Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 134 Sun Situ Speaks Up for Song Shi'an

Cui Ting's move directly created a girl band right there in the imperial court—Bang!

Everyone inside the Taiyuan Hall immediately panicked.

The Prince of Zhongping was completely dumbfounded and speechless.

Is it on?
At this moment, the King of Jin and the King of Wu could no longer care about factional strife. They turned around in surprise, looking at the chaotic scene on the other side with complicated expressions.

"Ouch!" The cane struck the civil official on the head, making him cry out in pain. He grimaced and pointed at the other man, "Ouch! You old bastard!"

After Cui Ting finished hitting him, his body suddenly tensed up.

Then, a wave of dizziness washed over me.

The next moment, he fell backward.

"Hey!" King Wu quickly pointed in that direction.

Zhao Yi rushed forward and caught Cui Ting from behind, preventing him from falling.

Then, other people came over to help him up.

"You old bastard, you hit someone and then pretend to be unconscious! What kind of good thing is that?" The man wasn't made of dough either; he got angry immediately and was about to raise his fist to punch the other man a few times.

"Stop!" Prince Jin quickly stepped forward and separated the two. "No fighting in the court. Everyone, calm down."

After the Prince of Jin left his seat, the entire hall erupted into chaos.

"No matter what, you can't hit people."

"But is it acceptable to ridicule and slander?"

"Both sides are at fault, and both should remain calm."

"Yes, yes, serving in the same court is not easy for anyone, it's not easy for anyone..."

The emperor, seated on the dragon throne, calmly watched this scene without any change in emotion.

In fact, it's rather speechless.

He glanced at the Duke of Li, but the other party remained silent and motionless.

The emperor, after deliberately creating chaos, spoke with displeasure: "How is this court assembly any different from the shouting and cursing in the streets?"

One sentence was enough to calm everyone down.

He quickly returned to his seat.

They all bowed their heads, placed their hands in front of them, and accepted the emperor's reprimand.

Only Zhao Yi was still supporting Cui Ting from behind, which was quite awkward.

"Summon the imperial physician and take Right Chancellor Cui to treat him," the emperor ordered.

Soon, a royal physician took the unconscious old man away.

When the emperor issued the order, there was very little concern in his tone.

It's fair to say there are virtually none.

They're all old foxes, how could they not understand each other?

Cui Ting was neither provoked nor truly insulted. He simply wanted to appear vulnerable, so he tapped the other man's cane and pretended to faint. He then acted as if no one could touch the old man and was carried away, relying on his age to his advantage.

In fact, when he was trembling while leaning on his cane, the emperor could tell that this prop was probably going to be used.

Well, it's a bit boring, but it's also a kind of attitude.

The person who had been punched, covering his head with his hands, suddenly became nervous and couldn't help but glance back...

Could this old man have really fainted from anger and then died?
If he really dies, and Song Jing comes out, wouldn't I be... Ugh, why am I even getting involved?

Will it be considered that I drove Cui Ting to his death?

Injustice!
I even got this cane!
This is the result.

As the emperor saw this, his officials gradually realized what was happening and began to feel fear. They were all uneasy about the possible purge that was about to come.

These people have all been outsmarted by this old fox.

King of Wu, do you understand?
The emperor glanced at the King of Wu.

After a moment of surprise, the King of Wu was somewhat bewildered and didn't quite understand.

Ye Changqing instantly realized the truth.

That was a good hit!

That Cui Ting, he's so dizzy!

The second-rank official, the head of the prestigious Cui family of Kyoto, was so enraged by the aggressive demands of his colleagues in the imperial court that he fainted.

Our Lord Cui is already in such a state, how dare you still pressure them!

It was just a small request: to register my grandson for a scientific expedition.
You guys are heartless to go so far as to kill him!

"What do you all think of what Cui Ting said?" the emperor asked.

Nobody dared to speak up.

At this moment, the emperor asked Gu Yixin, "Master Gu, what do you think?"

"There has never been such a precedent before, and this old minister does not know what to do," the Chief Grand Secretary said after careful consideration. "It is entirely up to Your Majesty to decide."

The emperor was already showing signs of taking sides.

However, because it wasn't very obvious, some people pretended not to notice and continued to state their positions.

Gu Yixin has always been known for his talent and virtue, and for being free from desires. Naturally, he would not get involved in matters that involve the Party and government.

"Then, Prince Jin, you are in charge of the imperial examinations, what do you think?"

In fact, the emperor never intended to ask Gu Yixin; he simply wanted to use him as a stepping stone to his true purpose.

When the Prince of Jin was asked the question, he was not the only one who became nervous.

The King of Wu was also drawn into the matter.

That's right, the emperor is forcing Prince Jin to make a choice.

He had previously summoned Sima Yu, as well as the King of Wu and the King of Jin separately.

He specifically spoke to the King of Jin, hoping that he and the King of Wu would safeguard their kingdoms.

Wei Yixuan, make your choice. "Your Majesty..."

Just as Prince Jin was about to pass the buck back to the Emperor, Prince Zhongping's glare made him realize that if he backed down any further, the people's hearts would be scattered. Therefore, he spoke up: "According to the laws of the Great Yu, there is indeed no provision that prohibits one from participating in the imperial examinations during a period of interrogation while under investigation."

