The Great Wei Music Bureau

Chapter 219 Music Collection

Last time we talked about how King Linjiang Xiao Yonghong took the bait, so this time let’s see how Li Yi plans to plot against this prince.

On this day, the already luxurious Linjiang Palace was cleaned carefully and thoroughly by the servants. Xiao Yonghong was directing the servants in the front yard. The housekeeper beside him asked, "My Lord, who are you going to welcome with all this fanfare today?"

Xiao Yonghong ignored him and walked into the main hall to examine the furnishings in the hall. He walked to a calligraphy and painting and said, "Someone, take this down and go get the calligraphy that I treasure and hang it up!" The servants immediately brought a ladder to remove the calligraphy and painting, and then went to the treasury to look for it.

The housekeeper was surprised and said, "The prince actually wants to hang up the calligraphy of the calligraphy master? It seems that this person today is not an ordinary person!"

Xiao Yonghong rolled his eyes at the butler and said, "Nonsense! Today, I want to invite Li Yi, the most talented scholar in the Northern Wei Dynasty. He is Wang Youjun's apprentice, and he doesn't like other people's calligraphy! Don't talk nonsense in front of me, go to the kitchen and see how they prepare the wine and food! Not only must it be delicious, but it must also look good. Do you understand?"

The butler bowed and left, muttering on the way to the kitchen: "Is it necessary for a talented person from another country to be so particular? The last time His Majesty came to the palace, you didn't see the prince being so serious? He must have something important to ask of him. Oh, that's not right! What can the prince ask of a Wei countryman? Never mind, I don't understand."

In the evening, Li Yi's carriage stopped at the main gate of the palace. Xiao Yonghong went out to greet him personally. As soon as Li Yi got out of the car, before he had time to salute, he stepped forward, grabbed Li Yi's hand and said with a smile: "Oh, brother Li, you miss me so much!"

Xiao Yongming looked at Cui Zhi who got off the car and asked in confusion: "Hey, why did Brother Li bring Miss Su with him? Why didn't he bring Miss Zhang Hongchen and Miss Yueying with him?"

Li Yi smiled and said, “Your Highness, they have something else to do at Guanghan Tower, so they didn’t come. Your Highness, do you want to see Miss Yueying? How about I send someone to call her over?”

"No, no, it's good that you're here, it's good that you're here! Quick! Come into the mansion!"

Xiao Yongming held Li Yi's hand and introduced the scenery of the mansion while walking towards the main hall. Although it was only the second time they met, they seemed particularly warm. After entering the main hall and sitting down to drink tea, Li Yi praised: "Your Majesty, your Linjiang Palace is really just a little smaller than Jiankang Palace. If you have never been there, you might mistake it for the imperial palace."

"Hehehe, that's what my brother said the last time he came. He always said he would come live with me, but every time he came to Linjiang, he either stayed at Lingyin Temple or the house prepared by the county governor. I really don't understand what he's thinking."

Li Yi smiled and said, "Your Majesty likes quietness when practicing Buddhism. He probably doesn't come to live in the palace because he is afraid of spoiling the prince's interest in listening to music and watching dance. Your Majesty is really good to the prince."

"We are all brothers, why are you talking so much? He likes quietness, so I will accompany him in quietness. It's just a matter of not listening to music for a few days."

Li Yi took a sip of tea and asked, "I wonder what you want to tell me, Your Majesty?"

Xiao Yonghong waved his hand and said, "What advice do you have? I didn't enjoy the drinks you treated me to last time, so I thought I'd make it up to you this time. By the way, I'd like to let Brother Li take a look at the singing girl in my palace. I wonder if you're willing to help me train her a little bit."

Li Yi looked embarrassed and said: "This... I'm afraid..."

Cui Zhi interrupted Li Yi in time and said, "Sir, since the prince has spoken, why don't we take a look and learn from the songs and dances of the palace."

"Oh, yes, yes, yes. Then Your Majesty, please invite the singing girl from your mansion to come out."

Xiao Yonghong waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, have some tea first. Someone will come to inform us when the banquet hall is ready." Then he pointed at Wang Youjun's calligraphy on the wall and asked, "Brother Li, look, do you recognize this calligraphy?"

Li Yi smiled and said, "I saw it as soon as I came. Although there is no name or seal, it is your handwriting. How can I, as a student, not recognize it?"

