Second Prince Qi Ming learned about the bow the following morning. Zhou Wenhan came over from the Imperial Study with a stack of lecture notes in his hand and mentioned in passing that yesterday had been the Fourth Prince's birthday, and His Majesty had bestowed a bow on him. A master craftsman at the Directorate of Military Equipment had made it himself, and His Majesty's personal inscription had been carved into its limb.
Qi Ming had been practicing his calligraphy. Holding his brush, he was copying passages from the Zizhi Tongjian onto the paper. When he reached the line "To win the realm, one must first win its heart," his brush tip paused. Without looking up, he asked what had been carved on it. Zhou Wenhan said he had heard it was "May my son be safe and well."
The brush tip jabbed into the paper, and the ink spread, blurring the character for "heart" into a black blot.
He set the brush on the brush rest a little too hard, making it rock. The blot on the paper was still slowly spreading, its edge already reaching the final sweeping stroke of the character for "win" beside it. He looked down at the blot and remembered his own birthday last month, when Father had also bestowed gifts on him. A Duan inkstone and a set of new books. De'an had delivered them himself, politely conveying His Majesty's words: the Second Prince worked hard at his studies and deserved a reward. He had knelt to receive them, expressed his gratitude, and placed the inkstone on his desk, putting it to use the very next day. Later, in Xuanzheng Hall, he had seen the ink stick Fourth Brother was using: an old, half-used one from Father's imperial desk. Fourth Brother had been