Chapter 8 Fusu: It's my turn
While everyone was enjoying the spectacle, Song Qi, as the Yishan Hall Master of Zishan Hall and the future teacher of the princes and their companions, had to step in and take charge of the situation.
"What happened? What's going on?"
He emerged from the corner with a smile: "The youngest son of the King of Zhou? Your humble servant has not heard of such a person coming today."
Song Qi wore a bright red brocade official robe, which accentuated his fair and handsome face and his agile figure. His hair was thick and black, his eyebrows were long and reached his temples, and his eyes were slightly upturned. His whole face exuded the words "elegant and dashing," and he immediately attracted the attention of the two little ones as soon as he appeared.
"Your humble servant Song Qi greets Your Highness Prince Cheng." Song Qi immediately revealed Fusu's identity.
Fusu was confronted by the legendary "Little Song," and couldn't help but secretly admire him—just one look at that face was enough to tell, he certainly had the looks to be a charmer. He was about to return the greeting when Song Qi stopped him: "Your Highness has not yet formally become my disciple, how can this humble subject accept such a gesture?"
Okay, he readily nodded slightly to the man and said, "Good morning, Mr. Song."
"Your Highness, Prince Cheng..."
Li Qiu stood frozen, like a statue cast in stone. He finally understood what had happened. It wasn't some divine intervention or stroke of luck from his ancestors at all; everything had its reasons. So this was what His Highness Prince Cheng meant by "see you next time."
"……Hello."
"Hello!"
Fusu gently patted Li Qiu's shoulder, waking him up, and said helplessly, "I'm telling you, don't over-breathing again and end up attracting the Imperial Hospital staff."
Li Qiu: "..."
He obediently closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
With each breath, a long, steady breath flowed in and out of his chest, and a long-lost sense of peace welled up within him. It could be said that most of Li Qiu's inferiority complex stemmed from Fusu; he felt that with such an intelligent and kind person present, what merit did he have to be selected?
However, if the little boy is indeed His Highness Prince Cheng himself, then everything will be fine. Isn't it normal for Prince Cheng to be smarter and more sensible than him? Li Qiu thought to himself.
Song Qi stood with his hands behind his back, smiling but saying nothing. From the two children's brief exchange, he roughly guessed what had happened. So the young prince had been pretending to be the son of Prince Zhou to deceive people? Poor Li boy, the truth was only revealed now; he'd been completely fooled the whole time.
But Fusu didn't bring it up, nor did he ask. He glanced at the sun and asked, "Has Young Master Yan not arrived yet?"
Fusu quickly said, "I'm too early. There's still some time before the auspicious time."
That's true. Logically, he should have been the last to arrive, so that no one would feel awkward. But Fusu wasn't used to making others wait for him, and since the palace and Zishan Hall were very close, he estimated the time and set off, thus becoming one of the early arrivals.
The auspicious time, calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, is the time when a prince is deemed suitable to perform the apprenticeship ceremony.
The Song Dynasty placed great emphasis on "respecting teachers and valuing the Way." Even when a prince became a student, he was required to present necessary gifts.
In addition, common students only need to perform two bows when becoming students, but princes must perform four full bows. If a teacher unfortunately passes away, they must also wear mourning clothes together to show their respect and grief.
The gifts of silk, wine, and dried meat were all prepared for Fusu without his personal concern; Empress Cao had already taken care of everything. However, the formal apprenticeship ceremony was a must. And so, Fusu wore a crimson gauze robe, the kind typically worn on formal occasions. The bright red outer garment accentuated his rosy lips and white teeth, making him appear exceptionally spirited.
After Fusu finished speaking, Song Qi fell silent. Even His Highness Prince Cheng himself didn't seem to care, and his words clearly implied an attempt to exonerate Young Master Yan; why should he play the villain?
I never expected that even a mere companion I'd only met once would be so lenient with His Highness. Despite his young age, His Highness is incredibly generous.
This is a good thing, Song Qi thought.
Just then, the sound of scattered footsteps came from outside Zishan Hall. The three future teachers and students exchanged glances, then looked up and gazed outside.
The person who arrived late was indeed Yan Jidao.
Despite the fact that everyone else was clearly waiting for him, Yan Jidao remained calm. He stood firmly in place and bowed to the two people in the room, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Cheng, greetings, Mr. Song. I am late, please forgive me."
Fusu used the same excuse: "You weren't actually late, I just accidentally arrived early."
Song Qi smiled and casually pointed to a seat: "Please sit down."
Yan Jidao nodded and casually sat down to Fusu's right, forming a protective stance with Li Qiu. This was the most common practice among those who accompanied their children in their studies.
However, since both of them were two or three years older than Fusu, the middle seat was noticeably recessed.
The meaning of the character “凹” is given concrete form at this moment.
Fusu: "..." He was a little unhappy.
Fusu pursed his lips.
A muffled laugh escaped Song Qi's throat.
If he hadn't remembered his brother's words, he probably would have burst out laughing immediately.
Yan Jidao acted as if he hadn't seen them. Only after he sat down did he have time to observe the others. And what he did was quite remarkable.
"Whoosh."
"Swish."
"Swish, swish, swish."
As he scrutinized the scene, his excitement grew, and the light in his eyes shone brighter. For some reason, Fu Su was reminded of the light bulbs in his middle school physics class, whose brightness changed with each battery change. But what changed Yan Jidao wasn't the battery, but rather the three handsome faces.
Fusu: It's confirmed, he's a looks-obsessed person.
Well, how should I put it? It fits the stereotype quite well.
