Five Years To Ascend The Throne, Three Years Of Mock Simulations - Chapter 15

Benevolence.

The Confucian idea of benevolence was rather broad in meaning. It included virtuous benevolence, benevolent governance, loving benevolence, and more, but its core meaning had always been “treating others with goodwill.”

The emperor was right. Ming Tan truly did not understand “benevolence” very well.

In her previous life, her mother had died early, while her father was filled with bad habits. He drank heavily, gambled, and was buried in debt. Whenever anything went slightly wrong, he repeatedly abused and beat Ming Tan. If not for her fierce nature and her daring to grab a knife and risk her life against him, she probably would have long since been beaten beyond recognition and sold by her father to human traffickers for money.

Ming Tan knew there was something a little wrong with her heart.

Her temper was violent and irritable, and she often acted recklessly. This way of handling things felt satisfying and could relieve temporary hatred, but it was also the easiest way to leave behind future trouble.

Leaving everything else aside, just take the last time she kicked Ming Xiao into the shrubs. If the emperor had not deliberately favored her, and if Consort Yi had not been willing to come rescue the situation, Ming Tan’s behavior of disregarding sibling affection and greatly disrespecting her imperial elder sister would have been more than enough to make her suffer harshly.

If Consort Ning had then seized the chance and made a fuss, it might even have implicated the empress…

Lin Shurong’s previous teaching had been very correct. Using one’s hands was always the lowest of the low strategies.

But although Ming Tan understood this reasoning in her heart, whenever she acted, she always found it difficult to restrain the anger rushing upward.

She loved daring fights and fierce struggles. She was impulsive and quick to anger. Her title was clearly “Princess Yonghui,” but she had never been a good sort.

—But if she kept going like this, was that really good?

“…”

The emperor stopped at the right point. Seeing his daughter lower her head in thought, as if she had understood something, he said no more.

He turned back around. Based on the written papers and recitation performance from the two sessions of this grand exam, he named Ming Yao first place and Ming Zhao second place. As for Ming Xuan, Ming Xiao, and Ming Tan, the three people who had no exam papers, they were treated equally and named tied for last place.

Ming Xiao held in a breath and turned her head to glare fiercely at Ming Tan.

The latter tucked her hands into her sleeves, her face completely indifferent to fame and profit. She even had the leisure to bare her teeth at Ming Xiao in a grin, instantly angering the other girl so badly she nearly fell backward.

However, although these three were all last place on the surface, anyone with eyes could see—

If the papers had not been destroyed, and if the emperor had tested Ming Tan the same way he tested everyone else, only asking her to recite, then she certainly would not have been much worse than Ming Yao.

Moreover… the fact that the emperor had not tested her like everyone else was already enough to prove that the Ninth Princess was intelligent and bright, deeply favored in the emperor’s heart.

Thinking to this point, the corners of Ming Yao’s lips, which had been slightly lifted because he had been named first, also lowered. His eyes gradually darkened.

This ninth imperial sister of his truly was no simple character.

However, regardless of whether others were secretly jealous in their hearts, Ming Tan herself firmly regarded empty fame as worthless.

Because—what rank she got on the exam was not important! What mattered was that the exam was finally over, and she could finally have a holiday!

One had to know, after the Upper Study’s grand exam, there would be a full three days of rest! That could already count as a short vacation in her previous life!

Just as Ming Tan was fiddling with the little abacus in her heart, thinking about how she could go to the Lin family to eat, drink, and have fun, the emperor seemed to have foreseen the future. He raised a hand, clapped lightly, and said with a smile, “Since all of you have worked hard on your studies, and each of you has your own outstanding points, We naturally will not be stingy. Is there anything you want? Speak freely. Father Emperor will certainly satisfy you!”

This was joy fallen from the heavens. Even Ming Yao could not help his eyes lighting up.

In the past, after grand exams ended, other than Teacher Qin receiving rewards, the highnesses would always only receive verbal praise. Unexpectedly, this time was different from before. The emperor had actually given them a chance to ask for a reward!

However, even if Father Emperor had promised that he would “certainly satisfy them,” these highnesses were all people who knew their limits. They absolutely would not make any inappropriate requests.

After the few of them looked at one another, Ming Yao, who had just been named first, stepped forward first, cupped his hands, and said, “This son has long yearned for the set of Records of Scenery and Customs in the imperial study. I hope Father Emperor will grant it!”

Records of Scenery and Customs was a famous work introducing the mountains, rivers, and geography of the Tiancheng Dynasty. The complete set had forty-two volumes, and recently, it had become rather popular in the capital.

Asking for books was an extremely small matter. The emperor did not hesitate much and nodded. With a wave of his hand, he said, “Tomorrow, We will have Sheng An bring people to deliver it to Guangyang Palace for you.”

