DCPRT Chapter 62

Before dawn had even broken, the carriage sent from the palace to escort His Highness the Crown Prince had already come to a stop outside the gates of the Xie family residence. An Hai stood at the front, while behind him, young eunuchs holding the Crown Prince’s crown, court robes, and footwear stood in proper formation.

The Xie family’s gatekeeper was startled by this imposing sight and hurriedly made to go inside and inform the head of the household.

An Hai called out to stop him. “We have come on His Majesty’s orders to escort His Highness the Crown Prince to court. There is no need to disturb Lord Xie — simply let us in.”

Faced with someone from the Emperor’s inner circle, the gatekeeper dared not offer the slightest objection and had no choice but to let them through. Yet with such a grand procession, there was no way the Xie household could remain asleep.

Lord Xie, who had been lying in bed, jolted awake with a start. “What! His Majesty found out that I skipped court for several days to go fishing, and has sent someone to drag me to morning court session!”

Xie Yi’s voice rose several pitches as he snapped fully awake. It did seem like the sort of thing You Fengyun was entirely capable of doing.

But why would he need to attend court? Had he not stepped away from court affairs for over a decade now? Was You Fengyun simply bored? Was he scheming something again?

Just as Xie Yi’s mind was running wild, a servant outside called, “Master, An Hai has been sent by His Majesty to escort His Highness to court.”

“Oh, oh, oh — so he’s here for Suisui.” Xie Yi’s nerves instantly relaxed, and he flopped back down onto the bed.

At that moment, Xie Tan’s voice came from outside the door.

“Now that Grandfather is already awake, please rise and dress, and come to court with me.”

Xie Yi: ……

The next moment, Xie Yi called out from inside. “Old Zhang, open my door and step aside.”

“Yes.” The servant outside immediately opened the door and stepped to the side.

A shoe came flying out from within, nearly striking Xie Tan, who stood there dressed in his deep crimson official robes.

“You little brat! What kind of grandson shows no consideration for his grandfather?” Xie Yi scolded.

Xie Tan stood in the doorway and spoke with a grave expression, “His Majesty has summoned the Crown Prince to enter the palace and attend court this very morning. This likely means that today he intends to announce the establishment of Wenyuan Pavilion and the compilation of the books. And yet, how many in that court truly stand on the Crown Prince’s side?”

When those words fell, Xie Yi was silent for a moment, then barked. “Stop standing there and come help your grandfather dress.”

“Yes.” With that, Xie Tan stepped through the door.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Huo Xiling was tending to You Yusui as he got out of bed. The court robes brought by the young eunuchs had been laid out over the warming rack outside to air out the chill.

You Yusui sat on the bed as though he had no bones in his body, eyes half-closed, letting Huo Xiling tend to him without resistance.

“I think he did it on purpose,” You Yusui said in a faint, listless voice.

He had clearly said he was unwell and would return to the palace during the day — yet You Fengyun had still seen fit to make things difficult for him, sending someone with court robes and a carriage before dawn to drag him to morning court session, thereby cutting off any possibility of his taking leave and staying away.

Huo Xiling, kneeling on one knee beside the bed, reached for a clean white foot cloth and said, “Your Highness, extend your foot.”

In the next moment, You Yusui’s foot slipped into a warm foot cloth — soft and toasty, clearly warmed by Huo Xiling on purpose.

Huo Xiling then helped You Yusui put on his shoes and, lastly, took the warmed court robes and dressed him.

The Crown Prince’s court robes were exceedingly elaborate; the accessories alone numbered over a dozen pieces, typically requiring several palace attendants working together to put on properly. Yet Huo Xiling accomplished it all single-handedly with perfect order — even his brother-in-law, had he been there, would not have recognized him.

“Done,” Huo Xiling said after fastening You Yusui’s sash.

“Mm, carry me out,” said You Yusui with a small nod, not even wanting to open his eyes.

In the next moment, something warm and fluffy was tucked into his arms, and then his body rose into the air — Huo Xiling lifted him and carried him out through the door.

An Hai, waiting outside, could not help but show a look of surprise. Earlier, You Yusui had turned away the young eunuchs An Hai had brought and kept only Huo Xiling. He had worried that with only one attendant, they might be late for morning court session — yet Huo Xiling had somehow gotten the Crown Prince ready so quickly.

An Hai looked at You Yusui nestled in Huo Xiling’s arms and spoke, “Now that His Highness is ready, let us set off.”

“Mm,” You Yusui replied, eyes still shut — evidently too drowsy to function.

With An Hai’s signal, the carriage bearing You Yusui began to roll slowly in the direction of the palace.

At the same time, two sedan chairs were carried out from the gates of the Xie residence, bearing Xie Yi and Xie Tan respectively.

The Xie family were among the highest-ranking noble houses, and Lord Xie had once been a towering figure in the court, so the Xie family’s manor sat close to the palace. In less than the time it took to burn half a stick of incense, the carriage arrived at the palace gates and proceeded straight through, not stopping until it reached the front of Xuande Hall.

Then came the long flight of white marble steps — which Huo Xiling once again ascended with You Yusui in his arms.

Other officials arriving for court, catching sight of this scene halfway up, privately wanted to cry out that the Great Jing dynasty was surely done for. It was at this moment that Xie Yi, huffing his way up the steps with Xie Tan supporting him, turned to Xie Tan and said, “How about you just carry me up too?”

Xie Tan: ……

The other officials present: …… Lord Xie! What’s gotten into you? Is this something you should be saying?

Xie Tan looked at his grandfather and felt a strong urge to refuse — to simply abandon him there and walk on ahead.

Xie Yi spoke again, “Or you could carry me on your back. That works too.”

