Xu Youde returned to his manor after the morning court assembly, took off his scarlet court attire, and changed into a soft, washed-out gray cotton robe. Slipping into his old shoes, he passed through the outer gate and headed toward the backyard.
The May sun in the capital was already quite harsh. The shade of the pagoda trees blanketed the courtyard. Seeing that Xu Wuyou was not around, he bypassed the main quarters and headed straight for the study on the west side.
Pushing open the half-closed carved wooden door, the scent of aged ink wafted over him.
Behind the large red sandalwood desk, Xu Zijin was sprawled over a pile of rice paper, his head resting on his arms, sleeping soundly.
A smudge of ink stained his right cheek, and drool hung from the corner of his mouth. His breathing was steady. The pages spread out before him were covered in tiny, neat calligraphy, heavily marked and crossed out with annotations.
Xu Youde's heel struck the threshold, making a muffled thud.
Xu Zijin jerked his head up, looking dazed for a couple of breaths. Once he recognized the visitor, he scrambled up from the chair, using both his hands and feet.
His sleeve swept against a copper paperweight at the corner of the desk. The small copper block crashed onto the blue brick floor and rolled far away.
Marquis, Marquis!
Alright, alright, pick it up, Xu Youde waved his hand, walked around the desk, and sat down in the armchair opposite him.
Xu Zijin frantically picked up the paperweight and put it back in its place. He then wiped his face with his sleeve, smearing the ink even more.
Watching his embarrassed state, Xu Youde did not rush to speak. He reached out and picked up the heavily annotated pages of rice paper from the desk, flipping through them one by one.
The handwriting varied in thickness. It was a mix of Xu Qinghuan's original manuscript and Xu Zijin's later supplementary arguments. The two styles of handwriting were intertwined, occasionally dotted with red ink circles.
Xu Youde skimmed a few pages and put the paper down.
Have Gu Zongming and that old man Kong come looking for you recently?
Xu Zijin's face fell.
Ah, Marquis Xu, you have finally asked about the crux of the matter. He held up his hand, spreading all five fingers wide. In just these past five days, Old Mister Gu has come three times, and Old Mister Kong has come twice. Every time, they arrive just as it gets dark, and by the time they leave, the roosters are already crowing.
Xu Youde gave an affirmative hum, waiting for him to continue.
Xu Zijin gulped down some cold tea from the desk, coughing as he poured out his grievances.
The first two times were fine. Old Mister Gu kept asking about the phrase reason lies within the matter over and over again. Your student dug out the Princess's original words to fob him off, and barely managed to pass the test.
But it was different later on. By the third visit, Old Mister Kong directly shifted the topic to the investigation of things and the governance of a state... He asked your student, if all things in the world can be investigated, can the way of governing a state also be broken down into step-by-step procedures to be verified, just like a craftsman making a tool?
At this point, Xu Zijin's mouth turned bitter.
Oh, Marquis, there was absolutely nothing written about this level of depth in the Princess's manuscript!
I am foolish, so I could only brace myself and pick out a few cases of tax reform from the Records of the Grand Historian, using the concept of verifying the rise and fall through evidence to muddle through.
But when Old Mister Kong left, he dropped a line: Next time I come, this old man wants to discuss the military system.
Hearing this, Xu Youde was also left speechless. Hiss! Aren't you all... disciples of the Confucian school?
Exactly! I have no idea why it escalated to the military system!
Xu Zijin threw both hands flat on the desk.
During the day, your student has to deal with the interrogations of these two old gentlemen. At night, I rummage through all the books in the manor, trying to find any fragmented words spoken by the Princess to use as my spear and shield. For seven whole days, I haven't had a single full night of sleep.
Hearing this, Xu Youde began to laugh.
The laughter echoed in the quiet study, carrying a sense of relaxed satisfaction. He slapped the palm of his hand against the red sandalwood desk twice, his voice hearty and clear.
That girl of mine, she really has a sharp mind.
