The Third Volume Attends The Twenty-First Chapter Helps Leisure

  Since we have to follow the rules, Gao's role changed immediately. From a newly appointed official, he transformed into a helper and smiled: "Let me tell you, White First, this Mr. Zhao is a member of the imperial family, elegant and refined, a first-class extraordinary person. He admires your exceptional talent so much that I arranged today's meeting at his request. As for ordinary artists and singing girls, he doesn't care about them at all."

  Bai Xiangxiang was born with a delicate and sensitive heart, naturally understanding the implied meaning of Zhao Ji's words. She still looked as gentle and weak as before, walking in front of Zhao Ji and curtsying deeply, saying in a soft voice: "Today is Bai Xiangxiang's first time performing in front of everyone, and I can already gain the recognition of such a refined person like Master Zhao, I really don't know if it's the blessing of several lifetimes!"

  Yu Dao Ren's words made Zhao Ji feel as if he had lost several pounds, and his smile trembled with excitement: "Xiang Xiang, you're too modest. With your talent, you can go far in the world, why worry that there won't be anyone who appreciates you?"

  Since the Emperor was delighted, as his subjects, they should flatter him. The Grand Marshal Gao Qiu and the Secretary Zheng Juzhong also ignored their high ranks and followed suit, putting on a flattering face to fawn over him, with Bai Xianxiang speaking softly and smiling slightly, occasionally casting flirtatious glances. Zhao Ji was already deeply infatuated, unaware of his surroundings, thinking he was in an immortal palace.

  Gao Zhan felt somewhat awkward standing beside him, seeing Gao Jue excitedly cheering on the sidelines. How should he conduct himself? No matter what, as father and son, they were mixed together to help the emperor with trivial matters, where was the order of seniority? However, if this relationship were exposed, the majestic Commander of the Imperial Guards would be reduced to being someone's lackey, it was clear that this person's background was not ordinary, and the emperor's "Zhao Da Guan Ren" could no longer be played.

  This is secondary, the key is that today I am not just seeking an official position, nor am I here to curry favor with the emperor. The main event of Cai Jing's return has not been mentioned yet! Looking at Zhao Ji's appearance at this time, it's likely that he won't be able to hold back his beast-like desires for long and will soon pluck this delicate flower. Don't let all my hard work come to nothing, only to have the emperor indulge in a night of pleasure.

  "Zhao Da Guan Ren is unaware, but Xiang Xiang Jie's performance at Feng Le Tower this time has some hidden stories behind it!" Zhao Ji had just watched Bai Chenxiang's show and suddenly saw the real person, his mindset was similar to that of modern-day star chasers, who would be very interested in hearing gossip about celebrities.

  As expected, Zhao Ji's excitement immediately shifted, and he asked repeatedly: "Xiang Xiang, is there any hidden story behind this?"

  Bai Xiangxiang had already received a stern warning from Gao, so she knew exactly what to say tonight. She smiled and said: "Since Mr. Zhao is such a refined and elegant person, if I were to speak directly, it would be unbecoming of me. But it's actually quite interesting - the reason I agreed to come here and perform for Governor Gao has a lot to do with these two words 'Feng Le'. Perhaps Mr. Zhao can take a guess as to what that means?"

  With a strong and subtle movement, she raised her thumb, thinking that this cooperation was truly flawless. Zhao Jie furrowed his brow in contemplation for a moment before asking tentatively: "As far as I know, Miss, you were originally registered at Rong Yue Fang, which is only one word different from Feng Le Lou. Is it possible that the difference lies in the character 'Feng'?"

  Bai Chenxiang's face turned pale, and she let out a startled cry, one hand clutching her chest and the other covering her cherry-red lips. She stared at Zhao Jie with wide, dark eyes and exclaimed, "How did you guess it so easily? But what exactly is special about this 'Feng' character? Can you guess again?" Although these words seemed to be deliberately making things difficult for him, they actually confirmed Zhao Jie's previous efforts and made him want to continue guessing. Moreover, they subtly narrowed down the range of possibilities he needed to consider, reducing the difficulty level. This was indeed a clever tactic used by courtesans like Bai Chenxiang, who had spent years honing their skills in understanding customers' psychology.

