No one else was invited to join them, and no one else came. Surrounded by festive noise from every direction, the pavilion settled into a quiet so complete that even the sound of breathing seemed to soften.
Not a single person touched the wine, the fruit, or the cakes arranged on the table. They sat and listened to the noise until the appointed hour arrived.
Wei Jing stood in high spirits in the tallest pavilion, leaning against the railing as he surveyed the scene. Even across the distance, Hua Zhi could dimly make out that there were others present with him there.
“The Wei family is honored to host this grand gathering,” Wei Jing called out. “If anything has fallen short, we ask for your indulgence. In such a prosperous age, on such a splendid occasion — we hope that everyone will speak freely. Who would like to begin?”
At once, someone laughed heartily and stepped up. “This one is unworthy, but will make a humble attempt.”
“We are all ears.”
“Please, share your thoughts.”
“…”
The scholar with the surname Xia turned to face the lake and spoke with easy confidence. “This year has been one of natural disasters — drought in the north, floods in the south. Yet our Great Qing is strong and prosperous, and our Emperor is a wise ruler. He has waived taxes in both regions, granting the people room to breathe. What I wish to speak of today is closely connected to this.”
Across the grounds, only the sound of wind could be heard. Both the scholar named Xia and the men in the high pavilion — Wei Jing among them — were thoroughly satisfied with the way the gathering had begun.
“In past years of disaster relief, the court simply disbursed silver, which passed down layer by layer. Setting aside how much actually reached the people, the steeply inflated grain prices alone were more than ordinary people could endure. This year, however, the court chose to distribute reserve grain for relief — saving silver expenditure while also keeping grain prices in check. By all accounts, this should be the best possible outcome. Yet precisely at this juncture, granaries across various regions have repeatedly been found to have problems. I wish to discuss with everyone here: how do we prevent such situations from occurring again?”
Someone chimed in: “What Brother Xia raises is exactly what this one has been thinking. His Majesty’s wisdom is clear — the reserve grain, though old stock, is perfectly fit to eat; most grain shops sell old stock as well. Coming from the south, this one often hears the people speak of the Emperor’s benevolence and kindness, with many facing the capital to bow in gratitude.”
Another voice followed: “The same in the north. This one heard that some had already given up hope and were on the verge of turning to banditry — when the relief grain arrived just in time, saving them from that path. They all say that no matter how hard things are, they will hold on until next year. Once the ground thaws, they intend to break new ground in earnest and add a few more acres of farmland to the Great Qing…”
Chen Dayi stared in stupefaction and turned to Hua Zhi, asking with evident uncertainty, “This is truly meant to be a Pure Discussion Gathering?”
Hua Zhi looked toward the pavilion where Wei Jing stood. There had to be others with him — most likely people from his own faction. The ones who had spoken first were surely men Wei Jing had arranged in advance. This topic, these praises — all of it was for the Emperor’s ears, which meant the Emperor had sent someone to attend.
And the scholars Wei Jing had invited had been carefully selected. Aside from those connected to the Hua family, every one of them was a newly passed scholar who had never attended one of the Hua family’s Pure Discussion Gatherings. They would only ever know this version — and assume it was how all such gatherings went.
Unbridled. And arrogant.
Since successful examinees were now eligible to be appointed to office, in a sense these men already had half a foot inside the official world. A gathering of this kind was probably entirely to their liking.
With that thought, Hua Zhi let the last of her intentions go. Since this was no longer the Hua family’s Pure Discussion Gathering, whatever it became had nothing to do with her. Why should she involve herself?
Chen Dayi was still fuming beside her. But furious as he was, he hadn’t drawn the fire toward them. However deep his connections to the Hua family, he was tied to them — and behind him stood the Hua family’s eldest young miss. However difficult it was to stomach, he had to consider the situation.
But though they wished to let it pass quietly, the other side was determined to drag the trouble toward them. Hua Zhi hadn’t even been following what was being said when she heard her name called out: “I understand that Miss Hua has also accepted the invitation today. I wonder what Miss’s view on this matter might be?”
The surrounding pavilions went still. Every gaze turned toward the one pavilion that had been completely silent until now.
After a brief pause, a clear voice rang out: “This is a Pure Discussion Gathering. By its rules — affairs of state are not to be discussed.”
Pure Discussion Gatherings have such rules? Quite a few people looked toward Lord Wei in confusion. No one had mentioned anything of the sort beforehand — they had assumed this kind of gathering was truly open to anything: current events, politics, whatever one pleased.
But according to what the Hua family’s eldest young miss had just said, that was clearly not the case!
A stir rose in several pavilions. Wei Chenze quickly exchanged glances with a scholar in a nearby pavilion. The scholar thought quickly and called out, “By what Miss Hua says — what then would count as proper discussion?”
“It seems this gentleman has great confidence in himself — that he has already mastered all of the Four Books and Five Classics. Surely he will rank high in next spring’s palace examinations.”
“…” Who dared pick up that line? If one truly did pass the palace examinations it would be one thing — but if you agreed to that today and then failed to place, you might as well stop showing your face entirely.
“Discussion is for the purpose of resolving confusion. If there is no confusion left to resolve, why gather at all?” Hua Zhi rose. “Shall we simply disperse?”
Wei Chenze saw things going wrong and quickly cut in. “Miss Hua is quite right — since the purpose of discussion is to resolve confusion, everyone, please continue.”
The scholar called out again: “Miss Hua comes from the Hua family and must have deep knowledge of what the Pure Discussion Gathering ought to be. Why not have Miss set the tone — so that we may understand how we should be discussing?”
“Quite right.”
“Indeed.”
A voice from somewhere raised a different concern: “Can women even take part in a Pure Discussion Gathering? Why make things so difficult for her?”
Everyone, as if by unspoken agreement, overlooked the question. Nobody answered it. They were far more interested in watching how the young miss would handle her current situation.
“Then I will make a humble attempt.” Hua Zhi smiled and shook her head at Chen Dayi, who was already rising to intervene on her behalf. Scholarly debate was admittedly not her strength — but picking a handful of genuine questions from within it was something she could manage perfectly well.
“I would not dare to match any of you in scholarship, yet I do have a question that has long puzzled me. The Great Learning says: ‘Attain what is good and it shall be yours; lose what is good and it shall be taken away.’ This holds that virtue will bring good fortune, while its absence will bring loss. Yet with my own eyes I have seen a good, hardworking person toil until their death and receive not a single moment of heaven’s favor — while a man of endless idleness lived to eighty without so much as a cough. And there are worse cases: a man with blood on his hands who seized his chance and rose to become the local gentry, a tyrant in his region that ordinary people could not touch. By that reckoning, is it not the wicked who fare better? I wonder if anyone can resolve this confusion for me — what is the reasoning behind it?”
Her bright, clear voice carried across the surface of the lake, but for a moment no one answered.
Hua Zhi was in no hurry. She reached for a longan from the dish and rolled it slowly back and forth across the table from one end to the other.
“The answer lies in peace of mind.” After a short while, the voice came from within the same pavilion. Yu Xiasheng rose and gave Hua Zhi a long, deep bow. “A so-called good person is one who refrains from doing evil — but that is not the same as acting for good. Suppose a child drowns before his eyes and he does not reach out to help, yet he also did not push the child into the water: is that good, or evil? And a so-called wicked person may have helped others at some point, may even be filially devoted to his parents. I therefore hold that there is no such thing as absolute good, nor absolute evil. It may well be that wicked people seize more opportunities — yet as long as one persists in good intentions and good deeds, over the long course of a life, one’s fate will tend toward constancy.”