DCPRT Chapter 59

“Prime Minister Su’s entire life’s work?” You Yusui lifted his chin and said, “My maternal grandfather will donate twice as many books.”

???Hm?

Eunuch An Hai made a confused sound, then suddenly realized — the Crown Prince actually had such a terrifying competitive streak.

Huo Xiling, standing nearby, was nearly bursting out laughing. After being doted on by so many people, the Crown Prince’s temperament had grown increasingly willful and spoiled.

Then Eunuch An Hai coughed twice and said, “Your Highness, this matter is one you should take up with His Majesty.”

What books were placed in the library, and whose books — all of that was for His Majesty to decide.

“To Xuande Hall,” You Yusui said coldly.

“Yes.” Eunuch Fubao at the side responded immediately and then arranged for palace attendants to prepare a palanquin.

Huo Xiling, standing nearby, simply lifted You Yusui onto the palanquin, not letting You Yusui’s feet touch the ground at all.

Meanwhile, You Fengyun had just finished settling a dispute on the other side. He tossed away the memorial in his hand and began amusing himself with the myna bird kept in the side hall of Xuande Hall.

“His Majesty is accomplished in both civil and military arts, a man of grand vision and great strategy. Say it!” You Fengyun held out some bird feed and teased the myna bird before him.

“His Majesty is accomplished in both civil and military arts, a man of grand vision and great strategy — grand vision and great strategy!”

You Yusui, who had just reached the doorway, made a disgusted expression. How could anyone be so shameless as to make others praise himself like that?

Then You Yusui heard You Fengyun tease the myna bird again. “His Majesty is handsome and dashing, elegant and charming.”

The myna bird hadn’t learned that phrase yet and made no sound.

“Say it quickly. I’ll teach you a few more times — His Majesty is handsome and dashing, elegant and charming.”

Eunuch An Hai, who was also standing by the door, couldn’t help but cough once. He said to You Fengyun across from him. “Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has arrived.”

You Fengyun set down the bird feed in his hand and patted his hands together, saying, “Tell him to come in.”

As his words fell, You Yusui — whose pallor was made all the more striking by his red everyday robe — stepped into Xuande Hall. The moment he entered, he saw his dignified and solemn father emperor. It was hard to imagine that the man who had just been teaching a myna bird to say such things was him.

“The Crown Prince is here. Have you seen this myna bird of Zhen’s? It really knows how to speak the truth.” You Fengyun showed not a shred of embarrassment and shamelessly praised himself.

You Yusui glanced at You Fengyun — not the least bit red-faced or flustered, looking every bit as though the myna bird was sincerely complimenting him from the heart — and felt that his own skin was still far too thin compared to You Fengyun’s. He would have to keep working on that.

“Did Father Emperor summon this prince here just to have this prince listen to a myna bird praise Father Emperor?” You Yusui asked. “I wonder if the Censor-in-Chief has ever met this myna bird.”

Upon hearing this, You Fengyun coughed sharply, then shot You Yusui a warning glare, telling him not to breathe a word of the myna bird’s antics to the Censor-in-Chief.

Otherwise, You Fengyun would find himself buried in a storm of memorials from the censors urging him not to let such amusements corrupt his ambitions.

Although You Fengyun wasn’t afraid of those censors, it would be tiresome all the same.

You Fengyun had a palace attendant take the myna bird away, then looked at You Yusui and said, “You should already know about today’s matter.”

You Yusui played dumb and asked directly, “What matter? This prince is unaware.”

“Don’t play dumb with me.” You Fengyun looked at You Yusui with a calm gaze. He knew full well that You Yusui had left the palace today and had gone to Prince Yan’s library. You Yusui must have witnessed the entire farce with his own eyes.

“Oh.” Seeing that the pretense was useless, You Yusui let out a listless sound, looking like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.

“What do you make of this matter?” You Fengyun asked.

