Chapter 85: A Name
Students study hard for over a decade, and the vast majority do so not to leisurely gaze at the southern mountains while picking chrysanthemums by the fence. In a broader sense, it is to strengthen the country and enrich the people and to realize their ambitions; in a more practical sense, it is merely to learn literary and martial skills to sell to the imperial family and hope to get a good price for them.
Thus, today, in addition to Yang Shiji, Yang Rong also arrived, and all of them immediately brimmed with enthusiasm, determined to outshine the others in rhetoric and win the favor of these two cabinet ministers and Hanlin scholars.
Zhang Yue was the youngest, so naturally he sat at the back. Watching Yang Shiji and Yang Rong joking with each other as if they were in high spirits, yet with an undercurrent of tension between them, he realized that the relationship between these cabinet ministers was not so harmonious. Of course, this was entirely understandable—if all the ministers were united, it would be the emperor who would be worried.
Yang Shiji originally only intended to introduce Zhang Yue to a few friends and had not revealed his status as the nephew of the Prince of Ying. But today, with Yang Rong’s uninvited interference, those scholars showed a sense of solidarity. While chatting cheerfully with Yang Rong, he glanced around the study and saw Zhang Yue sitting calmly, unbothered by being ignored. He couldn’t help but nod in approval.
“By chance, I met so many talented young people here today, Brother Shiji. It reminds me of our days in the Hanlin Academy. It’s been over a decade now. Back then, we would gather to drink and discuss poetry—there were countless excellent essays and poems. Now, with so many distractions, I have the urge to write but can no longer bring myself to do so.”
Though he said this, Yang Rong’s face showed a hint of pride. The position of a compiler in the Hanlin Academy back then was worlds apart from that of a Hanlin scholar today, not to mention his current role as an advisor in the Wenyuan Pavilion. Moreover, imperial favor had nothing to do with rank. He wasn’t envious of those ministers of the six departments who were around his age but held higher ranks. Instead, he was more wary of those military officials and meritorious men who could speak freely with the emperor.
At that moment, a scholar in his early thirties suddenly spoke up with solemn words: “Poetry and literature are merely trivial pursuits. The two scholars are now in high positions, handling countless affairs to benefit the world—that is the true path. If we ever succeed in passing the imperial examinations, we will surely take you two as our role models.”
“This isn’t an official court debate. Why are you being so serious?”
It was a young man in his twenty-six or twenty-seven who interjected. Unlike the others who sat upright, he sat with his feet up, looking relaxed. As he spoke, he glanced at Zhang Yue at the end of the table before smiling and saying, “In my opinion, when those two scholars discussed poetry and essays back then and now make decisions on state affairs, there’s no such thing as superiority or inferiority—only different states of mind. It was hard to predict what would happen then, and now, looking back with a different mindset, it’s natural that they can’t produce the same kind of poetry and essays. But who dares say that their current works are not good? To be honest, if we signed our poems with those two scholars’ names, wouldn’t they instantly make paper in Luoyang in high demand?”
The first man’s blatant flattery was unbearable for Zhang Yue to hear, but he found the behavior of the young man somewhat interesting, especially his last bold remark. Seeing Yang Shiqi’s calm smile and Yang Rong’s awkward laughter, none of them seemed offended, but everyone else at the table paled. Thus, he couldn’t help but laugh too.
This laugh happened to be seen by Yang Rong, who frowned slightly before turning to Yang Shiqi beside him and asking, “By the way, Brother Shiqi, I’ve never seen so many people here before. Won’t you introduce them?”
Yang Shiqi had been too busy observing the behavior of the scholars present and had forgotten about this. He began introducing them starting from the first person on his left—Gu Wanchuan from eastern Zhejiang, Mo Beihai from Hunan, Wan Shijie from Fujian, Liao Changjin from southern Anhui… These were all those who had been most active in past interactions. He briefly described their backgrounds and strengths in just a few words, but when it came to Zhang Yue, he paused slightly.
“This is Zhang Yuanjie, the nephew of the Duke of Yingguo—Zhang Yue from Xiangfu. He’s been in the capital for only a short time. But surely, Mianren must recognize his teacher, Du Yishan. Back when we scholars gathered together, I was the best at classics and history, you were the best at military strategy, but it was Du Yishan who excelled in poetry and essays. Now that Brother Yishan has returned to the Hanlin Academy, shouldn’t we show some support to his disciple?”
Seeing Zhang Yue’s youth, Yang Rong had initially thought Yang Shiqi was treating him differently because he was a relative of Duke Zhang Fu. But upon hearing that he was Du Yishan’s disciple, he was truly surprised. He stood up immediately, walked straight over to Zhang Yue, and studied him from head to toe before asking with a strange expression, “So you’re that ‘thousand-year ice mountain’’s student?”
Zhang Yue wasn’t expecting Yang Rong to ask such a question. Hearing the phrase “thousand-year ice mountain,” he wanted to laugh but knew it wasn’t the right moment, so he managed to hold back. Then he stood up respectfully and replied, “Master Du is indeed my teacher.”
“Teacher…”
Yang Rong repeated those four words, his face still showing an expression of disbelief, and he remained stunned even after sitting down. Others found this puzzling, but Yang Shiqi knew his colleague’s temperament, so he cleared his throat to ease the awkwardness and then said cheerfully to everyone, “Don’t be fooled by Yuanjie’s youth—he became a xiucai at the age of thirteen, ranked first in last year’s provincial exams, and is likely to take the provincial examination this year. Since you all live in the capital, you can get in touch more often in the future.”
Since ancient times, scholars have tended to look down on each other, yet they also liked to form groups and engage in elegant activities like composing poems. The scholars here were all familiar with one another, including Yang Shiqi’s distant relatives, his friends’ nephews, and younger people from the same hometown. They would gather from time to time, and even held literary gatherings at Yang Shiqi’s home when he wasn’t on duty. Hearing him say this, everyone, regardless of their thoughts, nodded in agreement and took another close look at Zhang Yue.
After some joking, Yang Shiqi mentioned that the plum blossoms in the back garden were in full bloom, and Yang Rong eagerly suggested that they go take a look. The scholars knew that Yang Rong was the most favored among the cabinet ministers by Emperor Yongle, Zhu Di, so they were all eager to show off their skills, and no one wanted to dampen his spirits. So, seven or eight of them put on their warm cloaks and leather coats and headed together to the back garden.
Yang Shiqi noticed Yang Rong frequently glancing at Zhang Yue, as if he wanted to say something, so he deliberately brought others forward, leaving Zhang Yue behind. When he turned his head and saw Yang Rong walking over to Zhang Yue, he smiled, thinking that the words Yang Rong had been holding back must now be spoken.
“Yuanjie, tell me—how did that thousand-year-old ice mountain, Du Yishan, take you as his disciple?”
Faced with Yang Rong’s face full of undisguised curiosity, Zhang Yue was momentarily speechless. He hadn’t expected Yang Rong to stay behind just to ask this question. After pondering for a moment, he recounted the entire incident in detail, not even omitting the tea-themed poem competition.
“What about Shen Minwang? He never mentioned that interesting incident to me after returning!”
After complaining for a while, Yang Rong put away his initially mocking smile and, like a familiar elder, gently patted Zhang Yue’s shoulder and said with a smile, “Yuanjie, don’t think those people ahead of you—many of whom are at least juren—are better off than you. Being able to study under Brother Yishan is a great fortune. He may seem cold on the outside but is warm-hearted inside. Since he took you as his student, he must be very dedicated. You must not disappoint his expectations!”