HLnovel Chapter 167: A couplet written by a 9-year-old prefect; Zhang said he was indeed a "fickle and
Chapter 167: A couplet written by a 9-year-old prefect; Zhang said he was indeed a "fickle and
Every year during the Mid-Autumn Festival, beautiful verses about the moon always stir up emotions in the hearts of those with a deep affection for Chinese culture.
The famous lines from Zhang Jiuling's poem "Looking at the Moon and Thinking of a Distant Friend," which includes the lines "The bright moon rises over the sea, and we share this moment though we are far apart," are timeless verses praising the moon.
In the spring of his seventh year, Zhang Jiuling visited Baolin Temple with his family.
Baolin Temple is a famous temple with flourishing incense offerings, exquisite scenery, and countless tourists.
Zhang Jiuling was captivated by the ginseng doll offering fruit and watched it with great interest.
Suddenly, news came that the Prefect of Shaozhou Prefecture was leading officials from the prefecture to offer incense and pay homage.
The worshippers in front of the temple quickly moved aside.
Zhang Jiuling hid the peach blossoms he had picked before entering the temple in his sleeve, and watched the prefect's attendants arrange the offerings as if nothing had happened, showing no fear whatsoever.
The governor found Jiu Ling to be lively, innocent, and very cute, and wanted to test his talent.
He then asked, "Do you perhaps want to eat wild ginseng fruit? I'll give you a couplet; if you can match it, I'll reward you with wild ginseng fruit."
Zhang Jiuling casually said:
“Alright.” The prefect had already seen the peach blossom hidden in Jiu Ling’s sleeve, so he came up with the first line of a couplet: “A pale-faced scholar hides spring colors in his sleeve.”
Zhang Jiuling replied, "Prefect Huangtang is extremely perceptive."
The governor thought to himself, "This child is truly a prodigy. I'll test him further."
Another pair of poems emerged: "A child, climbing dragons, phoenixes, and osmanthus trees."
Zhang Jiuling suddenly looked up and saw three large Buddha statues in front of him. Moved by the sight, he replied:
"Three great Buddhas, seated on lions, elephants, and lotus flowers."
The governor and everyone present were all amazed:
This child will surely be extraordinary in the future.
Zhang Jiuling took the wild ginseng given to him by the prefect to play in the back, where he was seen by a monk who thought he had stolen the ginseng.
Zhang Jiuling said it was a gift from the prefect, but the monk didn't believe him.
"Why do you say the prefect gave it to you?"
Zhang Jiuling recounted the whole story.
The monk was quite puzzled, so he asked Zhang Jiuling to recite the couplet given by the prefect.
Zhang Jiuling recited the prefect's first line of a couplet: "A young boy, climbing dragons, phoenixes, and cassia trees."
The monk then asked, "And how did you deal with it?"
Zhang Jiuling, quick-witted as ever, said that my matching line was:
"The monks in the temple are stealing pigs, dogs, and vegetables."
Upon hearing the second line, the monk was startled. "Nonsense!"
But feeling guilty, he turned and ran after the prefect to explain himself.
At this moment, Zhang Jiuling interrupted Zi'an, who was narrating the story, and interjected:
"Haha, it's just a folk tale; the second half is fabricated. Why would I contradict a monk to his face? We have no grudge. It's just that after eating that wild ginseng, I met Wang Bo, one of the Four Great Poets of the Early Tang Dynasty, and this adorable ginseng baby, Little Rhinoceros..."
After saying this, he woke up from his dream. Nine-year-old Zhang Jiuling had received wild ginseng and fruit from the prefect and then had this strange dream. When he woke up, it was the Mid-Autumn Festival.
A bright moon hangs high in the sky.
Then there's that one who says why someone's scheming is "half a beat slower"...
Xiao Sizi knew perfectly well when she passed through Mei Xiao Si's body.
In the third year of Chang'an, which is 703 AD, the two handsome young men who served Mei Xiaosi, the brothers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, harbored deep resentment because the prime minister Wei Yuanzhong kept impeaching them, and they were thinking about how to take revenge.
