Volume 7 Chapter 10 (1/2)
Book 7 Chap 10 – A drop of honey
Ji Yanran personally lifted the wine flask and stood up, coming to kneel in front of Xiang Shaolong. There’s no need for her to pretend, for the look of admiration is naturally revealed in her eyes as she said gently, “Yanran have just heard the most moving fable in my entire life and there’s no way I can repay you, except to make use of this fine wine to thank Mister Dong.” With a graceful and breath-stopping pose, she poured the wine into Xiang Shaolong’s cup.
Everyone was astounded.
Zhao Mu said in bewilderment, “What kind of fabulous fable did Mister Dong said, to make our Learned Lady Ji bow down and serve him wine personally?”
Ji Zhong revealed a look of surprise.
Li Yuan’s face darkened, a look of hatred and jealousy in his eyes that he cannot hide.
Zhao Ya looked intoxicated as she repeated the story.
Those who have not heard were all impressed.
Ji Yanran went back to her seat and lifted her cup, “Ji Yanran offers Mister Dong a toast.”
Although Han Chuang is secretly feeling extremely jealous, he was also happy that the hateful Li Yuan has been given a blow so he joined in and said, “Let everyone have a toast!”
Everyone toasted one another and although Li Yuan was extremely unwilling, he had no choice but force himself to drink this bitter wine.
Xiang Shaolong looked closely at the ladies. Ji Yanran obviously cannot hide the overflowing love that he has incited whereas Zhao Ya kept making eyes at him, trying to covey her thoughts with her eyes. Even Zhao Zhi who was still angry with him changed her attitude towards him, sneaking peeks at him frequently. Most surprisingly is that Guo Xiu’er was also looking at him with admiration. He was secretly counting his lucky stars. If not for the fact that he can make use of other people’s intellect, he’ll certainly make a fool of himself tonight, and it definitely won’t be this outcome, where he stuck 4 birds with a stone.
Ji Zhong said, “I didn’t expect Mister Dong to have heard such impressive and moving fable, this is really incredible.” He turned to Li Yuan and said, “Mister Li has such intelligence, you’ll definitely have your views about this.”
His words are meant to put down Xiang Shaolong subtly while obviously complimenting Li Yuan and from this one can see that this person will stoop to all means just to achieve his goals. To him, Li Yuan, who can influence the King of Chu, is naturally more important than Xiang Shaolong.
Han Chuang chortled and interrupted, “That was a fable that Mister Dong inferred from the horses, but I do have another view. If everyone in our 6 states forget ourselves in that drop of honey which can only offer us an instant of sweetness and join forces to deal with the Qins who are like the tigers and wolves, we will definitely be able to extricate ourselves from danger.”
These words are obviously meant for the Chus, because time and again they have betrayed the other united states just because the Qins gave them some benefits and in the end they lost their own troops as well.
Zhao Mu and the rest were secretly gloating as they look at Li Yuan’s expression change slightly.
With Ji Yanran around, Li Yuan refuses to make himself look bad so he quickly smoothened his expression and changed the topic.
Xiang Shaolong knows that the more one talks, the more likely mistakes are made so he buried himself with food and drinks. He ignored Li Yuan who was trying to get on Ji Yanran’s good grace, and once in a while would engage Zhao Ya and the other ladies, behaving like a suave flirt. If not for the fact that he was put down earlier by Xiang Shaolong, he’ll definitely be a woman’s ideal lover.
However Ji Yanran is not in the mood to bother about him, constantly looking at Xiang Shaolong instead, wishing that she can throw herself into his arms immediately.
The hostess, Zhao Ya, who was seated next to Li Yuan, was forced to down 3 cups of wine and her pretty face started turning an alluring red. She gave a flirtatious laugh and asked, “Have you not forced enough drinks on me today yet?”
Everyone was startled and looked at the two of them.
Zhao Ya knew that she has let the cat out of the bag and quickly lowered her head.
