His Majesty the Emperor didn’t think there was anything wrong with his logic. With a self-satisfied look of understanding in his eyes, he pondered while reaching for those appetizing-looking dishes. After one bite, his eyes focused intently, then his movements suddenly quickened.

After finishing a small bowl, he let out a long breath of satisfaction, only then realizing he had actually eaten food from outside, and Tie Ci had no reaction whatsoever.

What did this mean?

This meant that although his daughter’s eyes carried murderous intent, deep down she actually trusted this fellow completely.

She trusted that this fellow would absolutely never harm her father in her presence.

To the side, Tie Ci also came to her senses.

She should have stopped Father Emperor from eating.

For so many years, Father Emperor’s food in the palace had to be tasted by others three times first. Except for food she personally delivered, everything else went through this procedure.

But she had forgotten…

Since Tie Yan had started, he continued eating heartily, though he hadn’t touched the wine yet. While trying his best to control himself and eat slowly, he asked seemingly casually: “You’re also surnamed Rong? Chronicles of a Compassionate Heart didn’t mention your background. Could you also be from a branch of the Rong family?”

“Naturally not.” Murong Yi smiled. “And I don’t surname Rong either. I’m of ordinary birth, but Uncle, does a hero’s origins matter?”

“Big words. But this secretive behavior is not what heroes do.” Tie Yan’s expression grew cold.

“If Uncle accepts this nephew, I would naturally confess everything honestly to Uncle.”

His Majesty the Emperor looked at this shameless fellow who climbed up at the first opportunity and fell silent.

How could there be such a shameless person in this world!

Murong Yi didn’t care what he thought. He pulled out a blue-white clay jar from his robes, smiling as he said: “Meeting Uncle for the first time today, I didn’t know what Uncle likes, so I specially brought some little trinkets to amuse Uncle.”

It was a high-quality jar containing two crickets with glossy bodies, slender antennae, and powerful hind legs – premium specimens.

Tie Ci: “…”

You really know how to give gifts.

If the current censors saw this, they wouldn’t hesitate to spray you with saliva.

She recalled how Rong Pu had previously accompanied Father Emperor at chess, the two sitting civilly across from each other until Father Emperor was nodding off with boredom.

She thought silently to herself.

People really can’t be compared.

Tie Yan naturally knew about cricket fighting. He sat upright as usual, frowning as he scolded: “Such undignified trinkets!”

Yet his eyes involuntarily glanced over.

Murong Yi acted as if he hadn’t heard the rebuke. He took out bamboo tubes, fighting bowls, and other implements, carefully guiding the two crickets into the fighting bowl. Then he produced specially prepared cooked grass to provoke the crickets. The two crickets spread their wings and chirped with loud, powerful voices, leaping and pouncing in battle, fighting endlessly.

Murong Yi explained to Tie Yan from the side, starting with how cricket jars must be blue-white clay, with those made from Cheng County’s clear clay being the finest choice, to how crickets from Lu Province’s Jinning County were considered the best in Daqian – large, strong, fierce, with good coloring, great endurance, stubborn personalities, fighting to the death… to how crickets were also related to local geology and topography, with the fiercest ones mostly coming from high slopes… to cricket varieties including white hemp-head, yellow hemp-head, crab-blue, lute wings, plum blossom wings, bamboo-joint antennae… then carefully evaluating how thick the two crickets’ legs were, how straight their antennae, how large their jaws… light-colored crickets from dark soil were mostly good fighters, while dark-colored crickets from light soil were inevitably fierce…

Tie Yan’s brow gradually relaxed, his head leaning closer and closer, his eyes growing brighter and brighter, listening more and more carefully. From the side, it looked like the two men had their heads together around the fighting bowl, resembling a pair of buddies obsessed with cockfighting and dog racing.

Tie Ci… Tie Ci watched from the side in stunned amazement.

The Father Emperor she remembered since childhood had always combined loving-kindness with dignity, a person of imperial bearing raised in the palace. Even as a puppet, he never felt sorry for himself and never lost his dignity and nobility, unable to break free from that imperial mold. She had never seen Father Emperor so delighted, even rolling up his sleeves.

She recalled hearing that Father Emperor loved to play in his youth, but always felt it didn’t seem right and must have been rumors.