Guangyang Palace was the palace where Noble Consort Wan lived.

After Ming Yao requested his reward, Ming Xiao immediately raised her voice and impatiently asked for several bolts of newly arrived snow satin from the Imperial Household Department. Ming Xuan thought for a moment, then said he wanted to go to the horse farm and choose a young foal in order to train his riding and archery. This request was also approved by the emperor with a nod.

After the siblings had spoken one after another, the emperor turned his head and looked toward the Third Princess, who had been hesitating silently all this time. Smiling, he said, “What is it? Have you still not thought of anything?”

“N-No,” Ming Zhao hesitated for a moment, then finally gathered her courage and said softly, “This daughter wishes to ask for a small kitchen for Mother Consort’s Yaohua Pavilion.”

The emperor paused and raised his brows. “This small kitchen… is not something every palace can have just because they want one.”

A small kitchen was extravagant and labor-intensive. At present, in the rear palace, only the empress’s Kunning Palace and Noble Consort Wan’s Guangyang Palace were permitted to open small kitchens. All the other consorts and concubines had to receive meals from the imperial kitchen.

“This daughter knows,” Ming Zhao’s voice lowered even further, and she said timidly, “But Mother Consort… Mother Consort has not eaten her fill in a very long time…”

Ming Zhao’s mother consort, Noble Lady Ying, had long been without favor. Her rank was also low. On top of that, she had an incomparably beautiful face and never flattered or ingratiated herself with others, so she had always been disliked in the palace.

Apart from this, the place she lived in, Yaohua Pavilion, was located far away. Naturally, that made it convenient for people to make trouble behind her back, deliberately withholding the food and monthly silver allotted to Noble Lady Ying’s palace.

After understanding the key points, then looking at the third daughter before him, who still did not dare raise her head for a long while, the emperor was silent for a moment. He gave a faint sigh and ultimately nodded in agreement. “Very well. Tomorrow, We will send someone to Yaohua Pavilion to open a small kitchen for you. Consider it Our reward for the Third Princess’s grand exam performance today.”

Ming Zhao suddenly froze. Surprise and joy appeared on her face, and she hurriedly said, “This daughter thanks Father Emperor for your great grace!”

After satisfying the first four people’s requests, the emperor turned his head and finally looked toward Ming Tan, who had been staring at him with burning eyes the entire time. Smiling, he said, “You thought of yours long ago?”

“I thought of it long ago!”

Ming Tan nodded readily, her eyes dark and bright. “Longlin wants to ask Father Emperor for the grace of leaving the palace to visit Eldest Miss Lin’s estate as a guest!”

The emperor really had not expected her to make such a request, so he was thoroughly stunned.

He thought about it for a while. Somewhat worried about Ming Tan’s safety, he originally planned to refuse on the spot. But with one glance downward, he could see his most beloved daughter looking at him with eager, pleading eyes, and he truly could not harden his heart enough to open his mouth and lecture her…

“You girl,” the emperor said helplessly. “All day long, you only think about play and pleasure. Are you trying to imitate Duke Yin going to watch the fish?”

The allusion of “Duke Yin watching fish” came from Zuo Tradition. It said that in spring, Duke Yin of Lu wanted to go to Tangyi to watch people catch fish, but his uncle Zang Xibo strongly advised against it. He believed that a ruler’s every action was related to the state and that one could not treat travel and pleasure as a small matter.

The emperor was using Duke Yin to mock Ming Tan now, naturally teasing her for wanting to run out to play the moment she had days off.

Ming Tan had studied Spring and Autumn Annals for so long, so of course she knew this story. She pouted, glared at the emperor with some displeasure, and deliberately pretended to be angry. “Father Emperor is so annoying. How can you scold people in such a roundabout way?”

One had to know, according to the records, Duke Yin of Lu had not listened to Zang Xibo’s advice and had still stubbornly gone to Tangyi. The historian had sharply implied that he “did not understand ritual order.”

However…

Ming Tan was secretly pondering in her heart: the emperor comparing her with Duke Yin of Lu, the ruler of an entire state, seemed a little… subtly inappropriate?

On this side, seeing that Ming Tan’s studies had gone deep enough that she immediately understood his meaning, the emperor could not help smiling in satisfaction. He no longer made things difficult for her and simply said readily, “All right, We won’t tease you anymore. As long as you bring enough attendants with you, Father Emperor will arrange everything else. If you want to go, then go!”

The moment she heard the emperor agree, Ming Tan could no longer care about those stray thoughts. She hurriedly cheered happily. “I knew Father Emperor was the best!”

The emperor indulgently patted her head.

Watching the interaction between father and daughter, Ming Yao silently lowered his eyes. The hands inside his sleeves quietly clenched into fists.

