Chapter 10
[I wonder how my Brother is doing?]
After lunch, Xiao Chuchu lay on the small bed, held by Lower Concubine Liu as they watched the rain fall steadily outside.
But soon, her thoughts drifted to the study room upstairs.
[Has Brother studied that passage thoroughly...]
[If the essay is poorly written, it might be presented before the Emperor Father for public punishment. This afternoon, several Grand Secretaries are meeting with the Emperor Father.]
Lower Concubine Liu looked a bit worried upon hearing this.
But she quickly let it go, patting her young daughter's arm.
She had already hinted to her son about her grandfather's examination earlier.
Although her son was not very expressive, he was intelligent.
He takes the slightest hint.
And whatever he said, he would always follow through - if he said he would return to the study room to review his lessons diligently, he would do so without fail.
Lower Concubine Liu had confidence in her son, as she had secretly asked Qiu Li to keep tabs on the Fifth Prince in the past, so she understood him well.
"Is Chuchu thinking about her Brother?"
"Your Brother is likely studying. He has been intelligent since young, not quite to the level of total recall after one reading, but his memorization has always been swift."
"Once he finishes studying and the weather clears up, he can come play with you."
Lower Concubine Liu gently coaxed her daughter.
Seeing Chuchu's tiny body, she could not bear to see the child's worried pout.
After a moment of thought, Lower Concubine Liu asked Qiu Li to prepare ink and paper.
"Chuchu, would you like Mother to teach you some characters?"
Xiao Chuchu: "..."
Learning at such a young age?
No way!
She was still just a baby.
She spread her hands and looked at the large characters, nodding off to sleep before long.
Lower Concubine Liu could only laugh and put away the paper and ink.
"It's almost the hour of the Dragon."
"The examination must have started, I suppose."
She gazed towards the study room upstairs, lost in thought.
*
In the Qianqing Palace.
Three Grand Secretaries were resting in the side room, drinking tea as they awaited the Emperor's summons.
They heard the report from the study room teacher, Chancellor Lu Zhen of the Hanlin Academy, from inside:
"Your Majesty, here are the essays submitted by the Princes today for your review."
Emperor Xiao Yunzhou, dressed in a dragon-patterned casual robe despite being in his early thirties, remained handsome.
He accepted the seven sheets of paper presented by the eunuch scribe and unfolded them one by one.
"Please have a seat, Chancellor Lu."
Lu Zhen was already sixty years old with graying hair.
Not only was he the highest-ranked Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy at the third rank, but he had also been the tutor to Xiao Yunzhou when he was the Crown Prince.
Xiao Yunzhou knew Lu Zhen had true scholarly talents, and always respected him.
Even after his sons grew up one after another, he still invited Lu Zhen to teach them.
Xiao Yunzhou himself, having received teachings from Lu Zhen in the Crown Prince's residence, was well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics and widely read in various books, surpassing even the editorial scholars of the Hanlin Academy in knowledge.
As he looked over the Princes' essays, he smiled and nodded approvingly. "This is on the 'Constitutional Questions'?"
"As Master Zhu Xi said, 'One of virtue has composure within and brilliance emanating outward.'"
"Well done, the Eldest Prince's essay discusses cultivating virtuous conduct through language. One must nurture the literary essence within to radiate it externally. He has explained it very properly."
Xiao Yunzhou showed his admiration.
The Eldest Prince was only eleven years old this year, yet he had incorporated quite a few classical allusions in his writing.
"The Eldest Prince must have been diligent in his studies."
As for the Second Prince's work, while not deviating from the topic, it was rather mediocre.
"Passable."
For an ordinary child, this would be considered not bad.
But for a Prince receiving personal tutelage from the scholars of the Hanlin Academy, this essay was too simplistic.
When he turned to the essays of the Third Prince and Fourth Prince, Xiao Yunzhou could not help but frown.
"One is nine years old, the other eight, and even Master Zhu's interpretations are written incorrectly."
As their own teacher, he was well aware.
There was no way the explanations of the classics would not be taught properly during lessons.
"Your Majesty, please restrain your anger. The Third and Fourth Princes are still young after all."
Xiao Yunzhou frowned. "I understand, I do not expect them to write brilliant literary pieces. But if they cannot even reproduce what the study room teacher has lectured, it truly disappoints me."
Recently, with the Jurchen invading the borders and the Yellow River flooding again, his mood had been foul.
Seeing his sons' careless schoolwork only added to his irritation.
Especially those ranked third and fourth - if these elder brothers' work was already unintelligible, what could be expected from the younger fifth, sixth and seventh ones?
The more Xiao Yunzhou thought about it, the more exasperated he felt. He glanced at the elderly teacher Lu sitting below.
The old instructor must have come today specifically to vex him.
Of the seven Princes attending lessons in the study room, only two could produce passable work?
"Chancellor Lu, please do not consider saving face for my sake."
"Those who do not apply themselves should be punished accordingly! Back when the previous Emperor was alive, you did not go easy on caning my palms, did you?"
Xiao Yunzhou glared at the aged scholar irritably.
Chancellor Lu immediately stood up. "Your Majesty is wise, this old servant obeys your command."
