Chapter 373

Zhu went out for a while, and the dishes were served quickly. The clean-cut young waiter in white clothes gently placed the three dishes down; the king saw, coincidentally, exactly the three that had been crossed out.

Did I get them wrong? This young master said not these three.

In reply to the young master, it's not wrong. The chief steward said eating more vegetables is good for health; since you didn't order these three, she sent them.

Dawang: ……

Dawang went up and immediately crossed out the three vegetarian dishes; the rebellious chief steward promptly added them back.

Wei Shen laughed uncontrollably, "I told you, how could you order these green greens!"

Dawang, speechless, raised his hand first, "Let's try it, we're out to have fun, be casual, eat more…"

He said he would try, and indeed took a bite; others had no chance to eat the produce of the Pasture Base, a bowl of green beans also earned endless praise. When the meat arrived, conversation ceased directly, no exclamations left.

Only when the sound of a zither came from outside did Xie Tu stand up and push open the two large doors of their private room, then realizing the outside had changed.

Yellow translucent gauze hung down from the third-floor ceiling; now these gauzes sway lightly, and the vaguely visible stage instantly took on an ethereal air.

Dawang boldly grabbed a lamb shank and went to the outdoor terrace, stepping on the railing without forgetting to take a big bite of the lamb shank; after finishing, he felt something was off, "I guess something's missing—song and dance need to go with alcohol!"

Xie Tu saw his appearance and showed an expression just like Xie Yuan's. He instinctively picked up the napkin beside the table, "What to do, this well-behaved kid striking such a pose looks like a Mountain King!"

Wei Shen had already called the waiter standing outside, "Bring the drink menu!"

The waiter brought it up, and Dawang ordered, "One pot of supreme Youzhou white!" To try the white liquor that isn't allowed at home.

The waiter lowered his head: "None."

Dawang also had no doubt: "Red Dust Nine Grape Wine!"

"None."

"Red Dust Eight?"

"Also none."

Dawang finally looked up at him, "Just opened and already out of stock? Why write it then?"

No, young master, the chief steward said that for Heavenly Character No. 1 they assign just one kind of alcohol, which is this.

Dawang saw it was the cheapest "Yellow Foam Top," namely beer.

Dawang knew this liquor; it was his import, the cheapest on the list, with four or five varieties.

Dawang fumed, "Then give me the most expensive one in this list!"

When the chief steward saw, he again had the waiter swap the big barrel for a small one, sighing, "If it weren't for fear of ruining the sign… with no one else around I'd water it down; anyway he doesn't know quality, this beer also has eight degrees."

Before the liquor arrived, Dawang heard drums outside and the performance began.

The drums stopped, a desolate xiao sounded, then a melodious flute; amidst the gasps of onlookers, a dancer in conspicuous robes swung down from the third floor~

That colorful, flowing cape almost slapped Dawang's face; the room filled with exclamations.

Dawang stepped back; those dancers, wearing stage makeup and flowing, lively robes, pulled on the ropes hanging from the third-floor ceiling and spun and flew in the air.

Some held pipas, some held flutes to play sideways.

When they flew closer, you could see their faces and hear the clear notes of their ankle bells.

The country bumpkins on the first floor were astonished, thinking them heavenly beings!

They had never seen anything like this!

They had never seen such exquisite and gorgeous stage makeup!

They had never seen such graceful dance moves!

They had never seen… such sturdy wires.

Xie Tu, true to his Xie clan lineage, while others were stunned by performances surpassing those of the Great Jin by many folds, only he worried whether the rope would break.

Dawang thought: "…Maybe it's because there's a pool below."

Xie Tu was shocked·JPG

Dawang looked at his clueless face, finally couldn't help laughing, "Just kidding, the rope is actually quite strong~"

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The entertainment of the Great Jin people is actually barren; first-time viewers stare blankly in astonishment, while customers who came before and are now returning for a second viewing can't help but start unconsciously cheering.

The dancers spun and floated in the air for a while, with four landing on the water stage.

The music changed to konghou and pipa; the dancers began to display their talents on stage—leg lifts, turns, knee turns, pipa rebounds, and several meters of silk flying in the air dazzled the eyes.

The chief steward's opening dance referenced the choreography of "Skill Music Heaven"; after the dancers left, the audience remained lost in dream, not yet awakened. The huge yellow gauze floated in the air, just like the desert wind and sand dancing.

When the people came to, the konghou had already fallen silent.

Only the sound of Dawang gnawing on a lamb shank could be heard in the Heavenly Character No. 1 private room; Wei Shen, frustrated by his lack of competitiveness, "With so many beautiful sisters, can't you put down the lamb shank?"

Dawang: "What's the matter? I've already seen it all."

Wei Shen: ……

Lu Xing came to, "This music is really strange, a tune I've never heard before, somewhat like…"

Xie Tu added, "From the Western Regions?"

