Chapter 20: Everyone Has Their Uses — The Four Figures stood Against the Light, Before Ying Xi…
Ying Xi, who had just immersed himself in that secret report, was suddenly interrupted by Sweet Tub.
He was emotionally stable, his reaction mild, not letting Sweet Tub see that he had been pretending from start to finish. He asked in a low voice, “What event?”
“‘Spring Blessing Favorability Increase Event’!” Sweet Tub answered.
He always couldn’t understand Sweet Tub’s terminology.
Ying Xi said indifferently, “Explain it.”
Sweet Tub behaved obediently. “Yes.”
“Remember how I told you before that I’m only responsible for two stats: one is Charm, and the other is Favorability?”
Sweet Tub said, “Previously, I always added Charm for you, which was you actively releasing charm outwards. Now, this event uses you as the center. Any target within a radius of one kilometer will have their Favorability towards you increased, more or less.”
Ying Xi could understand Sweet Tub’s explanation.
Ying Xi vividly remembered the benefits brought to him by the increase in Charm.
Now this Favorability, its effect was probably similar. As long as the Favorability was maintained at a certain value, it shouldn’t cause too much trouble.
Ying Xi nodded slightly, showing no joy. “Can I see the Favorability value?” He always wanted to grasp the target’s situation.
Sweet Tub: “No. To ensure freshness and the sense of experience, it is not disclosed to Your Majesty.”
Sweet Tub added, “The Main Mind also keeps it secret from me. Unless…”
“Unless what?” Ying Xi pressed.
“Unless that NPC’s Favorability goes off the charts.”
Strange terms always refreshed Ying Xi’s cognition.
Even with Ying Xi’s strong acceptance ability, Sweet Tub’s last sentence confused him.
Ying Xi frowned, not knowing what chart to hold (Bao Biao – play on words/misunderstanding), but he wasn’t willing to always question the System. Saying too much leads to errors; his trump cards couldn’t be exposed too clearly.
Ying Xi slowly hooked his lips. “I understand. Thank you. I will participate in the event.”
Ying Xi released a signal of reconciliation, still that polite Host with the pleasant voice.
Sweet Tub cheered, “Received! That’s great, Your Majesty! The event officially starts the day after tomorrow. Please be ready, Your Majesty!”
“En.”
“Then I withdraw.” Sweet Tub was too embarrassed to ask for a goodnight and obediently went offline to sleep.
Right after Sweet Tub went offline, Ying Xi tidied up his desk and stood up to return to the sleeping palace. Yu Jing followed.
Belatedly, he discovered that his ankle no longer hurt when he walked. Truly a double blessing; people are in high spirits when happy events occur. He walked with his chest out and head high, wind generating from his sleeves.
The walled corridor had been changed to Three Kingdoms lanterns today.
Ying Xi started looking at the lanterns from the moment he entered the corridor. Twenty lanterns depicted well-known famous generals.
The light of the lanterns dispelled the gloom. The lanterns were exquisite. Ying Xi slowed down, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Yu Jing took the opportunity to open the chatterbox. “Your Majesty, look. Regarding these lanterns today, this slave feels Lord Guan is mighty, Zhang Fei is rugged, Lu Bu is bravely unstoppable… That little monkey cub Cheng Shun put his heart into it; he picked every lantern personally.”
So Yu Jing’s little apprentice was named Cheng Shun.
Master and apprentice helping each other—this was also Yu Jing’s cleverness.
Arriving in front of the sleeping palace door, the two lanterns outside were the brightest.
These two lanterns guarding the doorway weren’t hung randomly. If they dared hang the likes of Lu Bu there, it would definitely violate Ying Xi’s taboo.
The little apprentice and Yu Jing calculated for a long time and finally hung Zhao Yun on the right and Ma Chao on the left.
The two young generals had similar armor styles and both held long spears. Not only did it account for symmetry and aesthetics, but both had basically no negative evaluations in history books.
Before entering the sleeping palace, Ying Xi stopped under the two flower lanterns.
He looked up, the two balls of light reflecting in his eyes. His gaze fell on the sharp edge of the weapons in the generals’ portraits, then moved to the heroic faces of the portraits.
Was he wary of that spear, or did he appreciate that person? Was the person on the lantern too similar to the Duke of Ying, provoking the Dragon’s wrath even more?
