Starting with a Wei Wu soldier

Chapter 292 The Prince Grows Up

The fourth year of the Qiming era, the ninth day of the eleventh month. Winter Begins.

The city of Chang'an welcomed its first snowfall of the winter. The snowflakes were fine and scattered, falling on the glazed tiles of the Taiji Palace, accumulating into a thin layer. When the wind blew, they fell in a soft rustling sound, like thousands of pear blossoms.

Inside the East Warm Pavilion of the Lizheng Hall, the charcoal fire burned brightly. Murong Mingyue sat on the couch by the window, holding a small brocade robe in her hands, mending the frayed cuffs. It was Chen Qi's clothes; the boy was already nine years old this year, and had grown taller by leaps and bounds. Last year's clothes were too short this year, and the cuffs were frayed.

"Mother," a clear voice came from the doorway, "your son has returned."

Murong Mingyue looked up and saw Chen Qi standing at the door, wearing a black cloak covered in snow. His face was red from the cold, but his eyes were bright and excited.

"Why are you only coming back now?" Murong Mingyue put down her needlework, beckoned, and said, "Come and warm yourself up."

Chen Qi ran over, squatted down by the charcoal brazier, and stretched out his frozen little hands to warm them by the fire.

"Your subject was at the Imperial Academy today, competing in archery with some students from Goguryeo." He chuckled. "Your subject won."

Murong Mingyue couldn't help but laugh at his smug look.

"You won, so what's there to be proud of? You're a prince, it's only right that you win."

Chen Qi shook his head: "Mother, you don't know. Those Goguryeo people are incredibly skilled. They've been riding horses and shooting arrows since they were little. I trained in the palace for three years before I could barely catch up with them. Today's competition was 'hitting the bullseye from a hundred paces,' and I hit nine arrows, while their best hit was only seven."

He paused, lowered his voice, and said mysteriously, "Mother, I'm using the mental technique Father taught me—'Don't look at the target, look at your heart.' When shooting arrows, don't think about the target, think about the dot behind the target. I've tried it, and it really works!"

Murong Mingyue was stunned for a moment, then shook her head.

"You seem to remember what your father taught you very well."

Chen Qi nodded, warmed himself by the fire for a while longer, and then suddenly asked, "Mother, when will Father return?"

Murong Mingyue looked out the window. Outside, snowflakes continued to fall, and the distant palaces were faintly visible through the snow and mist.

"Soon," she said. "Your father wrote that it will arrive by the end of the month."

Chen Qi said "Oh," and lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought.

The lights in Qiyun Pavilion stayed on longer than usual.

Lin Wan'er sat at her desk, a thick stack of manuscripts spread out in front of her. It was the first draft of the "Elementary Learning" section of the *Qiming Leishu*, which included various literacy textbooks, phonological works, and dictionary exegesis from the pre-Qin period to earlier dynasties. She had been reviewing it for three days, and there was still half left to read.

"Your Highness," the maid said softly, "it's late. Let's look at it tomorrow."

Lin Wan'er shook her head without looking up.

"Let's look at it a little longer. This volume needs to be sent back tomorrow; the old gentlemen are waiting."

The maid dared not persuade her any further, but quietly added a few pieces of charcoal to the brazier.

Soft footsteps sounded outside the door. Lin Wan'er assumed it was a maid and ignored it. Only when the footsteps stopped at the door did she look up—

Chen Qi stood at the door, still wearing his black cloak, which was covered in snow, and his little face was red from the cold.

"Qi'er?" Lin Wan'er was taken aback, then quickly stood up. "Why are you here so late?"

Chen Qi walked in, squatted down by the charcoal brazier, and warmed himself by the fire.

"Your Majesty," he said softly, "I can't sleep and wanted to come and talk to you."

Lin Wan'er looked at him, her heart softening. This child had always been more composed than the other princes, never showing his emotions in front of others. But the more composed a child is, the more burdens he carries in his heart.

She had a maid bring over a bowl of hot ginger soup and handed it to Chen Qi.

"Have some water to warm yourself up. What's wrong? Tell me slowly."

Chen Qi took the ginger soup, drank a sip, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly asked:

"Your Majesty, what do you suggest I do from now on?"

Lin Wan'er was stunned.

"Why are you suddenly asking this?"

Chen Qi lowered his head, his fingers tracing the rim of the bowl.

"Today at the Imperial Academy, someone asked me if I would become emperor someday. I said I didn't know. The person laughed and said, 'You are the eldest son of the legitimate wife, how could you not know?'"

He looked up at Lin Wan'er.

"My dear Consort Shu, I truly do not know. My father has never spoken of this to me. He only taught me to read, shoot arrows, and think critically. But those people say that as the eldest son of the legitimate wife, I must become emperor. If I do not, I will be letting down our ancestors."

Lin Wan'er remained silent for a long time.

She crouched down and looked Chen Qiping in the eye.

"Qi'er, has your father ever taught you what 'seeking truth from facts' means?"

Chen Qi nodded: "I have been taught that. My father said that no matter what happens, you should always ask yourself: What is the true nature of this matter?"

Lin Wan'er nodded.

"Then now you can ask yourself: what is the true nature of being emperor?"

Chen Qi was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and thought for a long time.

"It is my responsibility," he said slowly. "My father said that being emperor is not for personal enjoyment, but for the sake of making life better for all people. Your son... Your son doesn't know if he can do it well."

Lin Wan'er gently took his hand.

"Qi'er, you're only nine years old. A nine-year-old doesn't need to know whether they can do it well. You just need to know that you're learning, you're growing, and you're thinking. That's enough."

She paused.

"As for the future, we'll talk about that later. Your father is still young and can reign for several more decades. In these decades, you can observe, learn, and think slowly. When that day truly comes, you'll naturally know what to do."

