At first, Emperor Lin thought perhaps this book of “The Analects” was a fake and its pages may be containing something unspeakably shameful. After all, the fourth prince was his own flesh and blood; of course he knew what his son’s character was like. Asking him to study was the same as asking for his life. Once, he even pretended to faint just for the sake of avoiding attending school.
He reached out and took the book from his son. He opened it and flipped through several pages. It was actually a genuine copy!
The book was a little worn out. The corners of its pages had traces of being folded, indicating the frequent turning of pages. The only abnormality was that there was a withered Asiastic apple flower in the book. Emperor Lin queried, “What is this?”
“This is called a bookmark,” Lin Jingyuan replied honestly.
Emperor Lin asked again, “What is it for?”
Lin Jingyuan tilted his head. As he rolled his eyes, a brilliant idea struck him, “I use it to record my reading progress to avoid folding the corners of the book.”
When Emperor Lin heard this statement, he raised his eyebrows. He was not sure if he should praise him or reprimand him. “I’ve never pegged you as a book lover. This Asiatic apple flower was placed on this page — I assume that means you’ve already read up to this page?”
“Yes,” Lin Jingyuan replied.
Emperor Lin said with a smile, “Then, let me hear you recite a paragraph.”
Lin Jingyuan: “…” He lowered his head as he said, “I have not memorized it yet. I planned to read the entire book once first before I start to memorize it from the beginning.”
Consort Xian immediately interjected on behalf of her son, “This child has never liked reading, but now he has started to read. As you have seen, he even carries this book with him. It is clear that he is putting his heart into it. May Your Imperial Majesty grant him a little more time.”
The annoyance on Emperor Lin’s face immediately faded away. He had always adored the fourth prince. He was satisfied to see that his son was so eager to learn now. He returned “The Analects of Confucius” to him and said, “I haven’t seen you for just a few days, but now I see you have changed for the better. You’ve done well.”
He was so pleased, he even had dinner at Changming Palace. Emperor Lin loved young and beautiful concubines. Consort Xian was getting on in years, thus she was no longer as favored by the emperor as she had before. If it was not for her son, whom the emperor adored, she would have completely fallen out of favor.
However, her son failed to live up to her expectations as he was only interested in fooling around. Now her son was still young, it was natural for Emperor Lin to be more forgiving. However, if he still remained ignorant and incompetent in the future, she was afraid that he would completely lose his father’s favor.
Today, just a copy of “The Analects of Confucius” alone was enough to satisfy Emperor Lin. He even praised her for being a good mother and rewarded her with many things. Consort Xian was very happy; but she, too, understood her son’s character very well. After Emperor Lin left, she immediately called Lin Jingyuan over and asked, “Where did this book come from?”
Lin Jingyuan was more honest in front of his own mother, “It was Fifth Imperial Sister who gave me this.” He seemed to have recalled something, as his eyes burned with brilliance, “Fifth Imperial Sister sealed good fortune inside this book for me. It really worked, didn’t it, Mother? Father didn’t even scold me!”