Chapter 46: Lolita Cai Yan

  "Your Majesty, are you killing chickens?" Tang Ying covered her mouth and walked in, the corners of her eyes curved into crescent moons.

  Liu Bian rolled his eyes, pushed the guqin to one side, and dispiritedly hugged his head. He regretted it now; he shouldn't have agreed to learn from Cai Yong. Clearly, he wasn't cut out for this - after half a day of practice, he still couldn't play even the first short piece properly. His brain was being mashed into tofu by the cacophony of notes, not to mention Cai Yong's face was also twitching with regret.

  Princess of the Thousand Years followed closely behind, holding a little girl by the hand, who was none other than Cai Yan, daughter of Cai Yong. Cai Yan took one glance at Liu Bian and then another at her father's pale face, and she roughly guessed what had happened.

  "Is Your Majesty studying 'Guangling Stops Breathing'?"

  Cai Yong could only nod helplessly.

  "The name of the tune is as it is, this tune aims to stop breathing, can't be too intentional. Play freely, and the melody will come naturally." Cai Yan walked up to Liu Bian's front, bowed down: "Your Majesty, I...can play a tune for Your Majesty?"

  "Who are you..." Liu Bian raised his head, sizing up the little girl in front of him who was not particularly beautiful but had a lot of spirit, and was taken aback. "Cai Yan Cai Wenji?"

  "Your Majesty, I am called Cai Yan, but I don't have a courtesy name yet." Cai Yan's face turned slightly red, and she pursed her bright lips, feeling extremely shy: "I... am only twelve years old, still waiting to be married in the inner chambers."

  "Oh." Liu Bian's eyes were slightly straight, and he secretly scolded himself in his heart. Twelve years old, still a primary school student, a genuine and lovely little loli. But how could the expression between her eyebrows be so calm, as if she was a twenty-year-old princess?

  "Hmm, cough!" Seeing Liu Bian somewhat losing his composure, Tang Ying hurriedly coughed to remind him. Liu Bian woke up with a start and quickly got up to let Cai Yan take the seat: "You play."

  Cai Yan was startled, stretched out her small hand and shook it repeatedly: "Your Majesty's throne, how dare a commoner sit down. I beg Your Majesty to grant me a seat, and I will play the zither for Your Majesty."

  Liu Bian couldn't help but smile and ordered someone to reward him with a seat.

  A waiter brought over a chair, Cai Yan sat down, rolled up her sleeves and exposed her slender wrists. Her long fingers fell on the piano strings, and Cai Yan's expression changed instantly, the shyness on her face disappeared, replaced by a few more serious colors.

  With a gentle "ding", the "Guangling San" flowed out from Cai Yan's slender fingers like a mountain spring. The grand hall was silent, no one spoke, not even a loud breath could be heard, it was as if time had truly stood still. Even Tang Xing, who had been in a bad mood, relaxed his expression, propped up his cheek, and seemed lost in thought.

  As the music came to an end, the wrinkles on Cai Yong's face smoothed out, Tang Ying's raised eyebrows fell, Princess Wannian's slightly furrowed brow relaxed, and even Liu Bian's melancholy was swept away. Before them lay a bright expanse, like a clear sky with endless blue waters; facing the sea, spring warmth and blooming flowers.

  No one cheers, no one praises, everyone is immersed in their own quiet and peaceful state of mind, wandering outside.

  Cai Yan gently withdrew her hands and hid them in her sleeves, raised an eyebrow to glance around, and a hint of a triumphant smile played on the corners of her mouth. In an instant, the dignified musician disappeared, and she transformed back into a twelve-year-old girl, with a charming mixture of shyness and joy.

  Liu Bian was leaning against his cheek, half-closing his eyes, calm and serene, with a vacant gaze, completely unaware that he was facing Cai Yan. His eyes seemed a bit dazed, easily reminding one of a certain animal. Tang Xing saw this, and quietly pushed Liu Bian, softly saying: "Your Majesty, I admire Cai Yan's talents, can you keep her in the palace to accompany me, chat with me, teach me to play the zither and read books?"

