Chapter Seventeen: Leaving Under False Pretenses
The next day.
Li Zhi woke up at dawn.
He instructed Luo Tong to go to the Ministry of Works to request several master-level engravers and carpenters, ordering them to copy the words from the Records of the Grand Historian onto wooden boards and then carve the characters.
This was not a difficult task.
As long as the order was given, the craftsmen at the Ministry of Works would see it done.
Li Zhi then, as usual, made his way to the Imperial Study for his lessons.
Li Lizhi followed along. “Brother Zhi, wait for me!”
She hurried her steps and caught up to him.
“Brother Zhi, there was so much noise in the backyard last night that I couldn’t sleep at all. What were you doing? Does copying the Records of the Grand Historian really make such a racket?”
Li Zhi coughed, grinning. “Sister, do you want to know?”
She nodded eagerly.
“I’m not telling you!” Li Zhi made a face at her.
“You... stand right there!” Li Lizhi puffed with indignation and chased after him.
The two, one after the other, soon arrived at the Imperial Study.
Today, not only was Fang Xuanling present to teach, but Kong Yingda as well!
He had heard that Li Zhi was a prodigy—
Able to compose poetry, knowledgeable of history!
He’d even put Fang Xuanling in a position where he was left speechless, causing frequent admiration from others.
Kong Yingda was curious to see if the stories were true or exaggerated.
“Ah!”
Lizhi had just stepped into the classroom when she suddenly recoiled as if startled, drawing back like a frightened rabbit. “Heavens, that scared me...”
“What’s wrong? You’re so startled!”
“Kong the Old Man is inside!”
“Kong Yingda?”
She nodded vigorously. “I didn’t expect him to come here too. He’s not here to catch me, is he?”
...
Li Zhi peeked his head in and indeed saw a strange old man sitting beside Fang Xuanling.
“Since you’re here, why not come in?” Kong Yingda had noticed Li Zhi.
“Teacher...”
“There’s no need for excessive ceremony, Your Highness Prince of Jin. Please take a seat.” Unlike Fang Xuanling, Kong Yingda’s manner was not deferential, but rather lofty and imposing.
This stemmed from his pride.
As a descendant of Confucius and in the setting of the classroom, he saw no need to lower himself.
Li Lizhi, always somewhat intimidated by Kong Yingda, obediently took her seat.
Li Zhi, however, held his head high, unmoved. “Master Kong, since you address me as the Prince of Jin, why do you not salute me? Do you not understand the order of rank?”
Kong Yingda was taken aback, inwardly scoffing, What a troublesome little fellow! No wonder Fang Xuanling has been forced into such a state...
“This is the classroom!”
“So the classroom does away with rank and courtesy? Just now, I addressed you as teacher and saluted you, as is proper between pupil and master. But respect is mutual. You call me Prince of Jin, yet act with such arrogance—would Confucius have done so?”
“This—”
...
Kong Yingda found himself at a loss for words.
He had meant to say that, in the classroom, there were only teachers and students, not princes or nobles. But Li Zhi had taken the initiative, emphasizing the concept of ‘rank,’ leaving Kong Yingda with no grounds for rebuttal.
He could only submit, bowing his hands in formal greeting, “Your servant Kong Yingda pays respects to Your Highness, Prince of Jin!”
“At ease,” Li Zhi replied, taking his seat slowly.
“Hahaha...”
Fang Xuanling, seeing Kong Yingda’s awkward expression, could hardly contain his laughter.
“You laughed at me for being too soft before—well, now you’ve tasted His Highness’s sharpness, haven’t you?” Fang Xuanling whispered in a low voice, “I advise you to put away your pride and tread carefully, or else you’ll keep running into walls as you did just now. If His Majesty sees it, you’ll lose face!”
“Ahem!”
“I don’t need your advice!”
Kong Yingda picked up a book. “You may rest for today... I shall take the lesson.”
“Very well!”
Fang Xuanling was only too happy to oblige.
