Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen: The Wise and the Foolish

"Second Young Master, did you sneak some food again?" Jianxi asked sternly as soon as he entered the room, seeing the prince hurriedly hide the plate of pastries.

"No, who said I did?" Zhao Cheng touched his mouth, his face not blushing, and said calmly.

"Second Young Master, there are still crumbs on your lips and on the table. How can you still deny it!" Jianxi had no choice but to advise the prince, as the palace rules strictly prohibited the children from overeating.

"Hehe, you caught me. Don't tell the Grand Secretary, or he'll give me another lecture!" Zhao Cheng wiped his mouth, blew off the crumbs on the table, and laughed.

"You're afraid of him too. If he finds out, I'll get a beating. Have some pity on me and don't sneak food anymore!" Jianxi pleaded with a pained expression.

"Jianxi, who's the most powerful in this mansion? Who makes the decisions?"

"Of course, it's you, Your Highness. We all serve you, and you make the decisions!" Jianxi replied without hesitation.

"If I make the decisions, why do I have to sneak food like a thief? It seems you're the ones in charge!" Zhao Cheng got angry and shouted.

"Second Young Master, it's not that we don't let you eat, but the palace rules are strict!"

"Bullshit, am I in the palace now? You prepare so much food every day but only let me have two bites of each dish. I can't even have a third bite. I'm always half-starved, and I wake up hungry at night. I think you're trying to starve me to death!" Zhao Cheng said angrily. With his increased training and physical activity, he couldn't afford to be underfed. He had to find ways to supplement his diet.

"Second Young Master, your meals and expenses are all regulated. How can we change them without permission?" Jianxi said, somewhat frightened.

"Jianxi, rules are made by people. Since I'm in charge here, can't I make my own decisions?" Zhao Cheng glared and said, "Starting tomorrow, tell the kitchen to stop preparing so much food that can't be eaten. Four dishes and a soup are enough. As a prince, if I can't even eat my fill, it will damage the royal family's reputation!"

"Is that really okay, Second Young Master?" Jianxi asked hesitantly.

"Why not? Just say I ordered it. If anyone is unhappy, let them come to me. If you can't even handle this, you'll just have to stay in this position!" Zhao Cheng said coldly.

Seeing Zhao Cheng's displeasure, Jianxi smiled awkwardly. Whether it was his own decision or after persuading Huang Jingchen, from the next day, Zhao Cheng's meals were prepared according to his instructions. The kitchen would send him a menu for review, and he could have pastries and fruits whenever he wanted, without anyone nagging him. Zhao Cheng did this not only to solve his eating problem but also to test the limits of his authority.

A few days after the Tianning Festival, the palace sent someone with the Emperor's oral edict and a pile of gifts, but not the summons he had been hoping for. The gifts included a golden belt, ten thousand strings of coins, a hundred bolts of silk, a hundred bolts of gauze, a silver fox fur coat from the Liao Kingdom, and two imperial horses. Empress Zheng sent three thousand strings of coins, several winter clothes, and some high-quality writing materials.

"Xigui, did the palace say anything?" Huang Jingchen asked the eunuch, dismissing the other servants.

"Grand Secretary, the Emperor read the Second Prince's congratulatory letter, laughed, and then shed tears, praising the Prince for his filial piety. He ordered a generous reward and scolded Yang Jian for putting the Prince in danger. The other consorts didn't look pleased when they heard this," Xigui said to Huang Jingchen.

"Did the Empress have any instructions?" Huang Jingchen asked again.

"This time, the Empress sent the leftover cosmetics money and instructed the Grand Secretary to buy more good land and improve the estate. She also sent a scroll for the Prince, which I'm to deliver personally," Xigui said, taking out a small scroll and presenting it to Zhao Cheng.

"Thank you, Xigui. Jianxi, give him some wine money," Huang Jingchen nodded.

"Thank you, Your Highness, and thank you, Grand Secretary!" Jianxi took out two small ingots and gave them to Xigui, who thanked him. "Oh, Grand Secretary, Yang Jian sent a few strongmen to protect the Prince's safety."

"He's really thoughtful!" Huang Jingchen said with a smile.

"Hehe, Yang Jian was scolded by the Emperor, so he couldn't afford to be careless. He didn't choose from the palace guards but picked a few strongmen, two of whom placed in the top ten at the Kaifeng wrestling competition. They're very skilled!" Xigui, pleased with the reward, added more details.

"Wrestlers?!" Zhao Cheng was surprised. Wrestling existed in the Song Dynasty, but he wondered if they were like the super-fat sumo wrestlers in modern Japan, who were trained to eat and sleep all day.

