Chapter 120: The Page Boy

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“Cough, cough…”

The man beneath the tree’s shade coughed twice. Unlike his mechanical replies earlier, he seemed unsure how to begin.

“If you have something to say, then say it. I told you before: for one who walks in darkness, the most important thing is to conceal his emotions.”

“His Majesty says you no longer need to face the wall and reflect on your mistakes. He wants you to attend the Four Gates Academy at once and do the things proper to someone your age.” The man beneath the shade spoke rapidly, as though he were announcing something utterly unbelievable.

“What? Is the Four Gates Academy plotting some sort of conspiracy? Is that why His Majesty is sending me there?” Cai Cong immediately lowered his voice and spoke in a mysterious tone.

“No. His Majesty said he simply wants you to study there. Oh, and you must use an ordinary identity. Do not reveal that you are a marquis. Since my business is concluded, this humble servant takes his leave.”

A figure swiftly leaped onto the high wall and climbed over it. A moment later, a terrible scream rang out.

“He ran so fast that I had no time to tell him there was a pit outside. I wonder whether he fell to his death.” Cai Cong shook his head, fear rising in his heart.

He was actually being sent to the Four Gates Academy, and he had to go disguised as an ordinary child. Was he really going to study the Thousand Character Classic alongside a group of little brats? The thought alone made him shudder.

“My lord, what is the matter?” Tang Yi cried out when he saw Cai Cong looking as though his soul had left his body.

“What are you shouting for? My soul is still here! Heh heh… Tang Yi, hasn’t your lord treated you well?”

Cai Cong suddenly gave an oily, sinister laugh. Gooseflesh rose all over Tang Yi’s body, and he stammered, “Y-yes!”

“Excellent! His Majesty wants me to attend the Four Gates Academy. I’ve decided that you’ll go there to study, while I’ll disguise myself as your pageboy.”

Cai Cong shouted with delight, inwardly admiring his own brilliance. It was the perfect solution to two problems at once.

“No, no, you can’t! How could I let you serve as my pageboy? I’m your pageboy!”

“Stop babbling. From now on, you are forbidden to call me ‘my lord.’ You will call me ‘pageboy,’ or you might let the truth slip at the academy. It’s settled. Let’s hurry and find some pageboy’s clothes.”

Cai Cong spoke imperiously. The two of them searched through every chest and cabinet, but found no pageboy’s clothing. Instead, they attracted Madam Cai’s attention.

They say a loving mother can spoil her son rotten. When Madam Cai heard that Cai Cong intended to pretend to be a pageboy, she immediately summoned every woman in the household. They measured Cai Cong’s build and began sewing clothes for him. Before long, several outfits had been completed.

Cai Cong wore smooth silk beneath a coarse hemp robe. He looked every inch the clever little pageboy.

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“My lord, do I look suitable like this?”

Tang Yi wore fine silk and brocade, making him look exactly like a young master from a wealthy family. Cai Cong nodded in satisfaction, patted him on the shoulder, and said sternly, “Relax. We’re acting. Don’t treat me as your lord. Hurry up and call me ‘pageboy.’”

“P-pageboy… My lord, please spare me! If I call you that, my grandfather will come and strangle me tonight.”

Tang Yi looked ready to burst into tears. Everything else might have been manageable, but asking him to treat Cai Cong as his servant was simply too terrifying.

“Enough nonsense. I’m giving you time to practice now. If you give us away tomorrow, you’ll see what I do to you. Call me ‘pageboy’! Tell me to do something.”

“Pageboy, go pour me a cup of water,” Tang Yi said through his tears.

Cai Cong cheerfully acknowledged the order and scampered off to fetch the water. When Tang Yi saw the cup being handed to him, he began to cry even harder and sobbed that Cai Cong should bring him some snacks as well. He was already afraid he would have nightmares that night.

The women watching from the side burst into laughter. An occasion like this came only once in a century!

That night, Tang Yi dreamed that he was crying out, “No!” The worst part was that he did not even wake from fright.

At daybreak, the two of them set out for Chang’an under the protection of guards. Madam Cai would leave a little later. Her son was going to live in Chang’an, and she intended to go there and keep an eye on him.

