Troublemaker Prince C29 (Part 1)
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 29.1
You Yusui had no idea that his actions of inviting his maternal grandfather to help maintain order at the scene, and You Fengyun's decision to include Prime Minister Su to maintain balance, had significantly elevated the status of the Qionglin Banquet in everyone's minds. He only knew that with his grandfather and Prime Minister Su present, he could sleep soundly, and once the Qionglin Banquet ended, he could return to the palace to report.
Just as You Yusui finished mentioning Prime Minister Su, the Su family's carriage arrived not far away. The carriage was made of simple materials and was not luxurious. From the worn marks, it was clear it had been used for many years. It was precisely this ordinary, unremarkable carriage that commanded respect because it bore the Su family's name.
"Prime Minister Su has arrived," said someone with sharp eyes.
As soon as the words fell, several aristocratic young men became somewhat flustered. Facing the powerful and influential Prime Minister Su, they couldn't possibly voice their disdain about associating with students from humble backgrounds. If Prime Minister Su learned about what they had said earlier—that sitting with students from humble backgrounds would diminish their status—would they still be selected as officials this time?
At the same time, they glanced at Lord Xie standing nearby. Actually, from Lord Xie's earlier attitude, they could tell their chances of being selected were slim.
For a moment, the faces of these aristocratic young men turned ashen. They should never have listened to that person surnamed Cheng.
That Cheng-surnamed aristocratic young man also hadn't expected that this extremely simple spring banquet, which was essentially a supplementary event, could actually attract the reclusive Lord Xie and Prime Minister Su, who had great fame among those from humble backgrounds.
"Prime Minister Su has arrived," You Yusui said, watching Prime Minister Su descend from the carriage, leaning on his cane.
Sure enough, his father emperor's exploitation of his subjects was utterly conscienceless. His maternal grandfather and Prime Minister Su were about the same age, but from outward appearances, there was a significant difference. If not mentioned, people would probably think Prime Minister Su was more than ten years older than Lord Xie.
You Yusui felt that to live better, one must be like his maternal grandfather—finding joy in mountains and rivers, living as an idle person, not creating trouble for oneself. Otherwise, one would be mercilessly exploited by the emperor like a tireless mule.
At the same time, the students standing nearby all bowed to Prime Minister Su.
Xie Yi slightly nodded to Prime Minister Su, saying, "Brother Su, it has been many years."
Prime Minister Su coughed and said, "Indeed, it has been many years. However, now is not the time for reminiscing. Crown Prince and Lord Xie, please proceed."
After speaking, Prime Minister Su extended his hand, gesturing for You Yusui and Xie Yi to enter first.
Upon hearing this, You Yusui didn't decline and directly turned to leave. However, Xie Yi said to Prime Minister Su, "Together."
Subsequently, Xie Yi and Prime Minister Su entered the gates of Qionglin together.
After the three of them entered, the students slowly approached the guards to verify their identities before entering Qionglin one by one.
It was spring, and the hundreds of pear trees planted in Qionglin had not yet finished blooming. Like first snow falling on branches, combined with the jade towers and magnificent buildings in the garden, it resembled a fairyland—a different flavor from the Spring Banquet, which was crowded with people, lively and filled with peach blossoms.
A student couldn't help but whisper in praise, "This is truly a heavenly realm on earth."
Everyone nodded in agreement. For a moment, the Qionglin Banquet rose even higher in everyone's minds because of this ethereal atmosphere.
Meanwhile, the aristocratic young men wanted to say that these students from humble backgrounds lacked sophistication, but they all kept silent. Apart from the top aristocratic families, whose gardens could be this beautiful?
"We've arrived," said the palace attendant leading the way.
In the garden, simple tables and cushions were arranged, requiring two people to sit closely together. The aristocratic young men disdained sitting with those from humble backgrounds, and those from humble backgrounds didn't want to invite snubs either. For a time, everyone's seating arrangements were clearly divided.
You Yusui sat in the main seat, looking at the students below. The corners of his mouth slightly curved upward, and then he clapped his hands.
