The bright moon shone cold; the night was far from over.
Inside the splendid residence, Liu Cheng fiddled with an ancient scroll on the desk, staring gloomily at the brazier on the floor.
Without the slightest care for the book, he rolled it upright and clenched it in his hand, his grip tightening and tightening.
Suddenly, he loosened his grip, raised the scroll, and made to throw it into the brazier.
"A Shen."
Liu Cheng's courtesy name was Wen Shen, and his childhood name was A Shen. Only one person in this residence could address him that way: its master, Liu Tan, who held the posts of "Friend of the Prince of Badong" and "Libationer of the Wang Academy."
The "Treatise on Official Posts" in the Book of Southern Qi recorded: "Each prince shall have one tutor, one friend, and one literary adviser."
Tutor, friend, and literary adviser were the Three Officials of the Prince. The court selected these assistants for princes of the imperial clan, and all three held sixth-rank appointments. Their main duties were to cultivate the princes' learning, correct their conduct, and offer counsel.
The titles "tutor" and "friend" alone made it clear that, although nominally subordinate to the princes, these officials enjoyed a somewhat independent standing. Their duties were also prestigious and unsullied by mundane affairs, so only talented sons of great houses could be selected. These were the so-called "offices of a prince's guiding adviser."
When Liu Tan became Friend of the Prince of Badong, his appointment was hailed at the time as an "Illustrious Selection." That alone gave some idea of his lofty reputation.
The sound of his elder brother's voice brought Liu Cheng's movement to an abrupt halt.
A young man in emerald brocade embroidered with cloud patterns entered, his face as handsome