The Moon Over Tang Dynasty

Chapter 44: The battle between luxury and frugality, the battle for the heart

Upstairs in Wangyun Pavilion, hundreds of high-burning incense candles eclipsed the moonlight that slanted in from the floor-to-ceiling windows. However, when Wu Zhaoyi stood up to propose a toast to the emperor and empress, the moonlight skirt, which resembled snow waves flowing over the ground and the Milky Way flowing in the sky, became more and more glittering and gorgeous. Many concubines had already noticed Wu Zhaoyi's dress today, but the unabashed admiration on the emperor's face at this moment still hurt a few pairs of eyes.

Concubine Shu lowered her eyes and looked at the gold-hidden flower dress she was wearing today. She felt her heart was filled with anger. She turned around and glared at the female officer of the Shangyi Bureau in Shujing Palace who was in charge of clothing. The female officer's face had already turned white and she was Her lips trembled slightly under this glare.

"The moonlight and stars make a dress, and my beloved concubine can make the Mid-Autumn Moon eclipse today." Gaozong drank the wine in the glass with a smile.

Queen Wang looked at Wu Zhaoyi's radiant face below, raised a glass and touched her lips, and said calmly, "Zhaoyi is really smart and wise, but the Holy One governs the country with frugality. Such luxury cannot be taken for granted." That’s good.”

Gaozong's smile froze slightly, and after a pause he still smiled and said, "What the queen said is true. Zhaoyi has always been frugal, but today is a festive day, and even the maids have changed into new clothes and colorful silks, not to mention all my beloved concubines?"

The Queen Wang solemnly said, "New clothes also have regulations. We are setting an example for the world, how can we be careless?"

Gaozong couldn't hold back his smile. Just when he was about to speak, Wu Zhaoyi replied softly, "What the queen said is absolutely true, and what the sage has taught me. I will never forget it. This dress is a tribute from Yuezhou the year before last." The silk made by it is delicate and will not last long. I just don't dare to waste it."

Queen Wang's face darkened. Although Wu Zhaoyi used to be polite and courteous, she never dared to contradict her face to face, but now she is becoming more and more unrestrained! Her voice couldn't help but feel a little chilly, "Liao silk skirts are not uncommon in the palace, but why are they so unusual? This is not luxury, how can it be frugal?"

Wu Zetian raised his head and smiled and said, "The queen has wrongly blamed me. The dots of silver light on this skirt are just half a day's work by a new painter at my concubine's place. How can you say it is extravagant?"

Empress Wang was stunned, but she remembered what her mother had mentioned. The painter who had made several kinds of valerian for herself in the past had now joined the Wu family, and he was another ungrateful one! Anger welled up in her heart, but on such an occasion, it would be disrespectful to argue over a dress, so she could only look at Concubine Xiao Shu and said coldly, "I see."

Wu Zetian's smile became a little dim, but she still bowed politely and thoughtfully, and walked slowly back to her seat. Gao Zong looked at her back and couldn't help but feel pity in his heart - the queen is really getting better and better, how many concubines are there today? The concubine's skirt was engraved with gold and jade. Zhaoyi only wore a silk skirt, but she still had to be included in such an article!

Out of the corner of her eye, Queen Wang caught sight of the look on Gaozong's face, and her chest felt even tighter. She couldn't help but glance at Concubine Xiao Shu again, and saw that she was looking at Gaozong blankly, ignoring herself.

At this moment, Xiao Shufei was in disbelief in her heart, and everything she wanted to say was forgotten. The indifferent words Gaozong asked Wang Fusheng last night seemed to still be echoing in his ears. In the blink of an eye, he felt pity and heartache for others. Since when did he start to feel that he could never get such a look no matter what?

She almost wanted to turn around and leave, but suddenly she saw Wu Zetian sitting across from her, with a slightly forbearing calm on her face, as if she had been greatly wronged, and a strong hatred surged in her heart. She didn't know why. Suddenly, a snow-white and delicate face of a bearded woman appeared. No one else had seen the "new painter", but she had. He was just a sharp-tongued fox, how could he have such ability? She couldn't help but sneer.

Liu Zhaorong, who was next to toast, had just stood up. Before she could move, Concubine Xiao Shu's sneer suddenly surprised her and froze her there.

Concubine Xiao Shu didn't care about Liu Zhaorong, she just looked sideways at Wu Zhaoyi and said with a smile, "The new painter Zhaoyi mentioned is the Hu maid who entered the palace yesterday?"

Wu Zetian smiled and nodded, "Exactly, but this painter is not a maid, but Mei Niang's maternal ancestor who befriended Duke Ku Di and now lives in the Wu family. My mother saw that she was smart, so she invited her into the palace to give me Make some clothes.”

Empress Wang's face immediately showed a hint of contempt, and she almost blurted out the words "Hu Shang is a cheap servant". She managed to hold it back, but she couldn't help but snorted softly. Gao Zong heard the sound and glanced sideways at her, and when he saw her His expression and heart were even more unhappy.

Xiao Shufei squinted her eyes and laughed, "It turns out she is a person with a background, but I underestimated her. It's just that she has such means at such a young age. It's really unheard of. It only took half a day to make such a gorgeous dress, but I don’t know what kind of things are used to achieve such brilliance.”

Wu Zetian was startled for a moment, thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I didn't ask in detail about this. Kudi is downstairs. If Concubine Shu is interested, I will ask someone to ask her later."

Concubine Xiao Shu had concluded that she was trying to evade, and her smile became colder and colder, "Why don't we ask her to come up and ask her now?"

