"Marquis of Dai had shut his doors to visitors, devoting himself wholeheartedly to painting the Thousand Blessings Painting for His Majesty."
As several guests were turned away, word that the Marquis of Dai had gone into seclusion and would no longer receive visitors spread through the Capital City.
"The Marquis of Dai said he was going into seclusion to study the Book of Documents and paintings so he could create the Thousand Blessings Painting for me?" The Emperor was stunned for a moment before he came to himself. Setting down his vermilion brush, he could not help rising and pacing once across the hall. Turning back, he asked again, "Is it true?"
"Your Majesty, that is indeed the case." Eunuch Zhao lowered his eyes obediently and repeated the intelligence he had received.
"He not only refuses to visit others, but will not even receive guests who come calling? What is the Marquis of Dai thinking? Could I truly have misunderstood him?"
The Emperor sat back down, still wearing an expression of disbelief.
Once his princes were granted titles and established their own residences, every one of them began making connections everywhere. Even the newly enfeoffed Prince Lu was unwilling to be lonely.
Could the Marquis of Dai truly have no ambition?
Yet Su Ziji truly had stopped receiving guests. With year's end approaching, not only were many officials from outside the capital coming to report on their duties, but numerous successful candidates were gathering in the Capital City, while returning nobles crowded in as well. It could be said that many literary gatherings were deliberately held during the cold season, precisely because everyone was more likely to be assembled then.
Even a wandering prodigal, so long as his parents were still alive, would hurry home when the New Year drew