Feng Xing: Chapter 111
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Translation: marchmallow
It was customary for imperial offspring to study when they reached the age of five. As the days gradually grew warmer, Prince Wei decided to send Jin ge’er to the Higher Study.
On his end, he informed the Jianping Emperor of this matter, while on the other, Feng Sheng trained her son to be mentally prepared.
Feng Sheng had asked Prince Wei beforehand. Going to the Higher Study for erudition was extremely toilsome. One would have to study early in the morning around the period of rabbit up until the period of ram,1 but they couldn’t return home afterwards, as they also had martial arts, archery, and riding lessons to attend.
In other words, Jin ge’er had to rouse earlier than chickens and could not return home until it was dark. A five-year-old child could only persist for a day or two. After the novelty had worn off, how could he hold on?
An incident had occurred——the fourth son, that great ancestor of some other prince’s manor, had made a fool out of himself. After attending the Higher Study for a few days, he no longer wanted to go. He cried and quarreled with Princess Consort Qin in the manor, and when he was forcefully sent back there to study, he squabbled with the masters in the Higher Study.
A child who was only a little over the age of five knew nothing about bearing responsibility and blame as well as studying with utmost diligence. When the Jianping Emperor learned of it, in a fit of rage, he ordered Prince Qin to take the child back home.
Anyhow, Feng Sheng had heard that Prince Qin had beaten the boy when they returned home.
Feng Sheng explained the advantages and disadvantages of studying to Jin ge’er and took Prince Qin’s fourth child as an example.
“Although you have Mother, and although your dad won’t beat you, you are our family’s only child. Should your dad lose face because of something you did in the study, all of us in the Wei Prince Manor will similarly lose face. You should think about it well. If you really cannot bear it, it will be a better choice for us to delay your studies for another year.”
“How can I do that? Sixteenth Uncle already studied when he was five.”
“In fact, with the rudimentary knowledge your dad and I had taught you, you won’t lag behind others even if you go a year later. But if you really insist on going, you mustn’t back out to avoid losing face once you’re in thrown into the palace.”
Feng Sheng had already blathered on about this back and forth several times, and Jin ge’er had grown a little impatient listening to it.
“Mother, this son has already decided. Your honored self need not say anything more.”
Feng Sheng smiled. “All right. Now that you’ve decided, Mother will not say more. When that moment comes, don’t say that Mother treats you badly or even try looking for your grandmother to complain about me.”
Jin ge’er was close to flying into a rage out of indignation. “Is this son such a person in Mother’s heart?”
Feng Sheng’s mouth spouted no words, but her eyes clearly exhibited an expression of “didn’t you do such things when you were younger?”
Jin ge’er flounced out, greatly irritated. Feng Sheng ordered someone to prepare the things he would bring to use in the Higher Study. Once all that was over, she leaned back and stroked her raised belly.
Prince Wei strode in from outside, garbed in the solemn and dignified attire of a first-rank prince, looking like he had just returned from the palace.
The weather was so hot that Prince Wei’s collar was damp with sweat. De Wang bid two young eunuchs to wipe his perspiration and change his attire into cool kesi summer robes, and his boots to open-toed cloth shoes. He ambled to the kang, took a seat, and asked, “Did the child trouble you?”
Feng Sheng shot him an annoyed glance. “How old is he? What can he trouble me with?”
A maidservant brought some herbal tea, and Prince Wei took a sip. “Where’s Jin ge’er?”
“He ran away annoyed at what I said.”
Prince Wei was aware of her temperament. When his son grew old enough, this mother also became increasingly unscrupulous and either bullied her son so much until he cried, or tricked him until he’d be completely lost.
He felt that the reason why Jin ge’er was growing more and more slow-witted was entirely that his mother was too devious. Not at all did she possess the consciousness of a mother, and this slightly worried him as he thought of their second child who would be born in the near future.
“What did Imperial Father say when you entered the palace? Did he agree?”
“There’s nothing to agree or disagree on for this particular matter. It’s merely a formality. Imperial Father has long mentioned Jin ge’er’s entry into the Higher Study.”
“It’s likely that Imperial Father said so because Little Sixteen wants Jin ge’er to play with him. People say that the emperor loves the eldest son, while the common people favor the youngest. Our Imperial Father is the other way around.”
The Jianping Emperor truly loved Sixteen dearly probably because Sixteen was the youngest. The palace had never again witnessed the birth of another child since Sixteen was born. However, this was also natural. After all, the Jianping Emperor was advanced in age and had since been favoring only the Imperial Noble Consort.
