In mid-June, unrest troubled the household of Sima Yu, Prince of Kuaiji.
The central problem was, of course, that Sima Daosheng, the Prince of Kuaiji's heir apparent, who had just turned sixteen, had angered his father and been confined at home.
In principle, a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy falling out with his thirty-five- or thirty-six-year-old father was perfectly normal. The beating had been given, the scolding delivered.
In reality, however, this was an extremely sensitive matter.
First, naturally, was Sima Yu's special position. He exercised imperial authority on the emperor's behalf, and after his dozen-odd years as regent, there were vaguely some people who had pinned their hopes on this heir apparent, who was also his eldest legitimate son.
Second, there was a tacitly understood fact: just as relations with his princess consort had been cool for years, Sima Yu had long disliked this eldest son.
The Prince of Kuaiji himself had been born after his father's death and was rather reserved by nature. Even as a small child, he had concealed his feelings, and since he followed the path of the celebrated scholar and Pure Conversation, he was always proper in his outward dealings with others. This eldest son, born very early in his life, had been told as soon as he was old enough to understand that he was the heir apparent, and his father was a prince who governed the realm. Inevitably, he was somewhat like Huan Wen's eldest son next door, Huan Shitou: inwardly arrogant and unable to hide it, to the point that his disposition seemed rather brutish.
Under these circumstances, it was only natural that Sima Yu should face the same troubles and harbor the same thoughts as Huan Wen.
Of course, if Liu Acheng from neighboring Langya Commandery were asked for a scathing