The immortal is beside me

Chapter 83: The prosperous Kaiyuan era, Li Bai writes
"Bake~ Freshly baked Mingya cake~"

“Braised pork~Best braised pork~”

"White wine, perilla water, agarwood water! Whatever you want to drink, we have everything~"

The cries of hawkers poured into my ears from all directions, mixed with the sounds of zithers, harps, bells and drums, creating a bustling scene.

Zhou Wuqing and Ye Qiansheng walked side by side, slowly passing through the small paths between the streets and the market.

He had seen many roadside stalls when passing through Fansu before, but they were far inferior to the market town in Chang'an. The shops here were next to each other, filling the entire street, and each shop was full of dazzling goods, making people dazzled.

Today is the day of a grand banquet. All the shops in Chang'an City are open all night, and every market is crowded with carriages and horses. Among the guests are palace ladies in luxurious clothes, but more are civilians in cloth clothes. They shuttle between various markets, tasting delicacies, admiring lanterns, and enjoying the joy of life.

In terms of luxury, even the great sects and schools boasted magnificent palaces; in terms of rarity, the world of immortal cultivation boasted countless wonders and unusual sights. However, such a large crowd and such a bustling scene were rare.

"Hey, my two guests, would you like to try this fine wine?"

When they passed a corner of a market town, an enthusiastic merchant stopped them. On the table in front of him were several porcelain wine cups, each containing a different kind of wine.

"There's a banquet going on in Chang'an today. Feel free to try this wine. It's free!"

The wine seller enthusiastically picked up one of the bottles and handed it to Zhou Wuqing: "This is the finest Yingzhou Spring, served at every state banquet in the imperial city. Would you like to try it, sir?"

Zhou Wuqing reached out to take the wine cup and took a sip carefully. The wine tasted mellow and sweet. If you tasted it carefully, you could also smell a unique aroma of koji.

He hadn't tasted ordinary wine in many years. Compared to his memory, the brewing technology of the world had advanced to a higher level. The wine was much clearer and more refreshing than it was hundreds of years ago, with a lingering aftertaste.

"How is it, sir? Is it delicious?"

The vendor noticed his expression change slightly and raised his voice proudly, "This is the best liquor in the Tang Dynasty. We use the finest sorghum rice and the yeast is the famous Spring Wine Qu. Everyone who has tasted it praises it. Would you like a few cups, sir?"

Zhou Wuqing did not answer him, but just stared at the wine cup on the table, looking at the sparkling wine in it.

"How much sorghum rice is used to brew the wine you are sending out?" He suddenly asked a strange question.

"How much rice?" The vendor was obviously not expecting his sudden question. "That's really hard to calculate. How much do these jars take, roughly one stone? I don't know."

The vendor pondered for a long time, then finally gave up and waved his hand, "Well, it doesn't matter how much. We've had bumper harvests lately, and there's so much rice back home that we can't even finish it all. It's all getting moldy in the granary. It's better to make it into wine and keep it longer."

"." Zhou Wuqing listened to him, stroking the wine cup in his hand. Just as he was about to realize something, he heard another voice behind him.

"Shopkeeper! Give me some Yingzhouchun!"

A smell of alcohol rushed into my nose. I turned around and saw a man in a Confucian robe standing behind me. He was holding a wine bag in his hand. His face was flushed and his eyes were sleepy. When he opened his mouth, he was full of the smell of alcohol.

"Oh, sir, this..." The vendor was a little hesitant when he saw the drunk man, "Sir, you are so drunk, how can you drink more?"

"Not drunk, not drunk, three more bowls!"

The drunk man waved his hands and yelled with a loud tongue. In a blink of an eye, he caught a glimpse of Zhou Wuqing and Ye Qiansheng standing in front of the wine shop.

"Oh! Judging from your appearance, are you two new to Chang'an?" The drunkard, however, acted familiar and approached with a hearty laugh. "Meeting is fate. Since we've met at this table, why not have a drink and a chat with me?"

Zhou Wuqing looked at the drunk man in front of him, frowning slightly at the smell of alcohol on him. Just as he was about to raise his hand to wave him away, a voice came from behind.

"Li Taibai! You're drinking here again!"

A eunuch in official robes ran over breathlessly and pulled him away with a look of disappointment on his face: "Your Majesty asked you to write a poem, but you didn't. Instead, you ran around having fun. Aren't you afraid of angering His Majesty and having your head chopped off?"

"Gao Lishi, you may be narrow-minded, but you manage so much," Li Bai said drunkenly. "Your Majesty asked me to write a poem about beauty for the Empress, so naturally I must go out and seek the beauty of the world. How can I write poetry if I just sit in the palace?"

"How can you say you're looking for beauty? You're just running around aimlessly!" Gao Lishi said angrily.

"Okay, okay, if you say I can run around, then I can run around." Li Bai shook his head. "If you don't want me to run, then come and take off my boots, and I won't be able to run."

With a swish, he raised one leg and kicked the boot on his foot straight in front of Gao Lishi. Seeing the latter's face turn pale and blue, he laughed, put his leg down again, and turned to the two people over there again.

"The rouge and powder in the palace are so vulgar, they don't see any beauty."

Li Bai said, "These two friends who have come from afar seem quite impressive and have good intentions. If you have nothing else to do, please leave. I want to discuss beauty with them."

Gao Lishi was reminded by his words and turned to look at the two people in front of him. As his eyes turned, he happened to catch a glimpse of the jade pendant hanging around Zhou Wuqing's waist, which made his face change suddenly.

"Li Taibai, stop messing around!" He leaned close to Li Bai's ear and lowered his voice, "These two are immortals who have descended to the mortal world! If you act so presumptuously in front of them, you're going to die!"

"Fairy?"

