Chapter 224

Qian Chen didn't want to pay him any mind at all. Who are you calling Li Bai? Is Li Bai someone you can call? The noisy sound in half of the Chenxiang Pavilion instantly dropped by eight degrees. Qian Chen still had a drunken and hazy look, leaned out half his body, and used a golden goblet to scoop wine from the Dragon Pool.

It seemed he wanted to scoop up the moon reflected in the Dragon Pool as well.

The small table in front of him was already a mess, with several wine pots overturned on the table, not a drop of residual wine left inside.

He Zhizhang's beard was covered in wine. Hearing the Profound Emperor's call, he tugged at Qian Chen's leg, pretending to be half-drunk and half-sober, secretly watching the fun.

Qian Chen acted as if he hadn't heard, but the Profound Emperor laughed, "He really doesn't treat himself as an outsider!"

"Gao Lishi, go call him and tell him to pay off the wine money he owes me with a poem. If this poem cannot move the Imperial Consort, drive him out of Chang'an City tomorrow!"

"Yes!" Gao Lishi bowed and replied.

Qian Chen leaned against the front of the pavilion and looked back to see Gao Lishi's honest and loyal face—ugly rejection, Qian Chen turned his head away and didn't look at him. Gao Lishi squatted in front of him, "Wake up... Oh my! Can you still write poetry when you're this drunk?" Gao Lishi frowned.

Seeing Yan Shu, who was beside him, smiled and pointed to the light purple grass outside the hall, "Isn't there Sobering Grass there?"

Gao Lishi's eyes lit up and he ordered, "Someone, go pick me a handful of Sobering Grass!"

Seeing Yan Shu laughed and stood up, "Why bother others? General Gao, I will go pick it for you!"

Having said that, he couldn't wait to run toward the cluster of light purple grass.

Sobering Grass is the hardest to preserve; half a day after leaving the roots, it will dissipate that fishy stench, and thus lose its ability to sober. This grass must be watered with fine wine; if it weren't for this spring of wine, the palace wouldn't be able to afford such a large medicinal garden.

Gao Lishi didn't care about Seeing Yan Shu's enthusiasm.

Ever since the Profound Emperor ascended the throne, there have been plenty of people wanting to curry favor with him! This little thing is truly commonplace.

He Zhizhang leaned over and said, "Gao Lishi, if you wake him up, he won't be able to write the most marvelous poem! A poet's talent, you know! It's usually suppressed in the heart, and only when encountering wine can it be emitted and turned into an eternal masterpiece. If you wake him up, aren't you cutting off his talent?"

"What do I care what poem he writes?" Gao Lishi sneered.

"Anyway, the one driven out of Chang'an will be him, not me!"

He Zhizhang shook his head, "Gao Lishi! Gao Lishi... Today is His Majesty's birthday, what a good day! Everyone is so happy. If Li Bai presents a few sour poems and ruins the mood, wouldn't that be a pity?"

"If he is allowed to finish a poem properly, who knows, it might become an eternal masterpiece."

"When the time comes, the Imperial Consort will be happy, and His Majesty will be happy... Don't you want His Majesty to be happy? You are not keeping to your duty!"

Gao Lishi sighed, shook Qian Chen, and called, "Li Bai!"

Only then did Qian Chen turn his head, carrying a bit of madness. Although his eyes were a bit intoxicated, Gao Lishi couldn't be sure how sober this kid actually was. Qian Chen had seven parts of detachment and three parts of arrogance on his face, and asked, "Are you calling me?"

"It's His Majesty calling you!" Gao Lishi said anxiously.

"Then why doesn't he come himself?"

Gao Lishi was so angry he was confused, and cursed, "Then why don't I take your head to see him?"

"Head?" Qian Chen touched his head and said, "That won't do. Without a head, how can I drink wine?"

"You still know how to drink wine!" Gao Lishi said speechlessly.

"Don't talk about other things first, what about the poem you promised me?"

Qian Chen suddenly sat up and said, "A poem about a beauty... I'll write one for you right now..." Qian Chen looked thoughtful, looking at the Xingqinggong in the night outside the Chenxiang Pavilion. In front of the Hua'e Xianghui Building opposite the Dragon Pool, countless men and women in gorgeous clothes were coming and going, admiring the lanterns, listening to monks chanting scriptures, and watching the performances of the Pear Garden disciples...

Many nobles were even dancing themselves, accompanied by singing and dancing.

This prosperous scene under the night sky, accompanied by laughter, reached his ears.

