Chapter 21

Yao Jinzi started. Before he could say anything, the little emperor is already clutching tightly to the hem of his robes, repressing his excitement as he whispered, “Are you Jindiao, Yao Jinzi?”

Jinzi lightly nods, whispering back, "Your Majesty knows of this subject…"

The little emperor’s eyes are quickly producing stars. “We… I do! They, my wet nurse, maids, and eunuchs, spoke of how you were in the Imperial Battalion…"

Heh, a little boy’s hero worship. I’m reminded of how Xiao Lu was the same way the first time he saw Yao Jinzi. Seems Jinzi was held in high regard from that time ago.

I start to imagine him as he was back then – only eleven years old, earning a hard-fought victory over a group of strong heroes with the Emperor and a hundred officials as an audience, that old-world charm of making a famous name for himself overnight – and can’t help but feel some fascination too.

A person like this could actually become Zhang Qinglian’s…! No, don’t think about it, the more I think the more depressed I’ll get.

“So… Beloved- no, Second Brother is currently working at… Seventh Uncle’s side? As a… constable?” The emperor’s starry eyes continue to sparkle.

He’s but a child, after all, and still has his fantasies. What would he think of Royal Cat Zhan Zhao? The Four Great Constables? [1]

Though the emperor is a good student, he’s still too young to know of the bad blood between Zhang Qinglian and the Yao family, or that his childhood hero has become orphaned and penniless.

I’m a little nervous, afraid that a certain Yao person would start crying out his deep-rooted resentment in front of the emperor and ask for his support in this theatrical drama. However, I find myself smiling when I think about it; the emperor is young and without any real power, so what use would asking his help be? Jinzi wouldn’t be so stupid as to do that, hm?

Yao Jinzi is indifferent, without room for even a slight upturn of the corner of his mouth. “Answering Your Majesty, this subject is Sir Zhang Qinglian’s personal bodyguard.”

The little emperor looks at him, then at me, envy coloring his whole face.

I feared that he would start to talk with me about the person of interest, so I quickly said, “Your Majesty, Jinzi’s martial arts are excellent. When I visit the palace in the future, I’ll bring him with and have him teach you how to ride and shoot.”

The emperor’s eyes light up as expected upon hearing this. “Great!” He shouted, becoming bashful upon realizing his own discourteous behavior.

I smile looking at him, feeling that this noble little Son of Heaven is really too cute.

I take off my own official’s gown and exchange it for the clothes of a common official’s understudy. But, well, clothes in ancient times are really complicated, and trying to get them on by myself is too difficult, so Jinzi once again has to act the palace maid.

I applied makeup on us, changing our appearances, then called for the carriage to stop around the corner of Dongshikou, the three of us walking the rest of the way to go hang out in the little town. This is the first time the little emperor’s been outside the palace, looking at everything like it’s a rare treasure, eyes unable to move fast enough. This is my first time experiencing the lives of the common folk since my arrival in this reality, so it’s a novelty for me, too.

We buy almost anything and everything as we visit every stall. Afterwards, I’ll chat up the one who’s running the stall, asking them how business is going.

For example:

“Uncle, these sugar figures are so well-made, how many years have you been making them? …Oh, how many do you sell in a day? …Is flour currently expensive?"

“Auntie, these wontons are delicious, how early do you have to get up to make them? How many do you have to make to sell for the whole day?”

“This big brother’s calligraphy is good, why not use such literary talent to enter a scholarly exam? …Oh, you’re waiting for the autumn exam… have you come from Huzhou? Is selling paintings enough to pay for your traveling expenses? How much do you need to sell in a day? Is it enough to afford your food and lodging? …Oh, you’re staying at the temple…”

……

It might be because I’m an economics student, but I pay an unusual amount of attention to the income and living costs of normal people. It’s weird to do “market research” like this, but it helps me grasp the basic concept.

I whisper to the little emperor when there’s few people around. “Your Majesty, this investigation is to observe the conditions and feelings of the people. To do that, we have to know how ordinary folks live; how much they make in a year, how much they need to live off of each month, which laws are beneficial, which laws are harmful, which officials are good, and which ones push the people around and lead them to ruin. This way, Your Majesty will know who is right and who is wrong, what is good and what isn’t.”

The emperor thought it through thoroughly, then nodded resolutely.

Yao Jinzi is holding a pile of things that the emperor and I bought. I see that, although he’s making a supreme effort to maintain his distinctive poker face, his arms are overflowing with rattle-drums, tanghulu, and so on. I can’t stop myself from laughing.

At dusk, weary from walking, we go to a restaurant called “The Drunkard’s Abode”, which has a waiter with the most malevolent eyes ever. The clothes we have on aren’t exactly extravagant, but the waiter calls out, “There’s private rooms on the second floor for you two young lords!”

We were wanting the full experience of this place for ourselves, so I naturally didn’t request a private room, going for a window seat in second floor’s main lobby instead.

The waiter remains very attentive, coming up and listing off the names of the dishes, pouring tea, and handing over a warm towel. I let him recommend a few signature dishes, ordering a few that looked interesting and wouldn’t be available in the palace. Not even a short while later, the table was lined with a dazzling array of food.

