Chapter 125: Song of Purity and Peace! (1/2)
Consort Taizhen couldn’t believe that King Song was involved in this matter.
“You mean the letter that I got you to burn?”
Consort Taizhen said with a deep voice, but there wasn’t any trace of anger in her tone.
“Your Highness, please forgive me. Your humble servant couldn’t bear to burn it…”
“Bring it over!”
Curiosity had overwhelmed everything else in her mind, leaving her no spare thoughts to blame this palace maid for keeping King Song’s letter privately.
At the same time, Consort Taizhen was bewildered. She was certain that the letter King Song had sent her was filled with insults. Why would there be a poem in it? How could one scold another with a poem?
Furthermore, if it was truly a poem to scold her, putting aside the young palace maids, the older nannies should at least know better.
Such thoughts caused her curiosity to intensify further.
Soon, the maid returned with the envelope and it looked exactly how it was before, just that the wax sealing it was gone.
“Open the envelope and read the contents!”
From the tent, Consort Taizhen instructed with an impassive tone.
It was under the arrangements of the Sage Emperor and a seer that Consort Taizhen had to live in the red tent in Yuzhen Palace. No one was allowed to approach the tent, and even the palace maids had to lower their heads when delivering clothes, food, and waiting on her.
According to the words of that seer, this was the only way that Consort Taizhen would be able to survive this ordeal safely.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Xiao Zhu of the Clothes Incineration Section trembled in fear. Forcefully suppressing her fright, she took out the letter within. In an instant, all of the palace maids, guards, and even the austere old nannies unknowingly turned their gazes toward the letter.
They had more or less heard bits and pieces of the verses of this poem, but none of them had the privilege of listening to the complete poem. The only thing that they knew about the poem was that it was extremely beautiful.
“Read it!”
Consort Taizhen ordered with a sliver of anger to her tone. King Song had once sent a letter to criticize her, and she didn’t think that he was up to any good this time either. She was intrigued as to what King Song was trying to do by stirring such chaos in her Yuzhen Palace.
“Yes!”
Xiao Zhu of the Clothes Incineration Section answered. Then, taking a deep breath, her aura abruptly changed visibly to the senses of the others.
A moment ago, Xiao Zhu was still trembling with fear, but at this moment, as she held the ‘poem’ in her hands, she suddenly calmed down. The sunlight shone on her pretty face, and warmth that penetrated deep into one’s soul could be seen in her eyes, as though she was looking at her lover.
“Song of Purity and Peace!”
Xiao Zhu recited the name of the poem. Her voice was extremely crisp and gentle, and it possessed a quality that moved one’s heart, sending a surge of warmth into one’s soul.
“This is a Yuefu poem.”
(Lyrical poem)
Consort Taizhen was stunned. She didn’t think that it was actually a poem.
“So it’s called Song of Purity and Peace.”
A commotion also broke out among the palace maids. This was their first time hearing of the name of the poem. They had discussed the poem and spread it around themselves previously, but in deference to Consort Taizhen, they did it secretly. As such, none of them actually knew the name of the poem.
There weren’t many among the servants who were literate, and their comprehension in poetry wasn’t deep either. Thus, they were unable to tell the meaning of Song of Purity and Peace; all they could tell was that it sounded indescribably refreshing and elegant.
“Continue!”
Consort Taizhen was perplexed. No matter how she looked like it, the name of the poem didn’t seem like an insult.
“Clouds, one thinks of her clothes; flowers, one thinks of her countenance!”
Xiao Zhu’s voice became even gentler, and her light voice softly wafted across Yuzhen Palace. As though possessing incredible magic, all of the maids suddenly fell silent.
All of them stared in a daze at Xiao Zhu of the Clothes Incineration Section and the letter in her hands, as though they had lost their souls.
“Clouds, one thinks of her clothes; flowers, one thinks of her countenance! So that’s it! …”
This was the first time they were listening to the original content of the poem.
Within the red tent, Consort Taizhen was also stunned. It wasn’t what ‘the cloud toward the rain’ or ‘the cloud reminiscent of the flowers’, but ‘Clouds, one thinks of her clothes; flowers, one thinks of her countenance’.
In an instant, Consort Taizhen felt as though somewhere in the depths of her heart had melted.
Her aptitude toward poetry was far beyond these palace maids, allowing her to sense the elegance and refinement within the poem, as well as a faint feeling of… laziness!
Somehow, she could see a figure stroking his beard, lying on a field of flowers beneath the night of a full moon. Staring at the elegant clouds, accompanied by alluring flowers, his mind was filled with remembrance for the beautiful lady in his heart.
Even though no one knew how that woman in his heart would look like, she had to be incredibly beautiful to have the elegance of the clouds and allurement of the flowers.
Consort Taizhen was taken aback.
Even though these palace maids had no talent in the field of poetry, there was one thing they were right about. The verses of this poem were extremely beautiful, surpassing all of the other verses she had heard in the past.
“…the spring wind sweeps dew from her balustrade, splendid and dense.”
Xiao Zhu recited the next line. In this instant, the entire Yuzhen Palace fell completely silent. Even the Chamberlains of Imperial Insignia stationed at the corners of the tent grew agitated upon hearing those words.
Clouds, one thinks of her clothes; flowers, one thinks of her countenance; the spring wind sweeps dew from her balustrade, splendid and dense. How beautiful…”
Dazed, the palace maids were unable to speak a single word. This was their first time listening to the content of the original poem, and it was much more beautiful than they had imagined.
“If not seen at the peak of the Jade Mountain…”
The third line was recited, and the breathing in the tent hastened.
“…then she will be encountered under the moon on the gemstone terrace!”
When the final line was read out, the entire Yuzhen Palace fell silent.
The spring breeze blows across the fence, granting me a peek at that lady’s beauty. How can there be such a beautiful woman in the mortal world?
Have I accidentally stepped into the heavens? Otherwise, she must be a fairy who descended from the gemstone terrace, right?
…
The recitation of the poem caused a bizarre atmosphere to overwhelm the entire Yuzhen Palace. Everyone fell in a trance due to the beauty of the poem. For a very long time, they were immersed in their imaginations, unable to speak a single word.
Even the austere nannies had peculiar gentleness on their face. This poem had brought them the memories of their youth.
They were already full of wrinkles and silver hair, but who hasn’t been young before? And who hasn’t fallen for another before?
They were cold-hearted nannies in the eyes of others, austere and emotionless. Even so, they were able to sense the beautiful artistic conception in the poem.
Silence!
Absolute silence!
Seated in the red tent, Consort Taizhen felt as though her entire heart had melted.
…
It took a very long time before everyone managed to awaken from the beauty of the Song of Purity and Peace. All of them secretly glanced at Consort Taizhen within the red tent.
Even though they were illiterate and they couldn’t appreciate the depth of the verses, they could tell that this elegant and alluring poem was a compliment toward a lady.