Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 72 Dinner Party
In Li Xian's view, it was utterly unbelievable that Liu Jianjun, such a wary person, would reveal his secrets to Wang Bo, someone he had just met.

“Do you remember the theory we talked about before that you can only trust the dead?” Liu Jianjun paused, then continued, “If Wang Bo hadn’t pleaded for him, he would have died, so I trust him.”

"You mean he'll be murdered by the Empress Dowager?"

"More or less." Liu Jianjun nodded vaguely. "To be precise, all of those people except Liu Nayan would have died, but we could only save Wang Bo."

"Therefore, we can completely trust Wang Bo. Of course, there's no need to tell him about our plot to seize the throne, since I only called him here to keep an eye on Liu Neyan."

At this point, Liu Jianjun smiled and shrugged: "Xianzi, don't you think the situation is excellent?"

Li Xian was puzzled.

"Look, we've only been in Chang'an for a few days, and we've already gone from being a lone commander to having allies. Shangguan Wan'er is one, Wang Bo is another, and Xianzi, Taiping, and Di Renjie are all half of them."

“We can go and win over Liu Rengui every two days. Isn’t the situation going very well?”

Li Xian said irritably, "The Empress Dowager has even more people on her side!"

"It's alright, her side is full of useless trash, while our side is full of elites, one of them is worth ten of hers!" Liu Jianjun said with great pride, then waved his hand, "Alright, I'm going to catch up on some sleep. You arrange the banquet later, make sure to prepare a few more hearty dishes, some beef and mutton, something nourishing!"

Then, they disappeared in a flash.

Li Xian chuckled to himself.

However, it must be said that Liu Jianjun's optimistic attitude gave Li Xian a lot of confidence.

The more he understood Empress Wu, the more he could sense her deep scheming and foresight. Li Xian really didn't have much confidence in going against her.

Fortunately, there was Liu Jianjun.

……

The sounding of the closing drum at Chengtian Gate signifies that Chang'an City has entered a curfew.

At this time of day, the streets of Suzaku are usually quiet, but the mansions of the princes and dukes are brightly lit.

The Tang Dynasty was incredibly wealthy, especially for those at the pinnacle of power. Daytime spending was no longer enough to squander their wealth, so it was common for them to indulge in nightly revelry, sometimes lasting all night long.

But now that the late emperor has passed away, the banquets and celebrations have come to an end, and the entire city of Chang'an is desolate.

Therefore, Li Xian did not dare to make the banquet too grand. He secretly sent his servants to Pingkangfang to invite several well-known officials to host the banquet behind closed doors and to present songs and dances.

Li Xian sat in the main seat, with Liu Jianjun at the head of the table to his left. However, Liu Jianjun was not well-behaved. Taking advantage of the time he got up to pour wine, he frequently moved around the dancing Du Zhi Niangzi. His hands were never still. Sometimes he would put his arm around the waist of the Du Zhi Niangzi and dance together, and sometimes he would rub against their plump buttocks.

Li Xian wanted to say something polite to explain for Liu Jianjun, but at this moment, Wang Bo supported himself with one hand, moved his buttocks closer, and said in a low voice under the pretense of toasting, "Liu Changshi is truly a great man!"

Li Xian was stunned.

Wang Bo looked at Liu Jianjun, who was behaving recklessly on the dance floor, with admiration, and continued in a low voice: "Liu Changshi's self-degradation has the spirit of Han Xin and Xiao He!"

Li Xian: "..."

He wanted to say that this was Liu Jianjun's true nature.

But at this moment, Liu Jianjun swayed and walked towards Liu Neyan, seemingly unable to hold his liquor, staggering unsteadily.

Walking up to Liu Nayan, Liu Jianjun shooed away the maidservant serving him, slurring his words, "Go away! Don't you have any sense? Old Liu is getting on in years, why are you still feeding him beef! Can he even chew it?"

Then, Liu Jianjun moved the winter melon soup that Liu Neyan had placed furthest away over and said with great concern, "Old Liu! The maids in the manor are not observant and have neglected you. Please forgive them!"