It seemed he needed to discuss this specially with Mother Consort.

Guangyang Palace.

Noble Consort Wan, Shen Ruofu, sat dignified and upright beside the table, holding a pair of scissors in her hand. With a crisp snip, she cut a withered crabapple flower from the branch.

“You are saying… His Majesty seems to value that Ninth Princess Ming Tan even more than expected?”

“Yes, Mother Consort.”

Across from Noble Consort Wan, Fifth Prince Ming Yao sat properly, his back ramrod straight, saying meticulously, “Father Emperor was not only smiling and chatting warmly with Ming Tan, even his recitation test for her was completely different from everyone else…”

Then, he recounted in full the emperor and Ming Tan’s questions and answers, as well as the matter of the latter leaving the palace to go to the Chancellor’s Estate.

Shen Ruofu’s flower-trimming movements stopped as well.

“The Lin Estate…”

She set the scissors aside, and an observant palace maid immediately came forward to take them away. Her fingertips, wearing long golden nail guards, tapped the tabletop in a steady rhythm. After pondering for a long while, Noble Consort Wan finally lifted her eyes and looked at Ming Yao before her, who did not even dare breathe loudly. She said calmly, “In your view, what kind of person is this Ninth Princess?”

“Her personality is very impulsive and quick-tempered, but her aptitude can be called exceptionally perceptive.” Ming Yao hesitated a little. “Although the Ninth Princess is young, her mind is instead excessively clever. Even though she specializes in the most difficult Spring and Autumn Annals, she can still answer Father Emperor smoothly…” He paused, then admitted with some unwillingness, “In short, in terms of studying, this son is certainly far inferior to Ming Tan.”

“Then, how does she compare to your elder brother?”

Ming Yao froze and hurriedly said, “Elder Brother is a heaven-gifted genius. How could the Ninth Princess compare?”

“Heh.” Noble Consort Wan laughed softly and glanced at him. “Did Mother Consort not teach you before? When struggling against others, you must not underestimate the enemy, but you likewise cannot imagine your own side to be overly powerful… Could it be that Yao’er has already forgotten it all?”

Ming Yao abruptly trembled and pressed his lips together before changing his words. “…If Elder Brother were the same age as her, I fear he would be far inferior to her.”

Noble Consort Wan nodded, very satisfied with her second son’s understanding.

“This palace originally thought that the Ninth Princess was nothing more than a spoiled child. Now it seems this palace truly misjudged her before.” She narrowed her eyes slightly and said slowly, “No wonder Zhu Xisheng insists on seeing the Ninth Princess as a thorn in her eye… I had thought she merely disliked the one in Kunning Palace. Thinking about it now, she actually has quite a bit of discernment.”

Zhu Xisheng was that Consort Ning’s real name.

Ming Yao furrowed his brows and asked tentatively, “Then, Mother Consort, your plan is…?”

“…”

Noble Consort Wan did not answer immediately.

Her eldest son, the Second Prince Ming Hui, was deeply valued by His Majesty and was currently handling official business in Qianzhou. Judging from the letters sent back recently, everything was going quite smoothly. Once his assignment ended and he returned to the capital, he would certainly receive great rewards from the emperor.

This was absolutely not a good time to stir up trouble.

And in the rear palace, even though the emperor had never been particularly intimate with his consorts and concubines, he had given the high-ranking consorts sufficient respect. He had never favored any one person exclusively, including even Gu Ying, the legal wife he had personally sought to marry. The emperor and empress had supported each other for many years and treated each other with mutual respect. If one said they were lovers, it would be more fitting to say they were family.

As for this Ninth Princess Ming Tan, who had been favored all the way from birth until now and was beginning to reveal her sharpness…

Most of the princesses in the palace had thin fortune. Some had died young, some had died of illness, and now only the married First Princess, the unfavored Third Princess, the Fourth Princess spoiled rotten by Consort Ning, the Seventh Princess who never appeared before others, and Ming Tan, the youngest Ninth Princess, remained.

If one made a move against her again, it would likely attract attention and end up not worth the loss…

Noble Consort Wan furrowed her brows and pondered for a long while.

Only after a long time did her expression gradually relax. She reached out and adjusted a crabapple branch inside a narrow-mouthed vase, then gently asked in return, “What plan?”

Ming Yao froze. Before he could speak, he saw his mother consort smile faintly at him and continue in a calm tone, “The Ninth Princess is clever as ice and snow and liked by His Majesty. This is a good thing. Yao’er should also get along with her properly. Take more care of her on ordinary days, and absolutely do not act domineering and clash with others like your fourth imperial brother and fourth imperial sister. Do you understand?”

“…Yes.” Ming Yao was silent for a moment, then lowered his head and answered, “This son will respectfully obey Mother Consort’s teaching.”