Biography of Yang Fei

Chapter 169 Cuju
Nongyu had no choice but to leave, and the emperor asked: "Has the food been delivered from the imperial dining room?" Yang Yu smiled and said: "It has been delivered, it is a pot of mutton and wolfberry soup, and the concubine drank a clean one." , Your Majesty, are you relieved now?"

Sure enough, the emperor smiled and said, "This is my good Yuer!"

Seeing that the emperor was happy, Yang Yu said, "Actually, the emperor doesn't have to worry about today's matter. Maybe it wasn't done by Wang Guifei. Wang Guifei has always been dignified, and she doesn't look like this kind of person!"

The emperor looked at Yang Yu and saw the sincerity on Yang Yu's face, "Yu'er is really kind! Although Wang Guifei is dignified, she also has her own thoughts. She is very close to Liu Xingshen and Han Wenyue. It's just pretending not to know, and she is doing it for Yan'er's own good, but she seems to be getting more and more flamboyant, and she has such vicious thoughts! It's just that I don't want to publicize this matter, I just warn her, a lot of things have happened in the harem recently, There have been many discussions among the people, and, since I have been married to her for many years, I also want to give her a chance to change her past!"

After all, she looked at Yang Yu with guilt, Yang Yu smiled, "The emperor is a long-term lover, Yu'er understands it very well!"

When the emperor saw that Yang Yu was so reasonable, he was very grateful, and he disliked the noble concubine Wang a little bit.

It is said that this winter is really deserted, and the emperor is listless. It seems that the silk and bamboo singing and dancing can't arouse his interest, but Yang Yu understands.

The emperor loved banquets, and it had been a long time since he paid homage to the Sixteen Tombs. The emperor must have missed such a feeling.

On this day, the emperor was still lazily playing chess with Yang Yu in the Hall of Hehuan, while Nongyu was serving him wholeheartedly.Seeing that the emperor was absent-minded, Yang Yu said, "Your Majesty! This palace hasn't been lively for a long time, why don't we hold a Cuju competition!"

The emperor's eyes lit up, "Cuju competition?" Yang Yu nodded and said, "This winter is really dull, why don't we hold a Cuju competition to make this harem lively!"

"Good idea! I'm going to Qujiang! Haha, I'm going to show my skills this time!"

In Datang, Cuju was very popular.Among the folks, there are often scenes of "the ball never leaves the foot, the foot never leaves the ball, the people watch it in the courtyard, and thousands of people look up to it".Moreover, the emperor is also a master of all kinds, that's why he was so excited. Nongyu thought about it and said, "Your Majesty! Why don't these court ladies come to a Cuju match, it must be interesting!"

After listening to this suggestion, the emperor was even happier. It was so interesting to watch a group of young and beautiful women compete!Laughing, "Haha! The two concubines are really fantastic ideas, good! Interesting! Interesting!"

Yang Yu and Nongyu looked at each other and smiled, each with their own thoughts.Yang Yu didn't expect Nongyu to have such intelligence, this idea is really great!

In the Tang Dynasty, the lives of court ladies were quite colorful. In addition to daily work, court ladies also had to receive various educations. The content they learned included cultural knowledge, music art, and various skills. ?
The emperors of the Tang Dynasty attached great importance to the education of court ladies. There was a harem school dedicated to teaching palace maids to study, and there was also an "inner teaching workshop" for teaching music, dance and acrobatics. Therefore, the quality of court ladies in the Tang Dynasty was generally high.Among them, Shangguan Wan'er is the most famous. She is the granddaughter of Shangguanyi, a famous official of the Gaozong Dynasty. Outstanding and alert, he was loved and trusted by Empress Wu Zetian, and was once prominent during Wu Zetian's reign and Zhongzong Dynasty. ?
However, outstanding figures like Shangguan Wan'er are rare after all, and most court ladies spend their lives in trivial and boring labor and a depressing and lonely environment. "No worries about food and clothing, spiritual emptiness", Professor Jia Zhigang commented on the life of court ladies.However, the lives of palace ladies are not all gloomy. In the palace, they can also adjust their boring life through various entertainment activities. ?
The court ladies in the Tang Dynasty had special "polo teams" and "cuju teams".Polo can be described as the most intense sport in the Tang Dynasty. On the polo field, the court ladies dressed in men’s clothes, straddled horses, galloped with whips, waved sticks, and hit the ball. What kind of scene is this?

There is also a kind of entertainment for court ladies called "Joining the Army Play". One person gives the lecture while the other interrupts, saying some entertaining and funny things. There are also games such as swinging, fighting flowers, throwing balls, etc., which are popular among folk entertainment. The palace ladies can also play in the palace walls to relieve their boredom.

