Ashes to Crown

Chapter 48: Chapter 12: Prince

Wangchun Garden was a palace the Emperor had built for Consort Zhao, located in the Western Suburb of the Capital City. In the beginning, the two of them would spend more than half the year there. But in recent years, the Emperor’s health had declined, and being disinclined to travel, he no longer left the Imperial Palace.

The Third Prince, a lover of books, had asked the Emperor for the use of Wangchun Garden. He left the Imperial Palace to reside there, feeling like a fish returned to water. He grew ever more obsessed, until reading alone was no longer enough—he decided to organize a literary salon.

Within the Imperial Garden, on a fine spring day, stood a pavilion shrouded on all four sides by gauze curtains. Amidst the riot of blooming flowers, the silhouette of a figure reclining within was just visible. A group of eunuchs and geishas, the latter clutching various musical instruments, had all retreated to one side. Clearly, the musical performance had been interrupted.

Few people could interrupt the Emperor while he was enjoying a performance. Other than an Imperial Concubine and the Crown Prince, there was only the Third Prince.

”Imperial Father, I’ve already decided. The prizes for the event must be truly original.”

The speaker was a young man in his early twenties, with refined features and a somewhat delicate, pale complexion. His hair was casually pinned up with a simple wooden hairpin, and his robes were so loose they seemed ill-fitting, as if he had hastily thrown them on before rushing over. But as he spoke of his plans, he waved his hands, his entire face alight with enthusiasm.

”As for prizes... gold, silver, jewels? No, that’s not right. What about rare, one-of-a-kind books? Or even better—what if the prize was a piece of calligraphy written by you, Imperial Father?”

The Emperor, who had seemed to be asleep inside the pavilion, snorted. ”You’re the one holding this literary salon. Why should I be the one to provide the prize?”

The Third Prince grinned. ”Because you, Imperial Father, are the most learned of all, naturally.”

The Emperor sneered. ”I don’t think so. I seem to have heard that you’ve been telling people my scholarship is rather poor, and that I’m ignorant when it comes to poetry and prose.”

The Third Prince reached up and scratched at his topknot. ”Did I say that? I don’t remember. But then again, Imperial Father, your scholarship really isn’t all that great.”

The eunuchs on either side stood with their heads bowed, feigning complete obliviousness. They were used to this. The Third Prince was just that... brazen.

THUD! A wine jug came flying out from behind the gauze curtain. Fortunately, it was empty, and when it struck the Third Prince, it only left behind the fragrant scent of wine.

”Get out, get out, get out!” the Emperor roared. ”What’s so great about reading a few books? Look at the state of you! Even a useless old scholar looks more vigorous than you do.”

Unfazed by his father’s anger, the Third Prince frowned. ”How am I useless? My tutors all praise my scholarship. Imperial Father, don’t tell me you’re jealous?”

Since the Third Prince wasn’t worried about the Emperor dying of rage, the eunuchs weren’t either. They continued to stand quietly with their heads bowed.

Two figures approached from a distance at a leisurely pace. They saw plates of fruit being thrown from the pavilion, while outside, the Third Prince, who was now sitting on the ground, ducked and covered his head.

One of the men was burly, dressed in brocade robes, with a tan, ruddy complexion. His voice boomed. ”Third Brother, you’re making Imperial Father angry again.”

As he spoke, he strode forward and hauled the Third Prince to his feet.

He was only five or six years older than the Third Prince, and they were of a similar height, yet he had lifted his brother with ease.

The Third Prince shouted in fury, ”Let go of me!”

The man let out a hearty laugh and released his grip.

The Third Prince angrily shook out his sleeves. ”Utterly uncivilized! What kind of Crown Prince acts like this!”

The eunuchs, who had been about to step forward to offer greetings, once again froze in place, bowing their heads even lower.

The man—the Crown Prince—wasn’t angry. He just said with disdain, ”And you call yourself a son of our Imperial Father? Refined this, refined that... Can being ’refined’ stabilize an empire?”

The Third Prince grew even angrier and sneered, ”What does the empire have to do with me!”

The brothers’ exchange was growing more outrageous by the second, but when the Emperor finally spoke from behind the curtains, it wasn’t to interrupt them. Instead, he called to the other man. ”Xun, come here. Come in and sit down.”

Only then did two eunuchs finally move, scurrying forward to lift the gauze curtain and reveal the Emperor reclining inside.

The Emperor looked very much like the Third Prince; both had refined features. But the Emperor was old, his cheeks gaunt. In addition to frailty, there was an air of decrepitude about him.

