Unwilling to Bow to Others

Prince Wei and Prince Liang were full brothers, both born to the empress.

Prince Wei, Chen Ran, ranked third among Emperor Chongping's five sons and three daughters; Prince Liang ranked sixth.

Prince Qi and Prince Chu, meanwhile, were sons of lesser consorts. Both were older, had long since married and had children, and had been assigned duties in the Six Ministries.

Yet Emperor Chongping was still in the prime of life and devoted himself to governing well. Having also learned from the previous generation's early appointment of a crown prince and the brutal struggle for succession that followed, he was unwilling to settle the imperial succession too soon.

As for Princess Xianning, Chen Zhi, her mother was the current empress's younger sister, Consort Duanrong. She did not share a mother with Princes Wei and Liang.

It was worth noting that Chen Han's established system allowed for one empress, one imperial noble consort, and two noble consorts. To preserve the empress's supreme standing, the position of imperial noble consort was left vacant.

Noble consorts generally received two-character titles, signifying that a single character could not encompass their character, bearing, virtue, and beauty. In earlier dynasties, these might have resembled posthumous titles more closely.

Examples included Duanhua, Duanrong, Xiande, and Huishu...

For posthumous titles, however, several more characters were added to express praise and extol virtue. A prescribed number had to be reached, varying according to the recipient's rank and merits in life, to signify that two characters alone could not encompass the imperial family's honor and virtue.

This was said to be an innovation introduced by the Great Han Ministry of Rites when it codified the state's ceremonial institutions-the posthumous naming system. Its explanatory memorial ran roughly as follows: the Zhou established the posthumous naming system, while the Qin had no posthumous titles. From the Former Han onward, rites, music, and posthumous naming were revised, yet successive dynasties merely followed their predecessors' rules, stepping in their footprints. As Great Han now reestablished its statutes and ceremonies, its posthumous naming system should carry forward the past and open the way to the future, extending Han rites throughout the ancestral temples and all under heaven.

Thus, Chen Han's ritual system differed from that of the Former Ming. The emperor's sons received single-character titles when created princes, such as Qi, Chu, Wei, and Liang. Once a new emperor succeeded to the throne, his brothers received two-character princely titles, such as Prince Zhongshun and Prince Yizhong.

The Four Great Commandery Princes-Dongping, Xining, Nanan, and Beijing-were commandery princes of other surnames ennobled at the dynasty's founding.

The strictness of ritual law and the sharply defined hierarchy could be glimpsed even in the titles of the nobility.

Hearing his third brother's rebuke, Prince Liang, Chen Wei, merely smiled and took no offense.

After this exchange, however, Princes Wei and Liang lost some of their interest in Jia Heng.

People from the Jia Family were, after all, somewhat sensitive connections. Or rather, it was not only the Jia Family: even though the two brothers were imperial princes, it was inadvisable for them to befriend the scions of any of the Four Princes and Eight Dukes.

At this thought, Prince Wei's interest waned further. He looked toward Chen Zhi and Commandery Princess Qinghe, Li Chanyue, and said with a smile, "It's getting late, my two younger sisters. We should head back."

Chen Zhi nodded. Evidently, she too had detected something subtle in the glances exchanged between Princes Wei and Liang. A trace of thought appeared in her long, narrow phoenix eyes. She glanced at Jia Heng, who stood beside Feng Ziying, then said clearly to her younger cousin Li Chanyue, "Let's go. If you get back too late, Aunt will scold you."

Li Chanyue answered dispiritedly.

As they spoke, Chen Zhi said to Feng Ziying in a clear voice, "Since you've reunited with an old friend, stay and catch up properly. There's no need to escort us. When you return home, convey my regards to Old General Feng."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Though Feng Ziying had no idea why these noble personages, so cheerful a moment ago, had suddenly lost interest, he gave it little thought and was actually pleased. Had his father not forced him to accompany them, he would never have spent his time wandering aimlessly through the wooded hills with these imperial scions.

Even when they came across game, he had to let the princes and princesses have the first shot. How frustrating!

Jia Heng's expression remained calm throughout, without any ripple of emotion.

In truth, this was simply the everyday life of the privileged. Their attention was scarce-there were far too many interesting and entertaining things in the world for them. Encountering him by the roadside amounted to no more than finding an amusing young man.

The riders passed by, chatting and laughing, leaving Feng Ziying and Jia Heng to talk.

Whether Prince Wei, Chen Ran, Prince Liang, Chen Wei, Princess Xianning, Chen Zhi, or Commandery Princess Qinghe, Li Chanyue, not one of them had so much as dismounted from beginning to end...