“Those words aren’t wrong. Imperial Father indeed favored his eldest son most in the past.”
“Ah, it’s pretty much the same now, too.”2
The married couple discussed matters the servants were unable to comprehend. It was no longer early, just in time to set the noon meal.
Most people would scarcely have an appetite on such a hot summer day. Feng Sheng was pregnant. Although she didn’t have morning sickness since the start of her pregnancy, she was still weak and weary.
Since she had not been eating well as of recent, Prince Wei paid close attention to her. Those at the kitchen racked their brains to think of ways to get the Princess Consort to eat more. For today’s noon meal, in addition to stir-frying a few fresh and tasty dishes, they also prepared cold noodles.
It comprised of shredded cucumber, blanched bean sprouts, and thin white noodles cooked in clear water, topped with a layer of minced meat sauce, vinegar, spicy oil, and garlic——delicious and refreshing in every way.
As soon as the meals were set, Jin ge’er came rushing from outside. He let Tao Zhi mix the noodles for him and enthusiastically ate a bowl.
Tao Zhi was one of the newly promoted first-class maids after Zhi Qiu married. Although Zhi Qiu had always professed that she would never marry, when a marriage predestined by fate swept in, nothing could stop it. She had served beside Feng Sheng and often dealt with Prince Wei’s own people, and she happened to exchange glances with one of Prince Wei’s bodyguards called Huo Wu.
Although Huo Wu was ranked fifth among his generation, he was actually the only child in the family. It was said that his mother had raised four children before his birth, but they all died early, and only he survived. When he was born, he was thus named so. The Huo family wasn’t extremely affluent, but they were still well-off. Their family only had one such son, and he was also one of Prince Wei’s trusted aides, so needless to say, the days of his life were tolerably well.
After Zhi Qiu’s marriage, she originally should have stayed with Feng Sheng to wait upon her. However, she was pregnant and thereby went home to nourish the baby in her womb.
Jin ge’er gobbled a bowl of noodles and asked Tao Zhi to mix another bowl for him. Taking advantage of the gap in time, he didn’t forget to report Feng Sheng to Prince Wei.
“Your mother was saying that for your own good. Look at your sixth uncle’s fourth child. Your sixth uncle lost all face because of him,” said Prince Wei with an indifferent expression.
“Royal Father,3 you’re too partial. Everything Mother says is right to you. This son certainly isn’t like him.” The little rascal was once again angered just as he finished another bowl of noodles. Visibly disgruntled, he wiped his mouth and ran away.
Had they been ordinary people witnessing their child behave like this, they would no longer feel like eating and would have others go and look after the child, but it seemed that this husband-wife pair took little heed of it. Noticing that Feng Sheng’s appetite was better, Prince Wei served her another plateful with his chopsticks.
“What’s wrong with him these days? Why is he so easily provoked?”
“Isn’t it because the weather’s been too hot?”
“Boys grow up naughty and aren’t as lovable as girls. It will be better if this baby is a daughter.”
Eh, again about having a daughter. Recently, Prince Wei would direct everything he would say to having a daughter.
“I haven’t given birth yet, so who knows whether it’s a daughter or a son.”
*
Although Jin ge’er spoke well, he was still unable to rise early on his first day of class in the Higher Study.
Fortunately, Feng Sheng had given orders in advance. Seeing that the little master hadn’t called anyone to come, the maids and eunuchs serving Jin ge’er carried him off the bed out of their own accord, clothed him, wiped his face, and had him rinse his mouth. Well, he actually wasn’t able to rinse his mouth. When all this was over, the sky outside was still dark.
Standing in the darkness, Feng Sheng watched as Jin ge’er was being carried into the carriage. The eunuch accompanying him immediately followed him inside. Several guards escorted the carriage as they departed from the prince manor and headed to the palace.
Prince Wei walked to her side and draped a cloak on her shoulders.
“Go back and sleep some more.”
Feng Sheng ignored his statement with her reply, “Were you also like this back then?”
Prince Wei nodded. “How much honor and glory one enjoys, that’s also the price one must pay. What, did you believe that imperial offspring do nothing but live out their days in dissipation?”
Having really thought as such, Feng Sheng inwardly gave out a dry laugh and said nothing.
“Alright, you shouldn’t worry about him. As this prince’s son, he won’t lag behind others.”
Feng Sheng was not worried about such things, but she felt that it was too arduous for her child. However, this kind of hard work was essential, as there was nothing in this world that one could reap without sowing. When she was younger, the hardships she had to endure just so she could study also weren’t any less.
