Among the crowd, some common townsfolk stood at a distance, watching and pointing.
"What are these scholars making such a fuss about?" asked a candied hawthorn vendor.
"I heard the Eighteenth Prince insulted the newly appointed Third-Ranked Scholar. These scholars are unhappy, so they've gathered at the palace gate to protest," someone beside him said.
"The Eighteenth Prince? Isn't he only eight? What's wrong with a child saying a few harsh words? These scholars are making a mountain out of a molehill." The vendor was dismissive.
"What do you know?" The man shook his head. "What scholars value most is their dignity. You can insult them personally, but you can't insult their parents. Besides, the Eighteenth Prince's insults were far too vile. I heard he spewed every filthy curse imaginable, worse than even the street thugs among us."
"Vile? Did you hear it with your own ears?" The vendor turned around, only to discover that the man beside him had already vanished. Those gathered around were all other spectators.
"Strange, where did that man go?"
Still, the vendor did not dwell on it. After all, the more people gathered, the better his business would be.
As money poured into his hands and his candied hawthorns sold out completely, the vendor could not help shouting in delight, "Good cursing! He should curse them every day! If he can curse the Third-Ranked Scholar, then naturally he can curse the top scholar and second-ranked scholar too. Curse them all!"
Outside the Heavenly Gate, the clamor was deafening.
Xie Wenyuan stood at the very front, holding a joint petition covered densely with signatures.
Facing Heaven-Bearing Gate, he declared loudly, "More than a thousand scholars in the capital have jointly submitted this petition, requesting that Your Majesty severely punish the Eighteenth Prince for his breach