Jia Heng remained untroubled. He watched them leave, then turned to Feng Ziying and smiled. "Brother Ziying, thank you for helping me out just now."

Such privileged people, born to honor and status, had changeable minds. What had happened just now could have been playful teasing or outright mockery. Which direction things took often depended on their mood and his answers.

But at times, his disposition-to break rather than bend, unwilling to bow to others-might well displease them.

It was not that he was prejudging them or judging by appearances. At the very least, Prince Wei's dark, brooding face hardly suggested an open and easygoing temperament. As for the other young man, his unrestrained joking had something of a spoiled brat about it.

Everyone has their own circles and levels when making friends. At my current level, I can associate with scholars, perhaps even the sons of military families, but not imperial princes... I would inevitably have to bow to them and stifle my own spirit.

Feng Ziying smiled and waved a hand. "What's there to thank me for? We'll have a few drinks later. Let's pick up these arrows first."

With that, he bent down to gather the arrows.

Looking at Feng Ziying, Jia Heng thought, Now this is a friend. After a moment's silence, he too began picking up arrows.

In the end, one should not make friends too far above one's own station.

Once they had gathered all the arrows, Feng Ziying handed over the bundle in his hands and joked with a smile, "Practicing archery is even more tiring than picking up arrows."

Jia Heng took them and put them into his quiver, smiling as well. "You're right, Brother Ziying. This bow doesn't suit me, so I can't practice any more today."

It was already the shen hour, around four or five in the afternoon. Jia Heng had actually wanted to practice another round, but his arms had yet to recover from the soreness of loosing thirty arrows in succession.

Jia Heng suspected it might be because he had not yet mastered the essentials of the movements.

Feng Ziying asked in surprise, "How did you end up with the wrong bow?"

Jia Heng explained how he had been learning archery from Xie Zaiyi and, in his earlier eagerness to practice, had neglected to check the horn bow's draw weight.

Understanding dawned on Feng Ziying. "Xie Zaiyi? I've heard my father mention him. His archery is exceptional. Brother Heng, you've certainly found the right man to teach you riding and shooting."

Jia Heng smiled. "It was a fortunate chance."

Watching Jia Heng rub his aching shoulder, Feng Ziying smiled and said, "This bow really isn't suitable for a beginner's practice. With your strength, a one-shi bow would be somewhat too light. A bow of one shi and five dou would be best for daily practice."

That was sound reasoning. Once he grew accustomed to aiming with a one-shi bow and his arms developed a certain muscle memory, switching to a two-shi bow would require another period of adjustment.

Jia Heng said, "Brother Xie doesn't have a bow of that specification at home. I was just thinking of buying one."

The poor could study letters, but martial training demanded wealth. Besides needing someone to show the way, practicing martial arts cost no small amount of silver.

Feng Ziying smiled. "We have bows of every specification at home, all from my father's collection. Come over and choose one, Brother Heng. What matters is finding one that suits your hand."

He had trained his body and honed his archery since childhood, yet the mounted bow he currently used had a draw weight of only a little over one shi. His father, the Divine Martial General, was still in his prime and unmatched in valor throughout the army; his bow had a draw weight of two shi and five dou.

Jia Heng said gratefully, "Thank you, Brother Feng."

Seeing Jia Heng accept so readily, Feng Ziying was delighted. A touch of youthful innocence slipped into his words. "Come on. This will give my father a chance to meet you, too. He's always saying I only make friends with people who can't be shown in respectable company. Once a young hero like you turns up, Brother Heng, who knows how endlessly he'll praise you or how pleased he'll be?"

Jia Heng could not help laughing. He took the target and secured it to his horse, then swung into the saddle. Talking and laughing, the two headed toward the Divine Capital.

As they rode and talked along the way, Jia Heng asked, "Brother Ziying, which princes and princesses were those just now?"

Though he had addressed them as "Your Highness" and knew they were princes and princesses, he had not actually known their identities or titles.

Feng Ziying smiled. "I thought that if you didn't ask, Brother Heng, it wouldn't be right for me to say. Since you've brought it up, I may as well explain, so you can avoid offending them in the future. Those were the current emperor's third son, Prince Wei; his fifth daughter, Princess Xianning; his sixth son, Prince Liang; and the daughter of Eldest Princess Jinyang-Commandery Princess Qinghe."

Feng Ziying continued, "They're all imperial nobility, out here hunting. My father ordered me to accompany them as an escort and guard."

Jia Heng's expression paused for a moment. "If they're imperial nobility, why aren't they hunting in Shanglin Park?"