After chatting for a while in the main hall, the servants passed the message and several people moved. Then the banquet started, music started, singing and dancing started, cups were full of wine, and laughter continued. The flowers were fragrant, and the whispers were unclear. Xiao Yonghong looked at his servants pointing and talking, and Li Yi and Cui Zhi who kept whispering were full of question marks. When the song ended, he waved his hand to signal the singing and dancing to stop.

The music stopped, and Li Yi and Cui Zhi stopped whispering. They looked up at Xiao Yonghong and asked, "What's wrong with you, Your Majesty? Don't you want to continue listening to the music?"

Xiao Yonghong asked, "You two have been talking nonstop since the first song and dance. Is there something wrong with the singing girls in my house? If there is anything wrong, you should tell me so that I can ask them to improve!"

Li Yi and Cui Zhi exchanged a glance, and the latter leaned forward and said with a smile, "No, Your Majesty, the singing and dancing in your mansion are very good, and there is nothing wrong with it."

"Nonsense! Ever since I heard and watched your singing and dancing on the boat last time, I find these singing girls in my palace unacceptable no matter how hard I try. You two better tell me the truth, or I won't let you leave!"

Li Yi shook his head helplessly and said with a smile: "Your Highness, the songs and dances in your mansion are really impeccable. We are discussing how to learn from these dances to improve the songs and dances in Guanghan Tower."

"Why would you, Li Yuefu, need to learn from my dross? Wait, what do you mean by improving Guanghan Tower's songs and dances? Are you going to team up with Guanghan Tower to launch some new tricks?"

Li Yi smiled and said, "Your Highness guessed it? Then I won't hide it from you. You saw it last time. Zhang Hongchen of Guanghan Tower is good friends with me. She is now the new head of the building. It is said that new officials start with three fires. She also wants to innovate and promote the business of Guanghan Tower.

This is exactly what happened to me. Under the coercion and inducement of this crazy woman, I had no choice but to accept this task. Before, His Majesty asked the National Music Bureau to promote the reform of the Music Bureau, and the National Music Bureau also contacted me. At that time, I suggested that they should accept more folk music into the bureau, so I thought of taking this opportunity to try it out.

I plan to rename Guanghan Tower as Music Center, gather the strengths of various schools, take the essence and discard the dross, and make Music Center the best place to listen to music and enjoy dance in Linjiang County."

Xiao Yonghong clapped his hands and said, "Great! This is a good thing! In this way, the kind of dance that I want to see can be seen at your, oh, Le Zonghui!" Xiao Yonghong suddenly reacted and asked doubtfully, "Brother Li, if you make Le Zonghui the number one brothel in Linjiang, you will make a lot of enemies. You must know that there is a lot of water behind this brothel in Linjiang." What he meant was that he was afraid that Li Yi would cut off his own source of wealth.

Li Yi waved his hand and smiled, "Don't worry about this, Your Majesty. Le Zonghui only makes money from wine and tea, not from the flesh trade, and will not cut off other people's financial resources."

Xiao Yonghong nodded and said, "Oh, that's great, that's great. Hey, Brother Li, if you don't do the sex trade, can you make money just by selling wine and tea?"

Cui Zhi smiled and said, “Your Highness, do you think anyone would be willing to watch a dance like the one Miss Yueying performed last time?”

Xiao Yonghong curled his lips and said, "It's more than just willing to watch. It's obvious that you can't watch enough!"

Cui Zhi laughed again and said, "What if there are better ones? Will anyone spend a lot of money to see them?"

"Is there anything more beautiful? You two should stop teasing me! Is there anything more stunning than that dance?"

Li Yi smiled and said, "Your Highness, last time we were on a boat, and due to the venue, we couldn't show too much."

Cui Zhi chimed in, “That’s right. My master is rehearsing a new dance for Miss Yueying. It’s like a fairy descending to earth and dancing among the clouds. It’s really gorgeous! If the prince likes the hazy dance of light and shadow, my master has also choreographed several dances such as Dusk Spring Dawn, Night Moon Glow, Midsummer Setting Sun, Icefield Cold Snow, etc…”

Xiao Yonghong stretched out his hand to interrupt Cui Zhi and said, "Wait, wait a minute! Brother Li, you are too unfair! There are so many dances, but you only let me watch three dances and listen to one song! This is too unreasonable! No! Let's go to Guanghan Tower now! No, Le Zonghui! I want to see it first!" Then he stood up and was about to leave.

