Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The 12th Princess likes this betrothal gift very much

The betrothal gift must be delivered to the East Gate of the Imperial City by the Prince Consort himself on the day before the wedding.

It would be stingy if the royal family gave the Prince Consort money to buy the betrothal gift and then kept it in the royal treasury. Therefore, except for the living things in the betrothal gift, as well as the phoenix crown and wedding dress, all other things must be given away.

First, the civil and military nobles who were named entered the palace one by one to congratulate the princess on her wedding. When they left, they passed by the East Gate of the Imperial City and took a portion of the betrothal gift away.

Then the eunuchs and maids with ranks in the palace also took a portion of the betrothal gift away.

Until all the betrothal gifts were taken away.

In order to avoid the embarrassment of not having enough betrothal gifts, the Prince Consort himself and his father must send the gift list to the Zongzheng Temple in advance.

The Zongzheng Temple determined the list of nobles, officials, eunuchs, and maids who received the betrothal gifts according to the gift list provided by the Prince Consort, and how much each person could take away at that time.

Therefore, it was right for the parents to ask Duoduo to buy more, because if the betrothal gifts were too shabby, people would laugh at them on the first day of the wedding.

But Zhu Tangxi and Xie Yan didn't care, and Zhu Tangxi didn't even bother to remind them of this.

"Saint, the Xie family's gift list has been sent to the Zongzheng Temple."

Li Chang, the son-in-law of the Princess of Jin and the Minister of the Zongzheng Temple, came forward with a gift list.

A eunuch took it and walked a few steps to hand it over to Empress Dowager Ye.

Empress Dowager Ye took a general look at it, smiled and said to Zhu Tangxi next to her: "The betrothal gifts are quite generous, and the Xie family seems to have spent a lot of money."

Zhu Tangxi said: "I have seen through it a long time ago. No matter how splendid the betrothal gifts are, they are not as good as living well by myself."

"Hey, there is also a piano score here, and it is ranked after the wedding dress and the wild goose." Empress Dowager Ye felt very novel.

Prince Consort Li Chang explained: "That is the Duliu Pu compiled by Prince Consort Xie's grandfather after decades of hard work. It contains three lost ancient songs, completes seven incomplete ancient songs, and records twelve self-created piano songs."

Zhu Tangxi asked curiously: "What ancient songs are there?"

Li Chang said: "I haven't seen the real thing yet, but it is said that it includes Guangling San."

"Guangling San?" Queen Mother Ye and Zhu Tangxi were both surprised.

Li Chang said, "That's what Prince Consort Xie said. He also said that the book has been given to Yang Linzhi, the music teacher of the Imperial Academy, for correction."

Zhu Tangxi hurriedly said, "Sister-in-law, quickly summon Yang Linzhi!"

"Why are you so anxious?" Empress Dowager Ye said with a smile, "Just now you said that the amount of the betrothal gift didn't matter, why are you so impatient now?"

Zhu Tangxi said angrily, "Oh, it's different. I don't care about yellow and white things, but this is the piano score of "Guangling San". Liu Lang's family used "Guangling San" as a betrothal gift. This matter will surely spread throughout the world. I wonder how many women will envy it."

Empress Dowager Ye said, "Okay, okay, I'll do as you wish and summon Yang Linzhi immediately."

Yang Linzhi was in the Imperial Academy at the moment, ready to come as soon as he was summoned.

He probably guessed why the Empress Dowager summoned him, so he brought the "Duliu Pu" directly.

Empress Dowager Ye glanced at it and handed it to the anxious Zhu Tangxi.

"Is the "Guangling San" in the book true or false?" Empress Dowager Ye asked.

Yang Linzhi said: "It can be basically determined that it is the lost "Nie Zheng Assassinated the King of Han". But whether "Nie Qu" is "Guangling San" has never been determined, but the mainstream believes that the two songs are the same."

"Mainstream?" Queen Mother Ye didn't understand.

Zhu Tangxi was knowledgeable: "The saying that "Nie Zheng Assassinated the King of Han" and "Guangling San" are the same song with different names has existed since the pre-Song Dynasty. In recent decades, many related papers have been published, and the mainstream agrees with the view. Because both songs have been lost, no one objects. Even if someone objects, it is impossible to confirm or falsify it."

