The top three

The palace examination results were posted, and the entire Capital City shook with the news. The names of the first-, second-, and third-place graduates emerged from Xuanzheng Hall and spread throughout Chang'an Street in less than an hour. The top graduate was Gu Hengsheng. When the news reached the entrance to the Examination Compound, some of the unsuccessful examination candidates who had been dozing beneath the stone lions just days earlier froze where they stood, while others slapped the tables. The teahouse storyteller changed his repertoire that very day, telling of a farmer's son from Henan Circuit who had walked for twenty days carrying a battered book chest, tying his shoes together with straw rope when the soles wore through and walking on, until His Majesty personally named him first in the imperial throne hall. When the storyteller reached the part about the "straw rope," a man in a gray homespun shirt stood up, shouted his approval, and tossed a handful of copper coins onto the stage.

Gu Hengsheng moved into the official guesthouse. Xie Chen personally brought men to carry his luggage out of the inn. There was little of it: a book chest, a thin blanket, and a pair of old boots with split seams. Xie Chen looked at the boots and sent an attendant to buy a new pair at the street corner. The new boots had black cloth uppers and densely stitched soles. Gu Hengsheng took them and looked down at them for a long while. Xie Chen said little more, mounted his horse, and took him to the Eastern Palace.

In the main hall of the Eastern Palace, Qi Ling sat behind his desk. Today he wore that moon-white informal robe, its collar fastened neatly, with several documents laid out on the desk before him. Sun Qiwen was already standing below. He had changed his rank badge, exchanging the quail for an egret, and risen from the eighth rank to the seventh. Though it was only one rank, the seventh rank was a threshold in a place like the Ministry of Revenue; once past it, he could report directly to the minister. He stood below, watching the Crown Prince leaf through the documents, not daring to speak first. He remembered how nervous he had been on his last visit. He was better this time, but his palms still sweated.

A eunuch led Gu Hengsheng inside. Gu Hengsheng wore his new boots, but as he crossed the threshold, he still instinctively ducked his head, as though habitually afraid the doorframe would be too low and he would strike his head. Qi Ling set down the list.

"Sit."

Both men sat in chairs to the side. Gu Hengsheng's movements were somewhat stiff as he sat, his hands resting on his knees and his back perfectly straight. Qi Ling dispensed with unnecessary courtesies. He looked first at Sun Qiwen. "There has been movement at the Ministry of Revenue over the copper mine accounts."

Sun Qiwen straightened. "Your Highness, the minister summoned me the day before yesterday and said the accounts for the Yunnan copper mines were to be audited again. I have already retrieved the original records for the past three years."

"Resistance?"

"Yes. Someone at the Ministry of Works said these were old accounts and must not be reopened." Qi Ling lifted his teacup and took a sip, his tone mild. "Whether old accounts can be reopened depends on who opens them. Just have the records ready. As for the Ministry of Works, tell them to come to me." When he finished, Sun Qiwen's Adam's apple bobbed. He had waited six years for those words.

Qi Ling turned to Gu Hengsheng. "Gu Hengsheng, I read your policy essay from the palace examination. You wrote in great detail about the drought in Henan Circuit."

Gu Hengsheng said, "Your Highness, I wrote what I saw with my own eyes."

"I know." Qi Ling drew the draft of that policy essay out from beneath the documents. There was a water stain on one corner, left by saliva that day, now dry. He laid the draft on the table. "You said that after the tax exemption was granted, the county collected first and refunded later. By the time the exemption notices arrived, the common people had already paid. Once the money and grain entered the county treasury, how much was returned to the people?"

"I asked in the villages. The amounts written on the exemption notices differed from what the people actually received by at least fifteen percent. When asked where that fifteen percent had gone, the county called it wastage. I calculated it. Wastage could not have exceeded three percent. The remaining ten percent and more went into private accounts."

"You did not include that ten percent and more in your essay."

"I did." Gu Hengsheng paused. "It was in the original draft. Later, I removed it myself."

"Why?"

"I had no hard evidence. I had done the calculations, but I had no account books to substantiate them."

Qi Ling was silent for a while. He looked down at the policy essay and tapped the paper lightly with a finger. Then he closed the document and changed the subject. "The paperwork from the Ministry of Personnel has arrived. You have been assigned to the Waterways Office of the Ministry of Works. The Waterways Office oversees the silting of river channels. Before this year's autumn floods, three downstream counties nearly flooded. Go there and put your skill at calculating wastage to use on the rivers. Spend a few years doing practical work, then return to serve as a remonstrance official. The Eastern Palace needs someone in the Waterways Office to watch over the rebuilding of the embankments after the autumn floods."

Gu Hengsheng stood, lifted the hem of his robe, and knelt. His posture was not as precise as that of the sons of great families, but the sound of his knees striking the brick floor was solid. "I will remember."

