Chapter 53: The Winding Stream

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  Qin Mubai closed the invitation card and asked, "Second brother, why is King Wei holding a banquet for no reason? How did he know I was back on vacation?"

  "You're now a big tree that attracts wind, it's not hard for people to know you're back. Your appearance at Tianxia First Wine yesterday is enough to let the King of Wei know the news. Among those who drink and have fun there, I don't know how many are guests of the King of Wei." Qin Bin said, "As for the reason for inviting guests, my brother seems to have heard that it's because the King of Wei wants to invite a group of Confucian scholars and talented young men to play a game of 'floating cups down the stream'."

  "What's with the winding stream and wine cup? You're kidding me! It's already summer, what's with the winding water and wine cup?" Qin Mubai couldn't help but laugh.

  The Orchid Pavilion, a traditional Chinese cultural activity that originated in the Jin Dynasty. According to legend, Wang Xizhi, a famous calligrapher and prefect of Guiji, along with 42 friends including Xie An and Sun Chuo, held a drinking and poetry party called "Orchid Pavilion" after a purification ritual at the Orchid Pavilion. This elegant and refined custom has been passed down to this day. At that time, Wang Xizhi and others sat on the ground beside the clear stream in the Orchid Pavilion, placed cups of wine in the stream, and let them float downstream. When a cup floated to someone's side or stopped in front of them, they had to compose an impromptu poem and drink the wine.

  In this game, eleven people each wrote two poems, fifteen people each wrote one poem, and sixteen people couldn't write any poems and were penalized with three cups of wine. Wang Xizhi collected everyone's poems, using silkworm paper and a mouse-whisker brush to write the preface, writing in a state of inspiration, and wrote down the world-famous "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection".

  The current Emperor Li Shimin is infatuated with Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, triggering a calligraphy craze throughout the Tang Dynasty. As a result, the elegant pastime of floating wine cups on winding streams has also become popular among the literati and officials of today's Tang Dynasty. However, the floating wine cup activity usually takes place during the Upstream Cup Festival in late March, but now it is already the Summer Solstice Day.

  "This foolish brother doesn't know either." Qin Bin shook his head and smiled, "According to fellow guests, it's because the King of Wei was summoned by the Emperor to accompany him in the imperial palace on the third day of the third month this year to discuss the compilation of '括地志', so he missed out on this year's Qu Shui Liu Ting. Now that he has some free time, he's making up for it. The King of Wei is very close to many literary talents, and Qu Shui Liu Ting has always been an important way for him to connect with them emotionally, I suppose he didn't want to waste the opportunity!"

  "So that's how it is..." Qin Mu Bai shook his head and smiled, "I'm just a martial artist, I only met the King of Wei once, why would he invite me? Isn't this just trying to make things difficult for me?"

  "Third brother, are you really understanding or just pretending to be confused?" Qin Bin smiled, "It's already clear, the King of Wei wants to pull you in!"

  Qin Mubai chuckled lightly: "Then go! Anyway, reciting poetry and making couplets are definitely not my thing, let's just go take a look at the excitement. Since Prince Wei is giving me face by inviting me himself, if I don't go it would be slapping him in the face? But second brother, I want to ask you - what's your relationship with Prince Wei like now?"

  Qin Bin smiled calmly: "Father's teachings, you're not unaware. Although I often run into the King of Wei at places like the Hongwen Temple and the Wude Hall, we rarely exchange words, let alone have a close relationship. The King of Wei seems to pay little attention to me, a humble collationer with a low official position. This time, he invited me mainly to get you to go through me, right? Hehe, I'm just along for the ride."

  "Haha, isn't it just a matter of eating and drinking together? — Second brother, wait for a moment, let me change my clothes and I'll set off with you."

  Before long, the two brothers adjusted their clothes and took a carriage away from their home towards the Wei Wang Fu.

  Wei Wang Li Tai can be said to be the most favored prince by the emperor nowadays, even surpassing Crown Prince Li Chengqian. In recent years, Emperor Li Shimin, who has always advocated for frugality, has repeatedly allocated funds personally to renovate Li Tai's mansion, and the regular supply of money and silk is almost on par with that of the Eastern Palace. Many old ministers have expressed their opinions and advised the emperor, but Li Shimin, who has always been open to advice, remains biased towards Li Tai. Moreover, Li Tai himself indeed has some abilities, particularly in the aspect of "wen zhi" (literary governance), which is unmatched by ordinary princes. In recent years, he has led a group of scholars and literati to compile a large number of books, among which the most famous one is the "Bao Di Zhi", which introduces the ten states and counties of the Tang Dynasty.

  The emperor's favor, Li Tai's own efforts and progress, have gathered more and more powerful forces around him. Now, the emperor has the intention of abolishing and establishing a new heir, and Li Tai has the intention of competing for the throne, which is already a well-known secret throughout the land.

  On a hot day, Li Tai started the "Qu Shui Liu Shang" and can be considered as opening up a precedent. In fact, everyone is clear in their hearts that Li Tai is now busy with the struggle for power, which can be called "dealing with thousands of things every day", every minute and second is precious, so he invited a large group of people to play, just to take advantage of the opportunity to win over people's hearts. In the Tang Dynasty, imperial power is a tree, while officials and scholars are the roots of the tree. Having won the support of officials and scholars is undoubtedly the most powerful arm for the prince. Although Li Tai was only twenty years old, he had already become an old politician who calculated deeply, and would not do something meaningless even when he was idle.

  The location of Qu Shui Liu Ting is in the grand and magnificent back garden of the Wei Wang Fu.

