The ruler

By the time Qi Yu returned from outside the palace, dusk had fallen. He changed his clothes in Yuning Hall, washed his face, tied his hair up again, then ran toward Xuanzheng Hall with a bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts tucked against his chest. He had bought the chestnuts at the East Market, and they were still hot; even through his clothes, the oilpaper packet burned against his chest. When he ran into the West Warm Pavilion, he discovered that his father was not alone.

Crown Prince Qi Ling stood to the left of the imperial desk, dressed in his everyday Eastern Palace robes, his head lowered over a memorial. Second Prince Qi Ming stood a little farther away on the right, holding a well-thumbed copy of Zizhi Tongjian. Its spine had come unstitched and been sewn back together. Third Prince Qi Zhao stood at the far end, also holding a book, though he was not leafing through it, merely waiting with his eyes lowered. Qi Yu stumbled over the threshold. He had not expected today to be the day their studies were tested.

"The fourth is here." Qi Xiao leaned against the back of his chair, a teacup in his hand. Qi Yu greeted everyone in turn, then edged over to stand beside the Crown Prince. He quietly asked why it had to be today. Qi Ling did not answer, merely turning slightly to shield him from their father's view. Qi Yu shrank behind his brother's shoulder, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. But when Qi Xiao put down his teacup, the first person he called was the Crown Prince.

Qi Ling stepped forward and presented the memorial in his hands. It concerned a proposed adjustment to salt transport in Jiangnan. There had been little rain that year, and the canal water was too low for the salt barges to pass. Qi Ling proposed switching to overland transport and establishing transport offices along the route. After hearing him out, Qi Xiao asked about several details, which Qi Ling answered one by one. Qi Xiao nodded and said, "Feasible. Have the Ministry of Revenue calculate the costs." Qi Ling stepped back. Listening beside him, Qi Yu admired his brother inwardly. Every time, he could explain the matters in his memorials with perfect clarity.

Qi Ming went second. He opened Zizhi Tongjian to a page marked with a slip of paper, a passage about Emperor Xuan of Han where he had faltered last time. This time, he recited it without a single mistake, though a fine sheen of sweat still covered his forehead by the end. Qi Xiao looked at him without asking further questions and said, "You've improved." As Qi Ming stepped back, his fingers loosened around the book's spine, and the veins on the back of his hand subsided. Qi Yu gave him a thumbs-up. Qi Ming did not look at him, but the corner of his mouth moved.

Then came Qi Zhao. The Grand Tutor had taught the "Punishments of Lü" chapter of the Book of Documents that day, and Qi Xiao asked him to explain the evolution of the five punishments. Qi Zhao answered slowly, but clearly described the changes in each dynasty. At one point, he cited the wrong year, paused, and corrected himself. Qi Xiao did not interrupt him. Once he finished, Qi Xiao nodded and dismissed him. Qi Zhao's temples were glistening too when he stepped back. The Third Prince was always like this during their examinations: his answers were not particularly outstanding, but he never made any major mistakes.

At last, it was Qi Yu's turn. He emerged from behind the Crown Prince and stood before the imperial desk. Qi Xiao picked up his teacup, took a sip, put it down, and looked at him. "No books today. Tell me, what did you do outside the palace this afternoon?"

Qi Yu froze for a moment, then straightened his back and began to speak. He told him how he and Xie Ning had encountered a young woman at the East Market selling herself to bury her mother, how she had knelt by the street with a sheet of coarse paper spread before her, and how her mother lay in a thin-walled coffin whose lid would not even close properly. He said the coffin shop had wanted five hundred taels, and the two of them had searched out every bit of silver on them but only scraped together two hundred and fifty. When he finished, he pulled the bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts from inside his robes. The oilpaper packet was no longer quite so hot. He said, "Father, try these. I bought them at the East Market. The old man selling them said his chestnuts were the best in the whole Capital City."

Qi Xiao did not look at the bag of chestnuts. Leaning against his chair, he looked at Qi Yu. "The Han Annals in Zizhi Tongjian. I told you to go back and read them last time. Did you?"

Qi Yu slowly set the bag of chestnuts on the desk and took half a step back. He said he had, then added that the Han Annals had dozens of volumes, and he had only reached the third. "The Grand Tutor said to read them closely."

"You've closely read three volumes. Then explain why Emperor Xuan of Han established the post of Protector General of the Western Regions."