Chen Qi looked at her, his eyes slightly red.

"Your Highness, is what you're saying true?"

Lin Wan'er nodded.

"real."

The sound of abacuses in Chengxiang Hall continued until the third watch of the night.

Su Xiaoxiao sat at her desk with three ledgers spread out in front of her: one was the Ministry of Revenue's "Trial Calculation of Taxes in Jiangnan", one was the Imperial Household Department's "List of Confiscated Salt Merchants in Yangzhou", and one was her own "Secret Reports from Merchants in Various Regions".

After the Yangzhou salt scandal broke out, she immediately mobilized all the imperial merchants in Jiangnan to secretly gather information. She found out everything about the salt merchants' businesses in various places, their correspondence, and even which brothels they frequented.

"Your Highness," the accountant leaned closer and whispered, "those seventeen salt merchants in Yangzhou also own seven shops in Suzhou, three in Hangzhou, and a residence in Nanjing. These properties are not officially registered under the salt merchants' names, but they are the actual controllers."

Su Xiaoxiao nodded and added a few strokes to the list.

"Does the Ministry of Revenue know about this?"

The accountant shook his head: "It hasn't been reported yet. They said they'll wait until the joint review by the three judicial departments is completed before proceeding."

Su Xiaoxiao gave a cold laugh.

"Wait for a joint trial by the three judicial authorities? By the time they've finished their trial, those shops will have already been moved."

She stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the snowy night.

"Tell our people to find out the situation of those shops first. When the Ministry of Revenue takes action, we'll lend them a hand."

The accountant was taken aback: "Your Majesty means..."

Su Xiaoxiao turned her head, her gaze calm.

"It means letting those people know that—if you embezzle the court's money, you can't escape it no matter where you go."

The lights in Fangzhixuan were the first to go out.

Lan Fenghuang didn't go to the Gu Chamber tonight, but returned to her bedchamber early. She nestled on the couch, holding a small figure in her arms—it was her child, Chen Xing's third son, named Chen Ke, who had just turned three this year.

Chen Ke looked like her, with big eyes, long eyelashes, and two dimples when he smiled. At this moment, he was nestled in his mother's arms, listening to her tell stories of the Miao region.

"Mother, what happened next? Did the little monkey find its mother?"

Lan Fenghuang nodded and gently patted his back.

"Found it! The little monkey climbed and climbed for three days and three nights, and finally reached the top of the mountain. At the top, its mother was picking fruit. When she saw the little monkey, she was so happy that she cried tears of joy..."

Chen Ke blinked, then suddenly asked, "Mother, did you also look for your grandmother like this when you were little?"

Blue Phoenix was stunned.

She thought of the deep mountains of Miao territory, the days when her grandmother carried her to gather herbs, the mountain paths entwined with vines, and the rhododendrons covering the mountains.

"I've looked," she said softly, "but I couldn't find Mother."

Chen Ke was stunned, his lips trembled, and his eyes reddened.

Lan Fenghuang quickly hugged him: "Silly child, why are you crying? Isn't your mother here now? Your mother has you, Brother Xing, Sister Mingyue, Miss, Sister Wan'er... Your mother is doing very well."

Chen Ke sniffed and buried his face in his mother's arms.

"Mother, when I grow up, I will take you back to Miao territory to find Grandma."

Lan Fenghuang smiled, but her eyes were slightly red.

"Okay. When you grow up, we'll go back together."

At the end of November, the imperial entourage returned to Chang'an.

Chen Xing did not return directly to the palace, but went to the Imperial Academy first.

The students at the Imperial Academy were having class, and the sound of their reading aloud drifted from the windows. Chen Xing stood outside the window, listened quietly for a while, and did not go in.

He saw Chen Qi.

The child sat in the front row, back ramrod straight, holding a book in his hands, his lips moving as he read intently. There was a focused expression on his face, an expression Chen Xing recognized vividly—it was the same expression he himself had when he was a child, staring blankly at an armillary sphere.

He watched for a while, then turned and left.

"Your Majesty," Jia Wen followed him, "aren't you going in to take a look?"

Chen Xing shook his head.

"No need. He reads his books, and I do my business. Let's not disturb each other."

Jia Wen was stunned for a moment, then understood what was going on and bowed deeply.

That evening, Chen Xing dined at the Lizheng Hall.

Chen Qi sat next to him, shoveling food into his mouth in small bites, occasionally stealing a glance at his father before quickly lowering his head again.

Chen Xing picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and put it into his bowl.

"I heard you had an archery competition with a Goguryeo person at the Imperial Academy and won?"

Chen Qi nodded and whispered, "Yes...we won."

Chen Xing then asked, "What mental cultivation method did you use?"

Chen Qidao: "Don't look at the target, look at the heart."

Chen Xing nodded and said nothing more.

After a moment of silence, Chen Qi suddenly asked, "Father, was this what you were thinking when you were shooting arrows back then?"

Chen Xing glanced at him.

"When I was shooting arrows back then, I was thinking about how to survive."

Chen Qi was stunned.

Chen Xing put down his chopsticks and looked at his son.

"You are luckier than me. You were born without having to worry about how to survive. But what you have to think about is much harder than just surviving."

He paused.

"Think clearly about who you are, what you want to do, and what you are capable of doing. These three things are enough to keep you thinking for a lifetime."

Chen Qi lowered his head and remained silent for a long time.

Then, he looked up at his father.

"Father, your son... your son will think it over carefully."

Chen Xing nodded and said nothing more.

Outside the window, the night was deep. The lights of the Rikjeong Hall cast the shadows of the father and son onto the window paper, one high and one low, remaining motionless for a long time.