Chapter 331: The Glory of the Sister and Brother

Gu Kang was summoned to the palace by Emperor Longqing the next day.

Although Gu Kang had entered the Council of State, Emperor Longqing still dared not immediately entrust him with those important state affairs.

To deal with the Eight Great Clans, Emperor Longqing had to gradually cultivate Gu Kang within the Council of State.

If he were suddenly given a heavy responsibility, the Eight Great Clans would likely not be able to account for it.

This is a protracted struggle; victory or defeat will not be decided quickly, and we must absolutely not alert the enemy.

Emperor Longqing's intention was to give Gu Kang some tasks, letting him gradually build prestige, then later grant him some authority in state affairs, so he could slowly push the Eight Great Clans' influence out of the Council of State.

This is the best plan Emperor Longqing could think of; it would not provoke the Eight Great Clans into immediate confrontation, otherwise his throne might not be secure.

But he could not let the Eight Great Clans ride roughshod over him; he had had enough of these years.

Previously, Xiao Yin had performed splendidly, and being a member of the imperial family, Emperor Longqing was even more wary of him.

Thus, using the Eight Great Clans, they set a trap in Qi Sha Gu that almost exterminated that boy.

But he never expected that person to possess such tenacious vitality, crawling out of the heap of corpses and returning to Shang Jing.

From then on, he could not openly act against him; the Eight Great Clans, having helped Emperor Longqing and dealt with Xiao Yin, after Xiao Yin withdrew from the Southern Qi court, rapidly rose, likewise threatening Emperor Longqing.

Emperor Longqing had long wanted to counter the Eight Great Clans, but these years they had controlled the Southern Qi court and cultivated their own followers.

Even in this spring examination, eighty percent of the successful candidates were nurtured by the Eight Great Clans.

Only Gu Kang had no foundation and was easy to use; he therefore had a task to assign to Gu Kang right away.

This matter is simple to say, yet somewhat complex to say.

It is the tradition of Southern Qi that after each spring examination, the essays of those who passed the jinshi degree are displayed in Chongwen Pavilion at the center of Shang Jing.

Some may think this task is too simple—just go to the homes of those top-scoring jinshi candidates and take their finest essays.

Then display them in Chongwen Pavilion for all to see, to demonstrate Emperor Longqing's ideal of governing through literary culture, and to win over scholars worldwide.

Yet the difficulty lies precisely in the arrangement of the display.

How should these essays be arranged?

If arranged by spring examination ranking, the essays written during the exam differ considerably from their usual works.

Especially since this exam tested policy essays, yet the displayed works, following convention, are mostly poetry, ci, and fu—after all, it's merely an exhibition, not an exam.

Moreover, each person's best work must be displayed; if so, ordering the display by rank becomes troublesome.

Poetry, ci, and fu are inherently subjective; who decides whose poems are good and whose are poor?

The Imperial Court will entrust this affair to the Hanlin Academy.

The Hanlin Music Organization will have great scholars evaluate the outstanding essays, then list them one by one in Chongwen Pavilion.

Chongwen Pavilion has five floors; the essays placed on the top floor are the finest.

Then the fourth, third, second, and first floors, descending in order, with prestige diminishing accordingly.

If the spring examination tests prospects, then the display in Chongwen Pavilion showcases the scholars' fame.

After years of study, they seek nothing more than those two characters: fame.

If this exhibition is unfair or its process sparks disputes among other scholars, the matter will instead draw many people into it.

This scholars' affair should be handled by scholars; thus this arduous task was given to the Hanlin Academy.

Each year, the Hanlin Academy, because of this task, doesn't know how many people point at their noses and curse them.

Moreover, those of extreme conduct even block their doorsteps to scold them.

When scholars get rowdy, it also makes the Hanlin Academy officials feel vexed.

This year, Emperor Longqing entrusted this task to Gu Kang.

Yet they worried that Gu Kang, newly entered the Hanlin Academy and beginning to manage these affairs, might not be able to hold things down alone; they thus recalled the Gu family's eldest son, Gu Cheng, who has always handled matters steadily.

Emperor Longqing therefore simply handed this arduous task to the two Gu brothers.

If Gu Kang can handle these matters splendidly and also pacify his restless elder brother, he would then look upon Gu Kang with favor.

After Emperor Longqing had instructed Gu Kang on the preceding and following matters, he summoned Gu Cheng into the palace.

The two, in the emperor's presence, dared not speak; they hastily knelt, kowtowed to Emperor Longqing, and received this task.

Moreover, Emperor Longqing added that Gu Kang would take the lead while Gu Cheng assisted from the side, nearly causing Gu Cheng to vomit blood from anger.

Although he had entered the Hanlin Academy, at present the Hanlin Academy lacked any senior officials to hold the line.

If nothing unexpected occurs, Gu Cheng will surely come to lead the Hanlin Academy.

Then, compiling history; if these matters go well, he might even enter the cabinet and join the Council of State.

Just as Gu Cheng stood beside the Crown Prince, believing his path was smooth and his fortunes rising, Gu Kang suddenly appeared midway.

Previously he was unwilling to take on such a task, but there was no way—the Hanlin Academy officials in charge of article editing paid no heed; what other department could manage it, perhaps the Ministry of War?

Gu Cheng eagerly sought to use these affairs to boost his prestige; otherwise Gu Kang would eventually overshadow him.

He had thought the task should be his to handle, his to shine in, yet it ended up falling on Gu Kang.

Gu Cheng wished he could kill Gu Kang on the spot, but in the emperor's presence he dared not speak.

Immediately afterward, Emperor Longqing clarified this difficult task, waved his hand, and dismissed them.

The Gu brothers slowly retreated from the Hall of Mental Cultivation, walking side by side to the alley outside the palace walls.

Gu Cheng then coldly remarked, "You've climbed up quite fast, not afraid of spraining your ankle..."

Gu Kang blinked slightly, never expecting that the usually steady Gu Cheng would reveal a sour, resentful tone in his words.

Gu Cheng estimated he had been driven utterly mad by him.

He let out a laugh, which only further enraged Gu Cheng.

Gu Kang's thoughts stirred, and he slowly said, "Since the emperor has entrusted me with an important task, I will naturally handle it well."

"When the time comes, I will also list my own essays; having studied under Mr. Wen, I can naturally bring forth Mr. Wen to judge those poems and ci—how could those students not obey? And most importantly..."

Gu Kang unintentionally glanced at the furious, pallid Gu Cheng and said, "Sir Gu, you may have forgotten that in Shang Jing, the finest poet is naturally my elder sister, Gu Jiu Ling."

"By then I actually wanted to invite Elder Sister to Chongwen Tower, personally hang up her own works there, to make a name and achieve great fame—this is honor for us two siblings, not something any random cat or dog can just casually obtain!"

Gu Cheng's face stiffened; he had long been burning with jealousy, and the killing intent in his eyes could hardly be contained.