As he was imagining what these wrestlers might look like, four burly men in brocade robes walked in, flexing their muscles. They bowed to Zhao Cheng in unison, "We, Pan Long (Pandao Shan), Song Hu (Chengpotian), Xue Bao (Jirufeng), and Zhang Feng (Yitiao Bian), pay our respects to the Prince!"

Their voices were thunderous, and Zhao Cheng rubbed his ears, which were ringing. He looked them over and felt relieved. They were muscular but not fat, making them good human shields. He noticed their large, fierce faces and towering statures, and although they were smiling, Zhao Cheng thought they looked better without grins.

"Indeed, they are all heroes. Yang Jian's gift is quite generous!" Huang Jingchen couldn't help but praise them. "With these heroes protecting you, you can be at ease, Your Highness!" He knew their value, as the Emperor often used wrestlers to guard his carriage or as attendants during important ceremonies. They were like door gods, and if anyone in the crowd made a loud noise or caused a disturbance, they would strike, leaving the person bleeding. This practice had spread to the nobility, who would bring wrestlers to show off their status, much like modern celebrities with their bodyguards.

"Yes, they must eat a lot, given their size," Zhao Cheng said slowly. The men were surprised, thinking the Prince was a miser, but then they laughed when he continued, "I'll make sure they have meat every day, as much as they want!"

"Ha, the Prince's generosity suits us well. We love meat!" Pan Long said with a hearty laugh.

"Hehe, I love meat too. They don't let me eat much, so you can sneak me some!" Zhao Cheng whispered to Pan Long, making everyone in the room laugh.

After the palace eunuch left, only Zhao Cheng and Huang Jingchen remained. Zhao Cheng opened the scroll from Empress Zheng. The writing was neat and elegant, exuding a sense of tranquility. He read it and was stunned, placing the scroll on the table and sitting in silence.

Huang Jingchen picked it up and read it aloud, "All parents hope their children will be wise, but I have been misled by my own wisdom. I only wish my child to be simple and honest, free from disaster and trouble, and to reach the rank of a high official." His face showed confusion. This was a Buddhist verse by the scholar Su Shi. After a moment of thought, he wondered why the Empress would give Zhao Cheng such a poem. Did it have a deeper meaning?

Zhao Cheng returned to his study and had Jianxi hang the scroll on the wall. He waved him out and sat in his chair, staring at the scroll and sighing deeply. Su Shi, known for his talent and pride, had experienced many ups and downs in his career. The poem expressed the hope that his children would be simple and honest, free from the troubles that come with being too clever. He had seen too much foolishness and faced too many troubles because of his intelligence. He wanted his children to be content with simplicity and to understand that sometimes it's better to be a little foolish and to know that losing can be a blessing.

"Does Mother understand my intentions?" Zhao Cheng smiled bitterly and shook his head. Having a smart mother wasn't always a good thing. She had given him a lot of money to buy land and property, suggesting he should be a leisurely prince and not use his intelligence to cause trouble. She wanted him to live a peaceful life in the countryside.

In fact, Zhao Cheng's understanding was correct. That night, many things happened in the palace. During the birthday banquet, the Empress suggested that the Emperor should establish a crown prince early, but the Emperor refused. After the banquet, the Emperor stayed in Empress Zheng's palace, while Empress Wang cried with her son for half the night. The next day, her condition worsened, and she was bedridden. Concubine Wang reportedly beat the third prince, Zhao Kai, and made him kneel for half the night, scolding him for his poor poetry. The other concubines with sons were also displeased, as if they had swallowed flies. That night, it was rumored that the second prince had received the Emperor's praise and would return to the capital, possibly to be named the crown prince.

Rumors spread throughout the capital, and officials scrambled for information. The eunuchs on duty that night reportedly received so much money that their hands ached. However, a few days later, the palace announced that the second prince had suddenly fallen ill and was in critical condition. The Emperor had sent a large amount of medicine. News from Xiangyi also reported that the mansion was shrouded in gloom, with the inner courtyard sealed off and all access restricted. Doctor Wang had not left the inner courtyard for days.

"Second Young Master, if you want something to eat, just say so. Why should you do it yourself?" The cook in the small kitchen asked, frightened.

"Jianxi, don't just stand there. Bring me the salt!" Zhao Cheng stood on a small stool, sweating profusely, stirring the meat in the pot. "Chenjie, you don't know how to make this dish. Try it later!" He sprinkled some salt into the pot and turned to the cook, his face beaming with enthusiasm, showing no signs of serious illness.