But knowing and understanding were two entirely different things. What would hurt the son’s body would wound the mother’s heart. For the most part, this was probably the one thing that mothers all over the world could not escape from.
On the other end, Jin ge’er had actually awoken after all the tossing and turning, but he was still in a daze.
The carriage was still journeying, and Da De Zi, the eunuch who served him, was assailing his ear with long-winded chatter.
They were nearing the palace, but the little master had yet to eat the morning repast. If he wouldn’t take advantage of this time to have even a bite of food, he wouldn’t be able to eat at the Higher Study later on. When the Prince and Princess Consort had gotten up today, they saw him off at the gate. Anyway, Jin ge’er had never met anyone as garrulous as Da De Zi, but it was also effective, as all his noise staved off his drowsiness.
Seeing the little master sit up straight, Da De Zi promptly shot the young eunuch beside him a meaningful look.
Everything was available in the carriage, and they had taken along with them whatever they might need. The young eunuch poured hot water from the warmer and gave it to Jin ge’er to wipe his face awake with, while on the other side, Da De Zi had already taken out the morning meal from the food container.
“Young Master, your honored self should eat even a little bit.”
Jin ge’er, who always had an excellent appetite, had little interest in it. His drowsiness and lack of appetite truly troubled the people serving him.
“If you don’t eat your fill this time, the snacks you eat on your break in the Higher Study certainly won’t last until noon. Princess Consort ordered us to prepare millet pumpkin porridge, golden jujube cake, sesame milk roll, honey cake milk roll, and your favorite stir-fried bean sprouts with shredded tripe……”
His prattle was so lengthy that to Jin ge’er, it no longer registered in his head.
However, as Da De Zi wished, he also eventually ate some dishes. When the morning meal was taken away, the carriage arrived at the gate of the palace.
By this time, the marble white color of the dawn sky had just appeared in the east. Jin ge’er had never entered the palace this early.
Their journey wasn’t totally lonely. As the princes gradually grew older, the children grew in number in every manor. The fewest was three to five, and Prince Wei’s family with only one son was among the minority.
The Higher Study wasn’t just a place where princes and imperial grandchildren convened to study, but descendants of some imperial kinsmen and important ministers as well. Frankly speaking, however, they merely served as props. Just that, it couldn’t be helped that this place would be hailed the absolute best to outsiders. How many families would break their heads just to get their children to this place?
Jin ge’er was not familiar with these people. Feng Sheng wasn’t a person who liked to go out and socialize, so she naturally seldom took him out. His most frequent playmate was his Sixteenth Uncle, and even if he recognized other people, it was still through the Sixteenth Prince’s introduction.
Before reaching the Qianqing Gate, Jin ge’er caught sight of two figures, one large and one small, approaching from a distance.
The smaller figure was at the front, who was about the same height as him, dressed in everyday clothes expected of a prince. He had rosy red lips and pretty white teeth, delicate features, and a pair of clear black eyes. Apart from being slightly skinny, he had no other flaw.
It was the Sixteenth Prince.
Following at his side was his personal eunuch, Xiao Wang Zi.
“Jin ge’er, you’re finally here. I woke up early today to wait for you here.”
“Sixteenth Uncle.”
“Go, go, go. I’ll lead you inside. You’re the youngest there. You have my protection, so they won’t pick on you.”
“Who would dare bully me, I’ll beat him up,” said Jin ge’er as he clenched his tiny fist.
This was also something Prince Wei and Feng Sheng couldn’t understand the most. When Jin ge’er was younger, he was extremely clever, but the older he grew, the more listless he appeared. This type of absent-mindedness wasn’t out of stupidity, only that he resembled neither Feng Sheng nor Prince Wei. One had to know, both of them used their brains without moving their hands, yet this kid only liked to move his fists but not his brain.
But Jin ge’er was still young, so they didn’t take it to heart.
“How can anyone be allowed to bully you with Sixteenth Uncle here? Come, follow me inside.”
Translator’s Notes:
This chapter is long overdue. Apologies for the delay.
1 卯时 (mǎo shí): 5-7 am (in the system of two-hour subdivisions used in former times)
未时 (wèi shí): 1-3 pm (in the system of two-hour subdivisions used in former times)
2 They were being sarcastic. The emperor recently just conferred the First Prince with the title “Prince Hui” even after all he’s done, indicating that he still favored the eldest son to a certain extent.
3 Jin ge’er addresses him as 父王 (fuwang) meaning “Father and Prince/King”, which I translated to “Royal Father”.
