DCPRT Chapter 60

After the two elders finished speaking, Xie Yi shot Gu Shen a glare and said, “Why haven’t you let go yet?”

Gu Shen, who was still clutching the fish basket, let out a huff and said, “I’ll take the turtle to the kitchen.”

“That turtle was caught by me,” Xie Yi declared once again.

“You still dare to say that.” Gu Shen said through gritted teeth.

“Then let’s go together — together to the kitchen,” Xie Yi conceded.

And so, You Yusui watched as two dignified elders in tall hats and broad sashes walked side by side toward the kitchen, carrying a turtle between them.

You Yusui couldn’t help but stretch out his hand and call after their retreating figures. “Maternal grand… father?”

So their eyes were only for the turtle, with no room left for their own grandson? You Yusui wore an expression of utter bewilderment.

Xie Ling, who happened to be home on a rest day, explained to You Yusui why his maternal grandfather and Grand Preceptor Gu had been fighting over the turtle.

“A few days ago, Grand Preceptor Gu and Grandfather made an appointment to go fishing at Lingchuan, several dozen li away,” Xie Ling began slowly.

Beside him, You Yusui nodded. His maternal grandfather had a passion for fishing, and paired with Grand Preceptor Gu — who shared the same passion — it was entirely within their character to grab their fishing rods and make the journey out of Chang’an all the way to Lingchuan.

Xie Ling shook his head and sighed. “Who could have imagined — my grandfather, who can devise strategies and secure victory from a thousand li away, fished for several days and caught only a single turtle.”

You Yusui couldn’t help but let out a laugh. It was, admittedly, a little funny.

Xie Ling continued, “Grand Preceptor Gu was another matter entirely — he caught several full baskets of fish and was returning with a bountiful haul. Grandfather couldn’t stand to watch it. He convinced himself that it was Grand Preceptor Gu’s presence beside him that had ruined his fishing, so he schemed to kick all the fish from Grand Preceptor Gu’s basket into the river, then told Grand Preceptor Gu that this was releasing them back into the wild — an act of compassion.”

When he finished, Xie Ling wore an expression of helpless resignation. It was plain to see that after his grandfather had done something like that, it would have been a miracle if Grand Preceptor Gu hadn’t picked a fight with him — and so the two of them had squabbled over the last remaining catch all the way from Lingchuan back to the Xie residence.

And that was why You Yusui had witnessed that scene upon first arriving at the Xie residence.

“But their turtle is still going to end up in my stomach,” You Yusui said, glancing down at his flat belly.

“Indeed. Eat more — you’re far too thin,” Xie Ling said, casting a glance at You Yusui’s slender waist.

At that moment, Xie Yi and Gu Shen emerged from the kitchen. Their bearing was now dignified and graceful, with no trace whatsoever of the turtle-snatching scene from before.

“Oh, Suisui’s here! Let Maternal Grandfather take a look — have you put on any weight?”

The words had barely fallen when You Yusui met his maternal grandfather’s eyes, which were crinkled with a warm smile.

Then You Yusui heard his maternal grandfather say, “Will you have some turtle? I caught it with my own hands — and even won it back from this old fellow. I made sure to tell the kitchen to add extra red dates and wolfberries.”

“I will!”

Since his maternal grandfather had put it that way, how could he possibly refuse?

Xie Yi then remarked with feeling, “This broth is wonderfully nourishing!”

You Yusui, who had once been over-nourished to excess on ginseng and old hen soup: ……

Gu Shen, standing to one side, cast a disdainful glance at Xie Yi and said, “You have the nerve to say that. If you hadn’t kicked over my fish basket, Suisui would have more than just this one turtle. The swordfish in my basket were far more delicious and fresh than your turtle.”

Indeed, even now Gu Shen was still furious that Xie Yi had kicked over his basket, and had then put on a pretense of telling him that Heaven cherishes all living things, that they were releasing the fish, that they were doing a good deed.

Xie Yi, for his part, said, “And since when is ‘Suisui’ a name you get to use?”

