The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 34 The Crown Prince's Invitation
Li Qi could see that every court official wore a blank expression, all deeply shocked by the emperor's presence.

Even after returning to the princess's residence, Li Qi remained lost in thought, even during meals he was still absent-minded.

Seeing this, Li Xianmu asked curiously. Li Qi then told his wife and three sons about what happened in court that day. When he got to the end, he talked about the blank look on the faces of the court officials after they left the hall, and about the complexity of his feelings. Finally, he sighed and said, "I have some thoughts in my heart that I can't explain, but I have no clue how to express them."

A misty light rose in Princess Lin'an's eyes as she was moved by her father's heroic spirit. Li Fang and Li Mao looked somewhat dejected, for according to His Majesty's words, their grandfather Li Shanchang had also fallen from hero to villain.

Only two-year-old Li Xianmu, with bright eyes, raised his hand and said loudly, "Your child knows the answer to what your father is thinking."

Upon hearing this, Li Qi and the other three all turned their gazes to Li Xianmu's face. His brows were filled with a lively spirit that could capture the essence of the world. Even though they knew Li Xianmu's talent, Li Qi still couldn't believe that Li Xianmu could have figured this out at the age of two.

The appearance of a semi-saint indicates a high ceiling for future learning; precociousness means being sensible early and learning quickly, but it does not mean being born with innate knowledge!

Seeing that Li Qi did not believe him, Li Xianmu wrinkled his nose and said in a childish voice, "In the past, the ministers only had fear of their maternal grandfather, but today they have more respect for him!"

This is what Father meant when he said, "With righteousness in one's heart, the world submits; when one walks the righteous path, even enemies will respect one." These are the principles Father taught me, how could I have forgotten them today?

Clang.

The spoon in Li Qi's hand fell directly onto the table, and a thunderous roar exploded in Li Qi's ears. He stared at his son in shock, with only one question echoing in his mind—what kind of monster is my son?
Is it possible to become this powerful with just a half-saintly appearance?

He's only two years old!
Li Qiqiang suppressed his shock. He realized he needed to reassess his son; something was wrong with this half-saintly appearance.

"My Confucian heritage directly instilled in me the knowledge of all the great Confucian scholars throughout history. Thinking about it this way, the level of a semi-saint cannot be limited to ordinary Confucian masters. My previous vision was too narrow, and my imagination was limited by the numerical value of Mu'er's six-dimensional talent."

Thinking of this, Li Qi said gently to Li Xianmu, "Mu'er is truly a genius. From tomorrow onwards, except when you are on duty, you should stay by my side and learn from me. If I can help you become a great talent who surpasses all others, then my life will have been worthwhile."

Li Xianmu responded crisply, and Li Fang and Li Mao were filled with envy. However, they both knew that their third brother's talent was unparalleled, while they were only of average ability. Just as their father had once said, they should listen to their third brother when it came to matters.

……

After news of the court assembly in the palace spread, public opinion on the Lan Yu case changed significantly. For the first time, His Majesty the Emperor stood on the moral high ground in the major case he had instigated.

After the rumors surrounding the Lan Yu case gradually subsided, the most attention-grabbing event was the upcoming provincial examination, the autumn examination.

Among them, the most noteworthy was the chief examiner of Zhili Province, who was Li Qi (Li Jinghe), the husband of Princess Lin'an, a Grand Secretary of the Dongge Pavilion, a leader of the northern scholars, and a Confucian master of his generation.

He was known among the people as "Jiangpu Jushi" (Jiangpu Hermit).

This is because everyone in the world knows that Li Qi attained enlightenment in Jiangpu, and in the midst of hardship and suffering, he suddenly realized the "path to sainthood".

As soon as the appointment was announced, candidates in Zhili Province almost all cried out in pain. It should be noted that the questions for the provincial examination were mainly set by the chief examiner, with the co-examiners acting as assistants. Li Qi had always been dissatisfied with the scholars in Jiangnan. Now that he had become an examiner, wouldn't he deliberately make things difficult for the students?
Especially in the policy examinations, it was often impossible to distinguish between high and low scores; it all depended on whether the examiner's opinion was met. Li Qi had the right to reject papers that didn't suit his taste—that was the examiner's prerogative. Rumors even circulated that Li Qi became the examiner for Zhili Province because His Majesty intended to use him as the examiner for next year's spring imperial examinations, further solidifying his status as a Confucian scholar.

This is pure speculation, but it has to be said that it is correct because it is too reasonable. Now a group of scholars in Jiangnan can't sit still. If it were just the provincial examination, it wouldn't be much, but the metropolitan examination is far too important.

Although the quota for the provincial examination was fixed by province, there was a ranking system!
The emperor only looks at the top ten in the palace examination rankings, and the rankings after that generally don't change much. However, for the candidates, the difference between a second-class Jinshi (进士) and a third-class Tongjinshi (同进士) is a completely different story in terms of their future career path.

If Li Qi is deliberately targeting the scholars of Jiangnan in this matter, then it is no small matter!
This made the great scholars of the Southern School restless, but they couldn't directly invite Li Qi because of their relationship with him. Huang Zicheng, the clever one, thought of inviting him through the Crown Prince, and Zhu Yunwen, who was indeed able to hang out with the three fools, actually agreed.

Therefore, when Li Qi received the invitation from the Eastern Palace, he was completely bewildered and had no idea why Zhu Yunwen would suddenly invite him. However, he would not refuse the future emperor's invitation and needlessly make enemies for himself.

When the attendants of the Eastern Palace welcomed him into the Eastern Palace, he immediately understood something upon seeing the three people behind Zhu Yunwen.

These three are the famous Jianwen Three Fools: Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, and Fang Xiaoru. Among them, Qi Tai is not particularly foolish, Huang Zicheng is extremely foolish, and Fang Xiaoru is a purely scholarly person who is of little use.

The thought that these three men would later become Zhu Yunwen's trusted advisors gave Li Qi a headache. His cheap nephew, the emperor, truly deserved to die.

Historically, Fang Xiaoru was still cultivating his reputation and was only recalled after Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne. However, Li Qi has now emerged out of nowhere and wants to seize the banner of Confucianism.

The scholars from Jiangnan could only bring Fang Xiaoru back to the capital ahead of schedule to teach the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace.

After all, Fang Xiaoru was of extraordinary status. He was not only a role model for scholars throughout the land, but his teacher, Song Lian, was the teacher of the previous generation of Confucian masters, Emperor Xiaokang Zhu Biao.

Li Qi's gaze unconsciously fell on Fang Xiaoru. To him, Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng were nothing more than roadside figures, utterly useless, but he had plans for Fang Xiaoru.

Or rather, Li Qi was plotting against Song Lian, Fang Xiaoru's teacher who had died many years ago, and that incident was the trump card that Li Qi had previously hesitated to use to severely damage the literati of Jiangnan.

Fang Xiaoru felt uncomfortable under the gaze of this famous imperial son-in-law. He thought it was just a matter of factional disputes and never expected that Li Qi had already set his sights on his ten clans.

"Uncle, let me introduce you."

"Your Highness flatters me. The three of you are highly learned scholars, renowned throughout the world. Who in the land does not know you?"

Seeing that Li Qi's attitude was very good, Zhu Yunwen's smile became even more sincere. He welcomed Li Qi into the banquet and said with a smile, "I invited my uncle to the East Palace today because I heard that my uncle is going to take up the post of chief examiner of Zhili Province. I would like to congratulate my uncle on this position. All the Confucian scholars in history have held this position."

After thanking him, Li Qi looked at Qi Tai and the other two with a playful smile.

(End of this chapter)