Xu Zijin wore a bitter expression, wanting to say something but swallowing it back.
Zijin. Xu Youde stopped laughing and looked at him seriously. Tell me the truth about the attitude of those two old gentlemen. Are they here to debate and challenge, or are they here to seek knowledge?
Stumped by the question, Xu Zijin lowered his head and thought for a moment.
To answer the Marquis, he weighed his words carefully, at first... they were indeed here to debate. The first few times they visited, Old Mister Kong's words were full of thorns, as if he couldn't wait to tear the theory of investigating things to shreds.
But the last two times were different.
Xu Zijin raised his head, his expression turning more solemn.
When Old Mister Gu asks questions now, he is no longer aggressive. Once he sits down, he refuses to leave. Sometimes he debates a single question back and forth for half an hour, arguing with himself. Once, he walked into the courtyard and stood there for a long time, only snapping out of it when the sun came up.
Your student feels that Old Mister Gu is no longer here to fight. He is genuinely pondering a new system of knowledge.
Xu Youde nodded, his expression easing a bit.
He took a folded piece of yellow silk from his sleeve. It was a copy handed back from today's morning court assembly, recording a summary of the officials' memorials and responses.
At today's court assembly, there was a massive argument over the candidates for the chief examiner of the autumn imperial examinations. Xu Youde spread the yellow silk on the desk and tapped one of the lines with his finger.
The Hanlin Academy proposed three people, the Ministry of Personnel rejected two, and the Ministry of Rites pushed their own list. After arguing back and forth for over half an hour, the First Prince made a sarcastic remark in the hall: Minister Xu has been quite close to the literary masters of Jiangnan recently. I wonder if there is a personal friendship?
Xu Zijin caught the underlying implication, and his face changed.
The First Prince is...
He is using the autumn examinations to make an issue, Xu Youde said, folding the yellow silk and tucking it back into his sleeve. The choice of the chief examiner concerns the direction of selecting scholars for this year. Whoever's students are chosen, it means backing that person's disciples. The First Prince is afraid that our Xu family will use the autumn exams to sneak the theory of investigating things into the policy essays, thereby winning over a new batch of scholars.
Xu Youde leaned back in his chair.
The news of Gu Zongming and that old man Kong coming to my door to ask about academics over the past half month has long spread throughout the capital. In the eyes of outsiders, the fact that literary titans are personally coming to the Xu residence to seek guidance on the investigation of things means that the Xu family is winning over the pure stream of literary scholars.
The First Prince is getting anxious.
Xu Zijin's expression changed again and again. Only now did he realize that his academic discussions with the two great scholars over these past few days were not just an academic dispute, but had already stirred up muddy waters in the imperial court.
The investigation of things to acquire knowledge was not just a branch of learning; it was a banner.
Whoever raised this banner could attract a new influx of fresh blood.
But... but the manuscript the Princess left behind before leaving the capital is only so long. Xu Zijin looked troubled and rubbed his hands together. Your student can almost recite it backward from reading it so many times. If we go any deeper, your student won't be able to make anything up.
Xu Youde turned his head to look at him and let out a laugh.
If you can't make it up, then don't.
Just copy my girl's original words exactly. Her convoluted explanations are ten times more effective than whatever nonsense you could come up with on the spot.
Xu Zijin opened his mouth, powerless to refute.
Xu Youde did not say any more on the matter. He stood up, walked to the low cabinet against the wall of the study, and took out a stack of letter paper, an ingot of pine soot ink, and an old inkstone from the drawer, carrying them to the desk.
Xu Zijin tactfully stood up and gave up his seat.
Is the Marquis going to write a letter to the Princess?
Yes. Xu Youde sat at the desk, picked up the ink ingot, and slowly ground it in the inkstone. Zijin, go and get some rest first. If Old Mister Gu comes again tomorrow, just use the old examples of water control and military agricultural colonies to deal with him. Those two things are the easiest to verify. You can find ready-made material just by flipping through the Treatise on Rivers and Canals.
