The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 045 Comrades, Companions
Tang Shen was flustered and in the midst of panic when he suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Da... Like the ocean, calm and clear!"
In the garden of the Fu Residence, it was spring, and flowers were blooming everywhere. The sounds of birds chirping filled the air. The shade of willow trees covered the rockery, and the shadow of the rockery concealed Tang Shen and the others. After Tang Shen finished speaking, the garden fell into silence.
Tang Shen had suddenly blurted out this line of poetry in his moment of desperation. Wen Shu didn’t understand it, but Wang Zhen stared at Tang Shen intently. After a moment, he said, "Like thunder that has gathered and subsided its fury? Why did little Junior Brother suddenly recite this upon seeing me?"
Like thunder that has gathered and subsided its fury, like the ocean, calm and clear.
These lines describe Gongsun Da Niang's sword dance, and this world also has them.
Tang Shen quickly composed himself. He lied with wide eyes: "It has been a long time since I last saw Senior Brother Zi Feng. Seeing you again now, you are just as refined and elegant as I remembered, like the clear light of the ocean, shining brightly. When I saw Senior Brother, this line of poetry came to mind, and I blurted it out without thinking." He quickly complimented him, as flattery was a good distraction.
Wang Zhen looked at Tang Shen for a moment and then said, "I didn’t expect that after just seven days apart, Jing Ze would miss me so much." Then he turned to his page boy and said, "Jing Ze hasn’t been to the Minister Residence for seven days, why didn’t you invite him? If not for the fact that Sir had us come together this time, who knows when I would have seen Jing Ze again! Do you realize your mistake?"
The page boy, who was suddenly blamed out of nowhere: "?" What were you all talking about just now, and what does it have to do with me?
Tang Shen: "..."
The page boy replied honestly, "It was my fault."
Wang Zhen scolded, "There must not be a next time."
Page boy: "…Yes."
Wang Zhen grabbed Tang Shen's hand and lightly patted it. The two of them walked out of the garden hand in hand like the closest of brothers, resembling the gentlemen of the Spring and Autumn period. Wang Zhen sincerely said, "We are fellow disciples. In the future, this kind of thing won’t happen again. If Jing Ze misses me, you can come to the Minister Residence anytime."
Tang Shen nodded, feeling relieved. He thought that Wang Zifeng was not that difficult to deal with, and he had easily managed to get away with this "dad" situation. However, when they reached the flower hall, Tang Shen suddenly realized that he had only praised Wang Zhen when he saw him and hadn’t said anything about missing him at all. Wang Zifeng was blatantly slandering him!
He almost choked on a mouthful of blood.
Wang Zhen led Tang Shen to the flower hall. Tang Shen was annoyed but did not dare to say anything, so he just glared at Wang Zhen. But when Wang Zhen looked at him, Tang Shen quickly averted his eyes and said earnestly, "Senior Brother."
Wang Zhen said, "It seems that Junior Brother really did miss me; you’ve been looking at me the whole way."
Tang Shen: "…"
Fu Wei came out and said, "Jing Ze missed Zi Feng? It seems that you two brothers have been getting along quite well without my knowledge!"
Wang Zhen: "Sir."
Tang Shen grumbled, "Sir."
Both of them bowed and saluted Fu Wei.
In the flower hall, a small round table made of huanghuali wood was already set, with exquisite Jiangnan dishes placed on it. Both Tang Shen and Wang Zhen were from Jiangnan, where the food is known for being delicate and refined, with small portions and mild flavors. Though they called it a meal, it was more about conversation, and none of them ate much. Fu Wei wasn’t strict about the "no talking during meals" rule and asked Tang Shen, "As a newly appointed tanhua lang, is it as wonderful as you imagined?"
Tang Shen was miserable and blinked pitifully, "Sir, you’re teasing me!"
Fu Wei laughed heartily and pointed at Wang Zhen with his chopsticks: "The zhuangyuan of the 18th year of Kaiping." Then he pointed at himself, "I didn’t do as well. Back then, I was in the same cohort as Zhong Taisheng. Unfortunately, he was the zhuangyuan, and I had to settle for bangyan (second place)." He then looked at Tang Shen: "And you’re a tanhua. Our school has now produced all the top three scholars!"
Wang Zhen quietly listened to Fu Wei speak, not saying a word.