Li Bai blinked his drunken eyes, looked at Zhou Wuqing in front of him, then looked at Ye Qiansheng next to him, and after a while he suddenly laughed out loud again.

"So you two are immortals! What a fate, what a fate!"

He saluted crookedly and said vaguely, "In Chang'an, some people call me the Immortal Poet, and some call me the Immortal Winemaker. May I ask what kind of immortals you two are?"

These half-drunk, half-awake words were quite interesting. Zhou Wuqing pondered for a moment and replied, "Just a passerby from outside." "Ha, you really have come from far away!" Li Bai nodded, flicking his sleeves and pointing to the street behind him. "Then you should take a good look. There is no city in the world that can compare to Chang'an."

His voice suddenly stopped, and when he turned around, the two people in front of him had disappeared. Where he had just stood, there was only an empty wine glass filled with moonlight.

"Did I see anyone just now?"

He was suddenly stunned, staring at the place where the figure disappeared and thinking for a moment, then suddenly stood up: "Pen! Give me my pen!"

Gao Lishi, who was standing by, was slightly startled by his appearance, but he still took the ink pen and paper and handed them to him. He spread out the paper with one hand, and with his pen, he wrote a poem in a flash.

Yun Xiang's clothes are beautiful and beautiful, and the spring breeze is blowing.

If it weren't for Qunyu Shantou, we would meet at Yaotai.

After pressing the last stroke, he casually tossed the paper to Gao Lishi beside him. The latter hurriedly caught it, glanced at it quickly, and his eyes immediately became fixed.

"This is."

"Let's call it 'Qingping Diao'."

Li Bai threw the ink brush in his hand with a twirl, landing in a nearby wine vat. He tilted his head back, drank the last sip of wine in the bowl, burped, and slumped over on the table, soon snoring in a sweet dream.

It was already late at night, but Chang'an was still brightly lit. The grand banquet continued, and fireworks rose into the sky one after another, lighting up the night of Chang'an as bright as day.

On the city wall, Zhou Wuqing and Ye Qiansheng sat together, taking advantage of the terrain to overlook the entire Chang'an. They had both cast special blinding spells on themselves, so even if the soldiers guarding the city passed by, they would not notice, let alone the people standing below.

Zhou Wuqing sat on the city wall, holding a fried cake in his hand, watching and eating. The fried cake was fried until the skin was blistered, and the inside was full of sugar filling. Most people would feel sick after eating a few bites, but he liked the taste very much.

"Brother Zhou looks very happy today." Ye Qiansheng beside him suddenly spoke as they sat there.

Zhou Wuqing turned to look at her, only to see her sitting beside him with a smile on her face, sipping the agarwood water she had bought from the street.

"I've never seen Brother Zhou like this before," she said with a smile. "You look so happy, like a little child."

Zhou Wuqing raised his eyebrows: "Why do you say that?"

"Brother Zhou must know it in his heart, so I don't need to say more."

Ye Qiansheng smiled lightly, waved his hand and stopped talking about this topic.

In the past, he would have disdained such behavior of saying things half-heartedly, but today he was in a very good mood, so he didn't bother with her.

They sat on the wall, eating and drinking, chatting casually. Fireworks rose continuously into the sky, filling it with colorful lights. The whole sky was like a bright light, outlining the silhouettes of the two people on the wall.

He looked at the fireworks and she looked at him.

While they were talking, they heard the sound of bells and drums from the city, and a palace maid dressed as an imperial guard appeared on the top of the imperial city with his attendants.

In the middle of them was a huge scroll with gold and silk in the middle and unpolished jade at both ends. It took five or six people to lift it.

"Your Majesty's decree: Our dynasty has entered the 29th year of the Kaiyuan era, and the world is at peace, with good governance and harmonious people. Your Majesty, in accordance with the Emperor Xuanyuan's Tianbao celebration, changes the reign title from today to Tianbao!"

The huge scroll slowly unrolled, revealing the enormous characters "Tian Bao" on the golden brocade. Inscribed in the handwriting of Emperor Li Longji, it signified the name of the coming New Year.

"Tianbao." Zhou Wuqing gazed at the scroll from afar and nodded slightly. "The land is blessed with abundant natural resources and outstanding people. It truly deserves the name of this prosperous era."

"A prosperous age is achieved by human effort. What the Emperor of Man has done, what the people have wished for, and what the immortals have protected are all treasures from heaven."

Ye Qiansheng smiled gently. "If we talk about outstanding people and a blessed land, Brother Zhou is definitely one of them. The Central Plains has been in turmoil for over a hundred years. If it weren't for Brother Zhou's efforts to eliminate the evil and quell the chaos, the Immortal Alliance would not have come this far, and perhaps there would be no such prosperous era as today."

Zhou Wuqing listened to her but did not answer. He just stared quietly at the magnificent scene in front of him.

The fireworks in the sky cast their brightest tail flames, and under the fireworks, the imperial city echoed with the lingering sound of "Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Coat". People at the table shook the remaining wine in their cups while chatting and laughing, and when the cups clinked, it marked the first year of Tianbao.

The New Year is approaching, everything is renewed, and under the fireworks of this grand era, laughter continues until dawn.

In the second year of Tianbao, Li Bai was slandered by palace ladies because of his noble attitude. Emperor Xuanzong gave him gold and released him. Since then, he never returned to Chang'an.

In the third year of Tianbao, Emperor Xuanzong changed the year to Zai. In the same year, An Lushan succeeded Pei Kuan as the governor of Fanyang.

In the ninth year of Tianbao, there was drought in Guanzhong and disaster in Yue Temple.

In the tenth year of Tianbao, the Tang army went to the Battle of Talas and was defeated on the border.

In the 14th year of Tianbao, the Anshi Rebellion broke out.

Also known as the Sakya Rebellion.

(End of this chapter)