Qi Yu opened his mouth and searched his mind for everything he knew about Emperor Xuan of Han. He remembered that his father had tested his second brother on Emperor Xuan of Han last time, and that he himself had remarked from the side that Emperor Xuan had been imprisoned as a child. He hurriedly repeated that. Qi Xiao neither nodded nor shook his head. Racking his brains, Qi Yu added a few things about Tuntian farming, garrisoning the frontier, the division of the Xiongnu, and the submission of the Southern Xiongnu. The terms came tumbling out, strung together with little connection. By the end, he had lost heart himself and stood with his head hanging.

Qi Xiao was silent for a while, then abruptly said something completely unrelated to Zizhi Tongjian. "You used my silver to help someone. How much did you give?"

"Five hundred taels. Of the thousand you gave me, Father, the rest was for her to settle down. I didn't give her all of it," Qi Yu said honestly.

"And after that young woman buried her mother?"

Thinking the matter had been put behind them, Qi Yu raised his head. "Xie Ning took her back to the Jinghai Marquis Residence. He had a matron teach her the rules, but she didn't sign a bond of servitude. She said she would repay us by serving us for the rest of her life. I refused."

After hearing this, Qi Xiao's expression remained much the same. But De'an, grinding ink beside him, noticed that the emperor's hand resting on his knee moved, his thumb lightly rubbing the knuckle of his index finger. De'an recognized that gesture. His Majesty only did it when he was pleased.

"Qi Ming," Qi Xiao suddenly called.

Startled at being called, the Second Prince stepped forward.

"Your fourth brother did something outside the palace today. Listen to him." Qi Xiao lifted his chin toward Qi Yu.

Qi Yu recounted what had happened at the East Market again, far more fluently this time than when he had answered questions about Zizhi Tongjian. He described the young woman's coarse paper rustling in the wind, and Xie Ning crouching on the ground to bargain with the coffin shop's owner. After hearing him out, Qi Ming was silent for a moment, then said that his fourth brother was kindhearted and had acted honorably. Qi Xiao looked at Qi Ming and said that, in the future, when he left the palace to establish his own household, he should do the same if he encountered such a thing. Qi Ming lowered his head, cupped his hands, and answered yes. As he stepped back, he glanced at Qi Yu. There was no envy in that glance, but there was something difficult to name.

"Father, then my studies..." Qi Yu asked quietly.

"Did I say I wasn't testing you?" Qi Xiao leaned against his chair and looked at him. "Explain that passage about Emperor Xuan of Han establishing the Protector General of the Western Regions again. If you cannot explain it properly, you may not leave the palace tomorrow."

Qi Yu drew a deep breath and poured out everything he could remember. In the second year of Emperor Xuan of Han's Shenjue era, the Protector General of the Western Regions' Office was established, with its seat at Wulei City. Zheng Ji was the first Protector General. The extension of Han authority into the Western Regions began with Zhang Qian and was completed by Zheng Ji. He stumbled through the recitation, then looked up at his father.

Qi Xiao picked up the ruler. Grand Tutor Sun had sent over the bamboo ruler, saying His Majesty could use it if necessary. Its surface had been polished to a glossy sheen, and it felt heavy in the hand. At the sight of it, Qi Yu instinctively drew his hands into his sleeves. Yet Qi Xiao did not tell him to hold out his hands.

"Turn around."

Qi Yu froze for a moment, then slowly turned around and braced both hands on the edge of the imperial desk. Qi Xiao rose, hefted the ruler, and brought it down-not on his palms, but on his bottom. A muffled smack sounded through his robes. The blow was not hard, but Qi Yu still yelped, covered his bottom, and turned to look at his father, his eyes full of grievance.

"You got a year wrong just now. The second year of Shenjue, not the third." Qi Xiao set the ruler on the desk and sat down again.

Qi Yu rubbed his bottom twice, and a smile returned to his face. He knew that if his father had truly wanted to beat him, it would not have been a single light swat through his robes. This was for the Grand Tutor's benefit. When the Grand Tutor asked later, His Majesty could say he had used the ruler.

After the examination ended, Qi Xiao kept Qi Yu behind. He sat behind the imperial desk, with Qi Yu standing beside him and the now thoroughly cold bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts between them. "The chestnuts are cold. Tomorrow I'll have the Imperial Kitchen roast you a fresh, hot batch." Qi Xiao took one and cracked open its shell, revealing the golden flesh inside.

"I hardly used any force. Don't be so delicate."

"It still hurts. Why didn't you go easier with the ruler?" Qi Yu lifted his face from the pillow and turned his head to look at him. Qi Xiao said nothing, but eased the pressure. After a while, Qi Yu's breathing steadied, and his eyelids began to droop. Half asleep, he mumbled, "Father, next time I'll definitely learn Zizhi Tongjian by heart," his fingers clutching the corner of the quilt. Qi Xiao pulled the quilt up over his exposed shoulders.