Chapter Eleven: There Is Plenty

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Upon hearing this, Li Qingyao hesitated slightly. He didn’t quite know how to describe it. To say Shen Hao was a beggar seemed inappropriate. Yet to say he wasn’t was equally untrue, for there was little difference between him and a beggar.

The civil officials standing nearby, wearing smiles of triumph, felt a surge of satisfaction seeing Li Qingyao struggle for words. One after another, they couldn’t help but speak up.

Grand Secretary Zhu Qing was the first to break the silence: “Your Majesty, this lower couplet must surely have been composed by a scholar from the Hanlin Academy.”

The Xuande Emperor asked calmly, “And how do you conclude that?”

Zhu Qing, excited, stroked his beard. “Your Majesty, you’ve seen the lower couplet, ‘Calligraphy imitating the Han script, Hanlin’s writing’—does that not plainly refer to the Hanlin Academy?”

“It must be the painstaking work of one of our Hanlin scholars to have produced such a couplet, Your Majesty.”

“I have already dispatched people to the Hanlin Academy to investigate. Surely the result will be known soon.”

The surrounding civil officials nodded in agreement. The lower couplet was clear: ‘Hanlin writing’—that could only mean it was penned by a grand secretary or scholar from the Hanlin Academy.

“Qingyao, is that so?”

The emperor’s gaze fell on Li Qingyao.

Li Qingyao looked at the smug faces around him and smiled faintly. “Father, the person who composed the lower couplet was neither a scholar nor a student of the Hanlin Academy.”

“But rather a beggar.”

“And that person is now my strategist.”

At these words, Zhu Qing immediately stood up to retort. “Princess, even if you lost the wager, you must not defame a man of great talent like that!”

Li Qingyao’s tone was cold and firm. “The fact is the fact. Do you think I would lie to my father?”

Zhu Qing was at a loss.

Coincidentally, the investigation report from the Hanlin Academy arrived, confirming that the lower couplet was indeed not composed by any Hanlin scholar.

Zhu Qing had made a fool of himself and, feeling humiliated, fell silent, though he muttered quietly, “Impossible, impossible that it wasn’t a Hanlin scholar.”

Seeing Zhu Qing’s failure, another civil official spoke up, “Princess, no matter who composed your matching couplet, you have lost the wager.”

Li Qingyao’s expression remained calm. “Yes, I know. Lost is lost. What of it? I had no intention of arguing.”

The officials were stunned. This was not what they had expected. They had thought the princess, upon losing, would try to find excuses. Instead, she admitted defeat so straightforwardly. It was like a punch landing on cotton—frustratingly ineffective.

Then one asked, “So, Princess, do you now think civil officials are more important than military generals?”

Li Qingyao glanced at the speaker, seeing the man’s face, eager to argue yet grasping at straws for reasons. She answered lightly, “Naturally... the generals are more important.”

Zhu Qing tried to regain control of the conversation. “But Your Highness, you have lost.”

Li Qingyao looked at the officials as if they were fools. “Indeed, I lost—lost in the cleverness of words.”

“But what does that have to do with my belief that generals are more important?”

The officials were speechless. This was just evasion.

Zhu Qing, hoping to regain some ground, said, “Princess, we scholars study the Four Books and Five Classics, learning loyalty and patriotism. You are a scholar yourself. Why then do you think a group of uncultured brutes are more important than scholars?”

Others waited expectantly for Li Qingyao’s reply, silently admiring Zhu Qing’s skillful argument.

Li Qingyao sneered. “Couplets are trivial, mere wordplay.”

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Zhu Qing was pleased and quickly said, “But Your Highness, you lost precisely because of that wordplay.”

Li Qingyao laughed aloud. “What? You think it’s impressive just because someone can match my upper couplet?”

“This kind of upper couplet, I have plenty. If you want, I have a whole bunch.”

Zhu Qing’s expression darkened. “Your Highness, your arrogance is excessive. You seem to dismiss all scholars under heaven.”

Li Qingyao made no rebuttal, calmly stating, “Listen carefully to the upper couplet: ‘Smoke shrouds the pond’s willow.’”

At this, all the civil officials’ pupils contracted sharply.

They were highly learned in literature and instantly recognized the difficulty of this upper couplet.

The radicals contained within the characters hinted at the Five Elements.

To compose a matching lower couplet, it had to be perfectly balanced and elegant.

Moreover, ‘Smoke shrouds the pond’s willow’ was filled with charm; the lower couplet could not be mere ornamental words devoid of meaning.

This upper couplet was extremely difficult.

Immediately, they all fell silent, each beginning to ponder the lower couplet.

Even the Xuande Emperor took up his brush and wrote down the five characters, lost in thought.

Li Qingyao felt a strange sense of satisfaction. Could it be that Shen Hao had felt this same thrill when facing her?

