Free Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin

The blood of the greatest ruler and hero pumps in us, and you cannot answer a simple question? Out! Out of my sight!”
    The children fled and soon found themselves, as they often did, clinging to their mother for comfort.
    “Why is he angry all the time?” the boy asked. Even though his sister was a year older than he, she was smaller and he often felt protective of her. He couldfeel her trembling like a baby rabbit, and he put his hand on her arm.
    “He is not angry,” their mother said unconvincingly. “It is just the way he must act to accomplish things.”
    “Why?” the boy asked, scowling. “For what?”
    Their mother was quiet for a moment. “For you,” she said finally. “He does all this for you.”
    The boy did not understand this either. But both children were glad that their father soon seemed to forget about them. Indeed, as the days came closer to the Mid-Autumn Moon Festivities, Magistrate Tiger seemed like a powerful storm that was best kept away from. When he finally left for the Imperial Palace, his children sighed with relief.
    But the children were curious when Magistrate Tiger returned with an extra litter carried by strong men. The sedan they dragged did not hold a person, but a giant, well-wrapped package. Magistrate Tiger himself was carrying a silk box as if it were a dragon’s pearl. The children looked at each other, then ran so they could peek in through the window of their father’s formal chamber.
    As the men carefully unloaded the package, Duke Zhe arrived.
    “Ah, friend,” Duke Zhe said warmly. “How happy I am for you! The emperor was much impressed by your wisdom and intelligence. Are these your prizes?”
    “Yes, yes,” Magistrate Tiger purred. “This is what the emperor gave me for answering the first question correctly.”
    And he opened the silk box and took out a blue, white, and gold rice bowl on a gold stand. He held it with an air of awe, and Duke Zhe gave a sigh of appreciation.
    “Ah, the finest porcelain in the land, brought out especially for the emperor’s Moon Festivities,” Duke Zhe said. “Made by perhaps the best potter in history as well—see the ancient rabbit motif? It’s the same bowl that the first emperors ate from! A priceless, amazing prize!”
    By then, the men had unwrapped the other package. It was an enormous
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. The giant porcelain bowl was really a tub, almost as high as Magistrate Tiger’s shoulders and twice as wide. Painted on itssurface, graceful blue fish and lotus flowers seemed to weave together in a silent dance.
    Magistrate Tiger carefully placed the bowl on the shelf behind him and then stroked the
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gently.
    “And the
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! Made to be an indoor fishpond!” Duke Zhe said. “I was so pleased when you answered the second question and won this. It is perfect for you! Now you will be able to entertain the fish during the winter months as well.”
    “Also the finest porcelain,” Magistrate Tiger said in a gratified voice. “Have you ever seen a
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this size, yet so exquisite and thin? They are both truly wondrous gifts.”
    “But no more than you deserve,” Duke Zhe said. “You answered those questions magnificently! Determine the thief by running a race! Share the almond by making it into tea! You answered the emperor’s questions so quickly and brilliantly that it was almost as if you knew what the questions were going to be ahead of time.”
    “Ah,” Magistrate Tiger said darkly. “If I had knownthe questions ahead of time, I would have been able to answer the emperor’s last question.”
    “My dear friend,” Duke Zhe said, “the emperor has asked the question of the snail dispute every year at the Moon Festivities. No one has ever answered it. Neighbors throwing snails in each other’s gardens! How could anyone solve that fairly? I think it’s an impossible question.”
    “Perhaps,” Magistrate Tiger conceded.
    The boy began to sputter. Determine the thief? Sharing an almond? Fighting over snails?