Li Yuan was feeling extremely embarrassed. He came to look for Zhao Ya secretly today partly because he wanted to put Xiang Shaolong down but the main reason is that he is feeling lusty. Although Zhao Ya does not have Ji Yanran’s unique grace, she is still a rare beauty and it’s a waste to give up this chance. He just did not expect Zhao Ya to leak out this information during the feast.
He coughed dryly and said, “Didn’t we agree last night we’ll have a wager on who can hold their drinks better?”
Zhao Ya took a glance at Xiang Shaolong only to see him staring at the fine wine in his cup, as if he doesn’t mind at all. She felt a little relieved but at the same time felt a tinge of regret, hating herself for being unable to withstand Li Yuan’s lure.
Besides Xiang Shaolong, Li Yuan is the only man after him who could make her heart flutter and he even said he can take her away from this sad place to go to faraway Chu. But she has no idea why, this horse fanatic with the strange ideas in front of her, the way he moves and speaks, a person with a mixture of intelligence, coarseness and rashness, is make her feel more excitement than the more handsome Li Yuan. She is struggling, caught between the desire to fight back and to give in, feeling both pain and happiness.
Ji Yanran took a look at Xiang Shaolong and told Li Yuan indifferently, “This is what’s called, famous men since ancient times have too much love to share!”
Li Yuan was secretly cursing himself and before he had the chance to explain, Zhao Ya lifted her pretty face and said with a smile, Miss Yanran is mistaken. Mister Li only came to discuss poems with Zhao Ya, and only drank a little wine to liven the mood!”
Obviously Guo Xiu’er has an interest in poetry so she asked Xiang Shaolong, who is now a great philosopher in her heart, “What does Mister Dong think about poems?”
Once she said that, everyone’s attention turned towards Xiang Shaolong.
Guo Zhong was secretly feeling alarmed, has his beloved daughter taken a liking to this unrefined man? Zhao Zhi remembered Xiang Shaolong’s horrible handwriting and was secretly sighing.
Ji Yanran and Zhao Ya were energized as they waited excitedly for this person to say something marvelous.
The odes passed down since ancient times, after many modifications by Confucius and his disciples, totaled more than 300.
These odes, in this era, have a very practical value, especially amongst the nobility. It has become a part of life and if one cannot recite some odes during social activities, he will be looked down upon. There’s even a form of welcome address that uses purely odes that is called ‘Composing a Poem’ and the poem used in reply is called ‘Reply Poem’. Therefore those who are not familiar with odes will embarrass themselves easily, like the saying ‘One who does not learn odes, will have no words to reply’.
Xiang Shaolong is considered lucky but his luck has apparently run out by now. He’s finally come face to face with this unsolvable problem.
Odes are not only a decorative façade and a tool to express one’s upbringing and cultivation but ‘discussing odes’ is also a popular activity of this era. For example the ode ‘Charming smile, enchanting eyes, plain background for colors’ can generally mean a beautiful woman but can also mean the application of make-up *. Zigong therefore asked Confucius and he later added, “A painting will have to be done on a plain white background.’ Because of this he gained Confucius’s admiration, saying that he is qualified enough to discuss odes.
(*ode from the analects of Confucius)
Therefore, discussion of odes is a very common affair during feasts so Guo Xiu’er was not deliberately making things difficult for this man who has garnered her interest.
Xiang Shaolong almost wanted to cry for help but he said calmly, “I am after all an unrefined person, how can I be qualified to talk about insights?” Guo Xiu’er did not expect this exceptional man to give her such a disappointing answer so she lowered her pretty head and spoke no more.
Ji Yanran had a look of bewilderment.
To her, having Xiang Shaolong woo her openly is a very interesting game for it can allow her to understand more about her beloved ability. She did not expect him to reveal his sharp wit only to shrink back again, and now she cannot admire his talent. She did not expect Xiang Shaolong to be even worse than a simpleton in this aspect.
Ji Zhong revealed a look of despise and he is even surer that Xiang Shaolong must have stolen the fable earlier from someone else and used it as his own.
