“Greetings, Your Imperial Highness.” Sui Tingheng’s sudden appearance caught the crowd off guard. It wasn’t until he ascended to the seating platform that everyone hurriedly remembered to bow and pay their respects.
Heavens! The prince at a cuju field? If they told their fathers and grandfathers about this, the elders would scold them for watching too many games and imagining things. No one would believe His Imperial Highness had really appeared here!
When His Majesty had just ascended the throne, the prince once passed by a cuju field and immediately looked displeased. Rumors immediately spread in the capital that the prince despised frivolous activity like the cuju. For a long time, the cuju fields were unusually quiet. Only when people realized that although the prince disliked cuju, he wouldn’t take offense at others playing it, did they feel reassured and start populating the area again.
“There’s no need for such formalities,” Sui Tingheng said gently. He turned to praise Fuyi, “Miss Yun plays cuju exceptionally well. It was a very exciting match.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Your Imperial Highness.” Fuyi cast a glance at the player surnamed Zhang. “Unfortunately, this subject daughter made a fool of myself in this match.”
Young Master Zhang trembled like a leaf; every word Yun Fuyi said made his heart pound like a drum. From the moment the prince appeared, he knew he was doomed. Worse, his family might even be implicated because of him. Now, he could only hope the prince wouldn’t hold him too accountable for his earlier remarks.
“Please don’t belittle yourself, Miss Yun. Your intentions were good.” Sui Tingheng walked up to Fuyi, not sparing a glance at the kneeling young man on the ground. “One or two taels of silver can buy several hundred catties1 of rice, and three taels can buy a thousand. But the Censor-in-chief family squanders wealth so lavishly. It’s no wonder they disregard a thousand catties of rice.”
“No, Your Imperial Highness! This was not this subject’s intention. Please judge fairly!” Young Master Zhang hastily begged.
“I had thought Lord Censor-in-chief truly lived up to the frugal and honest reputation he proclaimed before Father Emperor. But after hearing Young Master Zhang’s words today, I now understand what it means to say one thing and do another.”
“Y-your Imperial Highness, it was a slip of the tongue. This matter has nothing to do with this subject’s father,” Young Master Zhang pleaded, kowtowing.
“Claiming one thing in front of His Majesty and doing differently behind his back is deceiving the monarch—a grave crime,” Fuyi interjected. “Young Master Zhang, stop kowtowing. Be careful not to hurt your head. Instead of you kowtowing, why not let your father explain it to His Majesty? If His Majesty is in a good mood, he might even forgive your family.”
Fatty Liu watched with mixed feelings as Fuyi blatantly used the emperor’s name to suppress the Zhang family. She clearly wasn’t planning to let Young Master Zhang off the hook. The Zhang family had once received the Yun family’s favor when they first arrived in the capital, but three years ago, when the Yun family was disgraced, the then Censor Zhang not only refused to plead for leniency but also, feared being implicated by association, submitted a memorial overnight accusing Yun Fuyi of arrogance and rudeness, and the Yun family for failure of educating their daughter.
At that time, the Yun family had already left the capital, and the court was in chaos under the late emperor. With Ning Wang’s faction at the peak of their power, many officials sought to curry favor with Noble Consort Zeng. Amid the flood of impeachment memorials against the Yun family, Censor Zhang’s was barely noteworthy, and few paid attention to it.
Fatty Liu stole a glance at Yun Fuyi, pondering. ‘Is this all coincidence, or is it her deliberate revenge?’
“Do not overthink, Young Master Zhang. Right and wrong will be for Father Emperor to decide,” Sui Tingheng said, ordering the attendants to lift the limp and terrified Young Master Zhang from the ground. “Escort Young Master Zhang home.”
The onlookers watched as the Jinwu Guards dragged away the quivering young man. No one dared to speak up; all of them had the same thought: His Imperial Highness truly had a way with words—how could anyone not overthink this situation?
With the presence of the armed guards, the audience in the stands quickly fled the cuju field. Today’s match had been well worth watching, not just for the thrilling game, but also for the spectacle of someone’s downfall.
“So, does His Imperial Highness actually dislike cuju? From what he just said, it seemed like he was watching Yun Fuyi play.”
“Who knows?”
“Yun Fuyi plays so well. I can’t even imagine how happy I’d be if she gave me the victory wreath.”
“Too bad for you! I dare to imagine it. Not only do I want her to give me the wreath, but I also want her to give me the winner’s pouch.”
“Didn’t you notice that Yun Fuyi gave the wreath to Ning Wangfei today?”
“Ning Wangfei?!”
