Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 118 How Should Song Shi'an Be Rewarded?

"Fu Jun! Fu Jun!"

The moment the commotion outside erupted, the prison warden hurried to Song Jing's cell.

Upon seeing Song Jing, before the latter could even speak, he exclaimed joyfully outside the prison, "Shuofeng, you held the line!"

Song Jing was taken aback.

Then, he let out a long sigh of relief.

There was no joy on his face, only a sense of relief at surviving a disaster.

At the same time, there was also some lingering fear.

If we fail to hold the city at this final moment and Ji Yuan breaches it, even though we have already made a significant contribution to depleting the enemy's forces, it will not be considered a victory.

If they lose, the entire Song family is finished.

Song Shi'an will also die there.

"Is Song Shi'an still alive?" Song Jing asked.

"The last military report said we were alive, this time it only reports of victory, and it's only been a few days, so there shouldn't be any problems. Besides, if we stay in the city, that should be the safest option."

After saying this, he quickly added, "Of course, Lord Song's contributions cannot be forgotten; he is still the most meritorious person besides His Highness."

Emotional intelligence is very important in communication.

He also realized that the previous sentence was like describing Song Shi'an as a civil official who "reaps the benefits without sowing".

"The judgment of merits and demerits still needs to be made by the Dali Temple and by the emperor."

However, it didn't matter to Song Jing.

What Song Shi'an did cannot be erased in just a few words.

With the emperor's guarantee, even without outside witnesses, it's enough.

If someone were to cheat and overturn the table, they would be overturning not only the Song family of Huai County.

It was the Wei family, their own empire.

“What you say is absolutely right, sir.

The warden nodded, then bowed to Song Jing: "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."

"Take care, Lord Liu." Song Jing nodded.

"I'll take my leave now."

Lord Liu left with a happy expression.

Then, in the corridor, they ran into Wang Chen, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

"My lord," the prison warden hurriedly bowed in greeting.

"What are you doing?" Seeing him coming from Song Jing's direction, Wang Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and asked with a hint of accusation.

The prison warden chuckled honestly, "Your Excellency, I have informed Lord Song of the victory against the north wind."

Upon hearing this, Wang Chen's face immediately darkened.

The warden was so frightened that he quickly stopped laughing and became very stiff.

"Go down," Wang Chen said casually.

"Yes."

"You too, I'll go alone," Wang Chen instructed the accompanying official.

The two of them left together.

Looking back and seeing that Wang Chen had already walked far away, Lord Liu asked with some confusion, "Did I just say something? You seem a little angry, sir."

"Who told you to go and tell Lord Song the good news of the victory?" someone asked.

"It was Lord Song who gave me the order, and Lord Wang also said to serve Lord Song well and answer all his questions." Lord Liu was increasingly puzzled.

"You," someone said, raising a finger, "you went and told Lord Song about the victory outside. Whom should Lord Song remember?"

"hiss--"

Young Master Liu felt a chill run down his spine.

“You should tell Lord Wang that Lord Song said there was news from outside that he was being informed, but according to the rules of the Dali Temple, this is not in accordance with regulations. So you have come to ask Lord Wang what should be done.”

After the other party finished speaking, Lord Liu slapped his forehead with his palm, filled with remorse.

"You've only managed to become a seventh-rank official after all these years. You should reflect on the reasons why."

……

Wang Chen walked to the front of the imperial prison, beckoned for the official to open the door, and went inside.

Just as Song Jing was about to rise and bow, he stepped forward, gently placed his hand on the other man's shoulder, and smiled slightly: "Lord Song, please remain seated."

"Thank you." Song Jing smiled slightly.

"Does Your Excellency already know about the victory outside?" Wang Chen asked.

"That young Master Liu just said it seemed like they were celebrating this, but I don't know anything else," Song Jing asked. "Lord Wang, did they really win?"

"Mm," Wang Chen nodded in response.

"Is my son still alive?" Song Jing asked worriedly.

"Shi An is still alive." Placing his hand on Song Jing's hand, he answered with certainty, "Lord Song, it's absolutely true."

"I can rest assured that."

Song Jing let out a long sigh of relief.

"Now that Shi An has returned, he must be a pillar of the nation with a bright future," Wang Chen said with some emotion. "So young, so accomplished, he puts us all to shame."

"He only benefited from the Sixth Prince's influence and gained merit. Civil officials plan for the country, and military generals defend the borders. He is still no match for Lord Wang."

"I'm so ashamed of what you're saying," Wang Chen waved his hand. "Such a feat is something I'll never have the chance to achieve in my lifetime."

"He's just lucky."

"Don't be so modest. From now on, the Song family will surely rise to prominence." Wang Chen said quite bluntly, "If the Prefect has any banquets or ceremonies, would you also like me to witness the brilliance of the top scholar?"

"If I really get out of prison, I'll have to be careful and honest in the future. I wouldn't dare to throw a banquet," Song Jing said with a smile.

Faced with such a polite refusal, Wang Chen could only smile.

"But having just gone through the ordeal of imprisonment, we'll still have a small family dinner," Song Jing said apologetically, looking at him. "It won't be a grand affair, will Lord Wang not mind?"

At this, Wang Chen smiled broadly: "Excellent, excellent! I'm shameless, I just love eating at family dinners."

.........

Sima Mansion.

Sima Yu was enjoying a cup of tea in his residence when a former colleague of the fourth rank from the imperial court came to visit him outside the gate. Although he didn't understand the purpose of the visit, the colleague was an old friend, so he personally received him.

In the courtyard, the two enjoyed tea.

