Chapter 18

The two arrived at the gate, immediately two scholars in Lan-colored long robes came forward to greet them; they obviously did not recognize Hu Xiaotian, and at the same time bowed deeply to Xu Zhengying, saying: "Junior scholars Qiu Zhigao and Qiu Zhitang pay respects to Xu Sir."

Xu Zhengying smiled and said: "No need for excessive courtesy; today we are at a literary gathering, no need to stand on official formalities." He turned to Hu Xiaotian and said: "Worthy nephew, these two are famous talents of the capital, the sons of Sir Qiu, the Grand Historian."

Hu Xiaotian pretended, clasping his hands and saying: "I have long admired your great name; it rings like thunder in my ears!" Actually he had never even heard of these two people, not even their fathers were known to him; regardless of whether he knew them, he had to put on a false show of courtesy.

The Qiu brothers also returned the salute; after all, they did not know this kid's background, but since he followed the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Xu Zhengying, he must be a relative or disciple of Xu Zhengying. This literary gathering was organized by the two brothers; their father is Qiu Qingshan, the Grand Historian. Although his official rank is only a fifth-grade lower rank, his standing in the court is very important; he is currently compiling works, a renowned scholar of Dakang.

Xu Zhengying also did not introduce them, for he feared that if others learned Hu Xiaotian's identity, they would regard him as his own follower.

Qiu Qing Shan

This was Hu Xiaotian's first time attending such a social event; he found everything novel, this guy looked around curiously, like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden.

The literary gathering was on the fifth floor; already more than ten people had arrived, in small groups, some chatting about literature, others swaying their heads. Hu Xiaotian had also participated in a literature club during his university days; this guy's proficiency in classical learning was at master's level, yet he saw that no one present was someone he knew.

Xu Zhengying was quite talented and often participated in such literary gatherings; being a third-rank official himself, his appearance immediately drew everyone's attention. The young literary figures rushed over to ingratiate themselves, surrounding Xu Zhengying, so that for a moment he had no leisure to attend to Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian was naturally left to the side; he didn't mind, found a spot by the window, poured himself a cup of tea, and enjoyed the view of the endless sky outside.

Not only Xu Zhengying attended the literary gathering as an official; he was not the highest-ranking official present, so the flattery of being the center of attention did not last long. With the arrival of the Minister of Rites Wu Jing-shan and the Censor-in-Chief Su Qingkun, the focus immediately shifted to them.

Xu Zhengying originally thought he was the highest-ranking official attending the literary gathering that day; he had not expected the Minister of Rites Wu Jing-shan to come, who is a senior third-rank official, and no one would willingly play second fiddle. Xu Zhengying had come to the gathering intending to be the star, but who would have thought this would happen. As for the Censor-in-Chief Su Qingkun, he is a fourth-rank official, half a grade lower than Xu Zhengying; they are both regulars at the literary gathering. Xu Zhengying felt somewhat displeased; the Qiu brothers, who had just greeted him at the gate, had not informed him that Wu Jing-shan would also be coming—whether it was an oversight or intentional, he did not know.

Su Qingkun showed great reverence in front of the Minister of Rites Wu Jing-shan; actually Wu Jing-shan's coming today was also just to join in the fun with him, and his nature is similar to Hu Xiaotian's, but the sensation caused by Wu Jing-shan's arrival was countless times greater than that caused by Hu Xiaotian—just as he arrived, he had already drawn everyone's attention. Those literati hurried over to pay their respects; the reason scholars with integrity and backbone can be remembered in history is that rarity makes value, and their desire for fame and profit far exceeds that of ordinary people; upon seeing a third-rank official present in person, they all vied to attach themselves to him.

The Minister of Rites Wu Jing-shan, fifty-three years old, was dignified in appearance and graceful in manner; although his face bore a faint smile, he gave the impression of arrogance and coldness—whoever stepped forward to pay respects received the same expression, and he could not even be bothered to nod his head.

Xu Zhengying and Wu Jing-shan had little interaction, and he also knew that the Minister of Rites and his direct superior, Hu Buwei, had long been at odds; they had repeatedly clashed in court before the Emperor's face, and he secretly groaned, thinking that if Wu Jing-shan recognized Hu Xiaotian as Hu Buwei's son, he would surely make things difficult for the boy. He wished Hu Xiaotian would keep his word and remain mute. Xu Zhengying glanced at Hu Xiaotian, only to see him sitting alone at the window-side table, turning his head to gaze at the scenery outside, seemingly paying no attention to what was happening here, which put his mind somewhat at ease.

Vice Minister of Revenue

Wu Jing-shan lowered his gaze slightly, then the corner of his mouth curled into a faint smile, his expression showing a hint of disdain: "Isn't this the Vice Minister of Revenue, Sir Xu?"

Grand View Garden

Also we have "Dakang" already in glossary; we should include it? The instruction says list every named entity that appears in these lines. Dakang appears, so we should include it. The glossary already gave Dakang -> Dakang. So we need to include it in the glossary output. Similarly Emperor, Sir, Chazan, Lan.

Thus we also add:

Hu Xiaotian's attention was drawn by this string of flattery; Xu Zhengying's flattery skills were indeed impressive, a series of ingratiating remarks, uttering such embarrassing words without blushing. Hu Xiaotian did not know Wu Jing-shan, but from the sight of the crowd fawning around him, he could guess that the man's status was certainly out of the ordinary—since even Xu Zhengying flattered him so, he must be at least a third-rank official of the current dynasty, possibly even higher than his own father.

