Chapter 1462: Chapter 1438 Chongwen Pavilion
Manbao: "What did you write?"
Mr. Zhuang and Xiang Mingxue also curiously looked up at Bai Shan.
Bai Shan said solemnly: "The Crown Prince wants to recruit talents for Chongwen Pavilion."
Chongwen Pavilion is where the Crown Prince studies; it is where he has been educated by the Grand Masters since childhood. Unlike other princes, the Crown Prince has been receiving imperial education since a young age, with one-on-one instructors.
Previously, the Crown Prince’s Grand Masters were Libationer Kong and Scholar Lu. For the first eighteen years, although the Crown Prince was mischievous and occasionally rebellious, preferring riding and martial arts over governance, overall, he satisfied Libationer Kong and Scholar Lu.
After all, he is the Crown Prince. His poetry and essays might not be great, but he is proficient in classics and Confucianism, with a heart set on governance.
However, as the Crown Prince started to stray, the Emperor began to replace his teachers batch by batch. All the ministers in the court have served as the Crown Prince’s teachers, including figures like Wei Zhi, Lord Tang, Minister Li, and even State Duke Zhao and Yin Li have spent several months teaching in Chongwen Pavilion.
Yet the Emperor’s method was ineffective, and instead, the ministers grew increasingly disappointed with the Crown Prince. The relationship between the Crown Prince and the ministers is quite complex.
For instance, Wei Zhi does not support deposing the Crown Prince, but he also believes the Crown Prince hasn’t performed well. Thus, he frequently submits memorials scolding the Crown Prince, almost as often as he scolds the Emperor.
However, when someone suggests the Third Prince is filial and smart, Wei Zhi defends the Crown Prince, arguing that orthodoxy should be maintained, and the Third Prince, who hasn’t requested to be enfeoffed, remains in the capital making things difficult for the Emperor, which is not filial.
Sometimes, when the Crown Prince commits excessive mistakes, he can’t help but subtly suggest in a memorial that the Emperor should consider replacing the Crown Prince.
Of course, he always follows up with another memorial, explaining that his previous letter was written in a moment of lost reason, seeking forgiveness and so on.
Anyway, the main point is, Chongwen Pavilion is the place where the Crown Prince studies, his territory, yet now, he openly submits a memorial to recruit talents.
Bai Shan took a sip of tea, because he had talked too much this afternoon, his voice was still somewhat hoarse, "The Crown Prince wrote in his memorial that he has many shortcomings, and in the past he didn’t heed the teachings of his instructors, which was his fault. Anyway, he now acknowledges his faults."
He said: "It is said that when the Emperor heard this, he was extremely pleased and immediately declared that Libationer Kong and the others should be scheduled to teach the Crown Prince."
"The Crown Prince also mentioned in his memorial that studying alone was dull, and he couldn’t absorb the lessons, so he wanted some people to study with him." Bai Shan said seriously: "The Crown Prince even prepared a list, all sons of court dignitaries, including Lord Wei’s son."
He stated: "Initially, His Majesty was quite pleased, but when he saw the list, he frowned. Lord Wei wasn’t present then, but Minister Li’s people also opposed it. This afternoon, Lord Wei entered the palace, but since His Majesty did not meet him, Lord Wei stood at the gate of Taiji Hall, shouting for an hour before leaving the palace."
So in one afternoon, everyone in the Imperial Academy knew.
There’s no helping it; as future officials in training, their information network is that well-connected.
Manbao gaped, suddenly recalling what the Emperor said to her today by the stone vat.
Feeling it was off, Manbao gulped and said: "At noon today, the Crown Prince thanked me."
Bai Shan asked: "Thank you for what?"
Manbao remained silent for a while, then after a long pause said: "Let’s not concern ourselves with affairs of the big names; it seems it has no relevance to us."
Bai Shan, seeing her shrinking like a quail, couldn’t help but ask: "Did you do something bad?"
"No!" Manbao decisively denied.
Bai Shan already said: "It’s impossible for it to have no relation to us because today there is word going around from the scholars that Libationer Kong is unwilling to teach the Crown Prince and is planning to retire to his hometown."
The Imperial Academy is lacking in characters, largely due to the shelter provided by Libationer Kong. If he leaves, it’s uncertain who will oversee the Imperial Academy in the future, which is closely related to them.
Manbao hesitated for a moment before saying: "His Majesty is very likely to agree to the Crown Prince’s memorial?"
Even Mr. Zhuang couldn’t help but ask, "Why?"
Manbao: "Because the lotus in the stone vat will definitely survive, and not only survive but thrive."
Manbao was right. After an afternoon and a night’s rest, the lotus, which she had taken a substantial portion from its rhizome, not only straightened its stalks, but two of its buds were partially blooming, showing they were robust and spirited.
The Emperor came early in the morning to see it. He stared at the flowers in the stone vat for a long time, then turned and asked Gu Zhong, "The lotus hasn’t been replaced, have they?"
Gu Zhong immediately answered: "After Your Majesty left yesterday, the servants were instructed to guard this place. No one has touched the lotus."
The Emperor nodded and asked the gardener kneeling beside him, "Will the rhizome, having been taken so much, still survive?"
The gardener hadn’t been here yesterday and didn’t know how much Zhou Man had taken, but that didn’t hinder his response. He said, "Your Majesty, as long as there’s a small piece of lotus rhizome left, it can sprout and grow."
Though what it grows into and how long it takes to grow well is uncertain.
The gardener dared not mention this.
The Emperor was silent for a moment and then said: "It is rather tenacious."
The gardener had his head pressed against the floor tiles, and upon hearing this he said: "As long as there’s water, it can survive."
The Emperor just pinched his fingers and did not speak.
These days, although the Crown Prince occasionally argues with people, his temper has indeed improved considerably, and now he’s keen on establishing connections, which is a good thing.
The Emperor is not afraid of the Crown Prince building relationships, he fears him completely giving up and being as reckless as before.
Yet having ambitions too great isn’t good either. The list the Crown Prince submitted almost encompassed all the suitable sons of the aristocratic families in the capital.
The Emperor hesitated for a moment before turning towards the front hall; it was time for the morning court session.
Today’s morning session was extremely heated. The Emperor agreed to the Crown Prince’s request to recruit talents for Chongwen Pavilion, considering it rare that the Crown Prince was willing to make progress, and of course, he wanted to support him.
Among the ministers, some agreed, but others opposed, thus leading to an intense debate.
When Manbao entered the palace, the Crown Prince was still arguing with people in front of the hall. She checked the Crown Princess’s pulse, indicating the child was healthy, then learned to play the zither with her, occasionally enjoying a few snacks.
While they were in here enjoying the pleasant atmosphere, the Crown Prince was amidst a storm of chaos. In recent years, Libationer Kong had been exhausted from being pestered by the Crown Prince and was unwilling to continue teaching him, thus submitting a memorial to retire back to his hometown.
Therefore, the disputes in the court grew more heated, and amidst this turmoil, incidents like the Zhou Man overturning case, the carriage knife throwing case, and even the Crown Prince poisoning case were nearly forgotten.
The matter of recruiting talents for Chongwen Pavilion is significant and cannot be finalized so simply, so during their heated debates, Yin Li and Tang He took the opportunity to delve deeper, bringing back increasingly important news and items to the capital.