Yan Jidao, later known as "Little Yan," was a figure quite similar to Jia Baoyu. The youngest son of a powerful family, his family fell into decline and his official career was fraught with difficulties, but his literary talent was exceptional, leaving behind many timeless masterpieces.
He seems to be only six years old this year, yet he openly displays a preference for beautiful appearances, which is both surprising and unexpected. Yan Jidao himself is also very handsome, with a delicate and intelligent appearance, and there happens to be a red mole between his eyebrows, making him look just like a child radiating spiritual light before a Buddha.
Fusu rubbed his face. Luckily, he was good-looking enough. Otherwise, with two handsome men in front of him, Yan Jidao probably wouldn't even pay him any attention.
Little did he know that when Prime Minister Yan Shu inquired about the selection of a study companion for his youngest son, the son's first response was not about his grades or performance, but rather—
"My son only remembers that His Highness Prince Cheng was extremely adorable."
This left Prime Minister Yan speechless, and he had no way to deal with his beloved youngest son, so he could only wave the servants away. After receiving the imperial decree to enter the palace as a companion scholar, he was secretly extremely proud of his son.
Song Qi: "Alright, the auspicious time has arrived. Everyone, please follow me to perform the apprenticeship ceremony."
The three of them agreed and followed behind Song Qi.
As Song Qi walked toward the Mingtang where the apprenticeship ceremony was to be performed, he said to the three men, “Although I am honored to be the Yishan Hall’s assistant and to receive your apprenticeship ceremony, I will be the one who teaches you poetry, books, rites and music in the future. There are also positions such as tutors, attendants, and storytellers in Zishan Hall. They have been teaching in the hall before. You should also respect them when you meet them in the future and not be negligent.”
"Yes," the three answered in unison.
Fusu's little mind, however, was racing: He used to teach at Zishan Hall? Who taught him?
As far as Fusu knew, he was currently the only healthy prince in the palace. If someone else was being taught, it would be extremely strange not to appoint a chief advisor to oversee the entire process.
He felt a vague idea forming in his mind, almost leading him to the correct answer, but just before he was about to break through the barrier, he felt a slight force coming from behind. Turning around, he saw Yan Jidao smiling at him and gently raising his chin.
Ah, it's time to pay our respects.
Fusu stepped forward and was the first to bow. His two attendants followed closely behind. Once the three were in position, the eunuch's loud voice rang out.
"bye--"
"bye--"
"bye--"
"bye--"
Unlike commoners, when a prince bows, his teacher cannot accept the full bow, but only half of it. Only after four bows is the ceremony considered complete. Fusu straightened up, smiled sweetly at Song Qi, and bowed, saying, "Mr. Song."
Song Qi readily accepted the gift.
Then comes the presentation of gifts. Confucius once used dried meat as a gift for becoming a disciple, to show the value of knowledge. In later generations, however, it became a symbol, especially in the royal court. In addition to dried meat strips, other gifts had to be prepared.
For example, Fusu saw with his own eyes that among the various kinds of gifts brought out by the palace servants, there was even a pair of crabs woven from straw rope. They were alive, waving their pincers and crawling around in the boxes held by the palace servants.
Fusu: "..."
The crabs were prepared by Empress Cao. Fusu suspected that she was mocking him by sending the crabs, but he had no evidence.
However, he could clearly see that when Song Qi saw the pair of large, menacing crabs from Yangcheng Lake, his face twitched involuntarily.
Fusu quickly averted his gaze, silently thinking: Shushu was not prepared by me, it has nothing to do with me.
In return, Song Qi also prepared a gift for his student. Fusu received a set of writing implements. He casually picked up a handful of soft, fine brush tips.
Is it a wolf hair brush? Or a rabbit hair brush?
Just as Fusu was about to ask the teacher a question, he heard familiar footsteps behind him, followed by a loud "His Majesty has arrived."
The crowd parted automatically to make way, and a hand was placed on Fusu's head. Song Qi was about to bow when Emperor Renzong stopped him, saying, "Minister Song, there's no need for such formalities."
He looked around Zishan Hall, his words filled with emotion: "This hall is just like it was back then."
Back then, when the Emperor was still the Crown Prince.
Zishan Hall was originally built by Emperor Zhenzong for the sake of the emperor's education. How could he not be overwhelmed with emotion at the thought of his son experiencing everything he knew so well?
Song Qi understood the meaning behind Emperor Renzong's words: "Your humble servant will do everything in his power to teach His Highness Prince Cheng, even if it means dying a hundred times."
"Song Qing's words are too weighty."
The Emperor raised his hand, and the purple-gold fish-shaped pouch, symbolizing the highest honor for an official, was presented. Besides those who held the highest positions in the court, only the tutors of princes could receive this honor.
The Emperor then encouraged Song Qi with two more words: "I entrust the future of the Prince of Cheng to you, Minister Song. Many important matters of the previous dynasty could not have been accomplished without your assistance. Recently, the envoy from Western Xia has been staying at Xiangguo Temple, and I need to trouble you with your efforts."
"Your subject will certainly not fail in his mission."
The emperor and his ministers were exchanging pleasantries and enjoying each other's company when Fusu, who was just sitting in the background, twitched his ears.
Are the envoys from Western Xia staying at the Daxiangguo Temple?
He quietly raised his head and glanced at the official's profile—
By the way, the Song and Xia sides are currently negotiating peace. What better opportunity could there be than to reveal his pro-war nature?
A note from the author:
----------------------
Fusu: It's my turn to perform! [Chin resting on hand]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