"Here, have some! It's soft and tender!" Liu Neyan glanced longingly at the plate of beef.

Li Xian thought to himself that Liu Nayan must not have eaten anything good during his time in exile, otherwise he wouldn't have shown such a fascinated look.

But Liu Jianjun urged enthusiastically, "Don't be shy! You are Xianzi's teacher, so make yourself at home in the Prince of Pei's residence! Eat whatever you want!"

Liu Neyan looked to Li Xian for help.

Li Xian couldn't help but chuckle, pretending not to see it, and turned to continue talking to Wang Bo: "That's just how Liu Jianjun is, he loves to cause trouble."

But Wang Bo still looked at Liu Jianjun with admiration and continued, "Your Highness suspects Liu Neyan, but Chief Secretary Liu is testing him on your behalf!"

Then, he suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? What song is that entertainer singing? I've never heard it in Chang'an before?"

Li Xian was taken aback, then recognized that the song being sung by Du Zhi was Liu Jianjun's "Shuidiao Getou". He smiled and said, "The lyrics and music were written by Liu Jianjun, and it is called Shuidiao Getou."

Wang Bo's eyes lit up: "Brother Liu is so talented?"

Even the way they address each other has changed.

Li Xian recalled Liu Jianjun's poem "The Road to Shu is Hard," and then recited it again with a smile, saying, "When I heard Liu Jianjun recite this poem in Bazhou, I thought of introducing him to Zian. Now, the two of you have actually met."

Wang Bo didn't speak, but just closed his eyes and muttered: "Avoid the fierce tiger in the morning, avoid the long snake in the evening, grind its teeth and suck blood, kill people like flies... Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"

After reading it, he suddenly stood up, holding his wine glass, walked to Liu Jianjun's side, toasted him, and said excitedly, "Brother Liu is a man of great talent, I am ashamed to admit my inferiority!"

Liu Jianjun, who was "urging" Liu Nayan to drink the winter melon soup, was taken aback by Wang Bo's actions. He tentatively handed the winter melon soup to Wang Bo and asked, "Do you want some too?"

Wang Bo didn't react immediately, or rather, he was still immersed in the poem "The Road to Shu is Hard," and exclaimed excitedly: "The road to Shu is harder than ascending to heaven! I thought that the only great talents in the world today were Yang Lingming and Lu Sheng, but now that I have seen such a talented person as Brother Liu, I realize that there are people better than you. Let's drink a big cup of wine!"

With that, Wang Bo raised his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp: "I'll finish it! Liu Changshi, please feel free to drink as you please!"

Liu Jianjun only realized it now and asked with a curious look, "The Yang Lingming and Lu Shengzhi you mentioned, are they Yang Jiong and Lu Zhaolin?"

Wang Bo also knew that Liu Jianjun did not know how to use courtesy names, so he nodded: "That's right. Although I have not met these two very often, we get along very well. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will definitely introduce them to Chief Secretary Liu!"

Liu Jianjun asked curiously, "Hey, wasn't there also Luo Binwang who was as famous as the three of you? Why haven't I heard you mention him?"

Wang Bo sneered: "A bunch of scheming and despicable people! I would rather not associate with them!"

At this moment, Li Xian also went over, and the four of them sat around Liu Neyan's desk. Li Xian explained with a smile, "Luo Binwang was once imprisoned for embezzlement during the Empress Dowager's regency."

Liu Jianjun suddenly realized.

"It's a setup! It must be a setup!"

Wang Bo looked disdainful, but Liu Nayan only had eyes for the plate of beef.

Liu Jianjun still seemed very angry. He angrily grabbed the beef from Liu Neyan's table, stuffed it into his mouth, pulled Li Xian aside, and whispered indistinctly, "Xianzi, Luo Binwang is also useful!"

Li Xian paused for a moment, then turned to look at Wang Bo and asked in a low voice, "You mean..."

"Yes, let Wang Bo handle this as well."

……

(End of this chapter)