This statement seems to be quite objective.

But the officials immediately realized that this was a biased stance towards them.

Because it uses 'if so'.

This means there's a twist in the following sentence.

“Your Majesty,” the Prince of Jin raised his head and said, “Our Great Yu must act in accordance with the law, so the actions of Right Chancellor Cui are legal and compliant. However, I truly believe that if it involves the trial of a case, it is inappropriate for him to have the qualifications for the imperial examination.”

These words were spoken quite appropriately.

They did not make a choice, yet they had an attitude.

The Prince of Jin was not as utterly weak and incompetent as the legends suggested.

“Your Highness is right.” At this moment, Grand Secretary Sun Kang nodded in agreement. “I have been supervising the imperial examinations for many years and have always participated in the provincial examinations, the setting of questions for the metropolitan examinations, and the registration process. Song Shi’an’s trial has not yet concluded, and we cannot know the outcome. However, if some people do have some blemishes, yet they are allowed to register, even if they ultimately do not participate, it would still be an insult to the sanctity of the imperial examinations.”

"Then what do you think, my dear minister?" the emperor asked.

Sun Kang seemed somewhat troubled, unsure of what to say.

"Then let Prince Jin say it, since you presided over the whole process," the Emperor said.

After pondering for a moment, the King of Jin said, "I humbly request that the law concerning the imperial examination be amended."

It's truly watertight.

Prince Jin was indeed usually timid and afraid of trouble, but that was only towards the emperor himself.

His performance in the imperial court was satisfactory.

"But wouldn't it be inappropriate to make last-minute changes to this scientific expedition?"

At this moment, Grand Secretary Zhang Zhao asked a question.

This man was a high-ranking official who came from a humble background but later became wealthy and began to acquire land on a whim.

He had a natural distance from the old money, but as a scholar, he was proud and arrogant, and did not feel inferior because he was ostracized.

The good thing is that he wasn't originally part of Sun Situ's group.

If he speaks out now, even if he intends to side with the King of Wu, it won't seem like he's opportunistic.

Everyone hesitated.

Zhang Zhaota has a point.

Amending laws cannot be done by immediately fixing loopholes the moment they are discovered.

The only way to fix this problem is to let the loophole be exploited first, and then use examples to learn from the experience.

Otherwise, things will fall into chaos.

If a law can be flexibly modified based on 'reason and sentiment' during enforcement, then that law is utterly worthless.

This is also where his second brother, the Prince of Jin, did the right thing.

Prince Zhongping was quite satisfied with this move.

They expressed their opposition, but did not confront the King of Wu when his power was at its peak.

"His Majesty."

Just then, Ye Changqing stepped forward and said, "I think it is unfair to allow Song Ce and Song Shi'an to take the imperial examination."

What is he doing?

The King of Wu was astonished; why was he contradicting him?

The officials were also puzzled.

Isn't this one of the King of Wu's men?

What is he doing?
"Where is the unfairness?" the emperor asked.

"Your Majesty, the officials felt this was inappropriate out of consideration for upholding the sanctity of the imperial examinations, and they had no other selfish motives. Even if Song Shi'an were to actually pass the exam, it would not be a loss for the officials. Similarly, it would be the same for me, since I have already passed the exam."

After going around in circles, Ye Changqing finally said, "The ones who are truly harmed are the candidates for the imperial examinations this year."

Hearing this, everyone was still completely confused.

It has nothing to do with what he said.

He was right about everything, and even flattered his colleagues—they attacked Song Shi'an not because they hated him, but because they were wholeheartedly devoted to the country.

But what was the point of him saying all this?
What's the point?

“As we all know, Song Shi’an ranked first in the Sizhou provincial examination last year in both prose and policy essays. He has a very high chance of passing the imperial examination this year,” Ye Changqing said seriously. “And the number of Jinshi positions is limited each year. Since he is going to pass, he will definitely push others out of the top spots.”

"..." The Prince of Jin listened for a while, but still didn't quite understand.

The King of Wu was also pondering this.

Prince Zhongping immediately looked at Minister Sun.

This person's expression is really not very pleasant.

Sun Situ's gloomy face is quite frightening.

“If Song Shi’an had participated in the imperial examination this year and squeezed out other people’s Jinshi, or even Zhuangyuan…” Ye Changqing made a genuinely uneasy expression, “That’s not good.”

Now everyone understood.

Last year, who stepped on Sun Qian's head to be the best in both prose and policy essays?
What if he participates in the scientific expedition and accidentally steps on Sun Qian's head again?
Given Sun Situ's prideful nature, there's no way he wouldn't take the bait.

Otherwise, even if their own son becomes the top scholar, people will say, "It's fortunate that Song Shi'an didn't come."

Does the top score obtained by Song Keer in the provincial examination, despite not beating him, actually have any real value?

"Since there was no violation this time."

Sun Situ, who had a terrible temper, said coldly, "Then they should be eligible to take the exam. If they are truly guilty, we can cancel their eligibility later."

Under the cover of a conspiracy, this twisted and bizarre scene ultimately unfolded in the imperial court.

Sun Situ actually spoke up for Song Shi'an.

(End of this chapter)