"Exactly! Exactly! Exotic style!"

Everyone was amazed; Lu Jia exclaimed even more, "Looking at that dancer, she seems like a Hu woman; turns out Hu women from the Western Regions are this beautiful!"

The king gulped down a mouthful of lamb leg, "With makeup, find a master to paint a bit and you can be this beautiful too!"

"Do the girls over there wear such gorgeous dresses?" The red, blue, yellow—so many vivid gauzes combined together—are actually this beautiful!

Great King: "Fake. The Western Regions' Flying Celestial Dance—do you understand it's imagination? It's not that Western Regions dance girls dress like this; it's artistic expression. I, the king, have been on a western campaign and tell you: those who can wear linen clothing are already doing well; most people in summer still wear sheepskin, and only nobles can wear silk." How can the gauze be so bright? What are you thinking! Even my father emperor's dance girls didn't wear such!

Lu Jia: ……Disillusioned.

Great King summed it up for them: "You think it looks good, but it's all the Chief Manager splashing money to package it. What's beautiful about the yellow sand dancing? You get a mouthful of sand—stop yearning for it." He returned from a western expedition through the Jade Gate, covered in dust and dirt.

Xie Tu was speechless: "Your Highness, do you still want fame and fortune?"

Great King cut him off, immediately changing his tone: "Beautiful! Just beautiful! Just watch the dance. Senior Brother Xie, don't you want to write a poem or something?"

Xie Tu: ……

But as for dancing, the fact is that Great Jin dance girls currently can't compare to Western Regions women; the Chief Manager only looks at skill level, and in the shop it really is the Western Regions women's domain.

The second program was the Western Regions whirl dance; they arranged a grand dance formation, the Western Regions women's dance posture, lively and fervent, could fully boost the atmosphere; as they whirled together, the stage trembled, the water in the pool below rippled, light shone upon it, golden sparkles shimmering, beautiful beyond words.

The entire stage was alive, unrestrained and fervent, vitality exalted.

After the piece ended, applause and cheers continued without cease.

Xie Tu sighed: "Spring River Flower Moon Night will surely make money."

Great King smiled contentedly: "And there's more!"

He called the attendant to move the food to the outdoor terrace; next, there was still the Rainbow Garment Dance and a solo performance, everyone drinking a bit of wine while watching the song and dance, making it more leisurely.

It was that beer that disappointed the Great King; the taste was strange, really not to his liking, whereas Wei Shen appreciated it quite a bit.

Although the Great King's signature offerings here are the Northern Border–style whirl and Flying Celestial dances, he also has the popular Jiangnan styles.

Moreover, the Chief Manager has further developed it; her stagecraft is peerless!

The Great Jin still lacks the concept of stagecraft, and the dance girls' makeup is also plain and unchanging.

But the Great King has so many cosmetics; to promote them she will also work harder. She paints the dance girls' stage makeup either radiantly glamorous or sweet and gentle, in any case avoiding the phenomenon of facial features blurring into a mess on stage.

The Chief Manager's target isn't just male customers; she wants both male and female customers, and she also wants to exploit the noble ladies.

The performance of Spring River Flower Moon Night is truly ahead of its time in the Great Jin; no one would doubt that it won't become popular and famous under heaven.

Now the only obstacle is silver.

However, these few people heard that the minimum consumption for an ordinary private room is only eight hundred taels, and they became considerably happier.

They all spoke up, asking the Great King for a membership invitation card.

These few, though they come from those families, just haven't brought much ready cash from their studies abroad; eight hundred taels of consumption is not an unattainable figure for the Xie and Lu clans—they can take turns hosting! Today isn't over yet; several people have already planned the next time.

Only Wei Shen also joined in the happiness, leaving the Great King puzzled: "……Cousin, do you also have eight hundred taels? Impossible, you must be in the red!"

Wei Shen: ……

He looked at Xie Tu, and Xie Tu immediately understood and promised: "Next time I'll call you Young Master Wei."

Wei Shen was satisfied.

Seeing this, the Great King rummaged around on himself, after a moment produced a black wood-carved card with a serial number, and directly handed it to Xie Tu.

"Senior Brother Xie has also been helping out a lot at our newspaper lately; this I'm giving you. This card gets a twenty percent discount—it's the highest privilege membership card!"

Upon hearing it was wages, Xie Tu didn't decline, after all he had just been assigned a new poetry-writing task.

The front of the card is engraved with large seal-script characters of "Spring River Flower Moon Night"; the back is engraved with serial number 0003, indicating that the Great King has already issued the third one.

This time Wei Shen also had an opinion: "What about Cousin's?"

Great King: "Cousin still lacks the twenty percent silver for the discount?"

