Chapter 62: The Princes Gather |
A few days after the army departed, it was Empress Hua's birthday.
Since it wasn't a milestone birthday, and given the current difficult times, it wasn't appropriate to hold a grand celebration, so the Emperor specifically ordered that no banquets be held and no gifts from the assembled ministers be accepted.
However, within the palace gardens, there was still a small family gathering.
Even the Prince of Su, who was frail and frequently ill, came today.
Each princess and princess consort presented embroidery they had personally made to the Empress, expressing their filial devotion.
"This handiwork from the Princess Consort of Wu truly shows some clever artistry."
Stroking the magnificent needlework patterns on an embroidered robe, Empress Hua praised with a smile.
Immediately, the Princess Consort of Wu bowed shyly in response: "Thank you for Mother Empress's praise. This subject's wife still needs to work harder."
The Prince of Jin standing to the side glanced briefly in that direction.
"Excellent, excellent."
After speaking, Empress Hua also examined and praised the embroidery from the Princess Consort of Jin, then couldn't help but laugh: "Silly child, did you embroider this Nine Phoenix Picture one stitch at a time?"
The Princess Consort of Wu's embroidery was particularly exquisite.
But the Princess Consort of Jin's work was embroidered completely on both front and back—everywhere the eye could see was filled with threads of various colors, extremely substantial.
"This humble wife's needlework is not as refined as the Princess Consort of Wu's. My technique is clumsy, so I could only bury my head and add more stitches," the Princess Consort of Jin said honestly.
Empress Hua extended her hand.
The Princess Consort of Jin bowed her waist and moved closer, also extending her hand.
Holding her hand, Empress Hua looked at the needle marks covering her fingertips and showed a pained expression: "The Nine Phoenix Picture is too dense. Your hands are also skillful. Next birthday, you needn't go to such great lengths."
"This humble wife dares not be careless in matters of filial devotion to Mother Empress."
"Ha ha ha, good, truly a good child."
The Princess Consort of Wu, who had originally been praised, pursed her lips slightly and looked toward the Prince of Wu.
The Prince of Wu reminded her with a subtly stern look, and she recovered her gentle smile, not letting her emotions show on her face.
"The peach blossoms in the palace have bloomed. You should accompany this palace to admire the flowers."
With that, Empress Hua stood up.
The Princess Consort of Wu, who had been sitting slightly farther away, was the first to move to her side, supporting her arm and accompanying the Empress.
The Princess Consort of Jin consciously stood to the side, following behind.
Then the Princess Consort of Su and the Princess Consort of Zhongping also followed.
Here, only the Emperor and a group of standing princes remained.
"Prince of Su."
The Emperor looked toward a tall, slender prince with excessively pale skin and said: "Your cold hasn't recovered yet. Go pay your respects to Mother Empress, then return to your estate early."
"Yes, Father Emperor."
The Prince of Su bowed to the Emperor, then departed.
Chen Bao directly went over, bowing his waist to accompany him.
"Eunuch Chen, I'm troubling you," the Prince of Su smiled and nodded.
"Prince of Su, you honor this slave too much. Please."
After Chen Bao also left.
At this time, only four princes remained.
Prince of Jin, Wei Yixuan.
Prince of Wu, Wei Yiyun.
Prince of Zhongping, Wei Yiyuan.
And the nine-year-old Prince of Changsha, Wei Yixun.
"Set up seats."
The Emperor, sitting in the center, casually ordered.
Then the eunuchs moved over four chairs—slightly shorter and smaller than the Emperor's—and arranged them in a fan shape.
"Prince of Jin, please sit."
Under the eunuchs' 'arrangement', the Prince of Jin sat in the left of the two middle chairs.
"Prince of Wu, please sit."
The middle-right position was taken by the Prince of Wu.
In Great Yu, the left was honored. In imperial family gatherings, they always arranged seating this way. Of course, even with such unspoken rules, the princes wouldn't actively seat themselves.
The two side seats didn't need to distinguish rank.
The Prince of Zhongping sat next to the Prince of Jin, and the Prince of Changsha on the far right.
"Wei Yixun." As soon as he spoke, the Emperor found the youngest ninth prince and asked: "What essay has Teacher Sun (Grand Secretary of the Imperial Academy Sun Kang) had you memorize recently? Recite it."
