My name is Chang An, your name is Gu Li

Although Gu Li seldom goes out, once she goes out, and to a place she has been to even once, she can remember the route very clearly.

Just relying on the memory of being carried here yesterday, Gu Li brought Chang An to the stage where Gongsun Da Niang performed sword dance yesterday. But it seemed that they came a little early, and there was no one on the stage at this time.

"Mr. Chang! Madam Gu! Here, here!"

Chang An and Gu Li looked in the direction of the voice and found Du Fu poking his head out from a small corner behind the stage. When he saw the two of them turn their heads, he stretched out his hand and waved at them, signaling them to come over.

Chang An and Gu Li looked at each other and followed together.

Seeing the two of them approaching, Du Fu said, "Mrs. Gongsun is dressing up in the back. It won't be long before she can start the sword dance."

"It's okay, we just need to wait." Chang An said this, and suddenly found that Gu Li had already taken his arm, as if he was afraid that Du Fu would take him away again.

It was then that Du Fu noticed the lantern in Chang An's arms and asked, "Mr. Chang, are you planning to light this lantern tonight?"

"Hmm?" Chang An looked down at the lantern in his arms and said, "This is a Lantern Festival gift from my wife. I don't plan to release it into the sky."

Du Fu nodded, and at this moment he heard a crisp bell-like voice coming from the side:

"Young Master Du, have you followed me to my door again?"

Chang An and the other two turned their heads and saw that Madam Gongsun was walking towards them with a smile. Although she had just said these words of questioning, there was no anger in them.

"Madam Gongsun!" Du Fu excitedly raised his hand and bowed to Madam Gongsun.

"Young Master Du." Madam Gongsun bowed to Du Fu, then to Chang An and Gu Li, saying, "Young Master Chang, Madam Gu."

"Madam Gongsun." Chang An and his wife also returned the greeting, but Chang An was holding a lantern in his hand, so he couldn't cross his arms to salute, so he could only nod slightly to express his greeting.

"Mr. Chang and Madam Gu are here so early today?" Madam Gongsun asked with a smile.

"I promised Madam Gongsun yesterday, and just after dinner, I was pulled out by my wife." Chang An said with a smile.

"Thank you both so much for giving me face." Madam Gongsun smiled and bowed again.

Then, Madam Gongsun pointed to a table not far from the side of the stage and said, "That table is specially prepared by me. Mr. Chang and Madam Gu can sit there. It's the best seat."

"This...is not appropriate." Chang An looked at the table and said embarrassedly.

"Of course, it's not for nothing that Chang Langjun did this for," said Madam Gongsun. "Everyone in Chang'an says that Chang Langjun's poems are unique. I wonder if you could write one for my sword dance?"

When Chang An heard that he was asked to write a poem, he looked at the table, where the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone were already laid out. At this moment, he felt overwhelmed, because the original author of the poem that the whole world praised as the best of Gongsun Jianwu was standing at his feet.

"Then I will give it a try." Chang An still smiled and agreed, "But Gongsun Lady's sword dance is so extraordinary that I may not be able to write a poem to match it."

"No matter what, I would like to thank Mr. Chang." Madam Gongsun said, "I am about to begin. Mr. Chang and Madam Gu, please take a seat."

After saying that, Chang An and Gu Li looked at each other and sat directly at the table. Even Du Fu trotted over and sat next to Chang An.

Gongsun Da Niang stood on the stage, still wearing a red dress tonight, holding a sword in each hand, and then began to dance. Chang An also handed the lantern to Gu Li, then picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and thought while watching the sword dance -

Gongsun Da Niang was dressed in colorful feathered clothes, with her hair tied up in a high bun, waving two swords in her hands, like a fairy descending from the earth. Her dancing posture was light and graceful, like a dancing fairy, and the two swords in her hands were like two dragons, graceful and flexible.

Her steps were light and steady. She moved quickly on the stage, jumping and spinning at times. Her movements were smooth and natural, like a gust of wind. Her two swords drew beautiful arcs in the air, shining brightly and dazzling. With the accompaniment of music, Gongsun Da Niang's dance became more and more passionate, and her two swords were as fast as lightning, making people dazzled.

Finally, Gongsun Da Niang's body spun in the air, the two swords in her hands flashed dazzling light, and the whole stage was shrouded in her momentum.

As the first sword dance ended, thunderous applause and cheers broke out from the audience. At this time, Chang An also put down the brush in his hand and breathed a long sigh of relief.

Gu Li and Du Fu also came over and watched in the light of the bright lanterns in the sky.