  Zhao Ji had always been the only one in the palace who had concubines and palace maids trying to win his favor, who would have dared to play tricks on him? As soon as he stepped into the trap, his mind was already turning towards the word "feng". The first thought that came to mind was his father Song Zong's reign title Yuan Feng. The second thought was the four-character motto "Feng Heng Yu Da" that Cai Jing had told him about two years ago. He couldn't help but smile and say: "Let Zhao guess again, is this 'feng' character related to the previous dynasty or the current one?"

  Bai Chenxiang was shocked again: "Is the great official a divine being? How did he know that this Feng character is related to both the previous dynasty and the current one?"

  Zhao Jie's eyes widened slightly as he connected the dots in his mind. He had already thought of these two points, and now that Bai Chenxiang mentioned a connection to both the previous and current dynasties, he couldn't help but link them together. Suddenly, he recalled Cai Jing's words: "The Book of Changes says: 'Feng Heng', which means 'Abundance and Prosperity'. During the prosperous years of Emperor Wu of Han, the country was at peace, the treasury was full, and the people were content and joyful. This is what is meant by 'abundance'. Since there is abundance, it is possible to be great. Why doesn't Your Majesty follow the example of the Three Dynasties, cast the Nine Tripods, and build a Bright Hall to showcase your great virtue and boundless imperial grace?"

  Thinking back to the nine tripod cauldrons in the Zhongtai No. 1 Palace on the south side, which were personally supervised by Cai Jing and took 220,000 catties of steel to build, completed in just over a month. When they were placed, they were arranged according to classic rituals, each in its proper position. To this day, every time I pass by, I feel a sense of satisfaction in my heart. But after Cai Jing left office and Zhao Tingzhi took over, the Ming Tang has been under construction for a long time without completion. Every time I go to take a look, it's still like that - a messy and disorganized construction site that makes people angry just by looking at it. The efficiency is simply incomparable to when Cai Jing was in office.

  It seems that this riddle must be saying that since I ascended the throne, the four seas have been calm and the people have lived in peace and prosperity. Zhao Guan thought to himself that he had figured it out, but before he could say anything, our clever Emperor spoke up, not wanting to appear foolish in front of the beautiful Xiangxiang. He smiled and said: "Xiangxiang, I, Zhao, have guessed the answer to this riddle. But tell me, if I'm right, what reward will I get? And if I'm wrong, how will I be punished?"

  Bai Chenxiang was taken aback, her charming eyes swept across Zhao Ji's face as she said: "It's just a small matter, someone of Zhao Da Guanren's great talent can naturally accomplish it with ease, what's the need to mention rewards or punishments?" This wasn't an act of pretentious modesty, when someone like Zhao Ji asks in this way, they must be about to make some kind of request. At this moment, she shouldn't let him get his way just yet, before she had even finished speaking.

  Gently, a high hat was sent over, and Zhao Jie didn't know how to continue teasing. Seeing the beautiful woman in front of him with a charming expression, he felt his heart itching with difficulty, and honestly said the answer in his heart: "Miss, you mentioned the word 'feng', is it saying that our dynasty's prosperity far surpasses the previous dynasties, pursuing the Three Dynasties, and cannot be fully described without using the word 'feng'? What does this have to do with Miss deciding to come here and hang up a sign?"

  Bai Chenxiang had long been prepared for this question, and with a slight raise of her head, she gazed out the window, her beautiful eyes slightly melancholic: "I, Bai Chenxiang, have been trained in music and dance since childhood, and after growing up, I became a registered performer at Rong Le Fang. My lifelong ambition has always been to become the number one songstress of our great Song Dynasty, singing out the unprecedented prosperity and splendor of our era. That day, High Commissioner Gao came to invite my family to join forces, saying that he wanted to rebuild Fan Lou as Feng Le Lou, to showcase the ultimate joy of peace and prosperity. If it weren't for my voice and beauty, this building would be prosperous but not joyful. This remark coincided with my lifelong desire, so I didn't hesitate to defect to this place."