“Ah?” You Yusui looked up blankly, then said with an air of innocence, “This prince’s elder imperial brother has broken through yet another low?”

As his words fell, You Fengyun set his cup down on the table with a sharp knock. He then narrowed his eyes at You Yusui — he had known this boy was playing the fool with him.

Still, You Yusui had a point. You Yuyi’s methods were growing more and more beneath contempt. If not for the need to maintain a certain balance, You Fengyun would have gladly sent him off to guard the imperial mausoleum.

“Did you truly have not even the slightest hand in this matter?” The emperor, seated in the high position, looked down at You Yusui and spoke.

“Hah?” You Yusui feigned innocence. He swore — he truly had no idea. The one who had masterminded it was Huo Xiling, and Huo Xiling had breathed not a single word of it to him. He felt deeply wronged.

“This prince has been so ill he can barely rise from bed. Even attending court is already pushing the limit — how could this prince have the heart to scheme against anyone?” You Yusui bit his lip and put on a stubborn yet wounded expression, his body swaying lightly as though ready to collapse at any moment.

And even if someone had acted against him — so what? It wasn’t as though anyone forced You Yuyi to sell his consort’s dowry possessions with his own hands. If he did something and someone caught him out, he had only himself to blame.

“All right, stop. Don’t cry.” You Fengyun said. He was afraid that if You Yusui kept this up he would collapse right there in Xuande Hall, and then he’d have to send things over to the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace again.

“Zhen asks you — now that Zhen is giving you the library, what do you intend to do with it?”

You Yusui looked up and said, “I will have my maternal grandfather donate twice as many books to Lingchuan Grand Academy.”

“Hm?” You Fengyun made a puzzled sound.

Having Lord Xie donate books was a fine thing, but that was clearly a different matter from what he had asked.

You Fengyun had given You Yuyi’s collection to Lingchuan Grand Academy, and You Yusui felt no particular delight in it. Having his own academy show gratitude to You Yuyi — what kind of arrangement was that? Neither he nor the Xie family lacked those books. What he needed to do was erase every trace of You Yuyi’s shadow from the library.

And so You Yusui drew a deep breath and said, “Does Father Emperor not think it would be better to build at Lingchuan Grand Academy a library pavilion that encompasses the classics and histories, the philosophers and belles-lettres, the hundred schools of thought, astronomy and geography, yin-yang and medicine and divination, as well as agriculture and craftsmanship?”

With a collection vast enough in content and diverse enough in origin, Prime Minister Su’s donated books would be but a small portion of it. When this grand library of the Great Jing was completed, who would still remember that You Yuyi’s book collection had been the original seed of it?

As his words fell, You Fengyun looked at You Yusui directly and said, “The Crown Prince’s ambitions are truly grand.”

Then You Fengyun lowered his gaze and asked, “But how would you make the great clans willingly donate their own book collections?”

The Great Jing did have an official state library, but its holdings were far less extensive than what You Yusui had described, leaning far more toward practical works.

If the library pavilion at Lingchuan Grand Academy were to be completed, it would surpass even the official imperial library in the breadth of its collection.

“Father Emperor need only say that you wish to compile and edit books,” You Yusui said with a smile. “Commission the compilation of a great encyclopedic work that draws together all categories of classical texts, and invite all the great clans to take part. They will surely bring their collections to Lingchuan Grand Academy for the compilation. A project like that — once begun, it takes years. And books left there long enough become the academy’s by default.”

After hearing You Yusui’s words, You Fengyun couldn’t help but want to applaud him. This heart of his was even darker than his own.

“Then has the Crown Prince given a name to this library pavilion?” You Fengyun asked.

You Yusui thought briefly, then said, “Since it is to be a place where ten thousand books converge, let it be called the Wenyuan Pavilion.”

“Why don’t I inscribe the name!” You Fengyun said eagerly. He seemed to have great confidence in his own calligraphy.

