While Jiang Li was bathing, Zhao Gao had just stepped into the main hall of Ganquan Palace.
Passing through the screens, Zhao Ji's figure entered his sight.
She knelt on a soft cushion, and in front of her was a low tea table. There were many tea sets placed on it, and wisps of steaming heat carried the fragrance of tea in all directions.
"Greetings Empress Dowager, this servant has something to report!”
Inside the hall, Zhao Gao bowed, straightened his arms, and put his palms and fingers together to pay his respects.
"What is it?"
Mistress Zhao put down her teacup and turned her head to look at him. A beautiful face that was as beautiful as a painting was revealed. It was so beautiful that it was suffocating.
Since Zhao Ji didn't say no, Zhao Gao could only maintain his salute posture. He lowered his head and looked at the floor."I know that the Empress Dowager is fond of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. I brought Jiang Li to the Palace of Sweet Spring so that he could relieve the Empress Dowager's boredom.”
" Jiang Li…" Lady Zhao's beautiful eyes lit up. She raised her eyebrows and smiled faintly."You're talking about your nephew, who is famous throughout the seven countries. The world praises him as the current generation's painting saint and poetry immortal. It's said that his paintings are hard to find and his poems can be passed down for hundreds of generations!”
"In the past, my father failed to live up to the Empress Dowager's favor. He did not want to improve, and he took bribes, causing the Empress Dowager's favor to be tainted. If the Empress Dowager had not been lenient and pleaded with Prince Zhuang, Zhao Gao would have long been a skeleton in the grave.”
Zhao Gao was grateful and sighed,"" Now, Zhao Gao has no relatives except for his nephew, Jiang Li. My nephew came from the State of Zhao and crossed thousands of miles to seek refuge with me. He wants to seek an official position in the imperial court to glorify his family.”
" I've been thinking about it. Although Jiang Li is young, he still has talent. I'm just a servant in the palace. I don't have the ability to help him get an official position. That's why I'm thick-skinned enough to recommend Jiang Li to the Empress Dowager.”
Hearing Zhao Gao's words, Lady Zhao laughed and said,""That nephew of yours, the Art Saint and the Poet Immortal, is in his prime. Could it be that he's still a little official fan?”
"The Empress Dowager has discerning eyes and has seen through the truth.”Zhao Gao flattered him and said with a headache,"This servant's nephew has a great reputation, so he is somewhat arrogant. This servant had previously spent a lot of effort to help him apply for the position of county magistrate, but he did not take a fancy to it. Instead, he complained that my uncle's connections are shallow.”
Zhao Ji shook her head and laughed. She stood up and said loudly,"A gentleman only has a hook in his hand, and his spirit is higher than a hundred feet. Who has written history for ten thousand years? Just listen to the poem he wrote when he left Handan. How high-spirited was he? The position of a mere county magistrate was really too low and did not match his ambition.”
Zhao Gao, who had his head lowered, had bright eyes. He could tell that Lady Zhao was obviously very interested in Jiang Li, just as he had guessed.
" Empress Dowager," he said in a low voice," I only have one nephew. Jiang Li became famous at a young age. His name has spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms. I'm happy for him. I'm proud of him." However, he was too impetuous, and this servant boldly begged the Empress Dowager to help this servant grind down his pride. It was not a good thing to aim too high.”
If Jiang Li was there, he would have cursed. He had never seen such slander. He was so humble. When did he become too arrogant and ambitious?
In front of the tea table, Zhao Ji's interest was piqued. She picked up the teacup and took a sip. She moistened her throat and shouted coldly,"Zhao Gao, how dare you. This Queen is the Empress Dowager of the Qin country and this Queen was entrusted by the former King to listen to the government behind the curtain. Every day, just the memorials have to be read for several hours, and you want this Queen to help you discipline your little nephew?”
Zhao Gao's eyelids twitched slightly, and he said with a panicked expression,""This servant's life was saved by the Empress Dowager. The person this servant cares about the most is the Empress Dowager, followed by my nephew.”
