"The shredded eel was braised nicely, and the ox tongue's good too. The sea cucumber hasn't absorbed the flavor, and I don't like it anyway. Take it away and bring me roast duck. Serve the shad after my fifth cup of wine. Don't let it get cold..."
Wang Yang chewed at his leisure, eating and drinking as calmly as ever. Not only did he look nothing like a man about to die, he had even started ordering dishes, leaving the assembled advisers staring in disbelief.
The steward responsible for the meal dared not decide on his own. He looked to the Prince of Badong, and only after receiving a nod did he order the dressed sea cucumber and steamed shad removed, then hurriedly send word to the kitchen to roast a duck.
Wang Yang sipped his grape wine, swept his gaze over the seats, and settled on Kong Changyu. Smiling, he said:
"Master Kong, shouldn't the two of us share a cup?"
Kong Changyu acted "overwhelmed by the honor," repeatedly protesting that he dared not.
Wang Yang slowed his speech, as though warming the wine's glow and their shared past together, and said with a smile:
"Why ever not? We're old acquaintances, after all. I remember our first meeting was at the White Tiger Daoist Grounds, during the scholarly debate. You stood on the platform and read the proclamation. Its language and meaning were both exquisite. I imagine it was your work? Hmm-"
Wang Yang tilted his head slightly and closed his eyes in recollection. Several fingers of his right hand paused and dipped in the air as he recited with measured cadence:
"-Clouds bestow moisture, winds soar aloft; grasses drink deep of nourishing dew;
Stars shine, the moon stirs; mountain spirits are long washed in rain.
The bending orchids