"Also..."
Xu Youde didn't even look up, his tone casual.
"You should also try taking the autumn imperial examination this year."
Xu Zijin froze.
"This... Because I offended the Wang family in Jiangning back then, I haven't yet obtained the qualification..."
"I took care of it for you." Xu Youde placed the ground inkstick next to the inkstone, pulled a document stamped with an official seal from his sleeve, and tossed it in front of him. "A supplementary exam at the Imperial College. I asked an education official for a favor last month. With this, you are qualified to participate in the autumn examination."
Xu Zijin picked up the document, his hands trembling slightly.
Xu Youde waved his hand.
"Go get some rest."
Xu Zijin retreated to the door. Glancing back, he saw Xu Youde dipping his brush in ink, his back perfectly straight and his expression entirely focused.
The door closed gently.
Xu Youde was left alone in the study.
He put his brush to the paper, every stroke pressing powerfully through the page.
The letter first detailed the situation at the court assembly: the stalemate over the chief examiner for the autumn examination, the eldest prince's veiled sarcasm, and the power struggle between the Ministry of Rites and the Hanlin Academy. He explained it all clearly in just a few concise words.
Then, the tone shifted as he wrote about taking on the task of managing funds and provisions for the Ministry of Revenue.
"There is a severe drought in the Northern Zhili region this year. The requests for disaster relief grain were submitted three times but never approved. I took the initiative to claim this matter. The allocation of funds and provisions may seem inconspicuous, but the transportation of military pay for all thirteen provinces across the country passes through this channel. It will make things much easier for us in the future."
He also wrote down several crucial pieces of intelligence.
"The salt tax reform in Huaiyang has advanced to the second phase. The registers of the salt-boiling households have been delivered to the Ministry of Revenue, and there are currently no obstacles."
"There is something fishy about the accounts of the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau. For the autumn and winter seasons last year, the sales volume reported by the bureau was nearly thirty percent less than their actual shipments. I have ordered people to investigate in secret, suspecting that someone is skimming off the top."
Writing this, Xu Youde paused and set his brush down.
He thought for a moment, intending to dip the brush in ink and add another line, but the tip of the brush hovered over the paper for a moment.
Xu Youde let out a long breath. At the end of the letter, his handwriting slowed down.
No longer as sharp and concise as an official document, every stroke was deliberate and unhurried.
"Is your second brother doing well in the North? Do not let him suffer any hardships. Everything is fine at home; do not worry."
"The matter of the autumn examination concerns the very foundation of the state. My daughter, while in the North, should also pay close attention to it."
After finishing the final sentence, he set down the brush, picked up the letter, and gently blew on the ink to dry it.
He folded it, slipped it into an envelope, and dripped sealing wax over the flap. He pressed the bronze private seal of the Xu Manor into the wax, leaving a crisp crest.
"Someone come."
A dark shadow waiting outside flashed through the door and knelt soundlessly on the floor.
Xu Youde handed the envelope forward.
"Take the fastest horses and ride out urgently. Within ten days, this must be delivered to Zhenbei City and handed personally to the Princess. It must not pass through anyone else's hands."
The shadow took the letter, hid it securely in a secret layer of his clothes, kowtowed, and retreated from the study, his figure melting into the darkness outside the corridor.
Xu Youde stood up and walked to the door of the study.
An evening breeze blew in from the courtyard, carrying the faint scent of locust flowers and lifting the hem of his cotton robe.
He raised a hand and rubbed his slightly aching eyes, his gaze looking past the courtyard walls toward the north.
In that direction, separated by thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, his daughter was wrestling with tigers and wolves in a suffering border city.
The evening wind grew stronger, rustling the paper casings of the lanterns hanging under the eaves.
Xu Youde stood at the threshold, his lips trembling slightly.
"Qinghuan... let this letter from your father ride the wind, so it may reach you even faster."
His voice was very soft, quickly scattered by the wind.
"Your father... misses you..."