Now she realized that when Father Emperor was initially just an ordinary prince with no one managing him, he probably played plenty. Later, when raised under the Empress’s care, he would be scolded for the slightest transgression and never again could be himself.

Perhaps only the unrestrained Murong Yi would use two crickets to unlock the doors of his long-locked heart.

The two crickets battled fiercely, finally ending with the oil-black plum blossom wing emerging victorious. The cricket chirped loudly in triumph while Tie Yan beamed with joy, clapping enthusiastically.

Murong Yi also casually applauded, smiling as he watched Tie Yan.

Hmph, and here he thought emperors were hard to please.

Much easier to please than his daughter.

His bundle still contained Liaodong’s beloved Five Military Cards, dice, mahjong, local chess, pai gow, pitch-pot games… If none of these worked, he could organize an impromptu mahjong table or chuiwan game on the spot.

Who knew that just producing one cricket would do the trick.

This showed what a boring job being emperor was. It was truly tragic that Shiba was bound by such tedious responsibilities.

As he began pulling mahjong tiles from his bundle, Tie Ci finally couldn’t stand it anymore. Just as she was about to speak, Murong Yi beckoned, and Mu Si from outside tossed in an object – black and white, meowing softly as it landed gently in Tie Ci’s arms.

Tie Ci looked down to see the calico cat Rong Yi.

Very good, the cat thief had confessed.

Murong Yi’s tone was perfectly natural: “Shiba, this cat we’re raising has grown so big now. Like me, it’s been missing you very much.”

Rong Yi: “Meow meow meow!”

No it hasn’t!

Tie Yan sensitively turned back: “You raised a cat together?”

So intimate?

“Mm, we found it together and raised it together. Shiba even named it – called Rong Yi, sharing my surname. I treat it like a son.” Murong Yi reached over to pet the cat, but Tie Ci expressionlessly turned the cat to face another direction.

Shameless! Did you ever raise it for even one day?

This scoundrel’s mysterious tone made it sound like they had a secret child together!

Tie Yan gazed at the cat. This name had deep meaning indeed.

He looked at Murong Yi with equally meaningful eyes. Murong Yi gave him a devastatingly beautiful smile, attentively saying: “Uncle, why don’t I give you this Mighty General? When you’re dealing with imperial documents and correspondence, you can play with it occasionally to relax and refresh yourself.”

Tie Yan was quite tempted.

Just as he was preparing to refuse, Murong Yi pulled out a set of pai gow from his back bundle.

Tie Yan coughed.

Did he look that fond of playing?

But he saw Murong Yi speaking seriously: “Uncle, appreciating crickets and observing their fighting techniques can reveal principles of combat and military leadership. It’s not merely insect fighting. However, I know you handle myriad affairs daily and worry about the realm, so such entertainment would naturally only be occasional. This crystal-backed, silver-inlaid, jewel-embedded pai gow set is for you to admire or give as rewards. This pai gow not only passes long lonely hours, but the backs also feature kaleidoscope designs with various precious stones ground into tiny fragments forming patterns. While playing, you can also appreciate the ever-changing beauty of jewels. If you find this thing too ostentatious, I also have a Western inlaid pearl cross and a Western tortoiseshell gold pocket watch here. I present them all together.”

Speaking thus, he respectfully offered several gift boxes.

Tie Ci: …You’ve seduced my father and now you’re bribing my mother!

Tie Yan naturally understood too – these were clearly intended for Noble Consort Jing, but an outside man couldn’t say so directly.

Still before he could refuse, Murong Yi began discussing Western clockmaking techniques, folk customs, the history of crosses, Westerners’ strange clothing and their particularly gullible minds. His Majesty the Emperor, already very interested in foreign curiosities, listened with fascination. The two again sat closer and closer, heads together as they opened the Western timepiece to examine its intricate internal mechanisms. Murong Yi provided hands-on explanations while Tie Yan nodded repeatedly – every man was a natural mechanical enthusiast.

Tie Ci: …You look like my father’s long-lost eldest son.

The eldest son and newly recognized father chatted happily, having forgotten the younger sister and beloved daughter on the side.

Tie Ci chuckled. Today had truly opened her eyes.

When Murong Yi shed his rebellious nature, he could indeed speak different words to different people.

And her own father was like a middle-aged greasy man with an unmarried daughter at home, whose eyes blazed with eagerness to immediately promote her to any eligible male.

