When Shengping finished speaking, the eight-year-old Heir of Prince Guang also chimed in with a grin. “That’s right! Princess Fuxi, you’re so young. How could you have read so many books?”
The nine-year-old Heir of Prince Rui said with a smile, “Cousin Fuxi must have been nervous and therefore didn’t dare tell the truth.”
The Grand Tutor put away his smile and studied Rongyao with a hint of suspicion. “Princess Fuxi, have you truly read all those books?”
Rongyao lifted her chin and stood proudly. “This student never lies. If you don’t believe me, Grand Tutor, you may test me.”
The Grand Tutor became interested. Stroking his goatee, he looked at Rongyao with a beaming smile. “Very well! Then I shall test you on the contents of the Thousand Character Classic. Would you like to review it first?”
Rongyao lowered her head slightly and counted on her fingers as she pondered for a few breaths. Soon, she raised her head again and stood ramrod straight, looking entirely prepared and confident. “This student has finished reviewing it!”
The Grand Tutor froze for a moment as he looked at the utterly fearless Princess Fuxi. Did she call that reviewing? She had not even opened the book!
Still uncertain, he asked, “Are you truly ready, Princess?”
Rongyao stared at him blankly. “Yes.”
The Grand Tutor coughed and nodded. “Very well. Then I shall begin.”
He stroked his beard and paced back and forth before stopping to ask Rongyao, “In the Thousand Character Classic, there is the line, ‘The foundation of governance lies in farming; one must attend diligently to the cultivation of crops.’ What comes next?”
“‘We load our carts and head to the southern fields; there we plant millet and grain,’” Princess Fuxi answered without hesitation.
The Grand Tutor halted abruptly. He stared fixedly at Rongyao before asking another question. “‘Be compassionate and sympathetic; do not abandon these virtues even in haste.’”
Rongyao recited, “‘Be compassionate and sympathetic; do not abandon these virtues even in haste. Uphold integrity and honor, purity and humility; do not forsake them even in hardship.’”
The Grand Tutor hurriedly asked, “What comes before ‘Good fortune follows virtue’?”
Rongyao hesitated for a breath before answering, “‘Misfortune comes from accumulated evil; good fortune follows virtue.’”
The Grand Tutor was overjoyed. He exclaimed excitedly, “Excellent! Excellent! ‘Misfortune comes from accumulated evil; good fortune follows virtue!’ The Thousand Character Classic contains two hundred and fifty lines, each consisting of four characters, for a total of one thousand characters. And yet you answered every question without hesitation! You must have memorized it long ago and reviewed it constantly to remember it so clearly!”
After saying this, the Grand Tutor turned toward the direction of the former imperial court and bowed. “Heaven bless Great Zhou! Every child of His Majesty is a dragon or phoenix among men, brilliant beyond compare! Heaven bless Great Zhou!”
Once he had finished sighing with emotion, he turned back to Rongyao and said, “Princess Fuxi is a little prodigy as well.”
Rongyao’s eyes widened as she stared blankly at the Grand Tutor.
She—she was brilliant beyond compare? She was a little prodigy?
Princess Shengping stared at the six-year-old girl on the other side, who was being praised by the Grand Tutor and whose pride was plainly written across her face. She could hardly believe her eyes.
She really knew it! She hadn’t been lying!
It had taken her several full days to memorize the Thousand Character Classic. Its contents were not only awkward to recite but also filled with obscure characters. Compared with the other children, she had learned it extremely quickly, and the Grand Tutor had praised her for it.
Even now, merely thinking about those thousand characters gave her a headache. Yet Princess Fuxi had answered every question without the slightest hesitation!
She absolutely refused to believe that Fuxi was the prodigy the Grand Tutor claimed. It had to be a coincidence. Princess Fuxi must only know this one text!
In The Golden Branch, Princess Fuxi was clearly a spoiled, willful, and arrogant girl. While others read, she played with bows; while others practiced calligraphy, she sneaked out of the palace. She was plainly nothing but a wastrel!
Shengping tightened her grip on her brush, and her expression grew increasingly ugly.
After calming herself, she forced a smile and said, “Big Sister is truly clever! Grand Tutor, why not test Imperial Elder Sister on the Thousand Poems as well?”