All Chinese restaurants, whether ancient or modern, are overcrowded, noisy, and lively. The little emperor is terribly curious, unable to decide whether he wanted to taste-test or people-watch first.

After Jinzi checked the food for poison with a silver needle, we began our meal. In the midst of my struggle with a plate of pearl meatballs, I faintly heard someone mention Zhang Qinglian’s name, so I start straining my ears:

“…was snatched by Zhang Qinglian, now he’s his exclusive pet…”

“How sinful, that child is truly beautiful… I saw him with my own eyes at the martial arts convention that year…”

“I reckon he took a fancy to that kid… I heard that it was for him that he brought ruin to Sir Yao, Yao Qingtian…”

“My father’s sister’s second female cousin’s family’s neighbor’s nephew works for the Zhang residence. I heard that, a while ago, Zhang Qinglian dismissed his male concubines for him…”

……

My… my face rapidly switches between being pale and flushed upon hearing this. I can’t help but shoot a quick look at Jinzi; he’s just drinking tea, no reaction to be seen.

They’re still not done over there. “…Young Master Yao vowed to redeem him on behalf of the world and its people, sacrificing his pure body for the purpose of changing him into a good person…”

“They say that Zhang Qinglian, in order to get Young Master Yao, has already pledged to abandon evil and do good, and has not done any misdeeds recently…”

“Good is done every day.”

I- Heavens, that group really is saying anything and everything! What… what kind of dogshit plot is this? Have to hurry and finish eating, can't let the little emperor hear this!

I really am a public figure, huh?!

But if my recent changes in style have been heard of by even the people of a market town, then, how many people are already suspicious? Or at least inwardly disconcerted? How many of my gang of casual friends have become uneasy, trying to figure it out?

Not good, not good at all!

While I’m busy stressing out, the little emperor is looking at the sunset beyond the railing. “Seventh Uncle,” he suddenly says, “I studied the Analects of Confucius today and read the part of the two children’s opinions on the sun, which even the Saint himself could not resolve. I was quite puzzled over this, so I asked… Teacher Gao, but he had no answer for me. Seventh Uncle, would you say that the sun is closer to us at the beginning of the day, or the middle of it?” [2]

My thoughts are preoccupied, so I speak without thinking, “Obviously, it’s closer to us in the middle of the day.”

"Why is that?"

“Because the Earth rotates as it orbits around the Sun. At midday there’s a straight line of distance between the two, while at sunrise and sunset there’s an oblique angle.”

“Earth? Rotate? Orbit?”

I stop eating. Damn, how could I make such a rookie mistake?! I’m not some kind of braindead fool!

The little emperor is clearly puzzled, brimming with the desire to be educated. Jinzi is also uncomprehending and interested.

“Ahaha,” I laugh drily, “That was just my normal, everyday dose of baseless speculation.”

The emperor said, “So Seventh Uncle is like those Royal Astronomers, fond of the stars in the sky.” There’s a bit of admiration in his voice.

Jinzi very obviously doesn’t seem to believe me, but luckily doesn’t inquire further.

I quickly gave the emperor a new dish, saying, “Try this wine-pickled goat’s hoof, Your Majesty, it’s delicious.”

The relatively obedient little emperor ate some, adding that it was “tasty”.

The emperor was sent back to the palace after our meal. The eunuch standing guard at the doorway is actually the same one from before, and it seems like his posture hasn’t even changed, like he’s a clay sculpture. The eunuch paid his respects upon seeing me – as for the tiny “eunuch” who looks exactly the same as the emperor, not even a glance is spared to him, as if he didn’t exist at all.

I can’t help but admire him, once again being certain that the world is this guy’s oyster. I asked for his name, receiving the answer “Xiao Linzi”.

I help the little emperor wash his face and change back into his dragon robes. He was a bit tired from the overexcitement earlier. It’s obvious that he deeply enjoyed today’s curriculum, not even coiling around me to plan for the next trip.

The boy’s self-control is really good, wholly unlike his father. The boy’s self-control is really good, wholly unlike his father. Self-control is one of the most important qualities of a wise ruler, because standing at the summit of power, where nothing can effectively restrain him, is when the emperor must restrain himself most. Of course, there are not many emperors who can reach that level, hence the saying “absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

For famous old names like Li Shimin and Kangxi, their success stories can be found in their uniquely strong self-restraint.

My student has the qualifications and potential to successfully become a good ruler. I’m becoming more and more interested with him.

Promising the little emperor that I would bring Yao Jinzi to the palace to teach him martial arts the day after tomorrow, I ask to be excused.

Jinzi seems to be stealing glances at me from time to time like he wants to ask me something, but he ultimately restrained himself and asked me nothing.

MC accidentally said a science.

[1] Zhan Zhao is a classical fictional wuxia hero. The Four Great Constables (or just "The Four" if you want to be boring) is a popular wuxia novel series, which I'm unable to find a good English page about, unfortunately…

[2]

[-] I’m not 100% sure on two things: The exact translation of the Imperial Battalion (御前会武), and what exactly “Jindiao” is referring to – obviously a name having to do with Jinzi, but I’m not sure if it’s his courtesy name or a family member’s.