Tie Ci roared silently in her heart. No longer wanting to see these two greasy men, she picked up the cat and stood to leave.

Two hands simultaneously reached out to pull her back, saying in unison: “Where are you going?”

Tie Ci almost said “I’m going to find some incense, candles, pig heads, and an altar for you two to become sworn brothers,” but thinking of His Majesty’s dignity, she forcibly held back.

But Murong Yi, probably feeling he had successfully fooled her father and grown bolder, actually said righteously: “Shiba, I know you’re angry that I neglected you, but this is my first time meeting Uncle, right? I need to let Uncle get to know me better. Speaking of which, this is actually your fault – you should have brought me to meet Uncle long ago. Why must you always fuss with me over such small matters? What is there between us two that can’t be resolved by sitting down and talking? If one conversation can’t solve it, we can have several more.”

Listening to this, Tie Yan thought that although this lad was rather crafty, his words made sense, and his temperament seemed decent with good patience.

Just as he was about to probe with some indirect questions, someone outside suddenly announced that Junior Minister Zhu had arrived.

Zhu Yi had also been in the vicinity and rushed over upon hearing about the Zhegui Tower incident. He hadn’t expected the emperor to be here too. Seeing a strange young man among those seated, he couldn’t help but be startled.

Seeing Zhu Yi, Tie Ci stood and bowed. Zhu Yi was technically her senior fellow student, but he had originally been the director of Yueli Academy, so he was also in a position of teaching authority.

She welcomed Zhu Yi’s arrival, especially since watching Murong Yi spouting nonsense to fool her father made nameless anger surge within her, yet she couldn’t properly express it. With the unrelated Zhu Yi here, let’s see how he continued his fooling.

Upon seeing Zhu Yi, Murong Yi raised an eyebrow, thinking here comes another elder from the woman’s side.

And one who had no good impression of him, since he had just pirated the man’s book.

Come if you want. He had made ample preparations. He’d knock down old men one by one, or pairs if they came in pairs.

After Zhu Yi sat down and asked about the recent incident, Tie Ci said it was nothing serious. Zhu Yi then turned to the emperor, preparing to lecture about how “a gentleman’s son doesn’t sit beneath a crumbling wall” and shouldn’t lightly leave the palace in disguise.

He paid no attention to Murong Yi, assuming he was some noble young master from the capital.

Unexpectedly, Tie Ci said: “Senior Brother, don’t you recognize Rong Wei? He taught archery and riding at the academy for a while. Oh right, he was also the one who had that fake seventh volume of Chronicles of a Compassionate Heart printed a few days ago.”

Zhu Yi was startled and looked him up and down before his expression darkened: “You were the one who printed that fake Chronicles of a Compassionate Heart?”

Murong Yi immediately said: “Yes. Has Director Zhu read it?”

Zhu Yi frowned: “Stealing others’ work is also theft. You’re from a respectable academy background – how can you do such fame-seeking, petty thievery?”

Murong Yi smiled: “Director Zhu has misunderstood. Chronicles of a Compassionate Heart represents the heart and soul of Director Zhu and various Confucian scholars. How would I dare steal credit for it? I merely wrote an alternative biography of Chronicles of a Compassionate Heart, also serving to fill gaps and supplement the Crown Princess’s biography…”

“Alternative biography?”

Murong Yi produced a pirated seventh volume from his sleeve like a magic trick. The cover design was identical to the original. Zhu Yi’s mood soured upon seeing this thing and he was about to explode, but then saw Murong Yi tilt the book cover at an angle toward the light. “Look here.”

At a different angle under the light, one could vaguely see behind the three large black characters “Chronicles of a Compassionate Heart,” a few tiny characters in the same color as the pale blue background: “Alternative Biography.”

Tie Ci: “…”

Zhu Yi: “…”

Very… admirable.

What Zhu Yi cared about most wasn’t having his business stolen, but that written words were sacred to him. How could they be misattributed and usurped? Now looking at these three tiny characters that even eagles couldn’t see clearly, he was truly speechless.

Murong Yi put away the book and said with complete sincerity: “Of course, being rushed for time, the characters were a bit small and not very clear. I’ve already ordered people to re-carve the cover plates for reprinting. The new edition will definitely make these three characters clearer.”

Tie Ci: …You’re planning to print a new edition!