“Why not? Heaven, earth, ruler, parents, teacher — a teacher for one day is a father for a lifetime. What’s wrong with me calling the Crown Prince by his childhood name?” Gu Shen said with complete indifference.

He was the Grand Preceptor of the Crown Prince, personally appointed by the reigning emperor as the Crown Prince’s mentor — what was wrong with calling the Crown Prince by his childhood name? He would call it, he would call it, he would absolutely call it, just to infuriate that surnamed Xie to death.

“Well said — ‘a teacher for one day is a father for a lifetime.’ I wonder, then, whether you ought to be calling me Uncle,” Xie Yi said, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Gu Shen beside him.

“You conniving Xie — you actually dare to try and take advantage of me!” And with that, Gu Shen lunged at him.

“Xiling, quickly grab my teacher!” You Yusui hurriedly called out. “Cousin, hold Maternal Grandfather back too.”

The words had barely left his mouth before the two young men each grabbed hold of one elder. Xie Yi and Gu Shen, utterly heedless, kept swinging their arms and kicking out — even striking at empty air with great enthusiasm — and it was Xie Ling and Huo Xiling who suffered for it.

Just then, Xie Tan walked into the courtyard. Dressed in a crimson official’s robe, he observed the scene before him with an expressionless face.

“Grandfather, Grand Preceptor Gu — what are you doing?” Xie Tan asked, standing on the bridge.

The moment the words fell, Xie Yi swiftly smoothed his clothes and composure, then brushed off his sleeves and said, “Nothing. Why have you come back?”

At this hour, Xie Tan should have been at Dali Temple.

“I forgot something and came back to fetch it,” Xie Tan replied, lowering his gaze.

“Go quickly and come back quickly. Don’t dawdle,” Xie Yi said, already ushering him away.

“Very well.” Xie Tan nodded and turned to leave.

The moment Xie Tan was gone, Xie Yi and Gu Shen started up again, both swatting at thin air with renewed vigor.

Watching this complete change of face left You Yusui absolutely stupefied. He truly was still too young.

“Grandfather, stop fighting — you can’t actually hit each other like this!” Xie Ling, clinging to Xie Yi for dear life, shouted.

Xie Yi, struggling with all his might, said, “You little rascal — how am I supposed to land a hit if you won’t let go of me?”

You Yusui couldn’t help but sigh, then said, “Maternal Grandfather, please stop fighting.”

Nobody listened. The two continued to strike at the air.

You Yusui: ……

In the end, You Yusui sat down on a nearby stone stool with a look of fragile helplessness, pressed a hand to his stomach, and said, “Maternal Grandfather, please stop. It’s almost time for the evening meal — Imperial Physician Cui said that not eating on time is bad for my health.”

The moment the words fell, both men stopped at the same instant. Xie Ling and Huo Xiling, who had been holding them back from behind, let out a simultaneous breath of relief.

“Suisui, we’ll eat right now,” Xie Yi said.

Gu Shen, for his part, said, “I’ll let it go with you for today.”

And You Yusui immediately took both their hands and said, “Then let’s have dinner now.”

The evening meal was eaten in Xie Yi’s courtyard. The golden crow was descending toward the horizon, and its lingering radiance gilded the humble country estate in a layer of warm light. A gentle breeze stirred the air, and the peach blossoms — opened to their fullest in the twilight — drifted one by one from their branches.

At that moment, Xie Yi sat beneath the peach tree, sharing cups of wine with Gu Shen. On the stone table sat the freshly prepared turtle broth — a milky white soup scattered with wolfberries and red dates, its fragrance already drifting across the air.

“Suisui, eat more.” Xie Yi spoke and placed a piece of turtle meat into You Yusui’s bowl.

You Yusui looked at the turtle meat in his bowl, thinking to himself, this probably isn’t some tremendously fortifying ingredient — eating a little should be fine.

And so, after You Yusui had finished a bowl of the broth, Xie Yi finally asked him what had brought him here today.

You Yusui looked at the kind and gentle elder before him and recounted the events of that day.