Yang Linzhi said: "Even if it is not "Guangling San", it is a great achievement for Prince Consort Xie's grandfather to find "Nie Zheng Assassinated the King of Han" and complete it. Moreover, this song has been completed so seamlessly that it is impossible to tell which is the original song and which is added later."

"Can you complete it like this?" Queen Mother Ye asked.

Yang Linzhi said: "I may be able to do it, but it is not something that can be achieved overnight."

Empress Dowager Ye was a little curious: "How can such a great man remain anonymous for so many years? He is not even famous at all."

Yang Linzhi said: "Reporting to the saint, the grandfather of Prince Xie was also famous in Luoyang. Mr. Xie lived in Prince Tao's mansion for several months. During that time, His Royal Highness Prince Tao often entertained guests, and every time he asked Mr. Xie to play the piano to entertain. I was also invited, and I admire Mr. Xie's piano skills very much."

Zhu Tangxi smiled and said: "Is there any piano skill in the world that can make Yang Hanlin admire it?"

Yang Linzhi said: "Although I am proficient in dozens of musical instruments, I am not actually the best at playing those instruments."

Yang Linzhi's real strength lies in the development and mastery of music theory, as well as the creation, arrangement and conducting of large-scale banquet music.

In short, this is a musicologist, composer, and a genius director of large-scale symphonies and large-scale musicals.

Zhu Tangxi asked: "How well can Mr. Xie's qin skills be ranked in the Hanlin Academy?"

Yang Linzhi recalled carefully: "I only heard Mr. Xie play the qin once, and I have forgotten it because of the long time. But I was very shocked when I heard it at that time, and the lingering sound is definitely true."

Zhu Tangxi smiled and thought: Liu Lang's intelligence and talent must have been passed down from his ancestors.

Empress Dowager Ye took the qin score and continued to flip through it. She said with a strange expression: "Isn't "Hua Xu Yin" a ci tune? How did it become a guqin piece?"

Yang Linzhi looked constipated: "I am not knowledgeable enough and I really can't judge."

In fact, Yang Linzhi suspected that the old man named Xie was very bad, so he composed the music "Hua Xu Yin" by himself and then named it after Huang Di.

It was obvious that this piece of music was extremely well composed and could become famous all over the world just by virtue of this piece of music, but the old man wanted to amuse everyone by pretending to be an ancient person.

Hey, just play!

The Ci Pai of "Hua Xu Yin" is very recent and was created by Zhou Bangyan during the Huizong period of the Song Dynasty.

But the legend of "Hua Xuyin" comes from "Liezi".

Xie Shizhang composed a song "Hua Xuyin" based on the story of "Liezi", and then said that this was the song composed by Huangdi.

Why did he do this?

Of course it depends on how many people will admit it.

According to Xie Shizhang's original plan, he planned to publish it at his own expense in two years and then give it to some distinguished old friends.

Now that the grandson wants to be the prince-in-law, it will be even more interesting. He can directly give it as a betrothal gift.

I'm afraid there are many people who are following the trend and really promote "Hua Xuyin" as an ancient divine comedy.

Damn it, "Yin" is a Yuefu theme, which can only be traced back to the Han Dynasty at most.

This is another argument. The person who advocated it, Bang Xie Shizhang, can claim that this song was composed by the ancients of the Han Dynasty under false pretense of the Yellow Emperor. Well, the songs of the Han Dynasty are of course ancient songs.

This approach will not disturb the grandson's wedding, but will only make the grandson's wedding more talked about.

And Xie Shizhang himself can also express his infinite ridicule to the world through this method.

Yang Linzhi said bravely: "This book also contains "Yangguan Sandie". Mr. Xie did not say that it was an ancient song. He made it clear that it was composed by Qin Ge."

Hearing this, Zhu Tangxi went to the Queen Mother to read the music scores, and quickly smiled: "Does this old Mr. Xie have any grudge against the late piano master Liu Hanlin?"

"I really don't know." Yang Linzhi replied.

Liu Hanlin, who had been dead for several years, was the one who killed Xie Shizhang's thesis. Today, half of the luthiers in the Hanlin Academy are his disciples.

Liu Hanlin recomposed the lost "Yangguan Sandie" based on folk qin songs and the qin music style circulated in Hami.