Ning Wang’s past closeness with Yun Fuyi was a well-known fact among the capital natives. Later, Yun Fuyi fell off a cliff, Ning Wang became engaged to the daughter of the Lu family, and when they met again, they were bitter enemies.
Rationally speaking, Ning Wangfei should regard Yun Fuyi as a thorn in her side. But who would have thought Yun Fuyi would place the wreath on Ning Wangfei’s head? Fortunately, Yun Fuyi wasn’t a man, or Ning Wang would be painted entirely green from head to toe.2
The world has gone so crazy it’s hard to make sense of it!
…
With the crowd dispersed, Fatty Liu quickly signaled to Liu Zihe: Cousin, we should go too!
But Liu Zihe stood motionless, like a wooden post, as if determined to remain with the cuju field until the very end.
“So, you’re the newly appointed Zhuangyuan scholar, Liu Zihe?” Sui Tingheng noticed the young man stealing glances at Fuyi, his cheeks flushed red.
“Yes, Your Imperial Highness,” Liu Zihe stepped forward and bowed.
“Mm.” Sui Tingheng nodded slightly. “Liu Zhuangyuan, as you’ve just joined the Hanlin Academy3, you should spend your days learning from the senior scholars instead of indulging in frivolous pastimes.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Highness. This subject will take your advice to heart,” Liu Zihe replied, his face losing all color as he bent forward, not daring to meet Sui Tingheng’s gaze.
Fatty Liu sighed quietly. He had signaled for them to leave earlier, but his cousin refused to budge. Now look—you were suspected of being lax in your duties by none other than the prince!
Why don’t you see the people who hold idle posts in the court? Not one of them was foolish enough to stay here and had all slinked away long ago.
“Your Imperial Highness, this subject’s cousin spends his days either on duty at the Hanlin Academy or studying at home. He’s never been negligent. Our elders worried he might fall ill from the monotony and asked me to take him out for some fresh air.” Considering that Liu Zihe was his grandfather’s brother’s grandson, Fatty Liu decided to step in. “We shall not disturb Your Imperial Highness any further. Please excuse us.” Without waiting for Liu Zihe’s response, he grabbed his cousin and dragged him away.
“Your Imperial Highness, I need to go home for dinner, so please allow me to take my leave.” Sui Anying shoved her round fan into Fuyi’s hand, lifted her skirt, and ran off. Her father and the emperor were cousins, but as a famous idler, she felt out of place standing next to the prince, a model of propriety.
The seating area quickly emptied. Lu Siyue also stood and prepared to take her leave.
“Imperial Aunt,” Sui Tingheng’s gaze swept over her. “Allow me to escort you and Miss Yun back to the residence.”
“Your kindness is appreciated, but unnecessary,” Ning Wang hurried over and stood by Lu Siyue’s side. “I’m here, so you don’t need to trouble yourself.”
“Next time Wangfei goes out, remember to bring more attendants.” Ning Wang grasped Lu Siyue’s wrist. “You’re unfamiliar with the capital, and I worry something might happen to you.”
“Thank you for your concern, Wangye.” Lu Siyue gently smiled and pulled her hand away. “This consort simply came out to relax because of the rumors about my lack of diligence in managing the household, which has weighed on my mind.”
“Wangfei, your Lu family is famous for their propriety and integrity. You are undoubtedly the model of a virtuous lady—don’t let unbased gossip affect you,” Ning Wang said. He didn’t attempt to grab her wrist again but turned to Yun Fuyi, his gaze filled with complex emotions that eventually condensed into a single short greeting: “Greetings, Miss Yun.”
“This subject daughter greets His Highness Ning Junwang.” Fuyi bowed formally, her demeanor distant and polite.
Ning Wang’s gaze at her remained fixed. She wore no makeup today, her black hair simply braided, and yet her slightly flushed face was breathtaking. Neither unkemptness nor notorious reputation could overshadow her beauty.
He first met Fuyi when she was just five or six years old. She had fallen on the ground but clung tightly to a rattan ball in her arms, looking stubborn and pitiful. Though it was uncharacteristic of him, he had patiently played with her for half an hour just to coax her into stopping her tears.
This capital was filled with memories of her.
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- Catties or jin (斤) was a unit of measurement around 0.5 kg.
- ’Wearing a green hat’ is a euphemism for being cuckolded in Chinese. Consequently, the color green is often associated with cuckold.
- Hanlin Academy (翰林院) was an institution subordinated to the central government and entrusted with the draft of official documents. Those who pass imperial examinations usually join the academy first before being granted an official post.
I read the description of “Hanlin Academy” in footnote 3, and had a silly thought:
The “Hanlin Academy” is the ancient China version of the “stenographer pool” or “secretaries pool” from the ’60’s?