The night was heavy, and the long streets of the capital were desolate.
The sound of the night watchman's drum pierced through the darkness. In front of the Xu Manor, two red paper lanterns bearing the title "Count Chengyi" swayed in the night wind.
The gatekeeper, Old Li, holding a storm lantern, stood on the steps, looking with a bitter expression at the two elderly men below.
"Elder Gu, Elder Kong," Old Li bowed, cupping his hands in greeting. "It's already midnight. Mr. Xu has been up in his study for two days and two nights without closing his eyes. This is the fifth time you two have come to our door. How about... you come back early tomorrow?"
Below the steps, Gu Zongming wore a washed-out blue cloth robe, leaning on a purple bamboo cane.
Beside him stood the Chancellor of the Imperial College, Great Scholar Kong, wearing a loose Confucian robe and a square hat.
These two leading figures, whose mere stomping could shake the Imperial Academy, had completely set aside their pride at this moment.
"Manager Li, I haven't had the appetite for food or tea these past few days. If I don't see Mr. Xu tonight and resolve the doubts in my heart, this old bag of bones... might just end up dying right here in front of your Xu Manor."
Gu Zongming struck his purple bamboo cane heavily against the bluestone slab.
Old Li swallowed hard. Looking at these two men in their sixties, Old Li was just a gatekeeper; how could he bear the blame of angering great scholars to death?
The gatekeeper sighed and stepped aside to make way.
Seeing this, Gu Zongming and Great Scholar Kong, disregarding their scholarly dignity, lifted the long hems of their robes with both hands and quickly stepped over the high threshold of the Xu Manor, heading straight for the backyard study with practiced familiarity.
Inside the study, an oil lamp flickered like a small bean.
Xu Zijin sat in front of a wide rosewood desk, grabbing his hair with both hands. His originally neat hair bun was now messy.
Spread out before him were over a dozen sheets of Xuan paper filled with small regular script. Those were the manuscripts on the study of things that Xu Qinghuan had left behind before departing the capital.
In the Duan inkstone on the right, the ink was half-dried, and a writing brush was casually tossed aside.
Xu Zijin stared at the five characters on the paper that read "all things have principles," his eyes bloodshot.
Over the past few days, the two great scholars, Gu and Kong, had taken turns bombarding him with neo-Confucian questions, each more tricky than the last. The little bit of knowledge Xu Zijin had in him was long depleted.
Urgent footsteps came from outside the door.
Before Xu Zijin had time to look up, the carved wooden door of the study was pushed open. A cold wind rushed in, making the flame of the oil lamp dance wildly.
Gu Zongming and Great Scholar Kong strode in one after the other. Skipping the pleasantries entirely, they walked to the left and right of the rosewood desk, directly cornering Xu Zijin in his high-backed chair, cutting off any chance for him to stand up to greet them or find an excuse to escape.
"Mr. Xu, I went back and read through the Classified Conversations of Master Zhu, pondering bitterly for three whole days," Gu Zongming said bluntly. "Princess Xu's manuscript speaks of 'investigating things to extend knowledge,' seeking the principles of things. Let me ask you, if we go by what the Princess says, is the 'heavenly principle' in 'preserving heavenly principles and eradicating human desires' to be sought externally or internally?"
Once this question was thrown out, the study fell silent.
Great Scholar Kong stood to the side, his hands tucked into his sleeves, waiting for Xu Zijin's answer.
Xu Zijin's scalp tingled.
Externally or internally? Xu Qinghuan's manuscript didn't seem to include such a debate.
Xu Zijin closed his eyes, searching his mind for the casual remarks Xu Qinghuan had made in the pavilion before leaving the capital.
"Mr. Xu?" Gu Zongming urged, tapping his finger twice on the desk.
Xu Zijin opened his eyes, avoiding the gaze of the two great scholars, and his eyes landed on the dried inkstone.