Immersed in this night scene, Qian Chen patted his thigh and sang in rhythm, "The Han Emperor valued beauty and thought of the fallen country, having sought for many years in the imperial domain but could not find it. The Yang family had a daughter just grown, raised in the deep boudoir and unknown to others. Born with natural beauty, it was hard to abandon, and once selected, she was by the monarch's side. A glance back and a hundred charms were born, the powder and black of the six palaces lost their color..."

Gao Lishi's shocked face collapsed!

He couldn't care about his dignity, reached out to cover Qian Chen's mouth, and looked back in panic.

There were restrictions in the Xingqinggong to slow down spiritual senses and thoughts, otherwise, wouldn't any guard with a little cultivation be able to eavesdrop on the Profound Emperor?

Therefore, the restrictions in the palace all had the ability to suppress the sensitive ears and eyes of cultivators.

In addition, in the Chenxiang Pavilion, the Prince of Ning was playing the flute for the Profound Emperor, so Gao Lishi was very fortunate to see that the Profound Emperor had not heard the poem Qian Chen recited, but was listening to the Prince of Ning playing the horizontal flute there.

Gao Lishi broke into a cold sweat and looked back, "You're crazy! You dare to write this kind of poem?"

Qian Chen thought to himself, I haven't even recited the one about 'Xue Wang Chen Zui Shou Xing' to you yet!

You can't even stand the Song of Everlasting Regret, Gao Lishi, you're a bit timid!

"You'd better just write a random one and get out of Chang'an quickly! If you stay any longer, I won't be able to save your life. Even the face of the Prefecture Lord won't work!" Gao Lishi sighed.

While Gao Lishi was looking back to observe the Profound Emperor's expression, Qian Chen had already taken the brush handed over by He Zhizhang and asked, "Gao Lishi, you said it. As long as the Imperial Consort is happy, I can have whatever I want?"

Gao Lishi turned his head upon hearing this and saw that Qian Chen was already rolling up his sleeves there.

"You're not drunk?"

"I'm drunk!" Qian Chen looked like he was sleepwalking, his drunken eyes hazy, "But when I hear about wealth and glory, I'm half-sober!"

"Can you write a poem properly now?" Gao Lishi said helplessly.

Qian Chen laughed drunkenly, "Were the previous words empty talk?"

Gao Lishi said helplessly, "Not empty talk, His Majesty has always been generous. But you can take advantage of His Majesty's happiness to ask for some rewards, but if you ask for too much, I won't be able to save you."

Qian Chen took off his coat and spread it on the ground, then laughed at Gao Lishi, "Take off my boots!" He then stretched his feet in front of Gao Lishi. Gao Lishi said anxiously, "You... you really don't know what's good for you..." But Qian Chen had already dipped the brush in the ink ground by He Zhizhang beside him. The brush in his hand was like a sword, and he wrote on the white clothes with the fluency of sword movement.

"Clouds think of clothes, flowers think of faces..."

Under the Chenxiang Pavilion, the restrictions left over from the Empress's era caused flowers to bloom in all four seasons, and the peonies that the Tang people loved most swayed in the wind.

Qian Chen chanted in a low, long voice, "Spring breeze brushes the railing, dew is thick and fragrant..."

Gao Lishi held his breath, not knowing if Qian Chen's bad taste had flared up, bullying him, an honest man. He only heard the first half of the poem and knew that this poem would definitely be able to touch the Imperial Consort Yang Taizhen, and even spread this scene through the ages.

He sighed in his heart, just consider it fulfilling his promise!

He reached out to take off Qian Chen's two black-leather six-seam boots.

Qian Chen laughed secretly, "That's it! The Qingping Yue without Lishi taking off the boots has no soul... It's not that I, Qian Chen, am deliberately tormenting you, it's all to pay tribute to Li Taibai!"

He chanted the poem that branded the ages and made beauty immortal, his brush moving like clouds and smoke, continuing to write on the outer garment...

"If not seen at the head of Qunyu Mountain, we would meet under the moon at the Yao Terrace!"

Writing to this point, Qian Chen paused his brush and continued to write in the blank space—

"Famous flowers and the fallen country both rejoice, the monarch watches with a smile. Explaining the infinite hatred of the spring breeze, leaning on the railing north of the Chenxiang Pavilion."

He Zhizhang was drunk watching from the side, Seeing Yan Shu returned with the Sobering Grass but stopped at the door, Ning Qingchen poked her head to look, slightly lost in thought. Even Zhang Xu couldn't help but secretly crawl up and poke his head to peek...

In the clouds and smoke of the brush, it seemed that the side profile of Yang Taizhen looking back and smiling appeared.

It also seemed to be the drunken prosperity of this Great Tang... The prosperous age is like a beauty, and the prime of life is like water that cannot be kept.