Chapter 48: The Seven-Step Poem in the Hall of Abundant Sources

  Chen Yunsheng's eyes were fixed on his nose and heart, while Tang Guan looked around at the solemn faces, also silent.

  The old eunuch Wang stepped back onto the steps, and whispered a few words into the ear of an inner attendant at the entrance. The attendant nodded, bowed, and entered the Hanyuan Hall.

  At this time, the officials in the hall had already taken their places according to their ranks, but there was nothing to report. In the solemn silence, the person behind the curtain seemed to be about to withdraw from the court session. The eunuch knelt down and came forward saying: "The imperial edict has been received."

  The curtain moved slightly, and the group of officials who heard this also did not make any expressions, only a few looked towards the eunuch.

  They were all officials within the imperial court and had never seen Tang Guan outside the palace.

  The eunuch standing on one side of the imperial carriage nodded slightly, and the kneeling inner attendant then walked forward to report in a low voice.

  The eunuch waved his hand and the servant bowed again before leaving.

  The eunuch walked cautiously towards the curtain and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the person you want to see has been brought back."

  The person behind the curtain seemed to pause for a moment after hearing the words, and then immediately spoke.

  "Proclamation: Jiangnan Governor Chen Yunsheng and Tang Guanjun enter the palace"

  As soon as this was said, someone outside immediately relayed it to one side.

  Chen Yunsheng subconsciously reached out to adjust his official hat, but stopped abruptly, and smiled wryly. His own court attire had not even been replenished yet, let alone an official hat.

  He immediately pulled Tang Guan forward at a slow pace, and the surrounding officials cast their eyes over.

  This is quite unusual: one did not wear court attire to pay respects, and another was only eight or nine years old to attend the early morning imperial audience.

  As they walked up to the hall, Chen Yunsheng nodded slightly at Wang Gonggong before pulling Tang Guan into the hall.

  As soon as he entered the hall, Tang Guan's eyes immediately looked straight ahead to the very front.

  A vacant dragon throne with a 'jade' curtain hanging behind it.

  Tang Guan was taken aback by this scene, until Chen Yunsheng knelt down on the ground and shouted: "Your subject Chen Yunsheng pays homage to Your Majesty!"

  "How dare you! Why don't you kneel?!" The crowd saw that Tang Guan was still standing in a daze, and a general wearing heavy armor immediately shouted loudly.

  Tang Guan only then reacted, Chen Yunsheng hastily pulled Tang Guan and said: "The young nephew is ignorant and youthful, the Sage forgives the crime!"

  That general seemed to be in charge of the royal dignity, standing on the right side with a frown, just about to rebuke him, but a voice came from behind the curtain: "Forget it, let it go, stand at ease"

  The officials looked at each other, and the general also retreated. Chen Yusheng secretly wiped away a cold sweat, still not daring to get up.

  Tang Guan was taken aback by the gentle and soft 'female' voice, which wasn't particularly severe. The officials present thought that the child had been frightened silly and shook their heads secretly.

  "Your humble servant has been inefficient in handling affairs, delaying and accumulating them, thus failing to fulfill Your Majesty's orders. I beg for your pardon."

  "Speaking of which, the person behind the curtain seemed to have noticed something and spoke up: 'Where is your court attire, dear?'"

  Chen Yunsheng's heart skipped a beat, as an official not wearing court attire to meet him was already a great disrespect. Fortunately, he also had a lifesaving trick and immediately thought of Pei Yan's letter.

  He immediately took out the token from his bosom and held it above his head, saying: "Your humble servant was passing through Yangzhou when he encountered bandits. Fortunately, thanks to the Prime Minister's rescue, I was able to come and pay my respects to Your Majesty. The Prime Minister has written a letter which he asks me to convey to Your Imperial ears."

  Chen Yunsheng also felt somewhat indignant at this point. To be honest, it was already not easy to ensure safe delivery. As expected, the faces of all the officials changed upon hearing these words, and the person behind the curtain seemed to pause for a moment as well.

  "Presented here"

  The inner guard immediately stepped forward and took over the letter and the tiger tally, then respectfully handed them over to behind the curtain.

  A bolder official secretly peeked behind the curtain and seemed to be calm as ever, but after a long while, a soft sigh was heard.

  Tang Guan heard the news and his heart skipped a beat, but Chen Yunsheng did not feel nervous.

  After a long while, a voice came from behind the curtain: "What a wonderful Tang Qubing, it seems that the old master likes you more than I do."

  The officials were stunned upon hearing this, and Chen Yunshang suddenly dared not breathe a word. The tone of the voice was indistinguishable as to whether it was joyful or angry, and no one knew what that letter had written.

  "Isn't the empress supposed to see me? Where is the empress?"

  Just then Tang Guan suddenly spoke out, Chen Yunsheng was shocked and pulled Tang Guan with force.

  The officials also changed their faces, this child really doesn't know what's good for him. Tang Guan remained unmoved, just as someone else was about to open his mouth to scold him.

  Behind the curtain came a burst of giggles and laughter, "Haha, you want to see me?"

  This is not laughable, but when he smiled, the group of officials hurriedly bowed their heads and dared not look straight ahead. The scene was bizarre, with only Tang Guan standing upright in the hall.

  "The Empress smiled!" The officials who had never heard the gentle laughter of the person behind the curtain since the two saints ascended to power were shocked, and Chen Yunsheng's face turned pale. Despite repeated warnings, Tang Guan was still a master who would not rest until he had startled people with his words.

  Tang Guan stood on the stage unmoved, he must have done it on purpose. Since he came all the way here, if he didn't even know what this 'woman' looked like, then it would be a bad deal.