Didn’t you hear my book ban order?

Zhu Yi fell silent for a moment, then actually nodded: “Your fake work… alternative biography does write emotions delicately and movingly, and can be considered sincere and heartfelt work. With so few new books on the market nowadays, it’s naturally very good if young people can write seriously.”

“The Director speaks truly. Currently on the market, it’s always the same copied texts, collected commentaries, and annotations of the Five Classics. Many classics that existed in previous dynasties were lost to flames during wartime – such a pity.”

Before Daqian, there had been a period of warring states. Years of warfare not only caused civilian suffering but also resulted in massive loss and destruction of cultural and artistic achievements. There were even brutal emperors who burned books upon their kingdoms’ fall, and military generals who burned libraries during uprisings – such trampling and harm to Chinese cultural heritage left many scrolls lost forever, a source of grief that made great Confucians like Zhu Yi pound their chests in anguish whenever mentioned.

Now that Murong Yi brought it up, Zhu Yi began sighing again.

“…Recently I’ve found some skilled craftsmen and good engravers, plus many good printing blocks. I’m preparing to print some unique texts, such as the Pine Listening Collection, the Five Parasites Scroll…”

Zhu Yi’s eyes lit up: “You actually have the Pine Listening Collection and Five Parasites Scroll?”

Murong Yi showed a modest, sincere, and studious smile: “I love reading and my daily hobby is collecting various unique texts, incomplete scrolls, and masterworks by famous authors. After having them repaired and printed, I’ll donate them to the academy. It’s not much – probably only about ten thousand volumes…”

Zhu Yi exclaimed: “Ten thousand volumes!”

“A mere ten thousand volumes isn’t worth mentioning. The loss of cultural heritage throughout the realm pains every aspiring scholar. I’m merely contributing my small efforts.”

“Excellent! Excellent!” Zhu Yi patted Murong Yi’s shoulder. “If every scholar were like you, the realm’s cultural heritage would surely regain its glory! If you donate these ten thousand books, Yueli Academy will definitely give you an honorary professorship!”

“How could I accept such honor?” Murong Yi smiled. “Wouldn’t that make me the Crown Princess’s teacher?”

Zhu Yi said without hesitation: “You served as the academy’s archery and riding instructor – you’re already the Crown Princess’s teacher!”

Tie Ci: …What happened to glowering coldly at the pirate? One mention of ten thousand books and you sell me out.

But Tie Yan was somewhat displeased. How did this conversation turn the lad into a teacher?

Murong Yi timely turned to bow to him: “I’ll also print a batch of these books to donate to Uncle later, adding to the imperial library collection. I’ve heard Uncle aims to collect books from throughout the realm – literature, history, philosophy, science, engineering, agriculture, medical works – compiling the world’s most complete and comprehensive book collection to serve as teacher to future generations for ten thousand years. Such a great undertaking deserves my humble efforts like those of a dog or horse.”

Tie Yan immediately softened – achievements in culture were equally imperial accomplishments. A hundred years later in the imperial tomb, he could straighten his back and call himself accomplished in both civil and military affairs. No emperor didn’t care about this.

He nodded reservedly, but inwardly held a different assessment of this young man.

Massively collecting unique texts required enormous human and financial resources with minimal returns – not something ordinary wealthy families could manage. This lad seemed more than just rich.

He had to come from an established family with deep foundations.

Murong Yi smiled composedly. Everything depended on having a good grandfather.

“By the way, were you also the one who set off those fireworks yesterday?”

“Yes, I’ve also prepared some of the finest varieties to present later – a small offering for the Crown Princess’s upcoming birthday.”

Tie Yan looked satisfied: “You said you and Ci’er saved each other’s lives several times. Tell me the details?”

“Uncle, it’s natural for me to save her, and reasonable for her to save me.” Murong Yi waved magnanimously. “Everything goes without saying.”

Tie Yan’s expression grew increasingly gentle: “Then you two…”

Tie Ci finally couldn’t bear it anymore.

If they continued, would they be discussing marriage?

Without revealing identity or mentioning past events, just bombarding with sugar-coated cannonballs – what was this, planning to daze Father Emperor into arranging a betrothal?

She leaned back leisurely and smiled: “Yes, indeed saved each other a few times, but also stabbed each other!”

Cricket knowledge sourced from Baidu search, original source unverifiable.