Notes on Longevity

Chapter 80: The Top Scholar Holds Two Positions, Xiaoshuang Confesses Her Love

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Zhang."

"Your Majesty, Scholar Yang has arrived."

Inside the emperor's bedroom, a middle-aged eunuch hurried from the doorway to the table where the emperor, who was resting with his eyes closed, sat. He bowed, head lowered, and spoke softly, but his voice was somewhat sharp as he looked at his toes.

"Let him in." Emperor Wenshang slowly opened his eyes, looking slightly tired. He picked up the book on the table and continued reading.

"Yes."

The eunuch returned to the doorway and, facing Yang You'an, who was dressed in red, with drooping ears and a furrowed brow, said softly, "Scholar Yang, please come in."

The eunuch walked ahead, and Yang Youan followed behind him with his head bowed. He glanced at the interior of the room out of the corner of his eye; it was incredibly luxurious.

"Candidate Yang Youan greets Your Majesty."

Yang Youan came to the emperor's table, bowed to him, and then knelt down and kowtowed three times, remaining there prostrate.

"Get up."

Emperor Wen Shang looked up from his book, glanced at him, and said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yang Youan stood up and bowed again, but did not raise his head.

"how old are you?"

The emperor's question left Yang Youan puzzled. He looked up at the emperor, then lowered his head again: "Your Majesty, I have reached adulthood this year."

"Are you married?"

"We are already engaged and will be married soon," the emperor asked casually, and Yang You'an answered with his head bowed.

“I know why the Way is not practiced and why it is not understood. There are many people in the world, but few who know how to practice it; everyone eats and drinks, but few can taste the flavor. Your article is good, but it is a bit arrogant.”

Emperor Wenshang put down his book, looked at Yang Youan and smiled.

"Since you are already engaged, I won't say anything more. How about I ask you some questions?"

Yang Youan bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, please ask."

"Rites do not apply to commoners, and punishments do not apply to high officials. Those who are punished are not allowed to be by the ruler's side. What does this mean?"

After a moment's thought, Yang Youan slowly replied, "No. Yes."

"Why?"

"The saying that rites do not apply to commoners is incorrect. Rites are the foundation of being a person. No matter who you are, if you are without rites, you cannot be called a human being and are no different from a wild beast."

"The saying 'the law does not apply to high-ranking officials' is also inappropriate. Everyone should abide by the laws of the country and the family. Otherwise, officials will kill and rob, and exploit the people, causing untold suffering to the common people. How can the country be at peace?"

"As the saying goes, even the emperor is subject to the same laws as the common people."

Yang Youan spoke eloquently, which made the emperor laugh. "Even the emperor is subject to the law. Aren't you afraid to say this to my face?"

Yang Youan said with a resolute expression, "A virtuous person's conduct is upright and his shadow is straight, so he has nothing to fear."

The emperor sighed, as if he had remembered something: "Your words are quite similar to those of someone from back then. He said the same thing to the late emperor and was eventually demoted."

"The candidate is just speaking frankly," Yang Youan said seriously.

The emperor chuckled: "Minister Chen of the Ministry of Rites should have told you everything, right?" Yang Youan replied: "Yes, he did. The candidates need to go to the Ministry of Rites."

The Emperor said, "The Ministry of Reception is responsible for receiving foreign officials. You are young, and Lord Chen has high hopes for you. The position of Vice Minister of Rites is currently vacant, so you can take on the role concurrently. As for the future... we'll talk about the future later."

As the emperor finished speaking, he suddenly hesitated. He had originally intended to suggest that Chen Youzhi take over the position of Minister when Chen was about to abdicate. However, he ultimately felt it was inappropriate and left it unsaid.

Yang Youan stared blankly at the emperor, not understanding why the emperor would appoint a top scholar with little experience to hold two positions.

"What? Is there something else?" the emperor asked, looking at the dazed Yang You'an.

