Chapter 79: There’s More
“Didn’t you hear your two younger brothers’ questions?” the Initial Emperor asked the First Prince coldly.
“Father Emperor, please forgive me. You once taught your sons not to speak while in bed and not to talk while eating,” Huangfu Xuan said calmly. “I originally wanted to discipline my two younger brothers, but I feared it would disturb Father Emperor’s meal, so I ignored them.”
“Just keep being stubborn!” Huangfu Shi muttered softly upon hearing Huangfu Xuan twist the blame. “You’ll cry later…”
“Then must I also wait until you finish eating before asking you questions?” the Initial Emperor asked coldly.
“Your son has already finished eating.” Huangfu Xuan picked up his napkin, wiped his mouth, and sat up straight. “Please instruct me, Father Emperor.”
“…” The Initial Emperor felt a surge of anger from being subtly challenged. His face regained its usual grimness. “Fine. Since the First Prince is so rigid, I, as his Father Emperor, cannot be unreasonable.”
“Your Majesty…” Empress Xiahou tried to intervene, but the Initial Emperor ignored her completely. He narrowed his deep-set eyes and fixed his gaze on Huangfu Xuan. “A ruler’s word is his bond. If you cannot recite the entire poem now, I will have to order the court staves.”
“Picking up a stone only to drop it on your own foot…” Huangfu Xuan whispered to Huangfu Shi. Huangfu Shi nodded with a smile, which earned him a fierce glare from Huangfu Zhen.
At this moment, no one noticed the small actions of the three brothers; all eyes were on Huangfu Xuan.
He, calm and unhurried, met the Initial Emperor’s gaze and slowly recited: “A gentle breeze by the Luo River Bridge, leaning on the railing, I still recall the old Jiangdong.”
“…” The hall fell silent. Several brothers were surprised that Huangfu Xuan had actually managed to complete the poem.
“It doesn’t matter, let’s see how he explains it!” Huangfu Shi said in a low voice. “Willow catkins fly, each piece red. Let’s see how he explains it!”
“Exactly, he won’t be able to explain it,” Huangfu Xuan agreed, nodding emphatically.
Before their words had finished, they heard Huangfu Xuan clear his throat and loudly recite the next two lines: “The setting sun reflects on Cuiyun Peak, willow catkins fly, each piece red!”
“A gentle breeze by the Luo River Bridge, leaning on the railing, I still recall the old Jiangdong. The setting sun reflects on Cuiyun Peak, willow catkins fly, each piece red.” The Initial Emperor, setting aside the matter of Huangfu Xuan’s earlier disrespect, repeated the entire poem and couldn’t help but nod slightly.
Empress Xiahou stood stunned. Huangfu Zhen looked surprised. Huangfu Shi and Huangfu Xuan were dumbfounded. They had never expected Huangfu Xuan to actually complete the poem!
Why were the willow catkins red? They were dyed red by the light of the setting sun!
Not only did he perfectly explain it, but the entire poem was grand and well-structured, melancholic yet not sorrowful. In this era, it could be considered a rare masterpiece.
Huangfu Zhen’s expression turned a little grim. How could he not realize that this poem was not from ancient times but composed on the spot? He, who was known for his literary talent, couldn’t have written such a poem himself. Now, it truly lived up to his two younger brothers’ words: he had picked up a stone only to drop it on his own foot…
Except it wasn’t the eldest brother’s foot that was hit, but the foot of the one who instigated it.
“Eldest Brother, your poem mentions both Luo River Bridge and Cuiyun Peak,” Huangfu Xuan grumbled, still unconvinced. “It’s definitely not by an ancient poet.”
“It’s absolutely not my fabrication,” Huangfu Xuan said calmly, glancing at him.
“Enough!” the Initial Emperor concluded definitively, looking deeply at Huangfu Xuan. “You’ve passed this time. Continue eating.”
“As you command!” Huangfu Xuan felt the burden in his chest lift, and his appetite finally returned. He wanted to signal a palace maid to bring over the bird’s nest roast duck, but suddenly remembered he had just told his Father Emperor he was full. He had no choice but to give up.
To his relief, his three younger brothers also lost their appetites and, after a few hurried bites, put down their chopsticks.
The Emperor and Empress had also finished their breakfast, so the eunuchs respectfully invited the Emperor’s family to move to Yingfeng Pavilion for tea. After the Emperor’s family left, the palace staff cleared away the nearly untouched two to three hundred dishes from breakfast.