The Emperor didn’t say much and stepped over the threshold into the room.
However, the details made Yu Jing’s heart tremble.
Yu Jing followed into the room and asked, pretending to be casual, “Does Your Majesty have any other instructions before sleeping?” He was considering whether to take down the colored lanterns at the door.
The night was deep. Ying Xi’s voice revealed a hint of languor. “Summon the chief official of the Court of Imperial Entertainments (Guanglu Temple) to see Me tomorrow morning. I want to arrange a flower viewing banquet.”
Is there a connection with the two lanterns just now?
The connection between the two lanterns and the flower viewing banquet confused Yu Jing all night. Guessing the Dragon’s heart failed again.
The next day, the Minister of Imperial Entertainments (Guanglu Xun) had an audience with the Emperor.
That Guanglu Xun was over forty, fat and carefree, speaking long and slowly like a fish blowing bubbles.
After hearing the Emperor’s decree to hold a flower viewing banquet, Guanglu Xun was startled at first, then his eyebrows trembled slightly: Is this a test?
Who doesn’t know that the new Emperor lives frugally?
Not to mention the musicians of the Imperial Music Bureau barely kept their jobs and weren’t wiped out in one go.
Just speaking of Prime Minister Su of the Department of State Affairs, eyeing everyone covetously, fighting corruption and advocating integrity. Everyone looks like a corrupt official to him; he wants to audit everyone’s accounts.
The current situation is to save financial resources to deal with the court’s internal troubles.
But the Emperor summoned him to hold a grand banquet.
Guanglu Xun was in a dilemma and said slowly, “Your Majesty’s holy will, this subject dares not defy. According to Your Majesty’s request, the more guests at the flower viewing banquet, the better. But the court’s funds are tight.”
“This subject fears failing Your Majesty’s commission, and also fears violating the current trend. Caught in a dilemma, truly embarrassed. Please enlighten me, Your Majesty.”
“Go ahead and do it. Try your best to do it well.”
Guanglu Xun thought to himself: How to do it well without money?
He lowered his head and secretly glanced at the figure the Emperor approved for the flower viewing banquet. There was a big gap from a grand feast.
Ying Xi waved his hand. “Don’t use this money for music, and you don’t need to be responsible for the venue. Just arrange the food and drink properly.”
Guanglu Xun’s heart was at least half relieved.
If it was just cooking, then this money was plenty enough to show off their specialty skills.
But with no music to add to the fun and no venue decoration, would this flower viewing banquet be a bit too sloppy and become a laughingstock?
But how dared Guanglu Xun ask more? “This humble official accepts the order.”
On the day of the Spring Blessing Event, Shanglin Park.
It was now the time when the flowers in Shanglin Park were most brilliant.
Looking at Shanglin Park from afar, palace buildings and plants mixed into a colorful ribbon.
The main road ran north to south. There was an artificial river with a small island in the center, and on the island were pavilions and towers. Countless exotic flowers and rare trees, and various animals in the garden.
Deer cried leisurely; cranes danced.
The venue had undergone simple decoration.
The flower viewing spot was set outdoors, at the Yichun Palace in Shanglin Park. A platform was set up at the hall entrance.
The Emperor’s main seat had a table, and on every table was a flower vase.
All the seats below were arranged similarly.
Music lingered over the entire complex.
Elegant music was continuous, the melody presenting a uniform and peaceful state. If someone tried to find the source, they actually couldn’t find it at all, guessing that this music drifted over from the Imperial Music Bureau not far away.
Perhaps the Imperial Music Bureau, having been spared by the Emperor, was grateful, so the musical pieces connected seamlessly.
Many refined civil officials who arrived early walked into Yichun Palace in twos and threes. They exchanged greetings while discussing the origin of the tune.
“This is a newly composed tune, right?” An official said, “Brother Wenze, you also served in the Court of Imperial Entertainments. For grand banquet elegant music, have you ever heard this Unforgettable Tonight?”
“Never. The melody of this piece is quite steady, having the appearance of a prosperous age.”
“Indeed. This humble brother shares this view.”
“Ten thousand li of the Divine Land share the same embrace; the green mountains remain, the people have not aged. Wonder whose hand it came from?”