Xiao Xun, who had arrived with the Crown Prince and was now standing a few paces away, hastily bowed low. ”Your Majesty.”

’His memory of the Emperor was from his childhood, when His Majesty had still been a vigorous, middle-aged man.’

”No need for such ceremony. There are few rules here with me,” the Emperor said mildly. ”Your politeness only makes these two look even more disgraceful by comparison.”

It was a remark that left one unsure how to respond. For a moment, Xiao Xun was at a loss.

The Crown Prince laughed heartily. ”Imperial Father, if you want to scold us, just scold us. Don’t frighten Xun.” With that, he grabbed Xiao Xun’s arm. ”Come on, come sit with me.”

Xiao Xun was powerless to refuse and found himself dragged into the pavilion by the Crown Prince, who sat them both down beside the Emperor.

”Imperial Father, was Third Brother bothering you again?” the Crown Prince asked. ”I heard about it even when I was with the army. My third brother wants to hold some ’literary salon.’ It seems he’s not content with going mad on his own; he wants to drag every scholar in the Capital City down with him.”

The Third Prince was furious. ”You’re the one who’s mad! This is scholarship! Scholarship! It is the most sublime pursuit in all the world!”

The Emperor ignored them, turning to Xiao Xun with a faint smile. ”The Crown Prince tells me you’ve been in the Capital City for a few days, but I have been unwell and haven’t had a chance to see you.”

Xiao Xun bowed again. ”I knew Your Majesty was unwell, and while I wished to pay my respects, I did not dare to disturb you. The Crown Prince already led me in paying obeisance outside Your Majesty’s palace.”

The Emperor murmured an ”Oh,” his eyes hazy with drink. ”What was it that brought you to the Capital City?”

”Imperial Father, I already told you,” the Crown Prince interjected. ”He did a small favor for the Ministry of Justice. Then, as luck would have it, bandits appeared in his jurisdiction and caused a huge disturbance. So he escorted the person in question to the Capital City and came to the court to receive his punishment.” He then pointed at Xiao Xun. ”You’re just too cautious! What is there to be punished for? Besides, you didn’t need to come to the court for that. You could have just led your men to annihilate that gang of bandits.”

Xiao Xun quickly added, ”Crown Prince, I had already ordered my men to suppress the bandits. Before coming to the Capital City, I received a report that the bandits had been completely annihilated, and their leader’s head was hung from the city gates for all to see.”

The Crown Prince still shook his head, his expression full of regret. ”What’s the fun in having someone else do it? Something like that, you should have gone yourself.” He swung his arm, creating a sudden gust of wind. ”To personally cut off the bandit chief’s head with your own hands—that’s what I call glorious!”

Xiao Xun gave a hurried smile. ”While I am not afraid of bandits, I’m not suited for the actual act of killing them.”

The Crown Prince squeezed Xiao Xun’s arm. ”I remember you loved practicing martial arts as a child. After all these years, how is it you’re not the least bit solid? You’ve let yourself go soft. Don’t tell me you’re turning into my third brother—”

The Third Prince sneered. ”Those skilled in the art of war subdue the enemy’s army without battle, capture their cities without laying siege, and overthrow their kingdom without a protracted campaign—”

Before he could finish, the Emperor, who had been sitting in a half-drunken stupor, suddenly roared, ”Silence!” He grabbed for something to throw—but having already thrown most everything within reach, he could only snatch up his own shoe and hurl it at the Third Prince.

”You read a couple of books and now you dare lecture the Crown Prince?” he snarled. ”How about you be the Crown Prince instead, hmm?”

The Third Prince dodged the projectile, crying out in frustration, ”Imperial Father, that’s not what I meant! You’re deliberately misinterpreting me!”

The Crown Prince, however, wasn’t offended. He just laughed. ”Imperial Father, Third Brother wasn’t really lecturing me. He’s just pretentious and self-important. There’s no need for you to be angry with him.”

The Emperor let out a cold snort and didn’t reach for his shoe again.

The Third Prince straightened his robes, which had been knocked askew. ”I was genuinely trying to plan a magnificent event, hoping to invite you, Imperial Father, to share in the celebration. But now... forget it. Just forget it.”

The Crown Prince laughed. ”Don’t be so hasty, Third Brother. I’ll come to your salon to show my support.”

The Third Prince was entirely ungrateful. ”Crown Prince, please do not bring a pack of brutes to disturb my literary salon.” With that, he bowed his head to the ground. ”I take my leave.”

Without waiting for the Emperor’s permission, he rose, shook out his sleeves, and stormed off.