"Who has written history for ten thousand years? Three thousand miles away, you want to be a marquis. If you don't have the ambition to soar into the sky, how could your nephew write such a poem?”
Concubine Zhao softened her tone and put down her teacup. She smiled faintly and said," Forget it. Since you've been loyal and conscientious for so many years, I'll summon Jiang Li here. I'd like to see how ambitious he is!”
"This servant accepts the order!"
Zhao Gao straightened his back, the corners of his eyes flickering with an inexplicable light. He cautiously suggested,"This servant's nephew has been praised by outsiders as a saint of painting and a saint of poetry. He is even more proud of it. Why not let him paint and compose poems for the empress dowager? At that time, the empress dowager will pick out some flaws and give him a little blow to temper him.”
" Let the Art Saint and Immortal Poet paint and compose poems…" Lady Zhao's beautiful eyes lit up as she thought of the rumors between the seven countries.
On Jiang Li's way to the Qin Empire, he had drawn and composed poems for three women. One was the Snow Maiden, the dancer of the State of Zhao, the other was the leader of the Yinyang School, Prince Dongjun, and the third was the Right Guardian of the Yinyang School, Yueshen.
Now, these three women were famous for their stories of three paintings and three poems. They were known as the three most beautiful women in the Seven Kingdoms.
As a woman, and a beautiful one at that, Lady Zhao naturally hoped that the Immortal Poet's poems could be passed down for generations, so that people would remember them after she died.
Thinking of this, Zhao Ji looked at Zhao Gao and said calmly,"As you said, summon Jiang Li to come over to paint and compose poems for me.”
"This servant accepts the order!"
Having achieved his goal, Zhao Gao bowed and left.
…
After leaving the main hall of the Palace of Sweet Spring, Zhao Gao walked quickly. Each step he took was 100 feet, and he headed straight for the pavilion where Jiang Li was.
When Zhao Gao arrived at Jiang Li's attic, Jiang Li was sitting on a table in the attic. He was holding a white cloth in one hand and a long sword in the other. He was leisurely wiping the blade of the sword. His sitting posture was very indecent.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, Jiang Li quickly turned over and left the table. He put down the towel and sword in his hands and stood neatly, restoring the image of an elegant young master.
A few seconds later, Zhao Gao entered the room with a tray in his hand. On it was a flagon and two bronze wine cups.
"Uncle, didn't you say you were going to paint for the Empress Dowager? Why did you bring wine?"
Jiang Li was confused. He didn't understand what his uncle was up to. Even if he wanted to drink and chat with him, now was not the time.
Or was it that he wasn't going to paint today and had changed the time?
Or had his cheap uncle thought it through? He couldn't do this kind of thing. He would lose his head.
After entering the room, Zhao Gao placed the bronze wine pot and bronze wine cup on the table and poured two glasses of wine. He turned around and smiled,"The Empress Dowager asked you to go over to paint and compose poems for her. Uncle was afraid that you would be nervous and submissive, which would make the Empress Dowager unhappy, so uncle accompanied you to drink a few cups to boost your courage.”
"Painting and composing poems is not going to the guillotine. What can I be nervous about?”Jiang Li walked to the table, picked up the wine bottle, and took a sip. He commented,""Uncle, your wine is very ordinary. It looks clear and translucent, but it's actually weak. It's like drinking water.”
In the late Warring States Period, there were often heroes who ate large bowls of meat and drank wine. This was not because they had a high alcohol tolerance, but because their winemaking techniques were too poor. They were all low-alcohol wines, so they could not get drunk after a thousand glasses. If it was the high-alcohol white wine of the later generations, let alone a thousand glasses, you could not even drink a hundred glasses.
Zhao Gao didn't care about Jiang Li's complaints. He picked up his wine cup and drank a few glasses with Jiang Li. He said,""You can't miss this opportunity.”
Jiang Li's face darkened at the mention of this. He didn't want to say a word.
She had never seen such an uncle push his nephew into the fire pit and even say that it was for his own good.
At this moment, Jiang Li really wanted to say that if he really cared about him, he might as well give him the Six Sword Slaves first!
……
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]