Xiao Yunzhou shook his head, prepared to quickly glance through the remaining three younger Princes' work and be done with it.
But to his surprise, the Fifth Prince's neat calligraphy caught his eye on the next page!
This essay completely overshadowed the previous two flawed pieces.
The writing flowed seamlessly from virtues to language, from benevolence to courage, balanced and steady, not inferior at all to even the Second Prince's work.
Compared to the mistakes in the Fourth Prince's work, this essay stood out as particularly articulate and clear in its ideas.
Full of upright vigor!
From the calligraphy to the content, this essay gave Xiao Yunzhou a sense of clarity.
"Excellent!"
He could not help but praise, slamming the table.
Upon seeing the signature, he commended it even more proudly, "I remember, the young Fifth Prince is only seven years old this year. Well taught, Chancellor Lu. Reward Chancellor Lu with three jars of the newly acquired frozen sea cucumber!"
Chancellor Lu bowed his head respectfully and immediately stood up. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
In his heart, he could not help but feel amazed - at times, luck truly played a significant role.
In fact, the Fifth Prince's essay was no better than those of the Eldest and Second Princes, given the age gap of three to four years, with differences in writing ability and reading experience.
But by chance, the Fifth Prince was fortunate to be placed after the Third Prince, poor at composition, and the Fourth Prince, who preferred playing over studying.
After seeing their substandard work, the Fifth Prince's essay seemed to rise above them in comparison!
"This old servant is unworthy of such praise."
Chancellor Lu breathed a long sigh of relief.
It was also fortunate that the Fifth Prince had been diligent - Lu Zhen had been teaching Xiao Yunzhou since he was the Crown Prince, so he understood the Emperor well and sensed the signs of his rising anger earlier.
Having endured the terrible essays from the Third and Fourth Princes, if the next one was also incomprehensible, Xiao Yunzhou would definitely have meted out severe punishment!
Thankfully, the Fifth Prince had studied hard, otherwise Lu Zhen would have borne the brunt of the Emperor's wrath.
"Hm? The Sixth Prince has also done rather well?"
Now that his mood had improved, Xiao Yunzhou flipped further and was surprised to find that the six-year-old Sixth Prince had also written the interpretations correctly.
Although aside from the interpretations, he could not write much else.
But considering his young age, it would be acceptable to turn a blind eye.
Xiao Yunzhou nodded approvingly. "Reward the Eldest, Second, Fifth and Sixth Princes each with a lamb soup pot."
"As for the Third and Fourth Princes, Royal Tutor, give them a sound caning on their palms!"
With the contrast of their younger brothers, these two seemed even more inept!
Xiao Yunzhou set down the stack of essays.
"For the winter sacrifices in three days, these two are not permitted to attend. Confine them to their rooms to copy books instead!"
*
In the study room.
The Princes either remained focused or sat on pins and needles.
"Fourth and Fifth Brothers, how did you do on your essays?" The Third Prince, clearly not having done well, tried to find someone to share the blame with.
The Fourth Prince cleverly sought out the one who likely performed the worst, sneering towards the Sixth Prince, "I definitely did better than the Sixth Brother. Not to mention writing an essay, the Sixth Brother probably couldn't even recite the basic interpretations, right?"
The Sixth Prince puffed out his chubby cheeks. While usually at the bottom during examinations, he disliked being mocked.
Moreover, earlier that morning the Fifth Brother had helped him review!
Seeing his indignant expression, the Fourth Prince laughed even more, then turned his mocking gaze towards the Fifth Prince Chenggan. "And you, Fifth Brother, with your Mother's incident this morning, you must not have been paying attention in class."
"Ah, the study room teacher really is ruthless. Deliberately examining us at a time like this, what will you do, Fifth Brother?"
"I saw you only started studying in the afternoon, you can't have done better than the newly begun Eighth Brother, can you? Hahaha!"
The Eighth Younger Brother had not even started attending the study room lessons yet.
This was clearly derision and scorn.
The Fifth Prince Chenggan lowered his eyes, his expression blank.
The Fourth Prince, the son of the Honored Concubine Li, had never missed an opportunity to bully and insult him.
"Fourth Brother, how dare you speak such nonsense!" the Sixth Prince angrily stood up. He had just received guidance on literary composition from the Fifth Prince, and now unknowingly took the Fifth Prince's side.
"How dare you mock the Fifth Brother and insult us?"
"Insolent fool! When have I ever insulted you? How dare you speak to your elder brother like that!" the Fourth Prince raged.
"Sixth Brother, do not disrespect our elder brother," the Third Prince frowned.
Cheng Qian pulled the furious Sixth Brother back.
He glanced out of the window.
The figure of Chancellor Lu Zhen was reflected in the latticed window of the upper study room.
"Third Prince, Fourth Prince, why are you causing such a commotion!" As expected, Chancellor Lu reprimanded them as soon as he entered the upper study room.
"This humble subject has been ordered by His Majesty to administer thirty strokes of the bamboo rod to the Third Prince and Fourth Prince!"
The Third Prince and Fourth Prince were stunned.