  "All right, all right." Liu Bian also didn't think much and immediately agreed: "Mr. Cai, you've worked hard too, take a rest for a few days first, then see what you want to do, whether it's going to the East Observatory to repair history or coming to the palace to be an attendant, assisting me in reading books and playing the zither at any time? You've been outside for over ten years, and it's not like you have a place to stay in Luoyang. Why don't you just live in the palace? This way, your daughter and the princess can also come and go conveniently."

  Cai Yong had no choice but to agree.

  Liu said with his mouth that Cai Yong should rest first, but once he came out of the sound of the piano, the annoying things immediately flooded his mind. Cai Yong was a scholar, and he couldn't help with fighting, but his learning was good, and the "Taiping Jing" which he couldn't understand could be asked to him for instruction, even the "Huangdi Twelve Shapes" which had been translated by Princess Wannian could be let him review again.

  Cai Yan was only twelve years old, but her knowledge was already remarkable. She naturally became Cai Yong's assistant, leaning against him with her eyebrows lowered and her face flushed, intentionally or unintentionally avoiding Liu Bian.

  Actually, Liu Bian didn't pay much attention to Cai Yan. In his opinion, Cai Yan wasn't considered a great beauty; in terms of youthful radiance, she couldn't compare to Tang Ying; in terms of mature charm, she couldn't compare to Princess Wan'er. She was only twelve years old, which is the age of a primary school student in modern times. He wouldn't have any thoughts about a primary school student.

  But Cai Yan did not think so. Although she was only twelve years old, many Han women got married at the age of thirteen or fourteen, and since her birth, she had been wandering around with Cai Yong, inevitably a bit sloppy in etiquette, and she had seen more things than those who grew up in the boudoirs of noble families, so her thoughts were naturally more lively.

  Just now, Liu Bian wanted to give her the imperial seat, she was a little surprised. Later, Liu Bian stared at her again, how could she be unmoved and have no reaction? The Empress Dowager kept her in the palace, probably also following the emperor's intention. She was somewhat pleased and somewhat afraid, and her expression was not so natural.

  "Sir, what does this 'Taiping Jing' inner chapter actually talk about? What are these strange and weird diagrams?"

  Cai Yong took a glance: "It's a talisman, a Daoist talisman." He flipped through it again, his eyebrows slightly raised: "What are these...?"

  Liu Bian took a look. But looking was useless, he didn't understand either, otherwise he wouldn't have asked Cai Yong. "Sir...don't you recognize it?"

  "No, the characters, I recognize, but...the text, I don't understand." Cai Yong's eyes were filled with a mix of excitement and confusion, as if he had stumbled upon a treasure trove, and was eager to dive in. "This...could be a curse."

  "What incantation?" Liu Bian suddenly understood a bit. Lu Zhi had said that Zhang Jiao's secret technique was the talisman and incantation, so since there were talismans in this inner chapter, of course there would be an incantation.

  "If it's an incantation, then it's simple. No need to know the meaning of these words, just knowing what sound they make is enough. Incantations are meant to be phonetic, not semantic."

  Liu Bian nodded repeatedly. This sentence makes sense, what's the point of chanting? Of course it's about making a sound, who cares about its meaning.

  "Mr... what's he looking at?"

  Cai Yong nodded, thought for a moment, and tentatively made a few sounds. Liu Bian didn't understand, so Cai Yong repeated it several times. Liu Bian felt that it sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before.

  Cai Yan's eyes rolled around and she suddenly interjected: "Father, this seems like a Buddhist mantra."

  "Mantra of the pagoda?" Cai Yong seemed to have an epiphany: "You're saying that it's not a mantra from my Central Plains Daoist tradition, but rather a barbarian mantra transmitted through the pagodas?"

  Pagoda? Buddhism? Liu's mind suddenly flashed with thunder, and he was suddenly enlightened. I got it, I said why it sounded so familiar, this is the Six-Character Great Bright Mantra.