for the emperor who is used to watching performances in the palace. When he heard that the planner was actually Gao Huan's eldest son, he had to see him.

  At this moment, Zhao Ji saw that the young eunuch was quite handsome and had a good figure, standing there looking very pleasing to the eye. He couldn't help but smile at Gao Yun and say: "Gao Gong, your little eunuch is really well-born, he's a true dragon among men."

  Gao Yun hastily expressed his gratitude, and Gao Qiang also followed suit, but in his heart, he secretly scolded the emperor for speaking nonsense. He thought to himself that he was just a young and handsome man who barely qualified, and as for military bearing, he didn't have even half of it. To call someone like him a "tiger son of a general's family" - wouldn't they be shocked if they saw people like Han Shizhong or Liu Guangshi who came from a military background? Wouldn't they be startled by the sight of such majestic men?

  However, considering that Zhao Ji cited his father Gao Huan and others as generals, his understanding of the concept of military generals was probably limited. Moreover, this artistic emperor usually indulged in poetry and literature, and had little familiarity with the iron-blooded soldiers who braved the snow and ice, and guarded the borders. The image of the "tiger sons" in his eyes was nothing more than that.

  Zhao Ji praised a few words, and the topic turned to the lyrics sung by Bai Chenxiang at this concert. The emperor's appreciation ability is naturally unquestionable, and after a round of comments, it was said that it was reasonable, and Gao Liang also felt admired when he heard it. If he really wanted to talk about literature and music with him face-to-face, he would not be his opponent. Fortunately, no one had the spare energy to compete with the emperor on his most familiar topic, so Gao Liang only needed to nod and agree, occasionally flattering him or pretending to be suddenly enlightened, and look up at him with extremely pious and respectful eyes.

  When it came to the last part of the song, Zhao Ji was even more spirited and praised the song as the best of tonight, saying that the melody and lyrics were impeccable and could be called a masterpiece. Gao Gang thanked him on one side, while on the other side...

  In his heart, he secretly laughed and thought: "This poem is actually a plagiarism of your later work, I deliberately made it to make you happy. If you don't like it, then there's something wrong with you!"

  However, when writing this poem, he left a trick. The original poem had the sentence "Feng Que Duan Men, Peng Shan Cai Jian Penglai", but he wrote it as "Peng Shan Xin Jian Penglai". The tone is slightly off, and the sentence seems a bit plain. This was exactly what he needed to show off to Zhao Ji: "Your Majesty's literary talent can be said to be unparalleled in this dynasty. I feel that there are some places in this poem that are not quite elegant, so I'd like to take this opportunity to ask Your Majesty to correct them."

  As soon as this was said, Gao's face changed slightly, thinking that you had flattered him well before, why did you have to make a fuss? However, it was too late to stop him, and he could only clench his fists in anxiety, waiting for Zhao Guan's response.

  Gao Qiang was confident, and as expected, Zhao Ji hesitated for a moment before changing back the sentence he had intentionally altered. When presenting it to others, his face was full of self-satisfaction, taking advantage of this opportunity to flatter himself. At that time, flattering words poured in, with titles like "Elegant and Refined Beyond This World" being lavished upon him free of charge. Zhao Ji listened as the young poet praised him so highly, nodding his head in satisfaction, smiling so widely his mouth couldn't close, feeling quite pleased with himself.

  Since you and the lord get along so well, Zhao's family naturally couldn't just listen to a few words of praise. They turned around and asked Gao: "I don't know if your son has entered officialdom, what position does he currently hold?"

  Gao Yan hastily reported that his son had no official position, and Zhao Ji slightly hesitated before saying: "This year is the year of the suburban sacrifice, your family can be granted a hereditary title to let your son enter officialdom. I will again issue a special imperial edict, as your son's literary talent is extraordinary, he is skilled in rhetoric, and his martial arts skills surpass others. He will be appointed as a Chengwu Lang, and the Ministry of Officials will find a suitable position for him to take office, what do you think?"

  This is indeed a great imperial favor. Although Song Dynasty officials could promote their sons and door guests to official positions, when it comes to the appointment of officials, most were promoted according to rank. Since the time of True Ancestor's famous minister Lü Mengzheng, all appointments started from the lowest level. After the Yuanfeng reform, there were 29 levels of civil service ranks, with the lowest being the ninth-grade "Jiang Shi Lang". Even if Gao was highly respected and powerful, he should have been appointed to the ninth-grade "Deng Shi Lang" at most. But this official is very generous, opening his mouth to grant him the eighth-grade "Cheng Wu Lang", skipping four levels!

  This is not all, the sons of the nobles are numerous and few have been appointed to a real position after entering officialdom. The highest record for appointment to a real position was 21 years old, and strictly speaking, Zhao Jie had not yet added a crown, but he was already going to be appointed by the Ministry of Officials, which can be said to be exceptionally gracious. Gao Hu and his son quickly knelt down to thank him, and Zhao Jie smiled and nodded in response, raising his hand to let them rise.

  On this side, Zheng Juzhong saw Gao Qiang's favor and came to congratulate him. He secretly gave a wink, but Gao Qiang didn't know what he meant. However, Ye Mengde had already sent someone to report that he had reached an agreement with Zheng Juzhong. This person was smooth in his dealings and didn't dare to take the lead easily. He was good at beating around the bush, but now that the situation looked good and the emperor's favor was strong, it seemed that he would rather help than hinder.

  There was a commotion outside, and someone reported: "Xiang Xiang has arrived!" The voice was deliberately prolonged to allow the people in the house to prepare. Zhao Ji had been listening to music for half the night and watching such a grand audio-visual performance, his emotions were already excited, and as soon as he thought that Xiang Xiang, like a fairy from the Jade Pool, would arrive by his side, his breathing quickened involuntarily, and his voice trembled slightly: "Quickly invite her in!"

  The door curtain lifted, and Bai Chenxiang fluttered in, her white dress fluttering behind her. The four men inside the house held their breath, even Gao Qiang, who was holding a tray, lost his composure for a moment. She looked different from when she was on stage, obviously having just bathed, washing off all the makeup on her face, revealing a clean and elegant complexion like a lotus flower. Her long hair was loose, with only a light apricot-colored silk ribbon tied loosely at the back of her head. Unlike her elaborate dress on stage, she wore a simple white satin long skirt that trailed on the ground, with no other decorations on her body, making her look even more pure and elegant, with a natural and delicate charm.

  It's just that this white dress is indeed the first in the brothel, and in such a simple outfit, it subtly reveals a charming and sensual temperament, making people involuntarily fantasize about what kind of temptation this pure and crystal-like person would be if they were to fall into the mortal world and get entangled with human desires.

  Gao Jiang was fine, after all, he had been with Bai Chenxiang day and night for a month. This design was carefully designed by him and Yan Qing. His immune system was stronger, so he came back to his senses first, busily greeting and ordering the wine table to serve.

  At this moment, Zhao Ji was different from before. He had always considered himself a romantic since he was young and had not experienced such a grand occasion outside the palace for a long time. Seeing such a heavenly beauty like Xiangxiang, he didn't want to use his imperial identity to intimidate her, so he hurriedly stepped forward with a smile and said: "Xiangxiang, I am Zhao Duan, at your service!" He dragged out his voice as he bowed deeply.

  Zhaoduan? Gaoqiang was also taken aback, and then delighted. The emperor was willing to play by the rules of the game, which suited the likes of Baisuixiang, a goddess of pleasure. This time, she would be able to make a big splash!