"Watching Gongsun's sword dance: The lady dancing with the sword is as swift as frost, and as graceful as a swimming dragon, Li Siniang. She wears a scarlet robe with sleeves and has black hair, like a dancer from heaven. Among the sage's eight thousand maids, Gongsun's swordsmanship is the best. The dance stops at three o'clock in the morning, and she plays the zither and sighs, and the past dreams are gone."

After reading the poem, Du Fu also exclaimed: "What a good quatrain."

"Mr. Du, you are too kind. I think I am far from being able to match the sword dance of Lady Gongsun." Chang An said. This was not out of modesty, because he really felt that he could not match it. Even though it was considered a quatrain by Du Fu, he still felt that it was not very good.

On the stage, Madam Gongsun took the tea handed to her by the attendant and began to drink it. While drinking, she secretly glanced at the table next to the stage. She saw the three of them leaning over to look at a piece of paper on the table, as if they had already written something and were discussing it.

Normally, Gongsun Da Niang only performed two sword dances, but today was the Lantern Festival, and there were talented people coming, so she performed one more. After performing three sword dances, Gongsun Da Niang put away her sword and bowed to the audience like she did last night.

She came to the table beside the stage and asked, "I wonder if Mr. Chang has finished writing?"

"I have finished writing it," Chang An picked up the dried poem paper and handed it to Madam Gongsun, saying, "But I feel that it is far from worthy of Madam Gongsun's sword dance today."

Madam Gongsun took the poem and laughed after reading it, which made Chang An even more nervous. Then she looked at her and said, "Good poem! I didn't expect that I would be like this in the eyes of Mr. Chang."

"I have never seen how Mr. Chang wrote those famous quatrains before, but today I have seen it. It seems that the title of Chang'an City's No. 1 Talent is well deserved."

Chang An said a little embarrassedly: "I feel that this poem is far from worthy of Madam Gongsun's sword dance."

"How can I not be worthy? I even feel that my sword dance is not worthy of Mr. Chang's quatrain." Madam Gongsun said with a smile, "Mr. Chang should take Madam Gu out for fun today, right? Then I won't keep you two any longer. I just hope you can come back tomorrow to watch."

"Thank you for your kindness, Madam Gongsun. I will definitely come tomorrow." Chang An and Gu Li both stood up and bowed to Madam Gongsun. "Goodbye."

Then, Chang An picked up the lantern and took Gu Li with him to the lantern riddle guessing platform. Du Fu also trotted after them and asked excitedly, "Mr. Chang, are you going to guess lantern riddles?"

"Exactly."

"I also want to go with Mr. Chang, is that okay?" Du Fu looked at Chang An at this time, his eyes full of anticipation.

Chang An once again glanced at Gu Li beside him, who nodded as well, so he had no choice but to agree: "Okay, but Young Master Du, you have to follow closely and don't get lost."

"Don't worry, I won't lose you."

At this time, the riddle stand had already been set up, with six lanterns lit on it. The lanterns got bigger from bottom to top, and there was a person standing next to each lantern, and a table with writing brushes and ink. The sixth lantern at the end was even brighter and more beautiful.

As soon as Chang An and Gu Li arrived in front of the stage, a young man walked down from the stage with his head down. Then an old man on the stage shouted, "Are there any new young men coming up to try?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chang An felt someone tugging at the corners of his clothes on both sides. He looked and found that Gu Li and Du Fu were holding the corners of his clothes in each side.

"Why don't you go up and give it a try, Chang Lang?"

"Why don't you go up and give it a try, Mr. Chang?"

They both said in unison, and seemed to want to see if Chang An could win the sixth lantern. Helplessly, Chang An handed the lantern in his hand to Gu Li, then raised his hand and shouted to the old man on the stage:

"My name is Chang Yonghe, and I am willing to come up and give it a try."

When they heard the name Chang Yonghe, some of the scholars wearing silk scarves around looked over. After all, the name Chang An was too famous among them.

"Then please let Mr. Chang go to the first stage." said the old man.

Chang An nodded slightly, stood up, and looked at the riddle posted on the lantern:

"The gentleman among flowers is gorgeous and fragrant, the beauty in the valley is famous, her elegance and grace are admirable, and she is fragrant even when no one is around - pick a plant." After seeing this riddle, Chang An yawned: Isn't this an orchid?

So he picked up the pen and wrote the answer on the paper. After the referee looked at the answer, he nodded and shouted, "The first riddle is correct!"

Then Chang An came to the second lantern: "The high platform reflects the moon clearly - pick a word."

Chang An only took a quick look at the riddle this time and wrote the word "覃" on the paper. The referee saw the answer and let him move on. The third riddle was getting more difficult:

"Where are the people? - A line from "The Memorial to the Emperor on Departure from the Capital"."

Chang An looked at the riddle, held his chin up and recited the entire "The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital" in his mind. After thinking about it for a while, he wrote the answer on paper.