Li Yi immediately stepped forward to hold him back, sighing helplessly, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. These dances have indeed been choreographed, but we can't show them to you now because the venue, costumes and props are not ready. Without these things, the artistic conception will be much worse!"

"Hasn't Guanghan Tower been closed for reconstruction for some time? Why hasn't it been completed yet? Li Yi! Are you hiding something and don't want to show it to me?"

Cui Zhi stepped forward to help, saying, "Your Highness, look at what you are saying. My son and you have a close relationship. How could he hide something? It really hasn't been built yet. It's because we don't have enough money. The son is trying to raise money."

Xiao Yonghong said unhappily, "Not enough money? That's really hard to do. How much money do you need?"

Li Yi shook his head helplessly and said, "We still need 30,000 taels."

Cui Zhi heard the number was wrong. She immediately thought that Li Yi wanted to cheat the King of Linjiang, and immediately acted in front of Xiao Yonghong. She said in embarrassment: "Your Highness, this amount of money is a small amount for you, but it is difficult for my son. In order to raise funds for disaster relief, my son had to sing in Huaguang Hall. By the way, Your Highness, why didn't you come to the Jinghong Banquet in Huaguang Hall?"

Xiao Yonghong said awkwardly: "Ah, I must have drunk too much that day and fell asleep." In fact, he was not drunk at all, he just didn't want to spend money to listen to a man sing! And he had seen Princess Huaxuan Xiao Qizhen before, so he had no reason to spend this money.

Li Yi smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. When I raise the money and renovate the venue, I will definitely invite Your Majesty to taste it first!" After that, he looked at Cui Zhi helplessly and said, "Alas, it would be great if we could find a partner now. We can open Le Zonghui first and split the profits. This is definitely a business that will make money."

Cui Zhi shook her head and said, "Sir, thirty thousand taels is not a small sum. Not everyone is as generous as the prince. Besides, even if we are looking for a partner, we have to find someone who is knowledgeable and can provide convenience. However, such a person is not easy to find."

Li Yi nodded and said, "Yes, it is indeed difficult to find. Well, if it doesn't work, I will go ask the Third Prince."

"The Third Prince? The Third Prince doesn't like romance, how can he do it?"

……

Xiao Yonghong looked at the two people who were talking nonstop and stretched out his hand to interrupt them, saying, "No, I am such a big living person standing in front of you, how can you not see it! Why don't you seek cooperation from me?"

Cui Zhi asked in confusion, "Your Highness, don't you already have Linjiangxian? It would be a bad idea to join Le Zonghui. Aren't you afraid that Le Zonghui will take away Linjiangxian's business?"

"What's wrong with that? Besides, you said it before, Le Zonghui doesn't do sex trade, so how can it steal Linjiangxian's job? Don't look for anyone else! I'll pay for it! I'll pay 50,000 taels! But you have to promise to turn Le Zonghui into Linjiang County, no! Turn it into the best romantic place in Daliang! I want to let the world know who is the most romantic person!"

In this way, Li Yi and Xiao Yonghong hit it off, and with the support of King Linjiang's manpower, material and financial resources, the project of upgrading Guanghan Tower to Le Zonghui was fully expanded. Not only was the building renovated and expanded, the government also built an exclusive pier and a bluestone-paved square on the river bank for Le Zonghui to facilitate their hosting of various activities.

The entire project took only one month, which can be said to be quite fast. You should know that even the bluestone slabs used to build the square were diverted from those originally intended to renovate Emperor Liang’s temporary residence in Linjiang!

Who else but Xiao Yonghong would dare to do this? He said to the county governor He Changzhi: "Just do what I want you to do! If my brother asks, I will tell him! Every time he comes to Linjiang, he either lives in Lingyin Temple or that broken house. Why can't he live in the palace? When my brother comes, just tell him that I didn't let you build it! Let him live in the palace!"

We will fast forward through the construction period, but there are two things to mention. First, Li Yi rushed back to Jiankang before the three-month agreement between him and Xiao Yongming expired, handed over the 20,000 taels of silver, and said that his family had begun to prepare to flee the Northern Wei. This was done to stabilize Xiao Yongming and buy time and pave the way for the next step of Lao Yinbi, Tuoba Li, and Lu Yu. After that, Li Yi rushed back to Linjiang.