  A delicate white 'jade' hand slowly extended from behind the curtain and beckoned, "Take a few steps forward."

  Tang Guan heard the words and took a deep breath, walking forward slowly. The officials knelt down on the ground, all secretly glancing at each other, not knowing what was going to happen next.

  "Alright, let's stop there then."

  Tang Guan immediately stopped in his tracks, measuring the distance to find that there were only seven steps left between him and the curtain behind the dragon chair.

  Chen Yunsheng held his breath, fearing that Tang Guansheng would get into trouble. The officials had different expressions, some were slightly curious, while others secretly sneered.

  "Young talent, your two excellent writings have been admired by me and these uncles of yours for a long time."

  Tang Guan's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and he immediately said: "The heavenly empress's divine name has been revered for a long time to ward off illnesses."

  "Haha" The person behind the curtain seemed slightly excited, and another tender laugh sounded, but all the officials were frightened, this was an unprecedented event.

  "No wonder your husband said in his letter that you are a heavenly being reincarnated, with a sweet mouth indeed"

  Tang Guan remained silent, the person behind the curtain laughed and said: "Originally, I just wanted to see you, since Old Master is so supportive of you, I'm not very convinced now."

  "Indeed!" Tang Guan's eyelid twitched at the words.

  "It is said that Cao Zhi can compose a poem in seven steps, I have searched the whole country but haven't seen such a talented person. Now you are only seven steps away from me, make one sentence, if it's good, I'll let you take one step forward, if there's even one mistake"

  "I'll wipe out your entire Tang family!"

  "Ha!" Originally her tone was gentle, and the officials only bowed their heads to listen, but in the end, her tone changed. They were first stunned, then looked at Tang Guan with a mixture of surprise and schadenfreude.

  Chen Yunsheng heard this and raised his head, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

  "What a moody old witch!" Tang Guan cursed in his heart, and immediately didn't care. To say nothing of composing a poem in seven steps, he could even plagiarize one standing on the spot, but he suddenly had an epiphany.

  "Since you threaten me, I'll scare you too." Tang Guan smiled slightly and cupped his hands, saying: "What's difficult about this?"

  The officials heard this and shook their heads, saying: "This Emperor Taizong is young and ignorant, unaware of the vastness of heaven and earth."

  The person behind the curtain seemed to have vaguely seen that Tang Guan had a confident expression on his chest, and was slightly stunned.

  "Alright, you can start now."

  Tang Guan heard this and directly stood on the spot without thinking, opening his mouth to say: "The woman behind the curtain is not human!"

  "You!" As expected, the empress heard this and the curtain moved slightly, but immediately pressed down again. The officials were stunned by this sudden sentence. Chen Yusheng almost fainted.

  "Go!" For some reason, Wu Zetian actually took this step, and Tang Guan secretly wiped a cold sweat.

  "The Queen Mother of the West Descends to the Mundane World"

  Another sentence, the officials looked at each other in dismay, and the person behind the curtain whispered a sentence with a hint of joy: "Run"

  "Born a son and become a husband!"

  "How bold!" The ups and downs were all shocked, the four of them were startled, and the person behind the curtain was no longer calm, and actually stood up and shouted loudly.

  "I deserve to die ten thousand times!" Chen Yunsheng knocked his head on the ground, Tang Guan didn't know what illness he had contracted again, the previous sentence could still be rounded back, he knew that this sentence thoroughly touched the bottom line of the person behind the curtain, and Luo Guang was not using her "son" as a trick.

  Tang Guan stood still and silent, the person behind the curtain saw him so calm and also felt a little surprised, gradually calmed down and said in a cold voice: "Leave"

  "Let the wise govern the world and bring peace to the red dust"

  The officials all gasped in shock, and the young emperor, who was sensitive to the mood of the people, actually went ahead and praised him again, which was truly unbelievable.

  As expected, the curtain moved slightly, "Let's go"

  "Qin's observation of the prosperity of all families"

  "Go!"

  "What need is there for compensation for six cups of dirt?"

  No one knew what expression was on the person behind the curtain, only a low murmur came out: "Luo Guanzhong"

  At this time, only one step was left from the curtain, and a faint breath came out from inside. Tang Guan's heart also beat slightly, "Close!"

  "Never mind, come in." After a long while, a soft sigh came from behind the curtain, as if not wanting Tang Guan to say another word.

  Tang Guan was also pressing the treasure, he knew what this 'woman' needed most urgently at the moment, if he plagiarized a poem, it might have passed, but after all, it wasn't what she needed most.

  Tang Guan gently lifted the beaded curtain, he didn't go to see what this 'woman' looked like, only a pair of phoenix eyes met his.

  At this moment, Tang Guan stood in front of her, who was supposed to be the protagonist of this era. Tang Guan looked into her eyes, and Wu Zetian also gazed at Tang Guan.

  After a long time, he finally spoke up and said: "Withdraw from court"

  One voice retired from court, the group of officials were shocked, that Tang crown was still standing in the curtain, right in front of Empress Wu!

  No one knew what happened behind the curtain, Chen Yunsheng was still kneeling on the ground. Originally, returning home after a court session was a good routine, but now no one wanted to move their feet.

  "Fall back!"

  A loud shout, and all the officials finally rushed out in a hurry. They knew that Tang Qubing was likely to be favored...

  At this moment, the vast Taiyuan Hall was left with only two people.

  One is a person who doesn't belong in this era, and one is the most favored person of this era. The two locked eyes with each other.

  At the peak of this great Tang Dynasty, the Crown Prince finally saw her.

  After a long while, Wu Zetian let out a soft sigh: "Old Minister, you are right. For your sake, killing one Liu Xun is really nothing."

  As soon as these words came out, Tang Guan's heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his head in silence.