Chapter 76: Burning Bridges

Almost everyone present was startled by this turn of events.

The commoners gasped in surprise.

The Empress's expression turned gloomy.

The officials of Liangzhou were drenched in cold sweat, their legs trembling.

Zheng Yue Ru watched Shen Manqing on the flower float with a deathly pale face...

Had she gone mad?

This "Ten Ambush" was a rather grand piece, majestic and imposing in its momentum, with vivid artistic imagery. Its structure was complete, using musical narrative to perfectly depict the historically renowned Chu-Han Contention, primarily the Battle of Gaixia. Shen Manqing was already a master of the zither; amidst her surging, rhythmically tense zither music, set against the physical movements of the accompanying courtesans, the stirring melody of this piece left every listener feeling their blood boil and their spirits soar.

"Bravo!"

"This... this must be a martial piece?"

"Lady Manqing is truly talented!"

Since ancient times, zither music could be divided into two categories: one was the literary piece, and the other was the martial piece. If the previous "Prosperous Longyan" was a literary piece, then this "Ten Ambush" was a martial piece. They should have been incongruous and unrelated, yet today, under the interpretation of the young women from Fengming Tower, the transition was natural. Though there was a moment of abruptness, people soon realized the truth!

Shen Manqing and the others were portraying a person of high status encountering an ambush from all sides, surrounded by murderous intent, with assassins lurking nearby and battle cries rising one after another in the distance.

This was a decisive battle!

Liu Zheng had once taught this piece, "Ten Ambush," to Shen Manqing at Fengming Tower. Today, it was brought out once more, and paired with the dance, the live performance effect was explosive.

"Bravo!"

"Thrilling!"

The scholars and commoners cheered incessantly.

But what about the Empress's side?

Everyone was taken aback!

From "Prosperous Longyan" to "Ten Ambush," what kind of implication did this Fengming Tower want to express? Could it be mocking the current Longyan Dynasty for being exhausted and on the verge of collapse? Or was it cursing the Empress for returning in glory, yet being surrounded by murderous intent?

Regardless, had Fengming Tower grown the guts of a leopard?

Chen Ping was so frightened he knelt on the ground, cold sweat pouring down: "Empress, this matter has nothing to do with my Liangzhou Prefecture, Your Majesty!"

"How insolent!"

"Whose house is this Fengming Tower?"

"Rebellious and wicked, their hearts deserve to be punished!"

The other officials also beat their chests and stamped their feet, kneeling down after Chen Ping. Liu Dahao also had a mournful face, cursing inwardly: Zheng, what exactly are you doing? How are you making me, your father, deal with this?

The palace maids and Eunuchs were also terrified.

The Empress, Zheng Fu, saw her gloomy expression slowly clear, and she smiled faintly: "A good piece, isn't it? Look, many people are cheering."

The crowd was filled with fear and kept kowtowing.

The Empress said calmly: "Everyone rise. I am not so petty. My Liangzhou has had a rugged folk style since ancient times; since I have returned to visit my hometown, I shall follow the local customs. Today is the Lantern Festival, and Fengming Tower has presented such a fine piece. Reward them!"

Chen Ping wiped away his cold sweat and then stood up, shouting: "The Empress is benevolent!"

The crowd roared and followed suit.

At this moment, the final flower float of Fengming Tower finally drove slowly by. As the music ended, the whole city cheered without stop. Today, Fengming Tower's performance of one literary and one martial piece was truly marvelous. In terms of the program alone, it was definitely much stronger than the Lanxiang Troupe's Court Grand Dance.

"Young Master Liu, you are truly willing to take risks!"

At this time, Du Biao laughed heartily as he looked over, sincerely cupping his hands to Liu Zheng in great admiration.

Was this the "newborn calf not fearing the tiger"?

Was he truly not afraid of offending the Empress?

Liu Zheng also smiled: "Third Leader, you flatter me. The Lanxiang Troupe's Court Grand Dance was something I had to deal with carefully, which is why I had to burn my bridges!"