Prime Minister Su watched this scene, unsure of You Yusui's intentions. He had been suddenly summoned by the current emperor to attend the Qionglin Banquet. The emperor hadn't instructed him to help the Crown Prince do anything, only told him not to interfere in any matters at the Qionglin Banquet and to let the Crown Prince act as he pleased.
Therefore, Prime Minister Su didn't know what the Crown Prince would do at the Qionglin Banquet. At the same time, the emperor's approach made Prime Minister Su feel that the Crown Prince was gradually being taken more seriously.
"This prince has prepared prizes for the winners of this competition. Of course, if you don't win, it doesn't matter—this prince has also prepared consolation prizes."
As You Yusui's voice fell, palace attendants brought out the prizes and consolation awards. When the boxes were opened, everyone was greatly shocked.
They saw gold bars stacked up and strings of copper coins casually piled together. The generosity was so astounding that people were left speechless. The prizes the Crown Prince gave were truly substantial!
Especially for students from humble backgrounds, their origins couldn't compare to aristocratic nobles, and living in this capital city was extremely difficult. The money the Crown Prince offered could relieve their urgent needs!
Damn it! This was truly too tempting! Some were even momentarily wavering about whether to pledge allegiance to the Crown Prince.
This simple, direct, and extremely stimulating temptation made people's breathing quicken slightly. Those with sharp eyes discovered that there were a hundred gold bars stacked on the table and a hundred thousand copper coins.
The aristocratic young men present also couldn't help but sigh—truly worthy of the Crown Prince who could spend a million coins to buy a sparrow-feather skirt.
Huo Xiling, who had received a thousand gold reward from the Crown Prince, stood behind You Yusui and touched the sandalwood bracelet on his wrist. Having witnessed so much of His Highness's wealth, he actually felt that a hundred gold bars weren't much at all—he had become completely numb to it.
You Yusui casually picked up a gold bar and played with it nonchalantly, saying, "This prince doesn't know the preferences of you students and can only offer these worldly possessions. This prince hopes you students won't find them lacking. These hundred gold bars will be shared among the students who win first place in each competition. The remaining hundred thousand coins will be shared among all students who attended the banquet. This prince only hopes that you students will dedicate all your learning to Great Jing! Dedicate it to His Majesty!"
As You Yusui spoke these last words, his gaze became sharp and his tone rose high. Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts were instantly filled with soaring ambition. They all suppressed their excitement, lowered their heads, and said, "We certainly will not disappoint the Crown Prince's expectations."
As the words fell, You Yusui said wearily, "Let's begin."
You Yusui's weak and exhausted appearance made Prime Minister Su beside him slightly relieved. The Crown Prince's health was poor; he might pass away at any time. His Majesty wouldn't choose him as the heir to the throne.
"This place will be left to Lord Xie and Prime Minister Su. This prince needs to rest," You Yusui said, beginning to cough. He then left with Huo Xiling's support.
Seeing this, Xie Yi couldn't help but smile. His dear grandson probably wanted to slack off—no wonder he had dragged him here.
Soon, You Yusui found a quiet pavilion with few people and settled in. Covered with the fox fur Huo Xiling had brought and pillowing on Huo Xiling's lap, he slept beautifully and spent most of the day leisurely with Huo Xiling.
At this moment, You Yusui didn't yet know how surprised Prime Minister Su—who hadn't read the memorials he had written—would be when he saw the competition procedures.
Completely open and transparent, with not the slightest possibility of cheating, this put aristocratic families and those from humble backgrounds on the same starting line.
Especially when Prime Minister Su learned that the final debate had been changed to them setting questions for students to write their arguments on paper, this surprise reached its peak.
The completed arguments would be submitted with names covered, then presented to them for review, completely eliminating the possibility of examiners developing personal bias.
Prime Minister Su's expression became serious. If this method were implemented, there would be no worry about students from humble backgrounds not occupying positions in the government. Even aristocratic families might thoroughly decline because of this.
Prime Minister Su closed his eyes. Why was it the Crown Prince who came up with this method? This was adding political capital to the Crown Prince!