The Four Gates Academy sounded rather obscure. Those who knew little of history might never even have heard of it. The institution had existed since the Northern Wei dynasty and was originally intended for members of the imperial clan.

By the time the tradition had passed down to the Tang dynasty, it no longer served exclusively as a school for the imperial family. Its students were chiefly the sons of officials. Five hundred places were reserved for the sons of officials of the seventh rank or higher and for the sons of marquises and earls, while another eight hundred went to outstanding sons of commoners.

It was rather beneath Cai Cong’s station to study there. As a young marquis, he ought to have studied at the Institute for the Cultivation of Literature alongside the imperial princes. Failing that, he should at least have attended the Imperial College.

The Four Gates Academy was enormous. With more than a thousand students, teachers, scholars, and servants, its population approached two thousand.

Li Shimin had arranged for Cai Cong to assume the identity of a commoner. This did not mean a poor man, but rather a scholar whose family had produced no officials.

Upon entering the academy, one had to pay respects to one’s teacher and present tuition gifts. Under Tang regulations, students at the Imperial College and the Grand Academy offered three bolts of silk, while those at the Four Gates Academy offered two, along with wine and meat. The exact amount depended on the student’s family circumstances.

Carrying his letter of recommendation, Cai Cong found the teaching assistant, who then led him to the instructor. Next came the formal apprenticeship ceremony. Cai Cong secretly congratulated himself on his cleverness. Otherwise, he would have had to kneel before someone!

“Having entered my tutelage, you must guard your speech and conduct, rid yourself of arrogance and impatience, and study diligently. Can you uphold these principles?”

The teacher pressed his ruler against Tang Yi’s head and asked the question sternly.

“I can!”

Tang Yi answered solemnly. Yet he had also found a way to cheat: he deliberately slurred his words, making it sound as though he had said that he could eat. Everyone assumed his speech was merely unclear and thought nothing of it.

After the ceremony, Tang Yi was assigned to Class C. Cai Cong glanced at the little brats, who were sniffling and rocking their heads as they recited, “Heaven is dark, earth is yellow; the universe is vast and primordial.”

He felt even more pleased with his own wisdom.

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The other pageboys leaned against the windows, racking their brains as they listened and watched. Cai Cong yawned and left. He had risen far too early and was drowsy, so he wanted to find somewhere to sleep for a while.

When the bell announcing recess rang, the teacher walked away with his hands clasped behind his back. The little brats immediately erupted like a pot coming to the boil.

“Pageboy, pageboy, come here quickly! You heard everything the teacher just said, didn’t you? Write it out properly. If the teacher discovers that I didn’t write these large characters myself, you won’t get any dinner tonight.”

A little brat sitting to Tang Yi’s left shouted the order. His pageboy nodded, took up paper and brush, and began writing swiftly.

Tang Yi spread out his own paper and started writing. The little brat asked in puzzlement, “Where’s your pageboy? Why don’t you have him write for you? Then we can go play.”

“I’d rather write it myself. I’ll play with you another time,” Tang Yi said calmly.

Have his pageboy write for him? Good heavens, that would get him killed.

Meanwhile, beneath an artificial hill, Cai Cong was dreaming of the Duke of Zhou, drooling all over the ground. He turned over, found a dry patch, and continued sleeping.

Before long, the clamor around him woke him. It sounded as though ten thousand mosquitoes were buzzing beside his ears.

He opened his weary eyes. The empty space before him was now crowded with people gathered in groups of three or five, composing and reciting poetry. Once they became inspired, they even stripped off their clothes and sang to the heavens.

Those around them applauded and cheered, shouting that the scene possessed the spirit of the Wei and Jin dynasties. Cai Cong could not understand it. Once they had stripped themselves bare, what spirit could they possibly have besides shamelessness?

“Hey! If you’re determined to disgrace yourselves, could you do it somewhere else? I’m trying to sleep.”

Cai Cong called out innocently, rubbing the sleep from the corners of his eyes. He looked as though he had not yet fully awakened.

“Where did this little pageboy come from? This is uninhibited freedom, the pursuit of carefree liberty beneath heaven and earth. What would you know? Get lost!”

Someone immediately stepped forward and berated Cai Cong. How dare a mere pageboy speak to these noble scholars in such a manner? Was he looking to die?