"Manqing admiring you is truly a waste of her eyes!"

Zheng Yue Ru glared fiercely at Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng was left between laughter and tears. He knew what Zheng Yue Ru meant: if the Empress were enraged by today's program, Shen Manqing would be the first to bear the brunt of the fury. But she knew the danger of today's program and still accepted it calmly, performing it so perfectly. On one hand, it was truly for Liu Zheng, her kindred spirit; on the other, it was her own pursuit of art.

Fortunately, what put Zheng Yue Ru at ease was that the Empress's reward arrived immediately.

"Fengming Tower's program is novel and surging; Shen Manqing's art is the best in Liangzhou, a master of Longyan. Reward five hundred gold, and promote her to Court Zitherist!"

Zheng Yue Ru was incredibly excited and knelt to thank the Empress on behalf of Shen Manqing.

A Court Zitherist was already equivalent to an official position! And the rank was not low—a Sixth Rank Court Zitherist. This meant that after tonight's performance, Shen Manqing could not only take the title of Liangzhou's top courtesan but also completely clear away the influence her father's exile had on her.

As her best friend, how could Zheng Yue Ru not be happy for her?

Liu Zheng had actually bet correctly!

Shen Manqing was also teary-eyed: "This commoner thanks the Empress."

The entire venue followed with continuous cheers.

The Empress rewarding Shen Manqing individually made her attitude very clear: tonight's top courtesan title belonged to no one but her.

"By the Empress's oral decree, summon Young Master Liu Zheng of Fengming Tower and Zheng Yue Ru of the Zheng Family to appear!"

Just as people had begun to revel again, the Eunuch had already run down from the third floor.

Zheng Yue Ru looked anxious, but Liu Zheng took a deep breath. Wasn't he risking his life precisely to see this Empress? This act of burning his bridges—if played well, it would be earth-shattering; if played poorly, it would mean bloodshed, or even being smashed to pieces. Fortunately, for now, he had already succeeded halfway!

The two followed the Eunuch as they walked. The Eunuch spoke in a shrill voice about matters to note, such as how to kneel, how to pay respects, how to speak to the Empress, and that they were not allowed to look up unless the Empress commanded.

The two kept it in their hearts.

On the top floor of the flower tower, the Empress had returned to her Phoenix Carriage, with the Liangzhou officials accompanying her. The Eunuch first had the two wait there, then walked step-by-step back to the Empress's side before shouting at the top of his voice: "Proclaiming Liu Zheng and Zheng Yue Ru to appear!"

The two walked in together and knelt on the ground.

"Empress, may you live for a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years!"

Liu Zheng felt that at this moment, the nearly one hundred pairs of eyes on the top floor were all focused on his back, increasing the pressure on him tenfold.

Then, there was a silence.

A silence that made one's heart flutter.

Empress Zheng Fu looked smilingly at the two young people kneeling, and spoke slowly: "I fear that if this Ten Ambush is played a few more times, I might not even last a hundred years."

Everyone was shocked.

Liu Zheng also hurriedly said: "Empress, the 'Ten Ambush' is merely an artistic work, please do not take it to heart..."

Zheng Yue Ru was so frightened she dared not speak.

The Empress said indifferently: "Young Master of the Liu Family, raise your head."

Liu Zheng took a deep breath and raised his head calmly; having walked in, this was the first time he dared to meet the gaze of the current Empress, a being who stood above ten thousand people, with only one person above her. Although the Empress was already over forty, she was indeed a rare Beauty, looking graceful and luxurious, with skin like jade, appearing to be in her early thirties; it was hard to imagine that this woman already had a son of fifteen or sixteen. The Empress's gaze was sharp, and by her appearance, she was no ordinary person; she was definitely not the benevolent and righteous person Zheng Yue Ru had described...

Seeing that Liu Zheng still dared to size her up, the Empress sneered and barked: "Bold Liu Zheng, what if I were to punish you?"

