Loquats

The loquats in the Imperial Garden were ripe.

In previous years, the Directorate of Gardens picked the loquats at this time and distributed them to the palaces according to their allotted shares. The Eastern Palace received a small basket each year-not many, just a dozen or so. His nurse always saved the biggest, yellowest ones for Xiao Huaijin and never ate a single one herself. This year, Xiao Huaijin did not wait for the Directorate of Gardens to deliver them-he took his nurse straight to the Imperial Garden.

The loquat tree stood against an old wall in the western corner of the rear garden. Empress Xiaoyi had planted it herself while she was alive. It was not tall, its branches hung low, and golden-yellow ripe fruit nestled among its leaves. Warmed by the sun, their sweet fragrance carried a long way. Xiao Huaijin stood beneath the tree, looking up for a long while, then rolled up his sleeves and wrapped his arms around the trunk. His nurse grabbed him in alarm.

"Your Highness, you mustn't! This tree is terribly tall. A fall would be dreadful!"

"Dear Nurse, I'll only pick one-just one."

Xiao Huaijin pressed his palms together and raised them over his head, his eyes shining and the corners of his mouth turned down in a pitiful pout. His nurse kept a stern face and refused to let go, so he rose onto his toes to reach the lowest branch. His fingers had barely touched a loquat when his foot slipped, nearly sending him onto his bottom. In the end, he never did climb the tree, because his nurse said, "If Your Highness keeps this up, I'll tell His Majesty."

He immediately hopped down from the trunk, brushed the flakes of bark from his hands, and stood properly, as though the boy who had been trying to climb the tree was someone else. But he did get a loquat in the end-not one he picked himself. Liu An happened to pass by, saw the crown prince bouncing beneath the loquat tree with his neck craned, and stopped to look. A moment later, Liu An selected the yellowest loquat on the tree, bent at the waist, and offered it with both hands.

Xiao Huaijin carried the loquat back to the Eastern Palace. His nurse washed his hands, wiped his face, and had him sit beneath the covered walkway to eat. He peeled back a little patch of skin, lowered his head to sniff it, then closed it again.

"Nurse, half of this one is for Father too."

His nurse was brushing the dust off the hem of his robe. Her hand paused.

"Eat it yourself, Your Highness. His Majesty has everything."

"But this is the biggest one."

Xiao Huaijin cradled the loquat in his palm and held it up to her. "Look, it's this big."

His nurse looked at the loquat. Empress Xiaoyi had planted the tree, and Liu An had helped pick the fruit. After all its twists and turns, this loquat had reached the hands of a four-year-old child, and he wanted to give half of it to the father he had called out to for four years without ever receiving a single backward glance. She lifted Xiao Huaijin into her arms, sat on the stone steps beneath the covered walkway, and straightened his crooked little topknot. She said nothing more to dampen his spirits.

That evening, Xiao Huaijin ran to the Hall of Mental Cultivation carrying half a loquat. His nurse had cut it in two. He had eaten one half; the other rested on a small plate, covered with a parasol-tree leaf to keep off the dust. When he raced down the passage and through the hall entrance, Liu An was on duty at the door. Seeing a little apricot-yellow figure dart toward him, he hurriedly stepped aside, without even time to announce him. Xiao Huaijin raised the plate over his head with both hands, stood on tiptoe, and set it at the edge of the imperial desk. The loquat was already a little bruised, with a small dent in its skin and juice seeping onto the bottom of the plate. He tilted his face up.

"Father, a loquat. The biggest one."

Xiao Lin looked at the half loquat. He put down his brush and picked up the plate. He did not say, "I don't eat sweet things," nor did he say, "There's no need to bring these things again." He picked up the loquat and looked at it for a while, then took a bite.

"Mm. Very sweet."

Xiao Huaijin stood there as though he had received the finest reward in the world, smiling wide enough to reveal his two little canine teeth. Then he turned and ran. Two steps out, he doubled back, draped himself over the threshold, and poked half his head inside.

"Father, will you have some tomorrow too? There are lots and lots of loquats still on the tree-I'll pick more for you tomorrow!"

Before Xiao Lin could answer, he had already pattered away. His footsteps faded into the distance, mingling with the faint song of cicadas in the far-off Imperial Garden.

