Emperor Yuanjing looked at Wei Yuan and nodded, “What is it?”
Wei Yuan asked, “In the report from the Qingzhou Administrative Commissioner’s Office, was it explicitly stated that the poem was composed by Administrative Commissioner Yang Gong?”
…What did he mean by that? The seasoned officials in the court sensed something was amiss.
Emperor Yuanjing didn’t answer, but instead asked, “Is there a problem?”
The report didn’t explicitly state that Yang Gong wrote the poem. The wording was as follows: Lord Yang ordered the Qingzhou officials to erect a monument with an inscription to serve as a warning to the people.
This was a clever phrasing, neither confirming nor denying. In Emperor Yuanjing’s view, this was as good as an admission.
“This poem was not composed by Yang Gong, but by someone else. I believe that once this poem spreads, it will become famous throughout the realm. For an individual, it’s a rare opportunity for recognition. It shouldn’t be claimed solely by Yang Gong,” Wei Yuan said.
“Oh? Since when did Qingzhou produce such a great talent?” Emperor Yuanjing smiled, his interest piqued. He stared at Wei Yuan, “But how did you come to know this?”
Not composed by Yang Gong but by someone else… Qingzhou did produce many talented scholars, it was a major province for imperial examinations… The officials thought to themselves, following Emperor Yuanjing’s question, they turned their gaze to Wei Yuan.
They were all curious about how Wei Yuan knew the poem wasn’t composed by Yang Gong.
“It’s not someone from Qingzhou either,” Wei Yuan shook his head.
Emperor Yuanjing made a questioning “Hmm” sound.
“Moreover, I know that this poem wasn’t composed in Qingzhou. It was written over a month ago. And it wasn’t written by someone from Qingzhou,” Wei Yuan added.
At this, the ministers also made a confused “Hmm” sound. The Supervising Censor who had said “This is truly Great Feng poetry” earlier questioned:
“Lord Wei, please don’t keep us in suspense before His Majesty.”
What an old troublemaker, always quick to criticize.
Written over a month ago… Not by someone from Qingzhou… The sharp-minded officials had a sudden realization and made a guess.
At once, the expressions of the officials turned strange.
Wei Yuan glanced at Emperor Yuanjing, whose face had suddenly darkened, and said calmly, “This poem was composed by Xu Qi An, a night watchman from the Night Watchmen’s Office. The original is still on display in the office. Heh, if any of the ministers wish to view it, I can arrange for it to be borrowed.”
So it was him… Low murmurs arose again:
“This young man is truly talented. It’s a pity he doesn’t pursue a scholarship.”
“Hmph, that Xu Pingzhi is just a crude warrior with no vision.”
“If only Xu Qi An could enter the Imperial Academy, how wonderful that would be!”
At this point, even the court officials who disliked Xu Qi An couldn’t help but sigh with regret. If such poetic talent were in a scholar, of course, preferably a scholar from the Imperial Academy, how wonderful that would be.
No one questioned Wei Yuan’s honesty, not even his political enemies. Wei Yuan wouldn’t and didn’t need to lie about this matter; it would only lower his standing.
The Supervising Censor who had spoken earlier looked embarrassed and kept his head down, maintaining a low profile.
Emperor Yuanjing let out a “Heh” and said, “Why did you bring this up?”
Wei Yuan smiled and said, “Naturally, to help my subordinate gain recognition.”
Emperor Yuanjing snorted coldly but didn’t say anything more.
Though he disliked Xu Qi An, as the Son of Heaven, he wouldn’t fixate on a mere night watchman. Besides, there were plenty of people Emperor Yuanjing disliked in the court.
Of course, if the young night watchman were to make a mistake or anger him, that would be a different matter entirely.
…
At Qingyun Mountain, Yunlu Academy.
A cloud goose flew from the horizon, heading straight for Qingyun Mountain. It soared past numerous courtyards and buildings and was easily caught by a hand in the observation room on the second floor of an exquisite pavilion on the cliff edge.
Amidst a distortion of clear light, the cloud goose transformed into an exquisitely crafted paper goose, lifelike in every detail.
“Yang Ziqian has sent a letter back,” Li Mubai smiled as he turned to inform the two great scholars engrossed in a game of hand talk in the room, both terrible at the game.
Zhang Shen and Chen Tai were in the midst of an intense match and didn’t even look up, casually asking, “What does it say?”
Li Mubai unfolded the letter and began reading with a smile on his face. Before long, the smile on his face gradually disappeared, replaced by a growing expression of rage.
“Shameless, utterly shameless!” Li Mubai suddenly crumpled the letter in his hand and roared:
“That old scoundrel Yang Gong, utterly shameless, a disgrace to scholars. I, Li Mubai, am ashamed to be associated with him, ashamed!”
The sudden outburst startled the two great scholars, Zhang Shen and Chen Tai.
“What’s the matter now? How can a letter from Ziqian provoke such anger from you?” Zhang Shen shook his head helplessly and mocked:
“Chunjing, your temperament is indeed lacking. You’re too quick to anger, that’s why you lost to Wei Yuan back then. Look at Wei Yuan, he’s composed and immovable as a mountain.”
Great Scholar Chen Tai shook his head, “Chunjing’s personality is indeed a bit too impetuous. Let me see the letter.”
Li Mubai was already beyond anger, his heart filled with the color of jealousy. He snorted angrily and tossed the letter onto the game board.
Zhang Shen picked up the letter and read it intently. In the letter, Yang Gong (Yang Ziqian) said that he had received the inspection team in Qingzhou and met Xu Qi An.
Yang Gong lavishly praised Xu Qi An, calling him the greatest poetic talent in Great Feng in five hundred years. As he read on, Zhang Shen felt something was off, as if there was a hint of boasting and currying favor.
Reading further, there was a poem:
“You feast and toil, on the fat and sweat of the people. The common folk are easily oppressed, but Heaven is not easily deceived.” — Xu Qi An (Mentored by Yang Gong)
The letter also mentioned that this was copied from a monument inscription.