Ever since Qi Yu had said those things to his imperial father that night, he had felt as though a little bird were fluttering its wings inside his chest. His father had neither scolded him nor pushed him away. He turned that thought over in his mind for days. Whenever he thought of it, he felt full of energy from head to toe. He had to work hard to grow up, to grow taller, to become someone his father could depend on without worry.
So he went to ask an imperial physician how he could grow faster. The physician said that His Highness was at a growing age, and a balanced diet and plenty of exercise would suffice. He felt that the physician's method was too slow, so he went to ask Grand Tutor Sun. The grand tutor quoted the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: "At twice eight years of age, a man's heavenly essence arrives, his vital essence overflows, and yin and yang harmonize, enabling him to father children." After listening for ages, all he understood was "yin and yang harmonize," and he decided the grand tutor was unreliable too. In the end, he decided to use his own methods. The palace never lacked fine things. Rare treasures filled the Imperial Treasury: reishi, deer antler velvet, snow lotus, century-old ginseng. Tonics that others could only dream of obtaining were his for a word. He was the emperor's most beloved youngest son, and everyone in the palace knew it. Whatever he wanted, he did not even need to ask; someone would eagerly bring it to him.
He tried deer antler velvet first. He steeped slices in tea and drank it for two days, but the effects did not seem obvious. Then he tried reishi stewed with chicken. The soup was so