After dismissing everyone else, the other party spoke up: "Lord Sima, the battle has been won, and Song Shi'an is coming back. We are preparing to impeach him. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, after a fleeting hesitation, he said self-deprecatingly, "Me? I'm just a mere diviner, my daily routine is divination. My office can't even muster ten clerks. Outside of Sheng'an, not even a county magistrate would respect me. I'm a nobody, my words carry no weight. Even if I were to impeach someone, they wouldn't carry any weight."

"No matter what, you are a fourth-rank official," the other party persisted. "Besides, everyone is planning to impeach you."

"If we haven't won the battle, why are we still participating in the investigation?"

"He's sidelining the prince, mobilizing troops without orders, and I've even heard he's been promising soldiers official positions without authorization. Even if he wins, will he live up to the standards of a subject? Even if we let him live, his merits and demerits will have to balance out." He lowered his voice and said, "Besides, this kid wants to establish military farms. If he doesn't do it in Qinzhou, he certainly won't do it in his Huai County either. In the end, won't we be the ones to pay for the money and manpower?"

His words were quite blunt.

But Sima Yu didn't care about these fields and money at all.

He was just thinking about how to refuse these people's attempts to coerce him...

Just then, a servant came and reported, "Master, someone from the palace has arrived."

Great, that's a good way to change the subject.

What a load of rubbish!

What are people from the palace doing here at this critical juncture?

Sima Yu was somewhat desperate, but he still forced himself to remain calm and said to him, "His Majesty summoned me, so let's talk about it when we have time."

“Since His Majesty has summoned you now, why not offer your advice now?” the other party suggested, rising to his feet.

"His Majesty has summoned me. Yes, he has something to discuss with me."

He waved his hand repeatedly, dismissing the other party's pleas. Then, supported by the servants, he left the mansion.

Outside the palace, eunuchs were already waiting.

After both sides exchanged greetings, Sima Yu boarded his carriage and arrived at the palace.

I dismounted from the carriage outside the palace and was once again led by Eunuch Chen.

Scene replication.

But this time he was smarter and simply didn't ask.

Anyway, asking would only lead to a riddle-solving answer, and it would only make me more anxious.

Finally, they met the emperor in the Xuanyu Hall.

He sat on the dragon throne, while Sima Yu stood opposite him.

This time, he wasn't by the dragon bed in the inner chamber, and he had no seat to sit in.

"We have won the battle."

Upon meeting, the emperor spoke with a smile.

"Your Majesty, I offer my congratulations." Sima Yu bowed to the emperor with great enthusiasm.

"Such a victory is indeed worthy of celebration." Leaning back on the dragon throne, the emperor pondered for a moment and said, "I believe that there should be some reward."

"Your Majesty is holy."

“His son, Wusheng, has reached this age and made such a great contribution; he should be granted the title of king,” the emperor asked. “Tell me, should it be a single-character king or a double-character king?”

There are now seven princes in total.

Three single-character kings, three double-character kings.

The single character "王" is more valuable, while the single character "大" is the most valuable of all.

Therefore, the King of Jin was greater than the King of Wu, who was greater than the King of Su.

If it were a single character, and a large one at that, wouldn't that mean he would be on equal footing with the King of Wu?

This is a question that Sima Yu dared not answer.

"It is entirely up to Your Majesty's wise decision."

Sima Yu replied.

"Then I'll think about it some more." The emperor accepted it quite easily, then looked at the other party and asked curiously, "What about Song Shi'an?"

"It is entirely up to Your Majesty's wise decision."

Sima Yu's breathing was already somewhat unstable.

“After winning a battle, rewards must be given. Wu Sheng should be made a king, and Song Shi’an should also be promoted. Otherwise, how can loyal ministers be rewarded?”

"Your Majesty...is wise."

"But now, all the civil and military officials are against Song Shi'an. It's as if the entire world of Great Yu cannot tolerate this person."

Staring at him, the emperor's tone gradually became serious: "To be close to the prince while incurring the opposition of the people, could this Song Shi'an be the treacherous minister in the dream who shook the foundation of the country?"

"..."

Sima Yu was instantly filled with a chill.

I knew it was this problem!

It happened to me again!
He had previously said that someone intended to undermine the foundation of the state and get close to the prince; that person was the traitor who appeared in the dream.

He is a traitor who appeared in the dream, and should be killed on the spot!
Therefore, Song Shi'an deserves to be killed.

But why ask for my opinion?

Just because I say "kill," does that mean I can kill?
I suggest killing him; will the Sixth Prince spare me then?
If I say I won't kill them, then I'm going against the entire court. Do I have that kind of power?

Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you can't take advantage of being the emperor to do such a thing!
You are the ruler of the world; you should make your own decisions!

"Lord Sima?" Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, the emperor asked again, "Now it seems that the foundation of the country is about to be shaken. Do you think this rebellious minister who appeared in the dream is Song Shi'an?"

He chased after them and killed them.

Sima Yu knew that his meaning was unimportant.

But if you say something wrong, you'll have to take the blame.

So, you have to guess.

You guessed right!

"Your Majesty, the traitor who appeared in the dream may be... but he hasn't shown up yet."

After struggling, Sima Yu raised his head and answered tremblingly.

"But all the officials are against Song Shi'an, and the foundation of the country is in jeopardy," the emperor warned.

In response to this question, Sima Yu, filled with fear, replied excitedly, "Your Majesty, the foundation of the nation should not be shaken at present... Holding off the north wind is to stabilize the foundation of the nation!"

(End of this chapter)