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Inside Yingfeng Pavilion, flowers bloomed on all four sides. One could closely observe the flowing water and gaze into the distance at the beautiful mountains and rivers. During the summer retreat, the Initial Emperor most enjoyed spending his time here, not solely for the beautiful scenery, but for a very important reason: from here, he could constantly overlook Luojing City, which made him feel secure.
Once the Emperor’s family was seated, palace maids knelt in the hall, lit a censer, played a zither melody, and then elegantly boiled water to prepare tea.
Admiring the beautiful palace maids’ skilled tea preparation and inhaling the faint scent of agarwood in Yingfeng Pavilion, the Initial Emperor’s family felt a sense of peace and tranquility, free from worldly distractions.
The four brothers accompanied Father Emperor and Mother Empress for a cup of tea. It was almost time for Initial Emperor to handle court affairs, but he still showed no intention of letting them leave.
Seeing that the Emperor seemed to be in a daze, everyone could only sit in silence. After a while, Initial Emperor withdrew his far-gazing gaze and looked at the princes, saying, “I am contemplating what Zhen’er said before breakfast.”
“…” The four brothers’ blood surged. Even Huangfu Xuan, the youngest, did not forget what the Emperor had said before—that they were to help manage court affairs!
“These years, I have been busy with state affairs and have paid little attention to you. I don’t know how much you currently understand about the state affairs of Great Xuan.” As Initial Emperor spoke, his gaze slowly swept over the four princes, and he said in a deep voice, “How about this, I will test you with a few questions first. Answer them, and then we’ll talk.”
“Father Emperor, please speak.” The princes hurriedly held their breath and listened attentively.
“The first question is, do you know how many cases are judged nationwide in a year?” Initial Emperor then asked, “The second question is, what is the national inflow and outflow of money and grain in a year? And the third question is, how many officials in Great Xuan receive a salary from the state?”
“…” After the Emperor finished speaking, Yingfeng Pavilion was silent. The princes looked at each other, unable to answer a single question.
“Your Majesty,” Empress Xiahou said softly, unable to bear seeing her sons embarrassed, “These questions are too difficult. How can they answer them immediately?”
“I don’t need them to answer immediately,” Initial Emperor said indifferently. “You don’t need to come for greetings tonight. The old rules still apply; give me the answers this time tomorrow.”
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The four princes, carrying the Emperor’s questions, took their leave.
Leaving Zhaoyang Gate, Huangfu Xuan went straight to his sedan chair and departed. The other three brothers, Huangfu Zhen and his siblings, also headed to Beichen Hall, where the Second Prince resided, to discuss how to answer the Emperor’s questions.
“These three questions are not something you can figure out just by thinking,” Huangfu Shi said in a muffled voice.
“Yes, if you don’t know, you don’t know. It’s useless for the three of us to ponder until dawn,” Huangfu Xuan agreed heartily. “We should quickly ask for help from our maternal grandfather.”
“Sigh…” Huangfu Zhen paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. He didn’t understand why the Emperor was making things so difficult for them. Even if he didn’t want them involved in court affairs, there was no need to pose such difficult questions, was there? This was clearly setting them up to be unable to answer and forcing them to seek help.
But after thinking about it, he couldn’t come up with a clear understanding, only a vague feeling that the questions were not that simple.
Huangfu Shi and Huangfu Xuan waited for a while, but Huangfu Zhen didn’t speak. The former said in a muffled voice, “Second Brother, what’s there to hesitate about? If we can’t answer tomorrow, who knows when Father Emperor will be willing to give us another chance.”
“Exactly, Second Brother,” Huangfu Xuan said with the naivete of a child. “We can still ask our maternal grandfather for help. Who can Huangfu Xuan find to help him? He definitely won’t be able to answer tomorrow. To gain an advantage over him, we have to do this!”
“Mm…” Huangfu Zhen was finally persuaded. He nodded and said, “Then let’s quickly send someone to Luojing with a message.”
“Alright!” Huangfu Shi and Huangfu Xuan were overjoyed. The latter scurried out. The former then laughed heartily at Huangfu Zhen, “Last time we let the eldest brother escape by a hair’s breadth. This time, let’s see how he gets through!”
“This question, Elder Brother definitely won’t be able to answer…” Huangfu Zhen sighed softly.
