"Minister Zhu, you have pondered this for ten years. Have you not already obtained its result?" the sovereign asked softly.
Zhu Wen bowed again. "Before the boundless heavens, who dares make such a claim? I have pursued it all my life, like an ape reaching for the moon, never able to grasp it. To invite all my fellow ministers to witness it today is already enough... Heavenly Principles are profound and elusive. This empirical demonstration ought to yield a result, but that result may not necessarily be true."
The figure on the Imperial Throne fell silent for a moment.
Zhu Wen left the four volumes on the table, lifted his robes, and walked down the Jade Steps, step by step, until he stood before the assembled ministers. Then he straightened and turned back, lightly shook out his sleeves, and offered a subject's salute toward the heights. Prostrating himself, he said, "I have only one request. If the 'Two Heavens' prove true, I ask that Chancellor Xu's good name be restored, and that he be posthumously granted the title Duke Wen."
Before Hanyuan Hall, all fell as silent as the still night.
After a moment, the figure on the Imperial Throne nodded. "Granted."
Zhu Wen rose. His face remained expressionless, but his brows drooped a little in the cold wind, as though a light frost had settled on them and weighed them down.
His figure seemed to sag a little as well. Yet Li Du's face now grew taut and cold. He stared straight at the ground before him, his hand gripping his prayer beads until it turned somewhat white. He glanced at the purple-robed man beside him. Wang Mingyuan's face paled slightly, and he stepped out of the ranks to address the throne. "Your Majesty, the theory of Haotian has