After Yang Er and Qiao Lingze left the newspaper office, seeing that it was getting late, they sent the latter away and hurriedly went to the palace to pay their respects. When he entered the Guanwen Hall, he saw Emperor Yang Guang of Sui putting down his pen.
"Father, your calligraphy is second to none, even the Second Prince. Would you be so kind as to bestow a piece upon me to hang in the central hall?" Yang Er greeted his father and, seeing that his father's expression was still good, began to flatter him.
Yang Guang smiled, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Why is Ahai also learning this trick? We talk big in front of the court officials to save face, but why do we have to do so much empty talk among our own people?"
"I'm telling the truth, Father. I can't compare to you even i
