Extra 3-7: The King of Chu ascended the throne

It was a sunny day when the new emperor ascended the throne.

Tao Sheng looked at the sky and breathed a sigh of relief.

After the previous emperor passed away, it wasn’t surprising that he left a will for King Xiao Ze of Chu to inherit the throne and lead the people of the Great Zhou to a better life.

Although Xiao Ze knew he had probably won the interim goal of “making a comeback,” he still felt nervous about becoming the ruler of the Great Zhou. He feared that he would fail and ruin the foundation built by his ancestors, so he insisted on choosing a very lucky day to ascend the throne.

Xiao Ze was over 40 and his life was mostly set. It was hard for him to change things on his own, so he relied on divination and astrology to guide his decisions.

Before the emperor’s enthronement, Xiao Ze had an anxiety attack, focusing on metaphysics ^[1]refers to study of the universe and existence.. Naturally, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory had a tough time. The staff had not supported King Xiao Ze before and had offended him. To make up for it, they worked overtime, looking through ancient texts and picking out six auspicious days over the next three months for the new emperor to choose from.

How could Xiao Ze understand these things? He smiled when he received the recommendations, but secretly thought they were useless. It would be better to ask about walls than this.

But as the new emperor, Xiao Ze had to show strength and could not look weak in front of his officials.

He waved his hand, signaling the staff of the Imperial Observatory to leave, and called his trusted advisors to discuss the matter.

There were many things to take care of when the new emperor ascended the throne. The cabinet was just as busy as the Imperial Observatory. After thinking it over, Xiao Ze decided to first visit Tao Sheng rather than ask Ji Yanming for help.

Tao Sheng immediately waved her hands when she heard Xiao Ze’s request.

She could handle many things, but not this.

She was an art student in her past life and didn’t know much about science or astrology^[2]refers to study of the stars and planets.. She hadn’t learned about it in this life either, so she wasn’t good at picking dates using divination ^[3]refers to a way of predicting the future..

Xiao Ze and Tao Sheng couldn’t decide, so they asked Ji Yanming for help.

That day, Xiao Ze detained Tao Sheng in the palace, waiting for Ji Yanming to return after finishing his work at the government office.

Ji Yanming quickly finished his task, then came to pick up Tao Sheng and meet Xiao Ze.

Xiao Ze and Tao Sheng were sitting in the hall, studying a thick calendar book. Books about the I Ching ^[4]is a Chinese divination text. and Bagua ^[5]which is a set of eight symbols in Chinese philosophy. were scattered around. Some of them were old and belonged to the palace’s library.

When Xiao Ze saw Ji Yanming, he waved him over excitedly: “Come here, Xiao Ji, take a look. Xiao Tao and I don’t quite understand this.”

Ji Yanming took the ancient book from Tao Sheng, flipped through a couple of pages, and looked at the new emperor with confusion.

Xiao Ze quickly explained the reason he had called Ji Yanming there.

Is he asking me to help pick a date? Ji Yanming, who believed in specialization, still didn’t quite understand the emperor’s reasoning. “Why did Your Majesty look for me?”

Xiao Ze explained: “Because Xiao Tao and I don’t understand.”

Ji Yanming replied: “…The people in the Imperial Observatory know this stuff. The two assistant ministers of the Ministry of Rites are also knowledgeable about astrology and the I Ching. They won’t disobey your Majesty’s orders. You can ask them.”

Xiao Ze grew anxious. “This is about the future of the country. There are many people who don’t wish me well. I can’t trust anyone else except you and Xiao Tao. If someone does something wrong, it could ruin the country.”

Ji Yanming: …

It really felt like all his efforts and love for the people were concentrated on this one day of the enthronement.

Gao Zhen, who was nearby, noticed Ji Yanming looked pale, likely from being overworked. He felt sorry for Ji Yanming. After all, if Ji Yanming was tired, no one would be so dedicated to Xiao Ze. So, he advised the new emperor: “You are about to become emperor, and Lord Ji is busy. Why not ask someone in the court? I heard Lord Huo is knowledgeable in this area and was praised by the late emperor. Should I ask him?”

Xiao Ze proudly said, “No, now I only trust Xiao Ji and Xiao Tao in the court. Since you all say Xiao Ji is too busy, I will have Xiao Tao study with me every day. I believe hard work can make up for any lack of skill. Even if we are not experts, after studying for a month, we’ll get good results.”

Tao Sheng smiled helplessly and shook her head.

Xiao Ze might have many skills, but he truly understood Ji Yanming’s strengths after all these years. It takes a lot of skill to handle Ji Yanming.

It wasn’t right to keep Tao Sheng in the palace to study astronomy and calendars. Ji Yanming could accept reading for half an hour at home, but he could not tolerate his wife being detained in the palace to study with someone else, even if that person was the Emperor.

Tao Sheng saw Ji Yanming finally agree and take time out of his busy schedule to study astronomy and calendars.

It was really hard for him.

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When someone becomes successful, their family benefits too. This saying means that when someone succeeds, everyone connected to them also benefits. In Xiao Ze’s case, his two hunting dogs moved into Shanglin Garden, and even Xiao Feng, who was raised at Ji’s house, became a royal chicken and moved to Shanglin Garden.

After Xiao Ze became emperor, he had to observe mourning for a long time. The concubines in the palace weren’t allowed to sleep, listen to music, or watch performances. All entertainment activities were stopped. However, this didn’t stop Xiao Ze from finding a new enjoyment: visiting Shanglin Garden to touch chickens.

Xiao Feng, his favorite fighting rooster, had been kept at Lord Ji’s house while the late emperor was alive, but now Xiao Ze had it back. He was so happy that he felt like the characters in storybooks who are reunited after many years apart.

Whenever Xiao Ze had some free time, he would go to Shanglin Garden, pet Xiao Feng, and talk about his feelings and the challenges he had faced over the years.

The other animals in the garden didn’t understand the emperor’s clear preference for Xiao Feng. They thought the rooster was too cold and difficult to approach. The palace workers who raised other animals like tigers, elephants, and leopards started to feel threatened by Xiao Feng’s new status and complained about the emperor’s favoritism. They thought it was odd that a common fighting cock was so highly regarded, as it wasn’t rare and wasn’t trained like the other animals.

This tension lasted for a few months, until one day Xiao Feng did something impressive that convinced everyone in Shanglin Garden of its worth.