“The song is new, and the lyrics are well-written. If I am fortunate enough to meet the composer and lyricist, this life will not be in vain. Brother Fenghua, when the banquet scatters, shall we go to the Imperial Music Bureau together to explore the origin of this song?”
“Seeking seclusion and visiting songs is an elegant interest; naturally, we shall go together.”
“Senior Wenze, Lord Fenghua, bring this junior along. I wish to go too!”
“…”
The discussions of several groups of court officials drifted into Ying Xi’s ears. Ying Xi sipped tea in the main seat, veins on his forehead throbbing slightly.
The Emperor arrived very early today.
He sat at the head of the venue early so as not to waste the system event effect, raising the favorability of these subjects towards him.
But he didn’t expect the court officials to explore the source of the music.
Ying Xi picked up the teacup and took a sip.
“Can you change to a song I’ve heard?”
Sweet Tub had consumed a large amount of emotional energy to organize this flower viewing party for Ying Xi. It was a bit tired now, whispering, “My playlist consists of classic songs, but you definitely haven’t heard them either.”
“For example?”
“Pole for Horses (Tao Ma Gan).”
A bit strange.
“I am viewing flowers, not lassoing horses. Any others?”
“Marry Me Today.”
Too direct.
“You can try expanding the playlist,” Ying Xi said.
But Sweet Tub felt aggrieved. “I’m just a System assisting in romance. Most built-in songs are love songs.”
But the Emperor really couldn’t understand what kind of romance required a horse lasso.
If given a horse lasso, he certainly wouldn’t use it for romance. Ying Xi imagined himself holding a lasso, the rope loop circling above his head.
He lassoed the officials:
“You, work for Me.”
“You too, work for Me.”
“All of you, go work.”
Everyone has their uses. A smile slowly surfaced on the corner of Ying Xi’s mouth.
However, influenced by the system event, his smile—harboring thoughts of a slave driver—appeared to the officials below the main seat as nothing less than a spring breeze brushing the face, ice and snow melting, clouds clearing and rain stopping, rainbows spanning a clear sky.
The officials lost their breath in an instant, unable to find their tongues.
After a good while, the officials finally stood up in unison and cupped their hands, eyes wanting to look but daring not look at the Emperor, saying, “May Your Majesty’s blessings be long, and Great Qin prosperous.”
Ying Xi raised his dark grey eyes.
Absorbing extensive emotional value, the Dating System was recovering energy.
Ying Xi could hear Sweet Tub regaining vitality, gradually emitting that familiar and helpless hiss ha hiss ha sound.
“Wuu wuu wuu delicious, delicious! Thank you, Your Majesty!”
“I got a taste of this ‘Nianxia Gong’ (Younger Top), this ‘Scum in Scholar’s Clothing Gong’… thoughts damp and dark, looks decent and dignified…”
The System’s fierce shipping sounds occupied Ying Xi’s head and circled constantly.
Ying Xi rubbed his forehead, which throbbed from the noise.
At this moment, outside the main hall of Yichun Palace, four announcing shouts rang out simultaneously. The little eunuchs responsible for reception at Shanglin Park dared not offend anyone.
Inside the flower viewing venue, the seated officials stopped their cups one after another. Dozens of gazes looked toward the arrivals.
Those gazes contained envy, jealousy, admiration, and respect. Yichun Palace, which had been chatting freely, became silent for a moment.
What the eunuchs shouted was:
“Greetings to the Imperial Tutor, paying respects to the Imperial Tutor!”
“Respectfully welcoming His Highness Prince Yong!”
“Paying respects to the Duke of Ying; the Duke of Ying’s elegance remains!”
“Prime Minister Su enters the banquet!”
The four figures all stood against the light, forming four silhouettes in front of Ying Xi.
Equally tall and handsome, yet each different.
The four looked at each other simultaneously, then looked at the Emperor in the main seat simultaneously, stepped forward simultaneously, and sat down simultaneously, filling the four important seats in front of Ying Xi completely.
Finally, four lines of sight were cast over, saying in unison:
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
Suddenly, a feeling surfaced in Ying Xi: This venue is too small.
Hard-to-handle people… four of them came all of a sudden.
In this life, I truly never lack surprises. Ying Xi hooked the corner of his mouth.
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