Although Xu Zhengying's flattery was skillful, Wu Jing-shan seemed unimpressed, merely giving a faint smile and saying: "I happened to be idle today, hearing Sir Su mention this literary gathering, so I came over to have a look."

A group of literati vied with one another to fawn over him; although the contents differed, they amounted to nothing more than praising Wu Jing-shan's talent as extraordinary, unmatched from ancient times to the present, and expressing how honored they felt to receive his personal instruction.

Wu Jing-shan is indeed one of Dakang's famous talents; talented people often tend to be arrogant and look down on others, and his eyes clearly showed that he did not regard this group highly; in terms of official rank he was first among those present, and in terms of learning he stood above all.

Xu Zhengying originally prepared to sit at the same table as Hu Xiaotian, but Wu Jing-shan arrived, and to show respect for Wu Jing-shan he had to accompany this third-rank official; unfortunately, Wu Jing-shan and Su Qingkun had just taken the central seats, and the remaining few stools were immediately occupied by the backsides of those talents eager to curry favor, so Xu Zhengying hesitated for a moment and actually had no chance to join them.

Xu Zhengying cursed silently; in past literary gatherings, he, as a third-rank official, was usually the focus of everyone's attention, but today Wu Jing-shan's arrival instantly changed the situation. Worldly sentiments are fickle; scholars and literati are even more worldly and realistic than petty commoners.

Xu Zhengying, unwilling, returned to sit beside Hu Xiaotian. Hu Xiaotian held his teacup, narrowed his eyes at Wu Jing-shan, who was surrounded like stars holding the moon, and whispered, "Who is that old fellow? He looks quite imposing."

Xu Zhengying lowered his voice: "Minister of Rites Wu Jing-shan, Sir Wu, and the person beside him is the Censor-in-Chief Su Qingkun, Sir Su."

Hu Xiaotian seemed to understand, nodded, and asked, "Between the two of them, who holds a higher official rank than you?"

Xu Zhengying's old face flushed at the question; he thought, "You little brat, why bring up the sore spot?" But since Hu Xiaotian asked, he couldn't avoid answering, and whispered, "Sir Wu is a regular third-rank, Sir Su is a deputy fourth-rank." He didn't directly say who was higher or lower, merely stating their ranks; the rest, you Hu Xiaotian, can figure out for yourself.

Hu Xiaotian really had a bit of an unwilling spirit: "A regular third-rank is one level above you, a deputy fourth-rank is half a level below you; so that old fellow is today's highest official—no wonder he acts so high-and-mighty, lord over all."

Hearing the boy's unrestrained speech, Xu Zhengying felt a bit alarmed and hurriedly warned, "Walls have ears; some things cannot be said."

Hu Xiaotian laughed and said, "Speaking of the Minister of Rites, I recall something—didn't he impeach my father a couple of days ago?" Hu Xiaotian usually hears such things from the household servants; Liang Da Zhuang is a big-mouthed gossip, and whenever he hears any news he reports it to Hu Xiaotian.

Xu Zhengyan broke into a sweat; indeed, that incident had occurred, and he didn't know how this brat found out. Seeing Hu Xiaotian's half-smiling expression, he felt uneasy, thinking, "I say, could this boy be planning revenge?" He whispered, "Differences in political views are common in the court; everyone serves the public, with no personal grudges." Though he said that, he actually understood that Wu Jing-shan and Hu Buwei had a bad relationship, often openly and covertly struggling in court.

Hu Xiaotian gave a hehe cold smile, said nothing, lifted the Chazan and continued sipping tea; his eyes darted around, occasionally glancing at Wu Jing-shan, unaware of what scheming that fellow was plotting in his heart.

Since Wu Jing-shan had come, Xu Zhengying naturally became a mere accompaniment; previously, whether the literary gathering would start was usually decided by asking him, but today it had changed to asking Wu Jing-shan.

Qiu Zhi Gao approached Wu Jing-shan and made a deep bow, almost knocking his head on the floor; his waist was bent to an absolute degree of skill, showing even more respect than when he had just greeted Xu Zhengying.

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help thinking, this fellow shows such exaggeration when seeing a third-rank official; if he ever saw a first-rank dignitary, wouldn't he just drive his head straight through the floor? Despicable wretch, where is any scholar's integrity? How can one bow and scrape before the powerful? That damned fellow has not a shred of principle.

Qiu Zhi Gao respectfully said, "Sir Wu, may the literary gathering begin?"

Wu Jing-shan smiled without speaking; meanwhile, the Censor-in-Chief Su Qingkun beside him said, "Wait a moment!" His gaze was fixed on the door, as if awaiting someone's arrival.

Everyone couldn't help but feel curious—what important figure could make this third-rank official wait patiently? Who had such arrogance? In their puzzlement, a loud voice suddenly announced, "Miss Huo has arrived!"

Hu Xiaotian's heart gave a start; I say, after all this fuss, the old fellow is actually waiting for a young lady—who would have thought that this solemn-looking old fellow still had so many tricks up his sleeve? Not knowing whether that young lady deserved such waiting, Hu Xiaotian differed from others: although he was clearly curious and wanted to see what was happening, he had to forcibly suppress his urge, maintaining outward composure as steady as Mount Tai unmoved even if it collapsed before him. Hu Xiaotian stretched his neck to look toward the entrance, almost rising from his chair.

"Woof woof!" came a burst of barking from outside.