坐朝問道
zuò cháo wèn dào
"Sitting in court, asking about the Way"
Asking others, presumably one's ministers and advisors, about how to govern seems like a reasonably imperial or kingly thing to do. Better than taking only one's own counsel, at least.
道, "the Way," is the same character used for 道教 Daoism, where its meanings are no less numerous than they are in other aspects of Chinese culture. Here, the Way in question is the way of governance, which our two rulers from the previous line must have grasped fairly firmly, if their reputation is any proof. I'd be curious to know who their ministers were, since they're the ones who provided the rulers with answers. Maybe they weren't ministers at all; maybe they were wandering sages, or the rulers' friends, wives, concubines. Whoever they were, their advice left its mark.
We'll see what that advice was, or at least how it was put to use, in the next line.
微臣
史大偉
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