Yet the You Yusui standing before him wanted nothing more than to refuse outright. His maternal grandfather’s handwriting was beautiful, and if not him, Grand Preceptor Gu would do just as well. As for his father emperor’s handwriting — having it hung at the entrance of Lingchuan Grand Academy would already be embarrassing enough. Please, no more embarrassment.

“Father Emperor — how about whoever donates the most books gets to inscribe the name?” You Yusui suggested.

“Zhen is the emperor,” You Fengyun said with restrained dignity.

“But your handwriting is ugly,” You Yusui said without the slightest mercy.

“Who said so?” You Fengyun was outraged.

“The scholars watching when imperial brother’s book pavilion opened,” You Yusui said with perfect composure.

Sometimes, even an enlightened ruler needed to confront his own shortcomings and stop holding any confidence in his handwriting.

“Did this truly happen?” You Fengyun looked darkly at Eunuch An Hai beside him.

An Hai was nearly frightened to tears. He said, “Should this servant go and ask the shadow guards?”

“Surely you aren’t going to have those scholars beheaded — didn’t you say that scholars who have committed no great offence must not be subjected to punishment?” You Yusui at the side put on a look of disbelief.

Surely not — surely my father emperor wouldn’t do such a thing.

You Fengyun couldn’t help but press his fingers to his throbbing temple, then said to You Yusui, “Get out.”

“Then I’m off to find my maternal grandfather about the inscription.” With that, You Yusui immediately ran out, as though his illness had been cured entirely.

“Wretched son!” You Fengyun called out at the sight.

Eunuch An Hai pressed gently on You Fengyun’s temples and said, “This servant actually feels that the Crown Prince is livelier than before, and more willing to be close to Your Majesty.”

“Close?” You Fengyun looked at An Hai. He had the distinct sense that You Yusui was simply trying to vex him.

Then You Fengyun pulled out a memorial he had already reviewed and said, “Is Zhen’s handwriting truly ugly?”

At those words, Eunuch An Hai did not dare speak.

You Fengyun held the memorial up before the myna bird and said, “Say it — His Majesty’s brushwork flows like a dragon, soars like phoenix wings, a style uniquely his own.”

The myna bird had no appreciation for such things, nor did it have the Crown Prince’s audacity. For the sake of a morsel of food, it would say anything.

“His Majesty’s brushwork flows like a dragon, soars like phoenix wings, a style uniquely his own.”

You Fengyun was thoroughly satisfied, his imperial heart greatly pleased, and he returned to his writing desk to continue reviewing his memorials.

Eunuch An Hai, watching from the side: ……Sometimes their emperor was very easy to coax. And sometimes, one outburst from him left a hundred thousand dead.

****

On the other side, You Yusui ran forward and flung himself at Huo Xiling, who reached out and caught him.

“Your Highness, be careful.” Huo Xiling set down the You Yusui who had come flying at him.

You Yusui broke into a smile. There was nothing more delightful than escaping from You Fengyun’s clutches and throwing himself into Huo Xiling’s arms.

“Come, I’ll take you to my maternal grandfather’s home.” With that, You Yusui pulled Huo Xiling along and headed for the Xie family residence.

At that moment, Lord Xie — who had slipped out of Chang’an to go fishing — had already returned home. After several days of effort between him and Gu Shen, all they had to show for it was a single turtle.

“Just say what you want to do about it,” Gu Shen said.

Lord Xie squatted on the ground, looking at the turtle in the bucket, and said, “I was the one who caught it, so it should be mine.”

“If you hadn’t let my fish get away, I wouldn’t be coming back empty-handed. Hand it over.” Gu Shen reached out to snatch the turtle.

Just as the two old men with the hearts of children were happily fighting over the turtle, You Yusui walked in and said, “Maternal grandfather, Grand Preceptor — what are you two doing?”

Lord Xie: ……

Gu Shen: ……

The two exchanged a glance and said, “We were about to stew this turtle to nourish your body.”

You Yusui: Hm????