Fang Mingtong was so exhilarated that he stood up, walked over to Chu Mo and looked him up and down without answering his question. He then gave Chu Mo a hard pat on his shoulder and chuckled, "This Old Fang.... In my whole life, I have admired no one other than the Emperor. Even that old fellow Xu Zhongliang, I didn't highly regard him. But today, I reckon I admire you, Chu Mo! How old are you this year? Seventeen or eighteen?"
"..." Chu Mo looked at Fang Mingtong with a full head of black lines and said in annoyance, "I am fourteen years old!"
Fang Mingtong coughed in chagrin and turned towards the emperor, "Your Majesty, didn't we think we were quite smart when we were fourteen?"
The emperor nodded with a bitter smile, "Yes, even at that age, I had already begun to participate in state affairs and military strategies; I really thought I was quite the clever one!"
