Hall of Mental Cultivation

By the second day after Xiao Huaijin moved into the side hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the entire court knew.

The news had come from Liu An. It was not that he had a loose tongue. After morning court, several ministers gathered around him to ask why His Majesty had suddenly dismissed court yesterday, and why his expression looked different from usual today-was His Majesty unwell? Liu An's answer was watertight. He said only, "His Highness the Crown Prince moved into the side hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation yesterday. His Majesty is looking after him personally." Then he left, leaving several old ministers exchanging glances on the white marble steps of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Sun Jingtang, the Minister of Revenue, was the first to react. Tucking his court tablet into his sleeve, he said this was a good thing. The Minister of Works promptly nodded, saying that His Majesty personally raising and teaching the crown prince was a blessing for Great Liang. The Minister of War walked at the rear and did not join the discussion. After a few steps, he glanced back toward the Hall of Mental Cultivation, his brows faintly furrowed.

When the news reached the Palace of Nurtured Elegance, Shen Mingzhu was having breakfast. The silver chopsticks in her hand paused, then continued picking up food. Her tone was as steady as ever.

"Understood. Have the second prince's warm clothes ready. He'll need them in a few days."

After the palace maid answered and withdrew, she set down her chopsticks and did not touch the porridge before her again.

When Xiao Huaijin woke, the first thing he smelled was ambergris incense.

It was his imperial father's scent. He rolled over and buried his face in the pillow-the pillow was new too, a little harder than the one he had used in the Eastern Palace, but the bedding was soft, its weight resting over him like a thin layer of armor. He lay there for a while, then suddenly sat up.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation. This was not his Eastern Palace.

Yesterday's events returned to him bit by bit. His nanny was gone. His imperial father had picked him up, and he had cried his eyes out against his imperial father's sleeve. He sat on the bed for a while, dressed himself, pulled on his little boots, and pushed open the side hall's door.

The main hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation was vast, a size larger than the Eastern Palace's main hall. Several stacks of memorials stood on the imperial desk, the Son of Heaven's sword hung on the wall, and a familiar little bowl sat at the corner of the desk. Xiao Huaijin recognized it-it was the bowl he had brought ginger soup in last time. After drinking the soup, his imperial father had set the bowl at the corner of the desk instead of returning it to the food box. He had thought Liu An would have put it away long ago.

"You're awake."

Xiao Huaijin turned his head. Xiao Lin walked in from outside. Morning court had already ended, but he had not yet had time to change out of his bright yellow court robes. He merely removed his ceremonial crown with its hanging beads and set it on the desk. His hair was bound with meticulous care, and his expression was exactly the same as it usually was at court. But he was carrying a plate of osmanthus cakes.

"Come here. Have something to eat."

Xiao Huaijin went over and sat beside the low table, looking at the plate of osmanthus cakes. They were the Imperial Kitchen's handiwork, their edges neat and their molded shapes painstakingly precise, far more crooked than the ones his nanny had cut. He took one, bit into it, chewed, swallowed, and then looked up.

"Imperial Father, Nanny said yesterday that she wanted some ginger soup I made."

Xiao Lin sat down opposite him.

"I know."

"I made it. She left without drinking it."

Xiao Lin was silent for a while, not knowing how to respond.

Xiao Huaijin lowered his head and looked at the half-eaten osmanthus cake in his hand. After a while, he stuffed the remaining half into his mouth, his cheeks bulging as he chewed for a long time before swallowing.

"Nanny used to bring me osmanthus cakes every day. No one will bring them to me anymore."

"I will."

Xiao Huaijin lifted his head. Xiao Lin's tone was no different from usual when he said it. Xiao Huaijin looked at him without speaking, then took another osmanthus cake.

After he finished the cakes, Liu An came in with a message: the grand tutor had arrived in the study and wished to ask His Majesty whether the crown prince would attend lessons as usual today. Xiao Lin said he would. Xiao Huaijin stood and headed outside. At the doorway, he looked back-his imperial father was already seated behind the imperial desk, reviewing memorials. The plate of osmanthus cakes was still on the low table, and beside it now stood a bowl of hot milk, which his imperial father had told Liu An to bring while he was eating. He had drunk half; the other half was still steaming.

When he returned from the study that evening, Xiao Huaijin found several new things in the side hall. A little low cabinet had appeared beside the bed, exactly like the one in his Eastern Palace. A pot of orchids stood on the windowsill-it was not their flowering season, but their leaves were lush and green. A row of wooden hooks had been nailed to the wall, half a head taller than he was standing up, with his little horn bow hanging from the lowest hook. Standing in the side hall, he looked over these additions one by one, then suddenly crouched and opened the low cabinet. Inside were his quiver, his handwriting practice sheets, the charcoal-pencil flower Xiao Lan had given him, the winged dragon Xiao Rui had drawn, Xiao Yu's falcon feather, and the oiled paper from Xiao Yue's red bean cakes. Everything was there. Not a single thing was missing.