Wei Shen was just about to say that here consumption easily runs into thousands of taels, saving two hundred taels is not insignificant, when the Great King said: "Cousin is lacking the remaining eighty percent!"

The Wei brothers started fighting each other right then.

Xie Tu: ……Seems like I'm getting used to it.

Lu brothers: ……So you're that kind of Great King.

The next issue of the newspaper featured a short poem that attracted the attention of Xie Tu's followers;

Ten thousand phoenix bells shake the fiery clouds,

The rainbow robe blanket rolls up the heavenly light.

The pipa suddenly roars like thunder,

Turning the waist, I suddenly feel the Heavenly Mountain small. (1)

--- Inscribed on Spring River Flower Moon Night · Xie Tu

【(1) Note: The Western Regions women's spinning dance line revised】

The name "Spring River Flower Moon Night" spread overnight across the Northern Border, then throughout the Great Jin.

The Great King also published in that issue's newspaper front-page headline the news of the Northern Border's impending imperial examination to select talent, and notices were posted on the streets, each bearing even the great seal of the Northern Border King.

The Great King adopted their mature procedure system, starting with local examinations at the county level, called the children's exam; passing qualifies one to take the provincial exam.

The provincial exam is held by prefecture, every three years; after passing, one proceeds to the metropolitan exam, presided over by the Chief Sacrificial Wine Officer of the Northern Border Academy.

After passing the metropolitan exam, the final stage is the palace exam at the Northern Border King's mansion.

Those who rank among the top in the palace exam are directly appointed to office.

From then on, social ascent; a single achievement brings fame known under heaven.

Next spring will be the first imperial examination; the Great King will directly hold the exam in the Northern Border, skipping the children's and provincial exams. Moreover, the Northern Border does not restrict talent by format; anyone from Jin may come to take the exam.

The Northern Border exploded with news; the report spread southward, and the aristocracy of the Great Jin also exploded.

Although now only those with eligibility, or rather only the aristocracy can take the exam, I've heard that in Youzhou even elementary education is now accessible to all!

Their great aristocracy, face and interests have been overturned by the Northern Border King; now they must even take exams together with peasants' children? Only then can they become officials?!

Do those mud-legged peasants deserve it?!

In the Great Jin, every gathering—elegant assemblies, flower meetings, poetry meetings—no matter what kind of gathering, they all curse the Northern Border King. Although the world is in chaos and the people suffer, this does not affect the aristocracy's drunken revelry.

All literary gatherings have turned into meetings criticizing the Northern Border King. There's no way; nowadays, anyone who has read books, each and every one, is from the aristocracy.

Even if they are a fallen scholar-gentry clan, that last bit of lingering glory is still their pride.

Now the Northern Border King has opened up the heavens for them—how could this be allowed!

Moreover, isn't the frequency of the Xie clan's appearances in the Northern Border Weekly too high? Xie Tu even wrote a little poem in today's newspaper—what does this mean?

All factions are paying attention to the Northern Border; although this newspaper is sold furtively among the common folk, everyone who ought to see it has seen it.

Baili Jin truly did not disappoint the Great King's expectations; he indeed turned his gaze to Chen Commandery at the very first moment.

He finally realized that the famed Xie clan might have betrayed him.

When the people from Chang'an, after a long and arduous journey, reach Chen Commandery, disappointment is certain—not worth mentioning.

The Great King didn't give the scholar-gentry a chance to plot anything big; the next issue of the newspaper said that, at the end or beginning of the month, when envoys from the Xiongnu and the Western Regions came to pay tribute, the Northern Border would hold a formal grand military review, welcoming all under heaven to come watch.

The newspaper said that once you pass Luo River Pass, you can reach Youzhou City within at most five days—so everyone can come with peace of mind.

At present, there are still about ten days left; transportation in the Northern Border is good, and many people from various places can make it in time—indeed, quite a few have been moved to go.

Among them are fans of the Xie clan, both old and young; these two went to the Northern Border and never came out again—just what charm does the Northern Border possess?

Furthermore, the timing of this Northern Border military review is also interesting—did they deliberately wait until the Western Regions and Xiongnu people arrived before holding it?

Anyone with clear eyes could immediately sense that something was different.

What to do? Want to go watch! Want to see the invincible Xuanjia cavalry that the newspaper hypes up! After all, in today's society, getting a chance to see troops is not easy; when you do see troops, it can only mean your homeland has become a battlefield.

Loving a lively scene might be imprinted in human genes.

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Notes:

About beer tips:

《Records of Brewing in Alcohol Countries》

The barbarians call it 'pilu jiang',

The Han translate it as 'malt soul soup'.

Most strangely, the Western Regions' Persian language translates to 'mo shang huang'.

I changed the 'huang' character in 'mo shang huang' to the 'huang' character meaning 'yellow'.

Anyway, this king's wine is just imported……