Tang Shen glanced at Wang Zhen, and an idea came to him: "Senior Brother Zi Feng once made an analogy to me."
Fu Wei: "Oh? What analogy?"
Wang Zhen lifted his eyes and looked at Tang Shen.
Tang Shen thought to himself, I’m only sixteen years old; I can say whatever I want, and it’s just childish talk! "Back when I placed second in the xiangshi, Senior Brother Zi Feng told me that he was the top scholar, and I was the runner-up. We were like a dragon and a phoenix, bringing good fortune to our school. Now that I think about it, Senior Brother Zi Feng is the top scholar, and you, Sir, are the runner-up. Aren’t you both like a dragon and a phoenix as well? Truly auspicious!"
Fu Wei: "..."
Wang Zhen smiled slightly.
During the meal, Fu Wei gave Wang Zhen several glares, which Wang Zhen pretended not to see, even pouring wine for Fu Wei at the end.
After the meal, the three of them enjoyed steaming hot Mingqian Biluochun tea while sitting in the flower hall, admiring the flowers. The Fu Residence’s garden was particularly beautiful under the moonlight, and they could faintly hear the croaking of frogs from the pond. They talked for quite a while, mostly with Fu Wei advising and instructing Tang Shen.
Fu Wei said, "The officialdom is not the same as ordinary life. I can only guide you this far; in the future, I can at most point you in the right direction. The rest will depend on you. As a tanhua, you are different from the other second and third rank scholars. You’ve already been appointed to the Hanlin Academy as a bianxiu (compiler) of the seventh rank. Although I hold the position of chengzhi (TN: Hanlin Academy Chancellor. The "Hanlin Academy" was an important academic and administrative institution in imperial China, and “chengzhi" refers to an official who carries out or receives imperial orders) at the Hanlin Academy, I only stayed because of the Emperor's persuasion and rarely visit the Hanlin Academy. In a few days, when you take up your post, do you have any questions?"
This was Tang Shen's first time becoming an official, especially in ancient times, and there were many things he didn’t understand, which he brought up one by one.
Fu Wei answered some of his questions, and Wang Zhen also helped answer a few.
As the moon rose high in the sky, Tang Shen and Wang Zhen both bid farewell to Fu Wei.
The two senior and junior brothers walked out of the Fu Residence together. Tang Shen originally planned to go home and was about to bid farewell to Wang Zhen when he saw Wang Zhen raise his head to look at the moon and point to the sky. Tang Shen followed the direction of his hand. The bright moon had naturally dimmed the stars, but in ancient times, without city lights or atmospheric pollution, even with a bright moon, dozens of stars still glittered in the sky.
"One could reach out and pluck the stars. Junior Brother, do you remember writing this line of poetry?"
Tang Shen thickened his skin and said, "I remember. Why does Senior Brother Zi Feng bring it up?"
Wang Zhen replied, "One does not dare speak loudly, for fear of startling those above."
Tang Shen didn’t understand immediately, but then he saw Wang Zhen point to the sky and say, "Junior Brother has good fortune, already disturbing those above!"
A flash of inspiration hit Tang Shen, and he instantly understood what Wang Zhen meant.
There is only one person "above," and that’s Zhao Fu.
So it turns out that Zhao Fu moved him up from fifth to third place in the dianshi because of the poem he wrote during the Imperial College’s class! Reflecting on his path to the imperial examinations since arriving in Shengjing, Tang Shen realized that the emperor’s presence at the Imperial College was the fundamental reason he ultimately became a tanhua. However, the emperor’s presence at the college was connected to the class, and securing one of the top three spots in that class was something Wang Zifeng had mentioned to him.
Sweat began to seep from Tang Shen’s forehead. He hadn’t expected even this matter to be related to Wang Zifeng.
Tang Shen bowed and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Zi Feng."
Wang Zhen smiled and said, "I don’t quite understand what Junior Brother is thanking me for."
Tang Shen didn’t clarify, thinking, you practically said it yourself, aren’t you just waiting for me to thank you? Why act like a cunning fox? But outwardly, he said, "I’m thanking Senior Brother for your guidance!"
Wang Zhen smiled slightly. After walking a few more steps, he suddenly said, "Your poem mentions wanting to pluck the stars from the sky. Do you know the tallest building in Shengjing, and indeed all of the Song Dynasty?"