"This..." Yang Youan came to his senses and bowed to the emperor. "I wonder what Your Majesty has summoned me here for today?"

"Didn't I just say I'd appoint you concurrently as Assistant Minister of Rites?" the Emperor said.

"Understood. The examinee has withdrawn." Yang Youan looked at the emperor with suspicion, thinking to himself, "Just a concurrent post? Nothing else?" He had originally thought that the emperor's late meeting meant he had something else to discuss.

"Go," the emperor waved his hand at him and picked up the book on the table again, as if Yang Youan had never been there.

Yang Youan left the emperor's palace and looked at the bright night sky, feeling somewhat saddened. His uncle and aunt had longed for this for so many years, but they hadn't been able to see it.

"Master Yang, this old servant will see you out of the palace." The middle-aged eunuch who came out with Yang You'an was holding a brightly lit lantern.

The lanterns, shaped like palaces, stood upright at six corners, their images painted on a rotating screen. Yellow sand filled the sky as two armies clashed; one man, one sword, one horse, slaughtering thousands without turning back.

Yang Youan remembered seeing this lantern somewhere before. It seemed to be the night Li Chengru left.

In the alley, he saw an old man sitting at his door, waiting for his grandson to go out and buy sugar figurines. The old man held a lantern in his hand and muttered to himself: "The revolving lantern, its flame never dies out, how much sorrow and joy there is in the world. The revolving lantern, turning endlessly, countless longings are sent here."

"Your Excellency, is this lantern called 'Running Horse'?" Yang You'an asked, unable to contain his curiosity, on the way out of the palace.

The middle-aged eunuch smiled upon hearing this, "Indeed."

"What is the origin of this lamp? I remember there's a Taoist temple outside the city called Zouma Temple." Yang Youan remembered that Ping'an was from Zouma Temple.

"It has a history, and it is indeed related to the Grand View of the State Religion," the eunuch said with a smile.

Yang Youan thought to himself, "Just as I thought," but he didn't understand the connection between the two. He wanted to ask more, but suddenly a beam of light from the lantern shone into his eyes, making it impossible for him to open them. Yet, he still felt a flash of light pass through his tightly closed eyes. This made him feel a pang of panic.

Outside the pear orchard, shadows fluttered about when suddenly a knife slipped through a crack in the door.

Inside the pear orchard, the night light was slightly cold, making the knife's gleam chillingly menacing!

"Miss Shuang'er, I heard from Miss Wanyi at noon that you and You'an fell in love at first sight. Is that true?" After Yang You'an brought Zhang Ze'an to the pear garden at noon, he saw that they were busy arranging wedding things and suddenly heard people talking about their marriage.

This piqued Zhang Ze'an's curiosity, so he asked Yang You'an. Yang You'an remained silent, but Zhang Wanyi spoke at length, recounting how the two had fallen in love. However, judging from Yang You'an's expression, he felt that Zhang Wanyi's account wasn't entirely accurate.

So he waited until Yang Youan left before running to Xie Xiaoshuang to ask for confirmation.

"Why would Young Master Zhang suddenly ask about this?" Xie Xiaoshuang sat on the stone table in the backyard, looking at the eaves covered with lanterns and red decorations, and turned to look at Zhang Ze'an with incomprehension.

"Look, this place is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and with Miss Wanyi's eloquent speech, I'm quite curious." Zhang Ze'an pointed to Hongtong's backyard, smiling somewhat embarrassedly.

It wasn't that he desperately wanted to know, but rather that he was genuinely curious. He had only ever heard of or witnessed love at first sight in storybooks, by storytellers, or in plays. This was the first time he had ever heard of it outside of a play.

"This..." Jie Xiaoshuang glanced at Zhang Ze'an, equally embarrassed. Her rosy cheeks were illuminated by the lamplight, and she looked quite shy. After all, how could she possibly say such a thing out loud?

(End of this chapter)