Guo Kai and Han Chuang revealed a look of surprise, for Dong Kuang’s father and grandfather used to be court officials, so how can Dong Kuang know nothing about poems at all? Whereas Zhao Mu guessed that he did not want to show off under such circumstances so he chortled and asked Zhao Ya, “I wonder what is the topic that Mister Li and Lady discussed today?”
Li Yuan saw that Xiang Shaolong had been embarrassed and was secretly ecstatic as he replied, “I was discussing with lady the relationship between poems and joy. As the saying goes ‘The mind thrive with the Odes, Propriety is established through rites, The ending is accomplished through music’ so I gave Lady the music I composed for her input and luckily she did not make fun of it.”
Most interactions between the nobility and the officials cannot escape from poetry and music so Li Yuan is making use of this to show Ji Yanran that there is nothing else going on between him and Zhao Ya.
Zhao Zhi who has been silent all this while spoke up, “Mister Dong seems to hold no regards for music and poems at all!”
Xiang Shaolong almost felt like strangling her. Naturally she was secretly being sarcastic to him for his rude behavior towards her last night and at the same time jealous that Ji Yanran has expressed a liking for him so she was trying to put him down.
Li Yuan was overjoyed on hearing this and said with a laugh, “At least Mister Dong is happy being with horses, so of course he need not bother about anything else.”
Ji Zhong has always been aware of his own status and he had no choice but to be seated together at the same feast with a unrefined horse trader so he was already feeling unhappy. However he is a very deep person who will not reveal his thoughts. This time he made use of the opportunity to pander to Li Yuan and said, “Mister Dong is famed for rearing horses while Mister Li is well versed in poetry and music, so to each his own.”
Xiang Shaolong had no intention of being a busybody but once he heard that, fury just rose up within him and he said, “Please forgive an unrefined person like me for nto understanding, among the 7 states, the Qins can be considered the worse in terms of popularity of philosophical discussions and importance of rites and music, but why is it they are the only one who can be the biggest threat to our 6 states?”
Once he said that, everyone’s expression changed, and they were speechless. Because this is a fact that cannot be debated.
Xiang Shaolong said icily, “Some people may look down on horse traders like me, and deride me for not understanding odes, but I can make the country and home strong with my horses and fight against external enemies. The Qins are strong because they place more importance in military contributions, all other matters are put aside.”
Everyone knows that he is angry and they just listened quietly.
Xiang Shaolong continued, “As a part of life, poetry and music is good in molding a person’s temperament and beautifying things. But with such a situation now, the more important thing is a rich country and strong soldiers. Food and clothing is more basic than honor or disgrace. If one cannot even protect the country, why bother talking about poetry and songs. In the past King Goujian of Yue slept on sticks and ate gall and persevered, so he was finally able to take revenge. After I came to Handan, I find that everyone is engrossed in eating, drinking and having fun. With such environment, no matter how much you support poetry and music, sooner or later you will become slaves of a fallen country.”
The one who felt the worse was Zhao Zhi, to be reprimanded in her face by him so she lowered her pretty face quietly.
Li Yuan and Han Chuang’s expression became uneasy for they are indeed more engrossed in play and had totally ignored the grand plan of dealing with the Qins.
Zhao Mu remembered that ‘he’ grew up in the wilderness mountainous areas so he did not feel at all bewildered, even secretly thinking that when he becomes the King of Zhao in future, he must give more important duties to this practical person.
The feelings of the other 3 ladies were not as direct for in this world where men are leaders, it is naturally the duty of men to protect the country. Instead they find him to be extraordinary for it seems that everyone else is intoxicated but he is the only sober person.
Ji Zhong smiled coldly and said, “Who will know who the last one standing is until the very end?”
Xiang Shaolong is already feeling very irritated with this person that Lord Dongzhou had sent. He eyes flashed icily as he stared at him and said, “People say that a normal person will only think of today’s matters, a fool will only remember yesterday’s matters and only the intelligent will have a open mind and think about tomorrow, or even possible events that will happen one year or ten years later and start making plans today. If one has to wait until a winner is found which by then will be too late for regrets, he might as well go home now and hug his woman and get as much sleep as possible.”