"Yes, Father Emperor."
After Wei Yixun, whose face was as cherubic and tender as a baby's, stood up and bowed, he proactively began: "The gentleman says: Learning must never cease. Blue comes from the indigo plant but is bluer than the plant itself..."
Quite fluently, without basically a single pause, Wei Yixun completely recited this essay.
Moreover, throughout the entire recitation, there wasn't a single wrong character.
Such articulate speech and accurate punctuation—the other princes couldn't quite achieve this at the same age.
So both the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Wu simultaneously glanced over.
Of course, both faces wore brotherly smiles.
The Emperor also smiled, though his expression toward him was just the indulgence one shows children: "How do you understand this 'An Exhortation to Learning'?"
"In response to Father Emperor."
Wei Yixun began quite confidently: "Yixun believes that 'An Exhortation to Learning' is Scholar Song's advice to all readers in the world. Whether or not one seeks to take the examinations, as a gentleman, one should study. Books allow one to grasp the wisdom of ancient sages and broaden one's horizons. Even when traveling the same ten thousand li, whether one has read books or not, the insights and understanding gained will be different. Moreover, studying requires a calm heart, guarding against arrogance and impatience. Otherwise, one will be like a crab—even with eight legs, it still steals the nest of snakes and eels, which is because its heart is too restless."
He spoke very clearly.
For a nine-year-old child, even if a teacher had taught him to say this, it was still quite remarkable.
"Then how do you understand the line 'Blue comes from the indigo plant but is bluer than the plant itself'?" the Emperor asked again.
"In response to Father Emperor, Yixun feels this line means that as students, though taught by teachers, they can also surpass their teachers."
"Then can a son surpass his father?"
After thinking briefly, Wei Yixun answered: "According to what Scholar Song says, a son can also be stronger than his father. Because learning is continuous accumulation. A son will always be able to see more books than his father."
"Then Yixun, can you surpass Father Emperor?"
Showing a kind smile, the Emperor asked teasingly.
Hearing this, Wei Yixun immediately froze, at a loss for words.
Hastily, the Prince of Jin stood up and bowed, explaining on Wei Yixun's behalf: "No one could possibly surpass Father Emperor."
Hearing this, the Emperor's expression immediately darkened, showing a somewhat disappointed look. He waved his hand down: "All of you sit."
The two also reseated themselves.
"This Song Shi'an truly has some talent. His ability to govern hasn't been demonstrated yet, but his scholarly abilities are certainly good," the Emperor commented. "This time Northern Liang has fallen into peril, and he volunteered to serve as Magistrate of Shuofeng County. If he returns from this, he must be properly employed."
Everyone nodded.
"But if he doesn't return." The Emperor pondered, "We must also give the Song family some rewards. His younger brother... what's his name again?"
"In response to Father Emperor, he's called Song Ce, this year's juren," the Prince of Wu said.
"Right, Song Ce." The Emperor said with emotion, "Though Song Shi'an is an illegitimate son, he still died for our Wei family. If he doesn't return, let's promote Song Ce somewhat."
Compensation for death in battle was normal.
But not everyone received death-in-battle compensation.
Otherwise those with many sons could send them all to the battlefield to die and be enfeoffed as Dukes?
It depended partly on the deceased's status, partly on the Emperor's mood.
The Emperor's mood was even the primary factor.
So everyone could tell—the Emperor liked this Song Shi'an.
"By the way, before the expedition, Wusheng told zhen something."
The Emperor suddenly spoke, still mentioning this name. Except for Wei Yixun, everyone else simultaneously tensed.
"He said Zisheng donated all his family wealth for the soldiers, and didn't want to let zhen know."
The Prince of Zhongping's ears perked up.
The Prince of Jin also became serious.
The Prince of Wu himself was extremely nervous.
His heart had already risen to his throat.
Looking at the Emperor, he dared not speak.
Until the Emperor rarely showed, to all princes except the child Wei Yixun, an approving smile: "Zisheng, you did extremely well."
As the words fell, the Prince of Wu's hand gently gripping his robe trembled slightly with excitement.
Forcefully restraining his emotions, he stood up, clasped his fists in military salute, and said resolutely: "Relieving Father Emperor's worries is this son-subject's duty."
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