The Contest for the Empress's Seal
Qin Yanan stood up, poured two glasses of water to make tea, picked up her phone and browsed the news, a faint smile on her lips, as she looked at the two text messages Liu Chang'an had sent to Zhou Shuling.
Zhou Shuling seemed to see it immediately and replied, and Liu Chang'an responded in return.
After exchanging a few words, Liu Chang'an turned off his phone screen, which was a normal action. Qin Yanan knew that he usually got straight to the point and didn't chat casually with people via text message. He would usually stop replying once he felt he had said his piece, regardless of whether the other person wanted to continue the conversation.
"Who is Fan Xian? This poem, 'Ascending the Heights,' isn't some work with the same title. It's clearly Du Fu's poem, the best seven-character regulated verse of all time." Qin Yanan suppressed many thoughts and started with the most insignificant matter.
"Fan Xian is a time traveler, and as a time traveler, if he's going to copy poems, he certainly can't forget this 'Ascending the Heights,' considered the best seven-character regulated verse of all time." Liu Chang'an nodded and continued, "With this seven-character regulated verse, Du Fu truly deserves the title of 'Poet Sage.' Leaving aside the perfect parallelism and rhythmic beauty, the level of artistry is something ordinary people can hardly comprehend or express. Before reading 'Ascending the Heights,' I always felt that Du Fu and Li Bai were somewhat lacking. After reading it, I suddenly realized that it wasn't that Du Fu was inferior to Li Bai, but rather that Li Bai's style was more acceptable and understandable to me."
"Is it because, as an extraordinary being, it's difficult to empathize with the author's emotions in such a nuanced way?" Is that the point? Qin Yanan forcefully suppressed the urge to change the subject and cooperated with her brother.
"Yes, it's always been this difficult to relate to. It's only through countless years of progress and refinement in human civilization that Du Fu was born in the Tang Dynasty. And Du Fu further refined his life, culminating in this poem that encapsulates his entire life's work. This is the extraordinary realm of the sage in the poem, and the literary spirit it exudes can deeply move someone like me." Liu Chang'an sighed softly, "It's a pity I read this poem a little too late. After he finished writing it, it seems that his essence and spirit had already transcended his mortal body and were concentrated in the poem. Not long after, he left this world."
"Why are you calling me someone like that... It's like you're worthless." Qin Yanan was a little unhappy. Although she respected Du Fu's talent, in her heart her brother was the most important person. It had nothing to do with talent or anything like that. He just had to be number one, no matter what reason it was.
"To put it simply... many novels have the concept of cultivating spiritual realms. If Du Fu's poem and its creation process were placed in this kind of novel, it would mean that at the moment the poem was completed, heaven and earth resonated, his essence, energy, and spirit transcended his mortal body, shattered the void, and ascended to the highest realm, becoming the pinnacle of this novel's setting." Liu Chang'an recalled some novels he had read. "Many works utilize the setting of poetry and literature, and the advantage behind this lies in people's confidence in China culture... Although many readers today are not familiar with poetry and literature, they know and believe that their own traditional culture is the most powerful. No matter which world you're from, you can't compare. When we bring out our poetry and literature, it's like a dazzling galaxy crashing down on the natives of another world; no one can stop it, and everyone will be shaken to their core."
"Brother, stop!" Qin Yanan couldn't take it anymore. The main point was that Zhou Dongdong's grandmother wanted to find a husband for Zhou Shuling! You've dragged this into another world; how can you be so outlandish?
Liu Chang'an smiled and continued, "I know, the key point is that Shangguan Dandan thought the author of this poem was Fan Xian, and I didn't correct her mistake. That's the interesting part. Why did I correct her? When you see something funny, you shouldn't correct it, because then she'll continue to make the same mistake next time, and you can continue to find it funny. If you correct it, wouldn't you be reducing the pleasure and joy you might feel? That's why when I see others doing something stupid or saying something stupid, I usually remain silent or agree."