The emperor wanted to do it when he thought of it, and immediately ordered the beautiful and agile maids to be selected from the harem to participate in this Cuju match. The final winner will be rewarded with 1000 taels of gold.Therefore, there are so many people who sign up, even if it is not for gold, how much honor and opportunity is it to show your face in front of the emperor?
Although the emperor's concubine may not have a very good life, it is better than being a white-headed palace maid in the palace of their old age!Therefore, all of them are gearing up to show their talents in this Cuju competition and make a big splash!
The concubine has been very irritable lately, and Yang Yu hardly discusses with her. After listening to Liu Ruyun's description of the matter of washing flowers and plants last time, the concubine believed in her heart that it was Yang Yu's fault. The emperor held a Cuju game, and he completely forgot that the concubine called her into the palace to persuade the emperor!

Although the emperor's faint nature cannot be changed, Yang Yu shouldn't add fuel to the fire!The concubine was deeply worried that Yang Yu had already escaped her control!When she came to persuade her like last time, the concubine felt something was wrong. Yang Yu seemed to know everything about the concubine like the back of her hand. This feeling was very uncomfortable for the concubine!
It is true that Yang Yu intentionally alienated the concubine. Since the death of the Korean lady, Yang Yu vaguely felt that this matter was never so simple. There is no impenetrable wall in the world. The secret, maybe this matter will be known to others!

At the beginning, because he suspected that the concubine and the concubine had a rebellious heart, the emperor even blamed Yang Yu. Yang Yu is eager to change this situation now, she doesn't want to implicate the concubine if something happens to her!
After going through so many things, she also understands that she must protect herself before she can have hope.What's more, now that I have a child, I have to plan for the child. There is also the Yang family. Her younger brother is already in Taichang Temple. Although he is not intimate, he is the blood of the Yang family. My father must hope that she can take good care of them. !

Therefore, Yang Yu decided to have his own power. For the current plan, he had to start from the front, because Chang Man and Qiu Chan had a good relationship, so they also helped a lot.However, he served by the emperor's side, but his days were not long, so he did not have any high official position.Yang Yu deliberately asked him to recognize Ximen Jixuan as his godfather, which was very popular among eunuchs.

Not all eunuchs are good people. Ximen Jixuan is one of the most loyal ministers. Those who lied to the emperor were particularly hated, and people praised him for his loyalty and integrity.Moreover, he is an important minister of the late emperor, and his power in the court cannot be underestimated. If Chang Man can get his assistance, he will definitely get twice the result with half the effort!
Although Chang Man is currently serving in Feishuang Palace, it looks very beautiful, but compared with the eunuch who controls the military power, the distance is too big.Therefore, Yang Yu wanted to support him to the top, even if he couldn't compete with Liu Xingshen and Han Wenyue, he was more or less a force, and it might be useful to turn the tide!

So Yang Yu wrote a letter, and asked Chang Man to bring a gift to ask Ximen Jixuan to see him. Ximen Jixuan wanted to see him at first, but he had never been keen on it, and he had no interest in the court's intrigues. Mrs. Chu recommended her here, so she reluctantly met her.

Chang Man was very clever, and never mentioned the matter of recognizing his adoptive father, but only said that he had a gift to honor Ximen Jixuan, which was the calligraphy of Liu Gongquan, a great calligrapher!It turns out that Liu Gongquan and Ximen Jixuan are also friends, when Liu Gongquan was relied on by the late emperor,

In the early years of Xuanzong's middle school, he was promoted to a junior teacher. Liu Gongquan went to the palace to thank him. Xuanzong summoned him to the palace and asked him to write three characters face to face.One is ten characters in regular script, "Mrs. Wei passed on the brushwork to Wang Youjun"; , "The predicate helper is so good."He was rewarded with silverware such as brocades, vases and plates, and ordered him to write the thank you form himself, regardless of regular script or running script. Xuanzong especially cherished his thank you form.

Ximen Jixuan also collected a lot of Liu Gongquan's calligraphy in private, but what Changman brought today was a pair of calligraphy written by Liu Gongquan himself for Ximen Jixuan, with the four characters "loyalty and respect" written on it, Ximen Jixuan Can't help being very surprised, and the smile is fully revealed.

Chang Man breathed a sigh of relief, it seems that Mrs. Chu's preferences for Master Ximen are very clear!

It turns out that although Liu Gongquan is a member of the Liu clan, he is already a side branch, and he has never been close to the concubine. Besides, although Liu Gongquan is highly respected in the palace, he has no real power. In the third year of Xianzong Yuanhe (808), The 31-year-old Liu Gongquan was a Jinshi and ranked first, and he was admitted to the imperial examination in Hongci.From then on, Liu Gongquan began a long official career, even served in seven dynasties: Xianzong, Muzong, Jingzong, Wenzong, Wuzong, Xuanzong, Yizong.

During the reign of Emperor Xianzong, Liu Gongquan served as the secretary of the provincial school. "Li Ting was in Xiazhou, and he was appointed as the secretary."Li Ting and Liu had this friendship, so Liu wrote a stele for him in his later years.

Mu Zong came to the throne, and Liu Gongquan entered the memorial.Mu Zong summoned Liu Gongquan and said: "I have seen Qing's handwriting in the Buddhist temple, and I have thought about it for a long time." On the same day, he paid homage to the right collection, served as a scholar of the Imperial Academy, moved to the right to make up the palace, and was named Yuanwailang.

(End of this chapter)