Kong Yingda had come today to help Fang Xuanling save face, and to see for himself the so-called prodigy prince.
Hmph, no matter how smart he is, he’s only three years old—how much can he truly know? Kong Yingda thought to himself. Then he said aloud, “I have heard from Lord Fang that Your Highness already composes poetry?”
“In front of my teachers, I dare not claim mastery, only that I have a modest grasp of the basics.”
“I hope to learn much from you!”
“Such modesty...” Kong Yingda was prepared to regain his dignity. “Your Highness, the foundation of poetry is in parallelism. Since you can compose poetry, I trust parallelism is no difficulty for you. I will write the first line of a couplet; may Your Highness compose the second. What do you say?”
“Please, teacher.”
Li Zhi realized at once.
Kong Yingda was not here in good faith.
He wanted to make him look foolish.
Or perhaps assert his own authority.
If that was the case, there was no need to be polite.
Isn’t this just a couplet? What’s so difficult? Li Zhi thought. He knew plenty of couplets from later times. If luck was on his side, he might not even lose to Kong Yingda.
...
Kong Yingda pulled a sheet of paper to him, spread it on the table, and wrote:
“Above the hook is ‘old,’ below the hook is ‘examined’—the old examined become child scholars, child scholars examined till old.”
He wrote the character for ‘old’ and for ‘examined’ on the paper, perfectly illustrating his couplet.
This was a classic verse from ancient times.
It had appeared in the Yongzheng era of the Qing Dynasty.
It was said...
An elderly child scholar, talented but lacking powerful connections, and too upright to bribe the examiners, had failed the imperial examination twelve times.
Yet he didn’t lose heart, and continued to take the exams. The examiners, tired of seeing his name, would toss his paper aside with a sneer, composing a mocking couplet:
“Above the hook is ‘old,’ below the hook is ‘examined’—the old examined become child scholars, child scholars examined till old.”
Cutting and sarcastic.
The old scholar, deeply moved, retorted with his own couplet, loudly reciting:
“One man makes greatness, two men make heaven—heaven’s greatness is in human sentiment, and sentiment surpasses heaven.”
This exposed the examiners’ corruption and the practice of granting degrees through favoritism.
Wait a moment!
How does this old Kong Yingda know this couplet? Li Zhi realized at once. It was still the Tang Dynasty—over a thousand years before the Qing. Could Kong Yingda have traveled through time as well? Nonsense!
History is deceptive!
This couplet must have already existed in the Tang—it wasn’t unique to the Qing.
“Ahem... Your Highness, can you match this couplet?”
“What’s so hard about it?”
Li Zhi met Kong Yingda’s expectant gaze, stepped forward, and wrote the character for ‘heaven’:
“One man makes greatness, two men make heaven—heaven’s greatness is in human sentiment, and sentiment surpasses heaven!”
He read the second line fluently.
“Teacher, this is merely a clever play on words—any literate scholar could come up with it! Is this really all you have to test me with? You underestimate me!”
“You—!”
Kong Yingda pondered the couplet Li Zhi had composed.
What does ‘sentiment surpasses heaven’ mean?
Was he mocking him?
“Your teacher has always been upright. When have I ever relied on sentiment? Your Highness, do not slander your old teacher!”
“I understand, I understand...” Li Zhi said with a smile, hands behind his back. “Teacher is always upright, never making things hard for your students—you should be awarded a grand plaque!”
One sentence laid bare Kong Yingda’s intentions!
He was indeed trying to embarrass Li Zhi.
Yet not only did he fail, he was thoroughly mocked in return.
Fang Xuanling, well aware of Li Zhi’s capabilities, remained calm and composed. “Master Kong, isn’t the crown prince due for his lesson today? Perhaps you should pay a visit to the Eastern Palace?”
Er—
“Yes, yes...” Kong Yingda, cheeks flushed with embarrassment, stood frozen for a moment, mortified, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into. Gratefully seizing Fang Xuanling’s lifeline, he hastily excused himself and left.