A sentence the Princess had once said while pointing at a bowl of water surfaced in his mind.
Xu Zijin gritted his teeth and braced himself to speak.
"Elder Gu, Elder Kong, the Princess once said that principles exist within things, not outside the mind." Xu Zijin met their gazes. "If one does not interact with things, how can one know their principles? Heavenly principles are not empty talk suspended in the highest heavens, nor are they epiphanies born out of thin air behind closed doors."
"Heavenly principles are right here in the brush and ink on this desk, under the farmer's hoe, and in the craftsman's rules."
Gu Zongming's hand, which was stroking his beard, paused in mid-air. The old man frowned slightly, repeatedly murmuring these words: "Principles exist within things, not outside the mind..."
Great Scholar Kong, however, sneered.
"Absurd!" Great Scholar Kong shouted, pointing directly at Xu Zijin. "If you say there are principles in farm tools and rules, I will not argue. But what about human relations and moral codes? The ethics between sovereign and subject, father and son, are a heaven-ordained order! If principles exist within things, how are you going to 'investigate' the principles of sovereign and subject, father and son? Are you going to take the sovereign and the subject apart, verifying them as a craftsman splits wood?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the slightest misstep would carry the suspicion of despising imperial power and shaking the foundation of the state.
A layer of cold sweat broke out on Xu Zijin's back. This Great Scholar Kong was deliberately setting a trap.
Xu Zijin forced himself to calm down, clearly remembering how Princess Xu had specifically instructed him before leaving the capital on how to deal with the ethical challenges from these old pedants.
"Elder Kong, you are mistaken," Xu Zijin slowed his tone. "The Princess once used the 'metaphor of the boat and water.' The ethics of sovereign and subject, father and son, are like sailing a boat on water. Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. The temperament of this 'water' is the principle."
Great Scholar Kong raised an eyebrow. "The temperament of water?"
"Exactly." Xu Zijin walked around the desk to the center of the study. "The Princess said that the way of the sovereign values benevolent governance, the way of the subject values loyalty, the way of the father values kindness, and the way of the son values filial piety. These principles are not dead words carved in stone, but must be 'verified' in the historical records of the rise and fall of past dynasties."
Xu Zijin stopped and turned to look at the two great scholars.
"Throughout all dynasties, those who practice benevolent governance bring peace and prosperity to the nation; this verifies the principle of water carrying the boat. Those who practice tyranny ignite the flames of war everywhere; this verifies the principle of water overturning the boat. This is the investigation of things! Exploring the rules of prosperity and decline in the interactions between sovereign and subject, father and son, through the rise and fall of past dynasties, is this not 'principles existing within things'?"
You could hear a pin drop in the study.
Xu Zijin's words cleverly avoided any direct offense to imperial power, and instead combined the investigation of things with the Confucian ideal of using history as a mirror. Using historical evidence to confirm the correctness of ethics was virtually unassailable within the framework of neo-Confucianism.
"Verifying moral codes through history..." Gu Zongming murmured to himself, the light in his eyes growing brighter.
Great Scholar Kong let out a long sigh and cupped his hands toward Xu Zijin, his tone losing its previous aggressiveness. "I have truly been educated by Princess Xu's teachings today."
Xu Zijin's legs were weak, and he was just preparing to return the bow.
However, a series of staggering footsteps came from outside the study.
The old servant of the Xu Manor, Uncle Fu, stood outside the door and respectfully announced through the wooden panels.
"Mr. Xu, the young lady of the Xie family has arrived outside the manor in a night carriage. She has submitted her calling card and requests to see you."
Xu Zijin froze. The young lady of the Xie family?
What was the eldest miss of the Xie family doing running to the Xu Manor in the middle of the night?
Gu Zongming and Great Scholar Kong exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes.
Xu Zijin only felt that the situation in the capital was becoming increasingly incomprehensible.
"Please invite her to the front hall and serve tea." Xu Zijin straightened his messy lapels.