  Qin Mubai and his brother arrived at the prefecture just as they were getting off the carriage, when a gate official came to greet them. After presenting their invitation cards, the gatekeeper shouted loudly - "The Hundred Riders Envoy Qin Mubai and the Collationer of the Hongwen Academy, Qin Bin, have arrived!"

  It's a bit like a small tavern waiter welcoming guests with a song.

  At this time, the gate of the Wang Mansion was bustling with people coming and going like a busy market, most of whom were young men dressed as officials. The shout from the gatekeeper attracted many curious onlookers, who whispered to each other in discussion.

  "Look, those two young masters must be from the Qin Uncle Treasure's family!"

  "That slightly taller one is Qin Sanlang, isn't he? The Hundred Riders Commander who can warm the emperor's hands with his palms?"

  "Unexpectedly, he has also joined forces with the King of Wei! The King of Wei's quick movements show that his strength has increased greatly!"

  ……

  The gatekeeper led the two of them to the back garden, where they saw a large number of young scholars gathered in groups of three or five in front of flowers and under pavilions. Some were chatting and laughing, while others were drinking and reciting poetry. The decorations of the Wei Wang Fu were not only luxurious but also exuded a strong literary atmosphere everywhere. Stone tablets and gateways could be seen everywhere, with many excerpts from ancient poets' excellent works. The layout of the back garden was also quite classical, reminiscent of the "Lanting" of old times.

  Along the way, Qin Mubai saw no less than three to five hundred scholar-officials and literati. What surprised him was that most of these people were very young, and it was rare to see a middle-aged person over thirty-five years old.

  "Second brother, this Wei Wang's social circle is quite interesting, mostly young people." Qin Mu Bai said.

  "Wei Wang has always been like this." Qin Bin said in a low voice, "Those who gather around him are mostly the sons and nephews of meritorious old ministers or the rising stars of new officials from the imperial examination. You should be able to think of why that is."

  Qin Mubai slightly furrowed his brow and thought carefully, and in his heart, he gradually became clear.

  Now the Tang Dynasty has a crown prince. No matter how much Li Chengqian disappointed the emperor and was not favored, he is still the real crown prince. According to convention, Emperor Taizong of Tang would definitely arrange many senior officials in the imperial court to work concurrently in the Eastern Palace to assist Crown Prince Li Chengqian. The officials were also bound by the traditional concept that "the crown prince is the foundation of the country", and most of them took a stance biased towards the crown prince. For example, Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng, two of the most influential ministers, had always been outspoken in their support for the crown prince.

  Restricted by etiquette and conventions, Wei Wang Li Tai found it difficult to win over the current high-ranking officials in the imperial court, so he set his sights on their descendants instead. The Tang Dynasty valued hereditary succession, and perhaps after a decade or two, these "princeling" members would rise to power and completely replace the old ministers. As for those young scholars and literati, it was even more unnecessary to mention them - when they first entered officialdom, they could get the patronage and promotion of the famous Wei Wang, who would not die for him with loyalty? By then, it would be his world.

  "The King of Wei's profound worries, cannot be said to be not far-reaching!" Qin Mu Bai smiled and said in a low voice.

  "The King of Wei has always been wise and foolish, with a deep and profound mind." Qin Bin said in one sentence, "Third brother, you must not underestimate him."

  "Got it, little brother."

  The two brothers strolled around the back garden for a while, and as they were not used to socializing with talented scholars, they didn't meet many acquaintances. After about half an hour, a loud voice rang out: "The King of Wei has arrived!"

  Hundreds of young people rushed to the back garden, many people stretched their necks and looked around with anxious expressions, afraid that they would not be able to occupy a good position if they were slow.

  This stream is obviously artificial, built for the amusement of winding water and flowing cups. A small creek with twists and turns runs through the entire back garden. On the creek bank, many strange pines and flowers are placed, everyone sits on a mat or on the ground, in front of them are several inkstones, and there is not a single lack of zithers and pipas.

  It was truly a grand gathering of literary figures.

  Plump Lee Tae has arrived, and there are too many people on the scene. He can't greet one by one. After a brief opening speech, he let everyone sit down. The elegant music started, and the atmosphere on the scene became relaxed and casual with a rich artistic atmosphere. The wine was poured immediately.

  Li Tai himself, however, did not hurry to sit down, but instead walked back and forth along the banks of Huaxi Creek, occasionally chatting with a few young people. Those who were lucky enough to talk to him mostly had an air of being honored. And others also mostly cast envious glances at them.

  Qin Mubai and his brother sat in an inconspicuous corner, exchanging a smile, silent.

  This Li Tai is indeed well-liked by everyone.

  As if unintentionally, Li Tai walked to the side of Qin Mu Bai brothers. At first glance, he saw them and exclaimed in surprise: "Ah! Aren't you the Qin family brothers? How can you sit in this humble position? Our family's slaves are ignorant, ignorant!"

  Li Tai, shaking off his stout body, quickly walked towards the two men with a bow: "Forgive me, forgive me! Please follow Xiao Wang to the upper house and sit down!"

  "Wei Wang has been polite. I'm not good at poetry, I just came to watch from the side, so it's not necessary, is it?" Qin Mu Bai replied with a bow.

  "Where are you talking about, Brother Mu Bai?" Li Tai smiled with narrowed eyes, pulling Qin Mu Bai's wrist and dragging him forward. "No way, no way! A top-notch elegant man like you can't hide in the creek tail! Come quickly and change seats with Little Wang!"

  A low murmur of surprise echoed throughout the room, and hundreds of eyes fixed on Qin Mu Bai at the same time.

  "So he was Qin Mu Bai!"

  .??，！