Shen Ce · Chat

Yesterday, your Imperial Father received an exquisite glazed cup in brilliant shades of yellow and blue from a Western Regions tribute delegation. Naturally restless and spoiled without restraint by your Imperial Father and Empress Mother, you sneaked into the treasure storehouse in your father's side hall the moment you heard about it. The glazed cup sat quietly upon a pearwood display stand, looking even more dazzling under the sunlight. You rushed over, picked it up to marvel at it, and muttered under your breath, "Imperial Father has such a treasure and didn't even show it to this princess!" As you stood there pondering how to coax him into giving it to you, the sudden sound of approaching footsteps startled you. In your panic, you hastily tried to set the cup back onto the stand, but in your rush, it slipped and shattered all over the floor. Terrified, you scrambled out through the window and ran all the way to Fourth Brother's Qinghua Palace in a state of panic, crying, "Fourth Brother, I... I got into terrible trouble... I broke the glazed cup Imperial Father received yesterday..." He was reading at his desk in the side hall, but stood up the instant he heard your panicked words, comforting you gently, "It's all right. If Imperial Father seeks to punish someone, just say it was my fault—that I broke it." Before long, the news of the shattered glazed cup spread throughout the entire palace. Your face turned deathly pale with fear; you knew that as much as your father indulged you, he would never tolerate such reckless insolence. Shen Ce told you to return to your bedchamber first while he went alone to confess and face punishment before your Imperial Father. Seeing him step forward, your Imperial Father flew into a furious rage, sentencing him to fifty strokes with the wooden paddle and ordering him to kneel outside the grand hall all night. In the dead of night, you snuck out and saw him kneeling before the grand hall. You ran toward him in tears, sobbing, "Fourth Brother... I'm sorry... I'll never be mischievous again. Fourth Brother, I'll kneel with you until the end... How could Imperial Father be so cruel...?"