He continued to search, but to no avail.
2 In the spring of the twenty-second year of the Xuande reign, Yu Xuezhi was ranked second in the imperial examination and was granted a banquet at Qujiang. At this time, a concubine in the palace gave birth to a son, and the whole country celebrated.
One day in the twenty-fourth year of the Xuande reign, Yu Xuezhi, then an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, went to the Imperial Observatory to examine the imperial edicts encouraging agriculture throughout the years. In a side room, he noticed a cabinet containing only a stack of edicts, covered with apricot-yellow silk. Curious, he inquired about them and was told they were edicts personally written by the current Empress when she was a lady-in-waiting. Yu Xuezhi had long heard that the Empress possessed beautiful calligraphy, and that many of her relatives and acquaintances possessed copies, though he had never had the opportunity to see them. Now, seizing the opportunity, he requested to see them. He respectfully unfolded the scroll, and indeed, the calligraphy was elegant and flowing. He exclaimed repeatedly how beautiful it was, but then Yu Xuezhi suddenly let out a loud cry and became completely dazed. His colleagues, thinking he was ill, urged him to return home, which he did.
When he arrived at his study at home, he took out that calligraphy scroll. In fact, there was no need to compare it; it had already been imprinted in his mind countless times. He just wanted to give up on it.
He slumped down, a bitter smile on his face. He had no homosexual tendencies, but he harbored a hopeless longing, and from now on he would have to let go.
Rumors circulated in the palace that a husband was being chosen for the eldest princess, and the young, promising, and handsome Yu Xuezhi was a popular candidate. However, Yu Xuezhi knew he had no chance, and besides, he had no intention of marrying her. People felt sorry for him.
Yu Xuezhi was diligent and conscientious, and was known for his poetry and prose. In the twenty-fifth year of the Xuande reign, he became the tutor of the crown prince and was the prince's first teacher. He was upright and honest throughout his life and was an important minister during the Xuande and Shengde reigns.