The next day, after the Che Kingdom delegation rested at the post station, they went to the palace to meet the emperor. Tang Yuan and several invited scholars were led into the palace to wait, while Xuan Yu was blocked outside the palace gate.
Tang Yuan waited with the others in the side hall and saw Fang Jue there as well. Fang Jue looked at him, and Tang Yuan warmly waved in greeting. There were also two elderly men there who looked at Tang Yuan with suspicion but still smiled kindly at him. Tang Yuan noticed that Tang Wenli was very polite to them and thought that he must be his mentor or elder, so he followed suit and bowed as well. He remembered his mother saying that one shouldn't hit a smiling face, and that politeness was never a bad thing. Maybe they could help him later, so it was better to be polite.
After waiting for a long time, the two old men, Fang Jue and Tang Wenli, went in one after the other. Only Tang Yuan stood there waiting. When she got tired of standing, Tang Yuan sat down on the ground and leaned against a pillar to doze off.
Tang Wenli originally didn't let Tang Yuan go in with them because he thought that if they could handle it, they wouldn't need Tang Yuan to step in. After all, he was just a child, and he had specifically asked him to help.
But he had underestimated his opponent. Even after a heated debate in the main hall between him, Fang Jue, and the two highly respected elders of the Wu Kingdom, he was ultimately rendered speechless by the Che Kingdom delegation and lowered his head in shame. Even so, Tang Wenli didn't want to involve Tang Yuan; he was Li Xingyun's nephew, and he couldn't afford to be harmed! Therefore, he didn't let Tang Yuan in. Seeing that they were about to admit defeat, the Che Kingdom delegation began to arrogantly say, "How come this vast Wu Kingdom doesn't even have a single decent scholar! They can't even compose poetry!"
At this moment, King Wu suddenly spoke up: "What's the rush! My Wu Kingdom is full of talented people, how can you compare to them?"
Everyone looked at Prince Wu, thinking he had some brilliant plan. The Emperor also half-rose and looked at Prince Wu in surprise, saying, "My son means...!"
Prince Wu looked at everyone unhurriedly and said, "I heard there is one more person who hasn't come in yet."
"Who?! Summon them at once!" the Emperor asked anxiously. The others also seemed to see a glimmer of hope and all looked at Tang Wenli.
“This time, Your Majesty, it was a five-year-old child who accidentally answered the imperial edict,” Tang Wenli said, kneeling down.
"What?! Does the Wu Kingdom have no one left? Why are they even sending out a five-year-old child?" the other delegation said with a loud laugh.
When everyone heard that it was a five-year-old child, they all lowered their heads. The emperor sighed, thinking that even the Tang family was powerless, so what could a five-year-old child do? He had thought he was some kind of unparalleled master!
“Brother, this concerns the honor of our Wu Kingdom. It’s not appropriate to let a child do it!” said the Sixth Prince.
“Yes, Father, Fifth Brother is acting rashly. How could he let a child represent the Wu Kingdom?” said the Third Prince.
The crown prince, however, remained silent, merely watching them. The emperor initially thought it was the mysterious immortal under the moon, but it turned out to be just a child.
"I heard that he took the imperial edict from Mr. Fang with just one poem! Doesn't Father want to meet him?" Prince Wu said with a smile.
"Really!?" The Emperor saw hope again and looked at Fang Jue eagerly.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Fang Jue replied, kneeling down.
"Then bring him in quickly, go quickly," he said to the eunuch beside him.
After waiting for a long time, Tangyuan had already fallen asleep. Finally, a eunuch came running over and woke him up. Before Tangyuan could react, the eunuch pulled him away. Tangyuan followed the eunuch with his head down, still half asleep, into the main hall.
Tangyuan stood in the main hall, somewhat dumbfounded, looking at the emperor sitting high on the throne and then at the others. The eunuch bowed and said to him, "Hurry up and kneel down to pay your respects to the emperor."
Tangyuan then came to her senses and knelt down with a thud, saying, "Tangyuan greets Your Majesty!"
"Get up quickly! I heard you won the imperial edict from Mr. Fang?" The Emperor looked at Tangyuan below the stage with some disappointment. Such a naive and unsophisticated appearance was definitely not good, but he still asked patiently.
"yes!"
"He really is just a child. Ha! Ha! Ha!" The delegation burst into laughter.
"How many words do you know?" someone asked.
The Emperor glared at the delegation. Because of his superior literary talent, he had always outshone them, making them feel inferior all these years. He turned to look at Tangyuan, who looked familiar, but judging from his clothes, he didn't seem to be from a wealthy family. So he asked curiously, "Where do you live? Where are your parents?"
"Your Majesty, Tangyuan came to the capital with her mother to find her father."
"Has it been found?"
"No!"
"And what about your mother?"
"My mother has also disappeared."
"This...do you have any other family members?" The Emperor hesitated. Could this child even read? He looked at Prince Wu, who looked on with anticipation, waiting for a good show.
“I also have an older brother waiting for me outside the palace.”
"How did you get separated from your father? What does your father do?" the Emperor asked curiously.
"My father left before I was born. My mother raised me by farming. Later, when she heard that my father was in the capital, my mother brought me to look for him. But we never found him, and my mother was lost too," Tangyuan said sadly.
"Is that so? Don't worry, I will send people to help you find your parents," the Emperor said suddenly with affection.
"Really? Thank you, Your Majesty!" Tangyuan said excitedly as she knelt down.
"Do you know how to read?" the Emperor asked tentatively. After hearing about Tangyuan's plight, the Emperor suspected that the child might not even know how to read.
"know!"
"This!? Do you even know why we're here today?"
"Know!"
Standing to the side, Prince Wu kept smiling and watching the others, which seemed very strange. It was as if he didn't care at all, or as if he already knew he would win.
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