Especially now, when the First Prince's reputation was declining badly, if they couldn't quickly restore the First Prince's reputation, he would be completely overshadowed by the Crown Prince's brilliance.
Prime Minister Su closed his eyes in contemplation. Should he follow his personal interests and cut off the best springboard for students from humble backgrounds to enter government service, or should he support the Crown Prince's Qionglin Banquet for the sake of creating a path for humble background students throughout the realm to distinguish themselves?
"Crown Prince said that you and I will jointly decide on the policy essay questions. To avoid leaking questions before the exam, we decided to set questions on the spot," Xie Yi, sitting nearby, suddenly said.
"Questions?" Prime Minister Su opened his eyes. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Let's use the flood control in Hedong County as the topic."
The Hedong County flood had occurred last month. This topic closely followed current events and was much better than those hollow debates at the Spring Banquet.
"This is excellent. His Majesty will be extremely pleased to see these policy essays," Xie Yi said with a smile.
Hearing the words "His Majesty," Prime Minister Su seemed to awaken as if struck by a bell. He glanced at Xie Yi and said, "You're right."
The one in power was the emperor. The emperor's will was the standard they executed. If the emperor knew he had harbored such thoughts, the Su family's downfall wouldn't be far off.
Xie Yi smiled as if not understanding, then said, "Then let it be so. Once the Six Arts competitions end, let's gather the students."
On the other side, students from humble backgrounds had long been rubbing their hands together, eager and impatient. They wanted to scold their opponents until they were utterly defeated and their souls flew out. They wanted to let their opponents know that they were the ones who were right!
Finally, the Six Arts competitions ended, and the students who won top honors had emerged. Those returning from the competitions were now waiting for the final debate.
You Yusui, who had slept most of the day, also got up and walked toward where the students were taking the policy essay exam. Before he arrived, he heard a student requesting a debate on whether the Third Prince's actions were shameless or romantic affairs.
You Yusui: ......
This student, you are truly very brave.
In the end, this student's wish was not realized. You Yusui, fearing that Prime Minister Su would be angered to death, forcefully suppressed this. Everyone would directly listen to the exam questions and write their arguments on paper.
The students encountering this situation for the first time were bewildered. Write their arguments on white paper? At this moment, whether aristocratic young men or students from humble backgrounds, all were at a loss.
Only the Xie family young man who had entered with Xie Yi had a calm expression and had already begun grinding ink. Seeing this, everyone immediately began writing, as there was a time limit and they had to finish quickly.
Before dark, all the students had finished writing their arguments and handed them to the paper collectors. When they heard that these exam papers would be sent into the palace for the emperor to review, they were all shocked.
This had completely exceeded their imagination. They couldn't dare imagine that what they wrote would be sent to the emperor's desk.
Finally, they saw the Crown Prince in red robes reach out and break off a pear blossom branch beside him, presenting it to the student who had won top honors in multiple Six Arts competitions. Then, smiling at the students present, he said, "Go attend the banquet. After you leave Qionglin, perhaps when we meet next time, your status will be different."
The moonlight was soft, the pear blossoms gentle. The Crown Prince standing beneath the moonlight and flower trees was so beautiful he didn't seem like a real person. This scene was recorded by busybodies and called "an immortal breaking flowers to present as gifts," and would be reenacted at every future Qionglin Banquet.
Soon, You Yusui led everyone up to the pavilion. Countless lanterns were lit, and palace attendants brought wine and banquet food to reward these students.
When the moon reached its zenith, everyone dispersed. The lanterns in the towers and pavilions gradually extinguished, and the crowd scattered like flowing water.
"The first Qionglin Banquet may have flaws, but through repeated corrections, it will eventually become a perfect system for selecting talent. Don't you think so, Prime Minister Su?" Xie Yi said, leaning on the pavilion railing and looking down at the students leaving with lanterns.
The lights scattered in the darkness were like stars in the sky—though faint, they were hope.
After a moment of silence, Prime Minister Su said, "You're right."
At this moment, Prime Minister Su could clearly perceive that the First Prince was far inferior to the Crown Prince.