The Grand Tutor did not seem to approve. “Princess Shengping, even you have not finished reading this book. How can you test Princess Fuxi on it? The fact that Princess Fuxi has read the Thousand Character Classic is already beyond what an ordinary person could accomplish.”
The oldest of the princes’ heirs spoke up. “Exactly! What Thousand Poems? I haven’t read it yet, either. Princess Fuxi is still so young—how could she possibly know the Thousand Poems?”
At this, Princess Shengping rose to her feet and said with a smile, “Grand Tutor, this student has finished reading the first volume of the Thousand Poems.”
The Grand Tutor looked pleasantly surprised. “Really?”
Princess Shengping replied, “This student has studied diligently day and night and dared not be anything less than devoted.”
The Grand Tutor smiled in satisfaction. “Good! As expected of my most outstanding student! Then I shall test you as well.”
Princess Shengping tightened her grip on the book in her hand. “Very well.”
The Grand Tutor thought for a moment, then picked up a book from the desk. Closing his eyes, he flipped to a random page and pointed to a passage. After glancing at it, he said, “The thirty-fifth poem in the first volume.”
Shengping hesitated for a moment before reciting, “Flowers bloom on crimson trees as orioles call in confusion; the grass grows thick beside the level lake, where white egrets fly. The breeze is mild, the sun is bright, and the people are in good spirits; at sunset, flutes and drums sound as boats return.”
The Grand Tutor nodded in satisfaction. He flipped to another page and asked, “The thirteenth poem in the first volume.”
This time, Princess Shengping thought for a long while before tentatively beginning, “The golden palace rises beneath layered purple towers; in the hands of the immortals, jade hibiscus blooms. The Son of Heaven of Great Peace, each morning at court…”
At this point, Princess Shengping’s face went pale. Her brows drew tightly together, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She could not complete the poem.
The Grand Tutor closed the book. A trace of disappointment flashed through his eyes as he looked at the flustered Princess Shengping and prepared to offer a hint.
“The Son of Heaven of Great Peace, each morning at court, on the first day of the year; five-colored cloud chariots bear the Six-Dragon Carriage.”
A clear, childish voice suddenly rang through the hall, completing the lines Princess Shengping had been unable to recite.
Everyone turned in astonishment, only to discover that it was the shortest of them all—Princess Fuxi.
“That’s right! The lines are indeed, ‘The Son of Heaven of Great Peace, each morning at court, on the first day of the year; five-colored cloud chariots bear the Six-Dragon Carriage!’” The Grand Tutor looked at Princess Fuxi with overwhelming excitement. “Princess Fuxi, have you truly read the first volume of the Three Thousand Poems?”
Rongyao looked at the Grand Tutor and nodded earnestly. “This student never lies. Fuxi really has read it.”
The Grand Tutor excitedly opened the book in his hands, randomly selected another poem, and asked, “The seventeenth poem in the first volume. Can you recite it, First Princess?”
Rongyao tapped her head with one hand and answered without hesitation, “The east wind wafts, spreading the glow of dawn; misty fragrance fills the air as the moon passes over the corridor. I fear that deep at night the flowers have fallen asleep, so I burn a tall candle to illuminate their crimson beauty.”
The Grand Tutor’s face flushed with excitement. “A true prodigy! An extraordinary talent! Not a single character wrong!”
Anyone could hear that Princess Fuxi had recited the poem without stumbling or even needing time to recall it. She had delivered it far more smoothly than Princess Shengping had managed earlier.
The Grand Tutor looked at Princess Fuxi and sighed repeatedly. “If Princess Fuxi were a boy, she would surely be a blessing to Great Zhou!”
Princess Shengping, who was still standing, clenched her hands tightly. Her expression stiffened, and she could no longer force a smile.
Her heart was in turmoil, and she could not calm down in the slightest.
She had really recited it. She truly possessed an exceptional mind!
The System’s excited voice suddenly rang out in her mind.
[Host, host! Princess Fuxi is genuinely clever—cleverer than you, even! Could she possibly be…]
Tantai Yu angrily ordered the System in her heart to shut up. “Impossible! She can’t be! The Princess Fuxi in the book is a spoiled wastrel! She knows nothing and does nothing but indulge in pleasure every day. She’s completely useless! Besides, she’s a woman! No matter how clever a woman is, in ancient times she could only become a man’s appendage! She’s a princess, not a prince! She has no right of succession!”