"Your Highness." At some point, Liu An had appeared at the doorway, bowing at the waist. "His Majesty said you may bring over as many things from the Eastern Palace as you wish. Its doors will not be locked. Whenever you wish to go back and have a look, you may."

Crouching before the low cabinet, Xiao Huaijin went through the things one by one, then closed the doors and stood.

"Eunuch Liu, where is Imperial Father?"

"His Majesty is reviewing memorials in the main hall."

Xiao Huaijin went to the main hall's doorway but did not enter. He lay across the threshold and poked half his head inside. Xiao Lin sat behind the imperial desk, a brush in hand and an open memorial before him, with several more stacks beside it. Hearing the movement, he looked up and saw half a little apricot-yellow figure draped over the threshold, both hands gripping its edge and his chin resting on the backs of his hands.

"Imperial Father."

"Mm."

"Aren't you going back to your bedchamber to sleep?"

"Once I've finished these."

Xiao Huaijin clambered over the threshold and walked to the imperial desk. He discovered that the desk in the Hall of Mental Cultivation was much taller than the low table in the study. Even standing, his head was only one head's height above its surface. He rose onto his toes to look at the open memorial on the desk-densely packed characters, many of which he did not recognize. Then he went to the side and sat on the footstool beside the imperial desk.

"I'll wait here for you, Imperial Father."

Xiao Lin glanced down at him, started to say something, then swallowed it back. He picked up his brush again and continued reviewing memorials. The hall was quiet, with only the scratch of brush on paper and the occasional soft crackle of silver-thread charcoal in the brazier. After finishing several memorials, he turned to glance at the footstool and found Xiao Huaijin asleep against a leg of the imperial desk, his head tilted, still clutching a copy of the Thousand Character Classic-he had probably fetched it himself just now, intending to read, only to grow sleepy before opening it.

Xiao Lin set down his brush, rose, and lifted him from the footstool. He was already very familiar with this weight-a five-year-old child, a little heavier than he had been at four, but still a small bundle in his arms. Drowsily sensing that he was being picked up, Xiao Huaijin opened his eyes a crack and mumbled something. Xiao Lin carried him into the side hall, laid him on the bed, and tucked him in. Then, standing beside the bed, he reached out and brushed the loose wisps of hair from Xiao Huaijin's forehead behind his ear. He had never done this before, and the movement was rather stiff; his finger nearly caught Xiao Huaijin's ear. Xiao Huaijin did not wake.

Xiao Lin straightened and said to Liu An at the door, "Tomorrow, have someone prepare a low table for the crown prince in the main hall. The same height as the one in the imperial study."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Prepare a cushioned couch as well. He needn't lie on the footstool when he's sleepy."

Liu An lowered his head in acknowledgment, his steps a little lighter than usual as he withdrew. He had served this man for so many years, and this was the first time he had seen a low table and a cushioned couch placed in the main hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. This was no ancestral custom. This was a rule His Majesty had made himself.

At morning court the next day, Shen Boyong stepped out of the ranks to present a report. He reported on the progress of this year's autumn tax collection in Hejian Prefecture, saying that the harvest had been good and eighty percent of the autumn taxes had already entered the treasury. He asked the court to commend the prefect of Hejian. His words were watertight, his tone respectful, no different from usual. When Xiao Lin had finished listening, he neither approved nor refused, asking only, "What is the total amount of tax silver Hejian Prefecture remitted this year?"

Shen Boyong gave a figure.

Sun Jingtang suddenly raised his head among the ranks. The court tablet in his hand shifted slightly-the figure reported by Hejian Prefecture exceeded the total amount of silver handled by the Hengtai Firm, and the excess was just enough to cover the shortfalls from previous years on the books. He did not know whether this counted as a test, but he knew His Majesty had begun investigating the accounts. Xiao Lin asked no further questions, saying only, "I see."

After court was dismissed, Shen Boyong walked along the palace passageway, nothing unusual showing on his face. He exchanged pleasantries with several other ministers about how Hejian Prefecture had indeed enjoyed favorable weather this year, then smiled and cupped his hands in farewell. In every step, he was no different from a chancellor diligently fulfilling his duties. But after he rounded the eastern corner tower, the smile left his face. He spoke very softly to the attendant behind him. "Tell Cui Shen not to make any changes to the accounts recently. Someone in the Ministry of Revenue is watching."