Indeed.

When Shen Hao’s couplet was a trifle, she felt disdain for him.

But as soon as his upper couplet appeared, she felt as if she had swallowed something foul.

Surely these pedantic scholars were experiencing the same frustration now.

They must be beaten to a pulp.

She then added, “One upper couplet is not enough, is it? Here is another: ‘Lonely cold window, guarding solitude.’”

A chill ran through the crowd! Another difficult quatrain with challenging radicals!

“Now, who dares to doubt my statement about the cleverness of words?”

Li Qingyao challenged the assembled officials, inwardly mocking them as a pack of pretentious scholars, desperate and outmatched by even Shen Hao.

Zhu Qing, sweating profusely, was in a panic.

“How does the princess have so many formidable upper couplets?”

“Qingyao, this is my imperial study. Take your couplets and ponder them at home—do not make a scene.”

The Xuande Emperor’s voice finally broke the tension.

“Daughter, I understand.”

Li Qingyao answered obediently, but the smile on her face refused to fade.

This secret satisfaction was a pleasure all its own.

The officials, relieved by the emperor’s intervention, relaxed.

If the princess had continued pressing, their faces would have been utterly lost.

Li Qingyao swept her gaze over the shameless old men, then fixed her eyes on the emperor.

“Father, winter is approaching, and the north may soon see snowfall. Please order additional military supplies for the northern armies.”

At this, the officials grew anxious again.

Minister of Revenue Yu Jinkui was the first to speak. “Princess, you lost the wager and should not be speaking about improving soldiers’ conditions.”

Li Qingyao smiled. “Minister Yu, I never said to raise soldiers’ pay; no changes to pay or anything else are needed. Only the necessary military supplies must be provided.”

“Do you expect our generals and soldiers to fight in the snow without proper gear?”

“Moreover, it has been five years since the last issuance of supplies. According to the capital’s regulations, military equipment is distributed every three years. I implore you, Minister Yu, to expedite the arrangements.”

Yu Jinkui’s expression darkened.

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His patience snapped.

Today was his last day on duty, and he hadn’t even planned to attend.

Now, because he won a wager, he had become overconfident.

How could he forget that the princess was a formidable opponent, far more skilled in navigating politics than these old veterans who had weathered the court for years?

Yu Jinkui said, “Your Majesty, I have already retired and will depart for my hometown tomorrow.”

“From now on, whatever the princess wishes to discuss, I shall hand the affairs over to my successor as Minister of Revenue.”

A flicker of disdain flashed through Li Qingyao’s eyes.

The old man was trying to run away!

It didn’t matter; bullying the elderly was no feat.

She had heard that the new Minister of Revenue was Qin Ziqian, Count of Kaiyang.

She hoped he was more sensible.

Otherwise, both he and his son would have to answer for the disgrace brought upon her younger sister.

Half an hour later, Li Qingyao returned home in a fury.

Yu Jinkui, the old fool, had invoked the southern flood relief operations to avoid causing trouble for the new minister Qin Ziqian.

She knew about the southern floods.

The Ministry of Revenue was currently distributing silver there, but they were stretched thin.

Yet the northern military supplies were just as important.

These corrupt scholars only knew how to prattle—they never cared about the hardships of generals and soldiers.

Besides complaining about the state treasury’s tightness, they knew nothing.

With winter coming, if soldiers’ conditions could not be improved, few would be willing to defend the homeland or fight valiantly for the nation.

What disgusted her most was that, as she argued her case and progress seemed near, the officials shifted the responsibility of optimizing flood relief onto her.

They said that if she could devise a more economical relief method, the savings could be used to equip the northern troops.

When she wanted to wager again, the officials all shook their heads vigorously.

They weren’t fools; after seeing the princess’s upper couplets, they would never bet with her again.

Last time, there happened to be a talented scholar who matched the lower couplet.

But if the princess produced an even more difficult upper couplet this time with no one to help, what then?

Li Qingyao was stifled with frustration.

If only she hadn’t shown Shen Hao’s upper couplet, she could have wagered once more.

Just as she was thinking of Shen Hao, her steward Wu Tong came to report.

“Your Highness, Shen Hao has come to report. Which room shall I arrange for him?”

“Arrange a place for him. Shen Hao never fails to come at the last moment. Since there are only two days left on the wager, don’t leave him anywhere else—make him sit outside all night as a punishment.”

Li Qingyao was exasperated. If only Shen Hao had come two days later, everything would have been settled.

Wu Tong hesitated but could only obey.

Just as he was about to leave, Li Qingyao called him back. “Wait. Bring Shen Hao to me. I have questions for him.”

Since Shen Hao was now her strategist, such matters naturally required his counsel.

It was the perfect opportunity to test his abilities.

Was he just another empty-talking scholar, or a man of action?

They would soon find out.