Gu Shen, listening to one side, drew a sharp breath. What did he mean — Prince Yan had secretly pawned his princess’s dowry to build a library, all for the sake of a good reputation, and the whole affair had become public knowledge? It had even come before the reigning emperor, with the Li family pressing for a judgment — and in the end, it was Princess Yan who came forward to testify that she had pawned the dowry herself, that the money had been given to Prince Yan by her own hand, and that Prince Yan had known nothing of it — only then was Prince Yan’s face saved?

Extraordinary. Gu Shen couldn’t help but marvel. After all his decades on this earth, a plot that belonged in a storybook had actually unfolded in real life.

Xie Yi also couldn’t help but stroke his beard and say to Gu Shen, “We were away from Chang’an for only a few days, and this is what transpired.”

Gu Shen shot Xie Yi a sideways glance and said, “As though this sort of thing wouldn’t have happened even if we’d been in Chang’an.”

At that, Xie Yi turned to look at You Yusui and asked, “What do you intend to do?”

You Yusui replied, “Father Emperor is planning to have all the books from Imperial Brother’s library sent to Lingchuan Grand Academy.”

“A fine thing indeed! Prince Yan will surely be furious this time — all that effort, and he’ll have made the wedding dress for someone else to wear,” Gu Shen said with a laugh from the side.

(TL: The idiom “为他人做嫁衣” (wèi tā rén zuò jiàyī) literally means “to make wedding clothes for someone else.”  It refers to working hard or putting in effort, only for someone else to benefit from it.)

You Yusui then said, “But I have no wish for Lingchuan Grand Academy’s library to be associated with Imperial Brother in any way. So I proposed to Father Emperor that Wenyuan Pavilion be built at Lingchuan Grand Academy — a collection that would encompass not only the classics of history, philosophy, and literature, but also astronomy and geography, the doctrines of the Hundred Schools of Thought, medicine and divination, yin-yang and feng shui, and the crafts and techniques of every trade.”

Xie Yi and Gu Shen, seated to one side, both couldn’t help but be startled upon hearing this. A library of such scope would hold tens of millions of volumes — it would not be an exaggeration to call it the paradise of the immortals. Even if every book from the palace’s library were brought over, it would still fall short.

Xie Yi listened and couldn’t help but deliberate for a moment before saying, “With so many books to collect, how do you intend to find them all?”

To gather such a collection, You Yusui had two ideas: first, to gather these books from among the common people; second, to ask the great families to donate the books they had treasured in their private collections.

Of course, You Yusui dared not push too far. He would only need the great families to provide copies whose contents were faithful to the originals.

“Naturally, by collecting from the people and asking it of the great families,” You Yusui said with a smile, looking at Xie Yi. “Maternal Grandfather, Prime Minister Su has already donated over a thousand volumes — surely you won’t refuse to donate as well?”

Then You Yusui tugged at Xie Yi’s sleeve and said, “I’ve already boasted on your behalf — I told them Maternal Grandfather would donate twice what Prime Minister Su donated.”

That wretched competitive streak of his — but watching his maternal grandfather outdo everyone else truly brought him joy.

“And I told Father Emperor that whoever donated the most books would be the one to inscribe the name of Wenyuan Pavilion,” You Yusui said, tilting his head up to look at Xie Yi. “Grandfather, I want your personal calligraphy for the inscription — not Father Emperor’s. His characters are far too ugly.”

Xie Yi laughed aloud at once. Such a small wish from his grandson — of course he would grant it.

“Very well. I’ll have the younger members of the Xie family start copying books right away, and send them all to Suisui’s Wenyuan Pavilion,” Xie Yi said with a smile.

You Yusui then turned to look at Gu Shen and said, “Teacher, Maternal Grandfather is donating — surely you won’t refuse? Could it be that you can’t match up to my maternal grandfather?”

Upon hearing this, Gu Shen immediately glared at You Yusui and said, “You little wretch — you really have no idea how to take care of your elders’ things, do you!”

You Yusui blinked with an air of innocence. He hadn’t even mentioned yet that he and Father Emperor had decided to compile an encyclopedic anthology drawing on the great works of antiquity — and that the task of overseeing the compilation would very likely be handed to his teacher.