Tang Shen thought for a moment: "The Qianli Tower?"
Wang Zhen shook his head and said, "It’s Xuji Tower!"
Xuji Tower was in the northern part of the city. Riding in the Minister Residence’s carriage, Tang Shen and Wang Zhen arrived at the base of Xuji Tower. Tang Shen looked up and saw that it was a nine-story tall building!
Ancient high-rise buildings were usually temple pagodas. The structure of a Buddhist pagoda is different from a building; it can reach great heights and remain stable, unaffected by the wind. But in this era, Tang Shen had never seen a building taller than six stories, let alone nine! He had never been to the northern part of Shengjing before, so he had never seen this building. However, even if he had come, he probably wouldn’t have been able to enter.
The base of Xuji Tower was surrounded by soldiers in armor!
Wang Zhen said, "Let’s go up and take a look."
Tang Shen didn’t doubt Wang Zhen’s words at all. Since Wang Zhen said so, they would definitely be able to get in. He followed Wang Zhen toward Xuji Tower. Sure enough, the soldiers parted to make way when they saw Wang Zhen, allowing him to enter Xuji Tower.
Nine floors! In his previous life, Tang Shen was used to taking elevators and hadn’t climbed such a tall building in years. In this life, it was even more out of the question. By the time they reached the top floor, even Wang Zhen was slightly out of breath. Seeing the sweat on Wang Zhen’s forehead, Tang Shen realized that his senior brother was also just a mortal.
However, just as he thought old Wang seemed more down-to-earth and not so distant, the clouds parted from the moon, and the moonlight bathed Wang Zifeng in its glow, making him look as though he could ascend to immortality at any moment, no longer seeming like an ordinary person!
Tang Shen suddenly felt exhausted.
Tang Shen asked, "Why did Senior Brother Zi Feng suddenly want to come here tonight? With so many soldiers guarding the base, I thought we wouldn’t be able to come up."
"Do you know the meaning of Xuji Tower?"
If it were anyone else, even this year’s top scholar, Yao Shan, they might not have been able to answer Wang Zhen’s question. But Tang Shen had an eidetic memory, and he didn’t just read the Four Books and Five Classics; he had also memorized various other classic texts. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Achieve utmost emptiness, maintain quietude steadfastly."
This is from the Taoist classic, the Tao Te Ching.
Wang Zhen’s eyes showed praise as he said, "That’s right. It means ‘achieve utmost emptiness, maintain quietude steadfastly.’ Five years ago, the Emperor wanted to build the tallest building, to reach the heavens in search of the Way. The Ministry of Revenue started constructing this building four years ago, and it will be completed next month. The Emperor will personally visit to hold the Xuji Tower ceremony."
"I see."
But what does that have to do with him?
Wang Zhen turned to look south. They were now facing north, looking south, just like the Emperor, with all of Shengjing spread out before them! Wang Zhen suddenly extended his hand toward the sky and recited the poem Tang Shen had written: "A towering building a hundred feet tall, one could reach out and pluck the stars. One does not dare speak loudly, for fear of startling those above. Standing here, Junior Brother, do you think you can pluck the stars?"
Forget standing on a nine-story building; even if you stood on the sun, you couldn’t pluck a single star!
As a science-minded person, Tang Shen didn’t understand this kind of romanticism, but he couldn’t explain to Wang Zhen that stars were very distant suns. After thinking for a long time, he felt he was being quite romantic when he said, "If you have stars in your heart, you can pluck them."
Wang Zhen suddenly turned to look at him.
Tang Shen felt a lump in his throat.
…What?
Wang Zhen suddenly burst out laughing.
Tang Shen: ???
Was he being mocked?
In the moonlight, Wang Zifeng, dressed in a white brocade robe, said softly, "The Master said: ‘Comrades in the same school are called friends; those with the same aspirations are called companions.’ Jing Ze, would you say we are friends, or companions?"
Tang Shen was shocked, alarm bells ringing in his head as he looked up at Wang Zhen.
He saw Wang Zhen smiling at him, his eyes clear, but with something deep and unreadable hidden beneath them.
Comrades in the same school are friends, but only those who share the same aspirations are true companions!
Wang Zifeng… was asking him to examine his heart!
AN: Old Wang from next door: Are we comrades or companions?
Little Tang [with a horrified face]: What do you want to do!!!