Gao Zong felt a little impatient. On such a festive day, instead of enjoying the music, music, and wine under the bright moon, Concubine Shu was entangled in such trivial matters. It was a joke! But she heard the queen beside her say, "That's fine. I also want to see what kind of talent she is!" With a wave of her hand, a palace maid beside her walked down quickly. Gaozong couldn't help but be stunned, and immediately frowned tightly.

After a while, Liuli walked upstairs under the guidance of the palace maid. The bright candlelight illuminated her plain dress and unpainted face. She had a clear and beautiful look that was rare in the harem. Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu immediately exchanged a look. .

Liuli was quite nervous at this time. The hundreds of pairs of eyes looking at her made the air around her feel a little solemn. She took a deep breath silently and then walked to the open space without squinting. An upright Yifu said, "Min I have seen your majesty and your highness the queen." Queen Wang looked at her and said calmly after a while, "Come on, I heard that you made a skirt for Zhaoyi today?"

Liuli was already a little surprised when she came up. The moment of silence from Queen Wang just now made the pressure even worse. After hearing these words, she suddenly understood the cause of the matter, but she still couldn't figure out what the problem was. She could only be respectful. He said, "Your Majesty the Queen, this is indeed the case."

Queen Wang nodded silently, but Concubine Xiao Shu chuckled, "This dress is very good. I wonder how long it took you to draw it? What kind of strange things did you use to make it so bright?"

Empress Wang also stared closely at Liuli. She remembered that the two shawls her mother made for her seemed to have similar silver glitter, but the effect was far less brilliant.

Liuli felt a little strange in her heart. After thinking about it, she decided to answer honestly, "Queen Qi, Concubine Qi Shu, it took the common girl more than three hours to draw it today. The material used was a kind of silver. Glossy powder can be used directly to draw silk brocade after mixing with water.”

Concubine Xiao Shu asked, "What is this silver glitter powder? Is it expensive or cheap?"

Liuli raised her head and glanced at Concubine Xiao Shu in surprise. The eager look in her eyes immediately made her heart light up: Could it be that this person suspected that she had used some treasure? She vaguely remembered that Gaozong was a frugal emperor, and Mrs. Wu also said that he didn't like to play with rare things... Her thoughts suddenly changed, and she made up her mind in an instant, and replied with a smile, "What on earth is this silver light powder? The colored glaze is not very Clearly, it was prepared by Min Nu’s uncle according to a secret recipe, which is quite expensive.”

Concubine Xiao Shu raised her eyebrows immediately, and Queen Wang also showed a smile on her face. Concubine Xiao Shu quickly asked, "How much is it worth?"

Liuli said respectfully, "Your Highness, Concubine Shu, I once heard from my uncle that a tael of silver powder costs a lot of money. Today, I spent more than a tael of silver powder to draw a skirt."

Concubine Xiao Shu’s eyes stood up and she said angrily, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Liuli's face looked a little panicked, "A civilian girl dare not lie. Ordinary paint can be purchased for one or two kilograms with normal money. This silver powder is naturally extremely expensive!"

Gaozong could no longer hold back his laughter, shook his head and laughed. It seemed that this painter came from a small family. Ordinary people among the people did have a lot of money...

Empress Wang was no less angry and disappointed than Concubine Xiao Shu at this moment. However, she saw that Concubine Xiao Shu was a little rude, so she hurriedly interjected, "I understand, please step back."

Wu Zetian looked at Liuli's fearful expression before bowing and retreating and Xiao Shufei's furious expression. She felt funny and happy at the same time, but she sighed in a low voice, and the look of sadness on her face deepened. Gao Zong glanced at her with a smile. Seeing her expression, and then looking at the two women singing harmoniously beside him, his heart sank and he couldn't laugh anymore. He couldn't help but sigh and asked, "The Queen and Concubine Shu is satisfied?"

Concubine Shu was unwilling to give in. She only said that Liuli was just nonsense, and even this skirt may not have been made by her. She hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I really like Zhaoyi's skirt. I also have Liao Ling there. Please forgive me." Okay, how about asking this painter to come to my concubine’s palace to help me make one?”

Wu Zhaoyi's heart moved, and she quickly raised her head and looked at Gaozong with a pleading look. Gaozong suddenly remembered that he had promised her not to let the painter go to Concubine Shu's palace, and he also remembered that Concubine Shu looked at the painter just now. His face was full of anger, and he couldn't help but frown and said, "Just tell her to draw it in Xianchi Palace, why bother?"

Concubine Xiao Shu saw the expressions of Wu Zetian and Gaozong, and she became more and more suspicious. However, she couldn't contradict the emperor in person, so she had to wink at Empress Wang. Although Empress Wang knew that this Hu girl could draw, she couldn't see it. Looking at Wu Zetian's anxious and sincere expression, she couldn't help but feel suspicious, and said calmly, "I think this painter is indeed young and smart. I wonder if Zhaoyi can lend her to me. I also want a skirt like this."

Even though Emperor Gaozong had a gentle temper, he couldn't help but get angry at this time, and said coldly, "In that case, it's better to let her paint in my imperial study room in Ganlu Palace! I also want to broaden my horizons!"

  p.s. Thank you to classmate Le Youyang for tipping me with the two peace charms. Well, on my fingers, I didn’t receive a single pink ticket yesterday... Could it be because Alan had too few of them? Well, I’m going to Tianjin on the weekend, so I can’t add more updates. Starting from next week, ten pink tickets will be added one at a time. I now have thirteen pink tickets, and I already owe everyone a chapter. I will add them on Monday.

 (End of this chapter)