  At this point, she suddenly came back to her senses and smiled at Zhao Jing with a hint of shyness: "Zhao Da Guanren has revealed the mystery, it seems that you and Xiang Xiang are on the same wavelength!"

  Zhao Ji was immediately dizzy, his two eyes staring at Bai Xing's head like mosquitoes seeing blood, stuck in the flesh and couldn't be pulled out. Gao Qiang saw that things were not going well, thinking that this charming power was a bit too strong, the official had already become somewhat unbearable, he had to hurry up and finish what he wanted to say, and quickly threw a glance over.

  Bai Chenxiang nodded in understanding, and suddenly let out a soft sigh, her delicate eyebrows furrowed but she remained silent.

  At this time, Zhao Ji's heart and soul were both drunk, his thoughts all focused on this peerless beauty, and he immediately asked: "Miss, why do you sigh?"

  Bai Chenxiang furrowed her brow and said: "It's just that at the beginning of the year, a comet streaked across the sky with a brilliant light for twenty days, and everyone said it was an ominous sign from heaven, warning of disaster. The imperial court of the Great Song Dynasty avoided rituals and reduced their food intake, and even Prime Minister Cai resigned due to this. But I really don't understand why such an omen would appear in these prosperous times."

  Zhao Ji was taken aback by these words, which had struck a sore spot, and his face immediately turned somewhat unsightly.

  Today, everyone present is in cahoots with each other. When the conversation reached a critical point, Zheng Zhong hurriedly interrupted with a smile: "Miss, what you said is wrong! Since the current emperor ascended to the throne, he has built schools and promoted music and rituals to adorn the peace, and established the Anji Institute to save the poor and destitute. All of these are good governance and benevolent policies that follow heaven's will and comfort the people. Where is there any heavenly punishment?"

  The white and fragrant eyes rolled, and she smiled: "This official said it! I have been puzzled for many days, how could I not think that the current emperor is on the throne, with Cai Xianggong, Zhao Xianggong and other heavenly stars assisting him? Where is there anything that does not conform to the will of heaven? I once heard someone sing Su Shi's poem, which said 'the light is thousands of feet long, it's normal for the Minister of Works to see it often', it seems that even if a comet crosses the sky, it doesn't necessarily mean good or bad luck for the country's politics. It's just my woman's opinion, I think too much."

  Zhao Ji's expression cleared up, and this explanation happened to be exactly what he wanted to hear. Originally, he was proud of the peaceful and prosperous scene under his rule, which even the ancient wise rulers couldn't surpass. But then a sudden change in the stars forced him to reflect on himself, and he was truly unhappy about it. His actions of abdicating, reducing his own salary, and even dismissing Cai Jing from his position as prime minister were all somewhat reluctant.

  Today, the knot in his heart was suddenly resolved, and Zhao's family felt as if they had drunk a bowl of iced sour plum soup, refreshing. Looking at Bai Xing again, he was indeed extremely tempting, and no woman he had ever seen could compare to him. What other things could he think of in his mind?

  The emperor's interest was already piqued, and today's words had been said. The three idle assistants should also play their part. Gao Jue, Zheng Zhong, and Gao Qiang exchanged glances, speaking in turn, coordinating with Bai Chenxiang's sudden anger and joy, teasing the current official into a state of distraction, his mind on romance, calling out "Let's disperse!" as he leaned half his body towards Bai Chenxiang, it was unclear whether he was truly drunk or feigning intoxication to take advantage of the situation.

  The official dispersed, how dare they not disperse? The three of them hastily retreated, Gao Jiang gave Bai Chenxiang a hand gesture, hinting that she should take good care of herself, but only got a cold shoulder in return, and could only sigh helplessly as he followed his father out of the room.

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