That night, Liu An stood watch outside the hall. He heard an extremely faint sound within. Peeking inside, he saw His Majesty seated at the desk, the half loquat before him with half of it eaten. He did not move, merely gazed at that half loquat for a very long time.

Liu An drew his head back and leaned against a corridor pillar, remembering the days just after the spring examinations in the eighth year of Jianxi, when the noble consort had brought calming soup to the Hall of Mental Cultivation every day. The noble consort had brought things then too, but always with something to say-I made this myself, Your Majesty mustn't overwork yourself, Yu'er memorized several more passages today. His Majesty had drunk it every time and said he understood every time. Liu An had never seen His Majesty stare blankly at an empty bowl after the noble consort left. He switched his fly whisk to his other hand and murmured to himself.

"It's different."

On the twenty-sixth day of the fourth month, someone at court finally could no longer hold his tongue. A censor from the Censorate named He Qian stepped out of the ranks and presented a memorial, saying that His Majesty had recently been teaching the crown prince to write in the imperial study, and that this dynasty had never known a sovereign to personally give the heir his first lessons. The sovereign attended to ten thousand affairs each day; the Hanlin Academy and the crown prince's grand tutor were there to provide elementary instruction. His Majesty need not undertake it himself, lest it delay affairs of state. His words were lofty and high-sounding, his tone respectful, every word adhering to the rules. The officials reacted differently upon hearing him-some nodded slightly, while others lowered their heads to look at their court tablets.

Xiao Lin looked at He Qian and asked a question.

"Censor He, you belong to the Censorate. What are the Censorate's duties?"

He Qian paused, then answered in eight words.

"To scrutinize officials and uphold order at court, Your Majesty."

"Is the crown prince one of those officials?"

The corner of He Qian's mouth twitched. He could find no answer.

"The heir is a sovereign, not a subject. The Censorate scrutinizes officials. Its authority does not extend to my crown prince. Teaching my son to read has not delayed morning court, reviewing memorials, or deploying troops and commanders. You say it causes delays. What has it delayed? List them."

A fine sheen of sweat seeped onto He Qian's forehead. He knelt.

"I would not dare, Your Majesty. I was merely offering remonstrance in accordance with precedent."

Xiao Lin no longer looked at him. He swept his gaze over the assembled officials.

"Who else thinks I should not teach the crown prince-step forward."

No one stepped forward. After court was dismissed, several senior officials exchanged looks as they walked along the passage. The minister of war cupped his hands and asked whether the others felt His Majesty was somewhat different from before. The minister of works replied that he had said so long ago. The minister of revenue walked at the rear and did not join the discussion. He only glanced back toward the Hall of Mental Cultivation, thinking of those fifty thousand taels in military pay, and felt that the waters at court ran deeper than any of them imagined.

That evening, Kong Wu brought fresh news. Sun Cheng-a guard in the Eastern Palace patrol and one of the Shen Clan's former retainers-had left the palace on his day off and gone to the rear entrance of the chancellor's residence. He had stayed for less than an hour. His hands were empty when he came out; whether there had been anything in his sleeves when he went in, the person watching had not seen clearly. After delivering his report, Kong Wu waited for His Majesty's instructions.

After listening, Xiao Lin said only one thing.

"Stop watching Sun Cheng."

Kong Wu thought His Majesty intended to withdraw the surveillance and was about to ask why when Xiao Lin spoke again.

"Watch the deliveries at the rear entrance of the chancellor's residence. What time the vegetables arrive each day, who delivers them, and how much they deliver."

Kong Wu paused, then quickly understood-Sun Cheng had gone to pass on information. To track a message, there was no need to watch the messenger; watch the recipient. Sun Cheng was only a small fish. How many small fish passed through the rear entrance of the chancellor's residence each day-that was the real net. He acknowledged the order and was about to withdraw when Xiao Lin added another instruction.

"Have someone trim the lower branches of the loquat tree tomorrow. Just enough that the crown prince cannot reach the lowest branch to climb it. Don't cut too much and hurt the tree."

Kong Wu acknowledged the order and withdrew. Only when he reached the steps outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation did he suddenly understand-the loquat tree was the one Empress Xiaoyi had planted. In all his years serving this man, he had never seen him care about any tree. Now he did, for the sake of a four-year-old child.