"Your Majesty is wise!"
Those four words sounded rather hollow in Bo Yi and Shu Qi's feeble voices.
Zi Shou looked at the two in astonishment. I really misjudged you! I thought you were men of lofty principles and unsullied integrity. Who would have thought, who would have thought...
Just one month in the zoo, and you surrendered? You could at least curse me a couple of times behind my back!
Many of the ministers were astounded. Jizi, too, began worrying about his two worthy nephews. Was the beast park truly as terrifying as the Nine Hells?
On reflection, it probably was. Few could endure this rank stench, let alone stay here for a month.
Then Bo Yi spoke, each word solemn and deliberate. "These past days, I have learned much in the West Garden. These were subjects I had never encountered before, yet they are knowledge essential to governing a country. Over this past month and more, I have received instruction from the seven colonels. Only today have I gained some understanding. I ask that my seven teachers be rewarded for their service."
Yang Ren frowned. Just what sort of place was the West Garden?
It had actually made Bo Yi, a man renowned for his virtue, say such things. He had even called seven rough fellows his teachers.
Beside him, Shu Qi said respectfully, "Indeed, Your Majesty. I have heard that among the hundred trades beneath heaven, none is noble or base. Though the colonels of the West Garden keep company with beasts, does that make them inferior to the officials at court? Court officials handle state affairs to benefit all under heaven, and the colonels of the West Garden likewise raise animals to benefit all under heaven. We must not be bound by such distinctions. Though these