《Chronicles of Hui Yuan》Going to Market
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"Indeed, it is I, Your Majesty! Zhang Chao, son of Zhang Tie, at your service! I have charges against the elders of the city of Luoyang as well as the Liu clan! They are working together to stop the betterment of the realm!" The young boy shouted impassionately and his parents froze.
"Hoh... A young one, are you?" Emperor Jian Kang said as he leaned forward, eyeing the small frame of the boy curiously. As far as he was aware, the Zhang clan was a martial clan of no great achievements in recent years. If anything, they were a type of "old rich" clan, which was the meaning of a family that was still leeching and barely holding onto their noble statuses because of their ancestors' accomplishments.
Zhang Tie hastily knelt down beside his son.
"Your Majesty, the young one doesn't know what he is doing-"
Emperor Jian Kang raised a hand, signalling for him to stop talking and gestured for Zhang Chao to continue talking. From there, Zhang Chao took a deep breath and he launched into a tirade about how there was a monopoly on contracts within the city that was choking not just the Zhang clan, but the poorer folks in the city that had no choice but to fold up their livelihoods and join the bigger clans because they were being wrestled out of the business instead of working together for the betterment of the realm.
Zhang Chao also stated the Zhang clan's contribution in protecting nearby trade routes and how the Liu clan attempted to force a betrothal upon the Zhang clan.
As the young boy finished, Zhang Tie and Zhang Qin were eyeing the Emperor in sneak glances, as the Emperor listened to the boy speak eloquently.
As the young boy finished, Emperor Jian Kang nodded slowly.
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"Okay, I have heard your case. Before that, I have two questions. Did you write the poem in the letter? Answer this first." The Emperor said as he waved the letter again to the young boy who nodded, confidence in his eyes.
"You have to forgive me if I find it hard to believe, young one. This is a poem that even learned scholars may have trouble believing."
"Your Majesty, I swear on all the Gods that this was written by me," Zhang Chao said and the Emperor looked into the air, as if thinking, his free hand reaching for a teacup placed on the side and drinking the tea in it that was prepared by a servant for him.
"Very well. I will believe you if you pass this. You made a complaint about how the great clans and elders are not working together. If you can come up with a poem on unity in seven steps, I will grant your clan preferential treatment and thoroughly dig up, root and stem, the corruption in Luoyang. However, you cannot mention the word, clans or even elders in your poem."
"Your Majesty!" Zhang Qin said as she knelt down immediately. Sima Lin, his Minister of Education and State Exams stepped forward beside Zhang Qin and knelt down as well.
"Your Majesty, that is too demanding a test for even the most learned scholars let alone-" Sima Lin protested but Zhang Chao stood up and bowed.
Taking his first step, Zhang Chao took a deep breath. Zhang Tie rushed forward and grabbed his son's arm.
"Ask His Majesty for forgiveness now!"
Zhang Chao flung his father's arm aside as he took his second step and Emperor Jian Kang called out, "It is the second step!"
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Chao opened his mouth.
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"People burn the beanstalk to boil beans, filtering them to extract juice." Zhang Chao said as he moved onto his third step.
"The beanstalks were burnt under the cauldron, and the beans in the cauldron wailed..." Zhang Chao said dramatically as he moved onto his fourth step.
"We were originally grown from the same root..." His feet moved to the next step before he turned to face his parents and then the Emperor and took his final step.
"Why should we hound each other to death with such impatience?"
Everyone present froze, but the silence was broken by Sima Lin.
"Fantastic poem! Young man, you are something!" The old man laughed as he clapped the young man on his back.
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