Qi Ling watched him kneeling on the floor. This young man who had walked from Henan Circuit knelt there in a blue homespun shirt washed nearly white, its collar starched stiff, his neck rubbed red and trembling slightly. Qi Ling told him to rise, then glanced at the light outside the window. He kept him at the Eastern Palace for a meal.

Sun Qiwen and Gu Hengsheng exchanged a glance. Beside them, Fu Shun added with a smile, "His Highness ordered the private kitchen to prepare dishes long ago. There is braised pork knuckle." Qi Yu's tastes had already become a fixture on the Eastern Palace's private kitchen menu.

Meanwhile, in the West Warm Pavilion of Xuanzheng Hall, ten palace examination papers lay spread before Qi Xiao. The grand secretary of the Grand Secretariat, the minister of rites, and the vice minister of personnel were all seated below. This year's top three had actually already been decided: Gu Hengsheng was first; second was an elderly examination candidate from Jiangnan, whose calligraphy was excellent and whose policy essay was sound; third was a young son of a great family whose essay was not the best, but who was handsome-bearing and appearance were what mattered for third place. The rankings were settled, and everyone knew His Majesty's wishes. But there was one last matter someone felt should still be raised.

The minister of rites inclined his body. "Your Majesty, a member of the Xiao Family also sat the examination this year. His essay was passable. I venture to ask whether he might be added to the second class."

Qi Xiao did not look up. He turned over the third-place graduate's paper and saw the Xiao young man's name at the very bottom of the palace examination list. His essay was indeed passable, but passable was only passable. He set the list aside, lifted his teacup, and took a sip.

"The second class is full. Put him in the third." He set down his cup, and the minister of rites said no more. When word reached the Xiao Family, the old madam sat in a grand armchair in the main hall, turning Buddhist prayer beads in her hand. She turned them for a long time, the beads slipping one by one between her fingers. When she reached the last one, she laid the string on the table. The Xiao young man stood beneath the covered walkway, his face showing little expression. He kowtowed to the old madam, then turned to pack his belongings.

The Capital City bustled for several days. On the day of the mounted parade, the first-, second-, and third-place graduates rode tall horses down Chang'an Street. The teahouses and taverns on both sides were packed, and young women tossed flowers from the upper floors until the top graduate's head was covered in petals. Gu Hengsheng sat on his horse, gripping the reins, his expression as though he were calculating wastage. The second-place graduate was very practiced at parading, constantly cupping his hands in greeting to either side. The third-place graduate was the most at ease, occasionally leaning sideways to catch a flower and smiling up at the upper floors.

When the procession turned past the entrance to the Examination Compound, Gu Hengsheng glanced at that stone lion. The lion was still there, and so were the little characters carved into it: "Good luck in the Autumn Examination." He had slept beneath that lion, curled into a ball in the autumn wind, with a book covering his face to block the sun. Now he rode a tall horse bestowed by the emperor, with the gray flagstones of Chang'an Street beneath his feet. He drew back his gaze and looked ahead. The procession ahead was long; its front had already turned into another street.

Inside the palace, Qi Yu stood in the covered walkway of Xuanzheng Hall, rising onto his toes to look toward Chang'an Street. He could see nothing but palace walls and glazed roof tiles. But he knew today was the parade, and he had been talking about it since he got up that morning.

"A Ping, what kind of horse do you think the top graduate rides in the parade?"

"A chestnut. The Imperial Stables picked it especially."

"The horse I ride for hunting is a chestnut too."

A Ping thought about it and felt something was wrong with that comparison, but he said nothing. Qi Yu stood on tiptoe in the walkway a little longer, then turned and ran into the West Warm Pavilion. Qi Xiao was leaning back in his chair, resting with his eyes closed. He heard the footsteps but did not open his eyes. Qi Yu ran to his side, leaned over the armrest, and peered closely at his face.

"Father, that top graduate you personally selected today rides the same kind of horse I do."

Qi Xiao opened his eyes. "They're both horses."

"It's different. His horse was picked by the Imperial Stables. Mine was picked by Xie Ning. Xie Ning has a better eye for horses than the people at the Imperial Stables." He paused, then added, "Father, will that top graduate become a high official someday?"

"That depends on his ability."

"I think he has ability. He could even fall asleep beneath a stone lion. In the future, he'll definitely be able to sleep standing up in your imperial study too."

Qi Xiao reached out and gave him a light pat on the back of the head. Qi Yu ducked his neck. He tilted his face up, his eyes shining. After a long while, he suddenly asked something out of nowhere. "Father, did you sleep beneath a stone lion when you were little too?"

Qi Xiao did not answer. He looked out the window, where the branches of the persimmon tree stretched beneath the covered walkway. That young top graduate had ridden down Chang'an Street today, taking the path of a disciple of the Son of Heaven. And in the place closest to the Son of Heaven sat someone who, without needing to take the imperial examinations, was destined to keep him company for a very long time.

When his father did not answer, Qi Yu did not press him. He simply reached into his sleeve and rummaged around, pulling out two pieces of osmanthus cake. "Father, have some cake. Chun He gave me two extra pieces today."