Xie Shizhang used the same method to compose a song "Yangguan Sandie", and deliberately said that he composed it after listening to Liu Hanlin's piano music skills.

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It's just that he didn't say it directly: Your song is too bad, so I'll write one to compare with you.

It just so happens that Xie Shizhang’s music is really better written!

After another round of questions and answers, Yang Linzhi bowed and stepped back.

Zhu Tangxi flipped through the book of piano music, and the more he read, the more he wanted to laugh: "Liu Lang's grandfather is really interesting. I like this betrothal gift so much. My sister-in-law resigned, and I took it back to play the piano."

She is currently living in the palace, just waiting to get married.

"Why is Your Highness so happy? But Liulang's gift list has been delivered?" Qingluan asked.

Zhu Tangxi shouted: "Bring the piano quickly."

The guqin arrived and Zhu Tangxi played to the music score.

After playing it several times in a row, I finally became familiar with it and became smooth.

Qingluan looked at the title of the music on the score: "Who composed this "Yangguan Sandie"?"

Zhu Tangxi asked: "How does it compare with Liu Xingyu's "Yangguan Sandie"?"

Qingluan thought carefully, sorted out his words and said:

"Liu Hanlin's song is more... more elegant and richer. It's like when seeing off, everyone has their servants cheering before and after. Yes, that's the feeling. I didn't feel it much before, but now I feel it in comparison. It means something.”

"The song Your Highness is playing at this moment is like a frustrated person about to leave alone, and friends who have known him for many years come to bid farewell to him in tears."

"The two songs should be comparable, but I like the current one better."

Zhu Tangxi smiled and said: "Liu Xing became famous as a young man and became a Hanlin piano master in his twenties. His life was extremely smooth, and the music he composed was naturally more elegant and wealthy."

…

"My dear grandson, do you want to learn the piano?" Xie Shizhang began to fool his grandson.

Xie Yan blurted out: "Don't learn."

Xie Shizhang said: "As a consort, you will not be rewarded accordingly by the princes and generals. You must learn how to play."

"I can just learn polo. It's more interesting than playing the piano." Xie Yan said.

Xie Shizhang was angry at his ignorance: "What's so fun about polo? Those dudes are the best at playing polo. Learning piano is different. You can pretend to be a gentleman."

Xie Yan said: "I am a noble person, there is no need to pretend."

The old man kept pestering Xie Yan.

Xie Yan said: "I know an ancient song that is better than yours."

"What ancient song?" Xie Shizhang asked hurriedly.

Xie Yan recalled the background music of the weather forecast and hummed: "Dudududududu..."

Xie Shizhang's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Daiyu, Baochai, get the pen and ink quickly!"

The two little girls quickly brought pens, ink, paper and inkstones.

Xie Yan hummed repeatedly, and the old man quickly recorded the tune.

"Just this short paragraph?" Xie Shizhang was a little disappointed.

Xie Yan said: "I only remember this short paragraph."

Who has nothing to do to listen to the full version of the weather forecast background music?

Xie Shizhang asked again: "Where did you hear it?"

Xie Yan casually made nonsense: "On my way to Luoyang, a passenger ship docked at night. There was a fisherman playing a flute, and the sound of the flute floated along the river."

Xie Shizhang murmured to himself: "Fisherman, at night... no wonder, no wonder, it sounds like the fishing boats singing late!" As he said this, he became excited, "Which dock on the Yangtze River did you meet the fisherman?"

This startled Xie Yan. With the old man's piano-mad nature, he probably really wanted to go to both sides of the Yangtze River to look for fishermen.

Xie Yan said: "I went to the bow to look, but I didn't see any fishing boats. Maybe he was a hermit who was going back to his hometown by boat. Maybe he went to Sichuan, or maybe he went to Jiangnan."

Xie Shizhang sighed: "Such a strange person, I wish I could meet him."

In order to get rid of the old man's entanglement, Xie Yan took the opportunity to dig a hole and said: "Grandfather, why don't you complete "Fisherman's Song at Dusk" based on this paragraph."

"Yes!" Xie Shizhang suddenly had something to do.

Xie Yan went to find a book to read by himself. He had to make up for his classical Chinese, otherwise sometimes he couldn't understand the book.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed, and the wedding day was approaching.