Ji zhong’s expression changed as he said angrily, “What does Mister Dong mean by those words? Who does not plan for the future, or are you the only intelligent one?”
Zhao Ya tried to play the peacemaker but Xiang Shaolong raised his hand to stop her. He smiled calmly and said, “Mister Ji thinks too much. I am only stating facts, so please do not think that I was pinpointing at anyone. I am a straightforward person and now I’m sharing weal and woe with everyone here so I hope I can offer my help to protect the country and her peoples. But look what kind of reception I received. Anyone with eyes will know who will be the last one standing. This is not a time for argument, but a time to cast aside our preconceptions for only by knowing oneself and one’s enemy, will we be able to stand a chance at fighting Qin.”
Guo Kai and Le Cheng exchanged looks, finally understanding the reason for his anger, for he is blaming the King of Zhao for ignoring him because of Li Yuan.
Zhao Ba exclaimed “Excellent!” and turned towards Ji Zhong, saying “Horse Fanatic Dong is a straight forward person who speaks his mind and I like that. Mister Ji please do not blame him, his words are a reprimand for everyone at this table, including me. But his lecture does indeed set a person thinking.”
How can Li Yuan be appeased, so he said with an icy smile, “Since that’s the case, Mister Dong can jolly well not attend such a merry making feast, so why is he saying one thing, but doing another thing altogether?”
Xiang Shaolong smiled slightly and replied, “Mister Li is mistaken. A feast is a normal social activity, and the Qins have never banned feasts. I’m just making use of the topic being discussed to point out that some people are abandoning and ignoring the most important matters and only cares about having fun, or because of their own selfish gains, are doing things that will only harm others but benefit themselves.”
He stared at him, lifted his arms and tugged at his collar, pulling down his top to reveal his bandaged shoulders and asked nonchalantly, “Can Mister Li tell me, who caused these sword injuries?”
Ji Yanran exclaimed ‘Ah’ and looked towards Li Yuan.
Li Yuan was caught off guard and was stunned, unable to speak.
It was only now that the others understand that these two person’s enmity is so deep to the extent that weapons are now being used.
Xiang Shaolong rearranged his clothes and said with a smile, “Naturally Mister Li would not know who did this and anyway I can’t be bothered with such lowdown people who use despicable means. I just want to prove to everyone here that I am not shooting people down without a reason.”
Xiang Shaolong’s word were meat to establish his image of a straightforward and open person and at the same time attacking Li Yuan so that this person would not dare to strike him again. Otherwise it’ll be a big problem if he wants to distance himself from the attack.
Li Yuan’s expression now looked as horrendous as anyone can imagine.
Zhao Mu said, “Mister Dong can relate your attack in detail to General Le, he’ll definitely help to give you justice.”
Xiang Shaolong guffawed in reply, “Such insignificant matters, why talk about it. Come, let me offer a toast to Mister Ji and Mister Li to thank them for listening to the complaints of an uncouth man like me.”
Everyone lifted their cups so Ji and Li had no choice but to lift their cups and drink up as well.
They had just put down their cups when Zhao Zhi offered a toast to Xiang Shaolong, “I was ignorant and caused Mister Dong to be so angry, let me make use of this wine to offer my apologies.”
Zhao Zhi has always been known for being stubborn and for those who know her well, this is the first time they see her being so meek.
Xiang Shaolong said with a smile after he drank up, “It’s my fault, how can it be blamed on Miss Zhi.”
Ji Yanran’s eyes were exceptionally bright as she offered a toast to him, “Not only are Mister Dong’s words surprising, but thought provoking as well. You will definitely have a great future.”
What followed were toasts being offered to one another and the atmosphere returned to normal, at least it seems so on the surface.
Li Yuan was constantly disadvantaged tonight and Xiang Shaolong gained all the upper hand so he was anxiously talking to Ji Yanran who was sitting beside him, hoping to get back into her good grace. A pity that Ji Yanran now knows that he is so despicable as to send men to ambush Xiang Shaolong and she wished she could kill him instead. Therefore she only gave him a few polite but icy replies.