“Grandfather, have some dignity,” Xie Tan said, looking at Xie Yi beside him.

Just then, Gu Shen, passing nearby, delivered a cutting remark. “You old Xie, you’ve aged — can’t even manage a flight of steps anymore. Even Prime Minister Su has better legs than you.”

With that, Gu Shen strolled off gracefully.

“You just wait!”

At those words, Xie Tan watched his grandfather charge up the steps with a burst of vigour, moving faster than some of the younger officials.

Xie Tan: …… Grandfather was becoming more childish by the day.

Inside Xuande Hall, Huo Xiling settled You Yusui carefully into his chair. An Hai hurried over and said, “Your Highness the Crown Prince, you really cannot fall asleep again this time.”

You Yusui sat with his eyes closed, apparently deep in blissful slumber.

An Hai could not help but grow anxious. “Oh dear, oh dear, my little lordship — how are you still sleeping? Everything His Majesty is announcing today was proposed by you.”

He then glanced around at those nearby and added. “Are you not afraid His Majesty will be displeased?”

Yet You Yusui gave no response. As the time for court to begin drew near, An Hai had no choice but to retreat helplessly.

Once You Fengyun arrived, the court session formally commenced. After You Fengyun had discussed several minor matters with the assembled officials, he announced the news of constructing Wenyuan Pavilion at Lingchuan Grand Academy and compiling a reference work that would bring together all the great texts of antiquity into a single collection.

Most of the officials in the hall were stunned upon hearing this. Wenyuan Pavilion? Millions of volumes? Compiling books? Why had there been no word of this before?

At once, those officials wholly devoted to You Fengyun stepped forward and began heaping him with lavish praise.

Things like: “His Majesty’s civil and martial accomplishments are unparalleled — the construction of Wenyuan Pavilion to house the writings of the realm is truly a great act of virtue.”

And: “The compilation of this work will illuminate the glory of our Great Jing’s flourishing age. It is a deed that will benefit ten thousand generations. His Majesty’s foresight is truly without equal.”

In short, You Yusui listened to all of this and felt his own face burn with embarrassment — and yet You Fengyun sat there looking entirely as though it were no more than his due.

You Fengyun then spoke. “Prime Minister Su has donated over a thousand volumes to Wenyuan Pavilion, and the palace’s own archive will also contribute copies of its holdings. How many volumes do each of you intend to donate?”

Prince Yan You Yuyi, standing to the side, froze upon hearing those words. Had his maternal grandfather’s books not been donated to his own private library? Even if the Emperor wished to build Wenyuan Pavilion, there was surely no reason to say that the books had been donated to it from within the residence!

You Yuyi could not help but look toward the Crown Prince, who sat with his eyes closed as though sleeping — and at that moment, You Yusui opened his eyes and smiled at him.

The collection of books — he had accepted them. But every trace of any connection to You Yuyi had been thoroughly erased.

Meanwhile, Xie Yi and Gu Shen, who had been dozing off, finally opened their eyes and enthusiastically responded to You Fengyun’s call for donations.

“This official is willing to donate two thousand volumes, to be hand-copied by members of the Xie family and delivered to Wenyuan Pavilion,” Xie Yi was the first to speak.

You Fengyun smiled and said, “Very well — let Lord Xie provide the inscription for Wenyuan Pavilion.”

As those words fell, You Yusui allowed a look of quiet satisfaction to show on his face.

Just as You Yusui had anticipated: with donations and compilation working in tandem, combined with the honour of contributing to the project and the official posts that came with it, and with Prime Minister Su and Lord Xie leading the way — there were almost no noble houses that refused to donate.

After all, only copies were being requested, not the precious originals in their keeping. This made it far less likely to provoke resistance.

Everyone came away from the matter well satisfied. The only one who had been dealt a blow was You Yuyi.

“Let Grand Preceptor Gu oversee the compilation,” You Fengyun announced.

“Yes — this official will not fail Your Majesty’s expectations.” Gu Shen stepped out from his place in the ranks and replied.

You Yuyi and You Yushan both thought the same thing: another one of the Crown Prince’s people.

At this point, You Fengyun turned to address You Yusui. “Whether it is the construction of Wenyuan Pavilion or the compilation of the books, both were your proposals. Both matters now fall under your charge — put some effort into them.”

You Yusui, who had assumed none of this would involve him: …… Pardon?

At the same moment, he received cold glares from both his eldest imperial brother and his third imperial brother.

You Yusui: …… I really ought not to have suggested building Wenyuan Pavilion or compiling those books.

With An Hai’s announcement of the court’s dismissal, the matter was thus settled.

Back in the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace, You Yusui lay sprawled over the table and said, “Tell me — when do you suppose we’ll be able to collect all the donated books from those noble houses?”

Collecting donated books from the noble houses was an enormously troublesome undertaking. Since the originals were not being donated, most of the books would be hand-copied, and if a single character was written incorrectly, the entire page would have to be recopied from scratch — an extraordinarily time-consuming process, and one that could easily stretch on for a year or more.

For that reason, if You Yusui wanted to receive the donations from the noble houses quickly, he needed a way to reproduce these books rapidly.

Yet current printing relied entirely on woodblock carving, and carving a single woodblock was likely even more laborious than copying a book by hand.

“Do you think it would be possible,” You Yusui said, “to break apart the characters on a woodblock so that each one becomes an individual piece, and then arrange them according to the content of a book and print from them?”

Once again, his desire to cut corners had given rise to a new idea.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Xie Ling, who had been writing documents nearby, immediately exclaimed, “Your Highness possesses extraordinary talent!”

You Yusui, who only wanted to collect the books quickly and free himself from the whole affair: ???