So they made up a story, saying that Wei Yuanzhong was muttering to himself, "The Empress Dowager is getting old, it would be better if we supported the Crown Prince for a longer period of time," implying that he had thoughts of rebellion.
Upon hearing this, Mei Xiaosi pretended to be furious and, to turn the tables, ordered Wei Yuanzhong to be imprisoned.
The next day, the two handsome Zhang brothers were brought to face to face with Wei Yuanzhong in the imperial court.
At that time, Zhang Yue was serving as a Fengge Sheren (a high-ranking official in the imperial library).
Zhang Changzong privately used both soft and hard tactics on Zhang Shuo to force him to testify that Wei Yuanzhong had treasonous intentions.
Soft tactics include bribery and flattery, while hard tactics include threats.
Zhang pretended he had no choice and agreed.
The next day, Mei Xiaosi summoned Crown Prince Li Xian, Prince Xiang Li Dan, and other prime ministers.
Let's listen to the confrontation between the Zhang brothers and Wei Yuanzhong.
However, no one could be certain that Wei Yuanzhong was truly guilty.
Seeing that he had to use his trump card, otherwise all his efforts in using both soft and hard tactics would be in vain, Zhang Changzong asked Mei Xiaosi to bring Zhang Shuo up to testify.
At that time, Song Jing, the Fengge Sheren, Zhang Tinggui, the Dianzhong Shiyushi, and Liu Zhiji, the Zuo Shi, were all waiting outside the palace. They took turns reminding and persuading Zhang Shuo to tell the truth.
Zhang finally made up his mind and went into the palace to tell Mei Xiaosi directly that Zhang Changzong had forced him to give false testimony.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Changzong was furious. His efforts to persuade Zhang with both soft and hard tactics had indeed been in vain, so he naturally had to admit that Zhang was Wei Yuanzhong's accomplice.
When Mei Xiaosi pressed for details, Zhang Changzong brought up the examples of Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou:
“Zhang said that he has publicly compared Wei Yuanzhong to a virtuous minister of ancient times more than once. Isn’t this an attempt to rebel?”
Zhang argued in his defense:
"The Zhang brothers are illiterate; how could they possibly understand the noble virtues of Yi Yin and Zhou Gong?"
Yi Yin and Zhou Gong were ancient sages. If Your Majesty appoints prime ministers and doesn't allow them to learn from Yi Yin and Zhou Gong, then who else can they learn from?
I know that going along with Zhang Changzong would be beneficial, but I'm even more afraid that Wei Yuanzhong's wronged spirit will come after me in the future, so I can't speak against my conscience.
Upon hearing this, Mei Xiaosi instead felt that Zhang Shuo was a fickle and treacherous person. It was she who had instructed the two handsome brothers to do the work, both persuasive and subtle, but this guy not only failed to deliver but also accepted gifts. The ministers, unable to see clearly, assumed the Empress favored her handsome favorites. In reality, it was Xiaosi's scheme, observing the public and private maneuvering of each minister.
Naturally, Zhang Shuo was also imprisoned, along with Wei Yuanzhong.
A few days later, Mei Xiaosi interrogated Zhang Shuo again, and Zhang Shuo still insisted that Wei Yuanzhong was innocent.
Mei Xiaosi was furious and ordered the prime minister and King Wu Yizong of Hanoi to jointly try the case.
But Zhang refused to falsely accuse Wei Yuanzhong.
There was much discussion in the court, and everyone was requesting the release of Wei Yuanzhong and Zhang Shuo.
Finally, Mei Xiaosi demoted Wei Yuanzhong to the position of county magistrate of Gaoyao, while Zhang Shuo was exiled to Qinzhou (Guangxi) in Lingnan for "disobeying the imperial decree".
When Xiao Si recounted this past event, the honest and kind-hearted Yu Zhanmo was completely dumbfounded; it was truly a scheme within a scheme.