"That old geezer!" Qin Yanan had no choice but to take a sip of tea, put down the cup, and lower her voice, "The important thing is, the important thing is that Zhou Dongdong's grandmother wants to find a husband for Zhou Shuling! Since you don't want Dan Dan to get involved, what do you plan to do?"
Liu Chang'an also took a sip of tea, grabbed a fire-shielding blanket, put his hands under the blanket to warm them over the fire, and smiled at Qin Yanan without saying a word.
"What are you laughing at?" Qin Yanan was a little embarrassed and annoyed by his smile, as if he had seen through her thoughts. She just wanted to gossip.
Isn't it perfectly acceptable for women to gossip? What's so funny? Is this something he finds amusing but doesn't want to correct?
Men who think women gossip is stupid are the truly stupid ones. Qin Yanan met Liu Chang'an's gaze with righteous indignation. Although she wasn't as thick-skinned as him, this kind of eye contact, looking into his eyes, made Qin Yanan's cheeks feel as hot and red as flames.
"I'll tell you a secret." Liu Chang'an rubbed his hands together again, then slowly sipped his tea.
Qin Yanan was getting impatient. He hadn't commented on the key points or offered any opinions, nor had he gossiped with her. The secret he was using to change the subject was something Qin Yanan really wanted to know, especially since he was being so slow and deliberate.
"As everyone knows, the empress dowagers of the Western Han Dynasty wielded immense power. Whether it was Empress Dowager Lü or Empress Dowager Dou, they acted with impunity, controlling the court and military, and the emperors were powerless against them... Emperor Wu eventually made his youngest son the crown prince, and to prevent a recurrence of this situation, he even had his youngest son's mother killed." Liu Chang'an said with a sigh, "Who would have thought that Liu Fuling would marry Shangguan Dandan? Shangguan Dandan's grandfather and maternal grandfather were two regents of the court, Shangguan Jie and Huo Guang respectively... Tsk tsk, this is simply a start from heaven. She became empress dowager at a young age, with plenty of time to consolidate her power and position. Originally, Shangguan Dandan had every qualification and background to become the first female emperor."
Qin Yanan listened to Liu Chang'an continue rambling, the image of the little empress dowager who had just come out to count money in two small red envelopes, only to be subdued by Liu Chang'an's method of deducting her allowance, couldn't help but come to mind.
"Shangguan Dandan has one imperial seal and two empress seals. After Liu Fuling's death, she was in charge of keeping the imperial seal, which she was to pass on to the future emperor. No one else was allowed to touch it. After she became empress dowager, she had an Empress Dowager's Seal, and edicts stamped with this seal were more effective than imperial edicts... Most importantly, she also has an Empress's Seal, which she intends to pass on to her daughter-in-law." Liu Chang'an stopped there, leaving it to Qin Yanan's interpretation and the resulting mother-in-law/daughter-in-law drama to himself.
Perhaps by stopping their mother-in-law/daughter-in-law role-playing game, he could finally stop seeing it and getting rid of the annoyance.
Qin Yanan straightened her body, her hands pressing against her skirt as if she was about to stand up, but then she sat down again, her eyes sparkling.
"Go to sleep, it's late." Liu Chang'an finished his tea and stood up.
The servant led Liu Chang'an and Qin Yanan to a small courtyard at the end of the garden. It was exceptionally quiet and elegant, clearly a place carefully chosen for Liu Chang'an.
"Please get some rest, both of you..." A maid opened a room door and said to Qin Yanan, "Miss, your luggage has been brought to your room."
"There are two bedrooms here?" Liu Chang'an asked uncertainly.
"One."
"Huh?" Liu Chang'an turned to look at Qin Yanan, who was also somewhat surprised and blushing, and asked, "Why is there only one bedroom? Aren't there any other rooms?"
"The other rooms and gardens are all sealed off and haven't been cleaned. This is the room that the old master specifically ordered to be cleaned. It's the best room in the whole house." After the maid finished speaking, she hung up the room key, then turned and swayed her plump figure as she left. She didn't want to talk to the young man who had spat into the old master's cup any longer.
"Maybe... maybe it's a double room..." Qin Yanan said to Liu Chang'an, her face flushed.
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Various Requests.