Although Emperor Chenghua was not good at speaking, he was a wise ruler as long as he did not mention his favorite concubine Wan and his favorite monks, Taoist priests, and eunuchs. Gao Liang's words were noble, but the emperor just looked at him and said, "I remember. Jinyiwei asked for the commendation, and you delivered the imperial edict. You know him, so you must protect him."
Eunuch Gao cried out in grievance, "Your Majesty, please understand. How dare I defend a private person? Ryan Cui is just a little scholar who grew up in the county. Although he donated a courtyard and has a reputation as a child prodigy, I can't defend him. I am doing this to protect the dignity of the Holy Emperor's order. He is a righteous citizen promised by the emperor himself, so he must be loyal. That woman slandered him for his bad character. Doesn't that mean that the emperor has made a mistake in choosing him?"
The emperor laughed, satisfied with his answer, and asked slowly, "Is he... also a child prodigy?"
Gao Liang just said it casually, not really knowing what the child prodigy is like now, so he had to bring out some old news to make up for it: "He compiled a collection of couplets from the Four Books last year. I heard that Zhang Butang of the Ministry of War said it was good. When Liu Yushi and Xie Qianhu came back to report the imperial edict, didn't they say that he was taking the provincial examination? I guess he has become a student now."
A sixteen-year-old student... doesn't seem to be a child prodigy. Others of his age would have passed the provincial examination long ago.
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