The whole room was startled; Chen Ping, Liu Dahao, and the others were so frightened they knelt down again.

Liu Zheng, however, was not afraid; he met the Empress's gaze and smiled faintly:

"Empress, this commoner believes that art must be free from the slightest shackles to produce masterpieces!"

"What should be passed down through the ages should not be that cumbersome, complex, and unoriginal Court Grand Dance!"

"Since ancient times, the thirty states of Xiliang have been filled with grievances among the elite. The wealthy patrons manipulate everything, while the talented scholars are pushed to the margins. Fearing the Literary Inquisition, they avoid the seats of power, and all their writings are merely for the sake of earning a living. Where are the five hundred men of Tian Heng? Could it be that they have all returned to be made Marquises?"

"If our Longyan Dynasty lacks such grandeur, how could it have been passed down for over a thousand years?"

He met her gaze calmly, his words flowing like a poem.

In Zheng Fu's eyes, a flash of surprise could not help but appear.

"Hahahaha, good, a very good 'Fearing the Literary Inquisition, they avoid the seats of power, and all their writings are merely for the sake of earning a living'!"

Zheng Fu laughed heartily: "A very good 'Since ancient times, the thirty states of Xiliang have been filled with grievances among the elite'! In my view, all the young people of the entire Longyan Dynasty are not as good as you!"

For a dignified Empress to act like this could already be considered disregarding etiquette and being unrestrained. But she still could not help but want to laugh. The others present, however, had ugly expressions. With this poem, Liu Zheng had almost insulted everyone present! This world-renowned Liangzhou was being held, divided, managed, and poisoned by so-called elites who had no insight, no ideals, and even less integrity, who spent their days colluding with and excluding one another, and whose profession was to fight for fame and profit...

Conversely, the true scholars, those who truly pursued academics and were well-versed in ancient and modern times, stayed far away, not daring to speak or voice their opinions; even if some wrote books, it was only to feed their families.

In this way, how could civilization progress?

How could the country progress?

How could the people's livelihood progress?

Although there had never been a "Literary Inquisition" in the history of the Longyan Dynasty, there were many who were punished for their words, especially those who offended the imperial family, who were often exiled, beheaded, or had their nine generations executed; thus, Liu Zheng's use of this metaphor was not inappropriate.

By using art to speak of academics, he highlighted Liu Zheng's spirit of daring to speak, worrying about the country and the people, and fearing nothing.

"Good!"

Even Zheng Yue Ru's eyes lit up, and she looked at Liu Zheng's profile at this moment with infatuation.

She suddenly thought of Shen Manqing today; following such a Young Master Liu, even if she were to be shattered to pieces today, so what? They only wanted to live a life of passion!

For a moment, in her eyes, Liu Zheng had become so imposing, so romantic...

The Empress laughed for a while before realizing she had lost her composure, so she looked at Chen Ping beside her with amusement and covered her mouth with a smile: "Inspector, what do you think?"

Chen Ping was suffering bitterly in his heart.

He had rushed and hurried, suppressing him openly and secretly, yet he still let this Liu Zheng steal the spotlight today; at this point, who couldn't see that the Empress had no intention of punishing Liu Zheng at all! And not only was she not punishing him, she might even favor him!

A thousand thoughts raced through Chen Ping's mind as he stepped out, about to speak.

No matter what, he had to acknowledge this "son-in-law" Liu Zheng today!

The Empress suddenly looked at Zheng Yue Ru and smiled: "You must be Yue Ru, right? Raise your head, hmm, you do look a bit like I did when I was young. Are you betrothed to anyone? Yue Ru, what do you think of this Young Master of the Liu Family?"

"Ah?"

Zheng Yue Ru's delicate body trembled, her face instantly flushed red, and she was at a loss.

Chen Ping almost missed his step and tumbled down the stairs.

What the hell?

Is this an imperial marriage decree?