Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 157 Bringing Xinyue Home

After reading this, Sun Qian's confidence collapsed and his Dao heart was shattered.

Sun Yan also understood that there was no shady dealing involved.

This poem truly lives up to its name.

But a surge of anger rose within him: "You're so young, and you want to give up at the first sign of a setback? You even said you'd never write poetry again in your life. Does one imperial examination really determine your fate? How naive and foolish!"

However, these seemingly scolding but actually encouraging words failed to ignite even a sliver of fighting spirit in Sun Qian's heart.

With his head bowed, he remained deeply frustrated.

It was as if he had encountered a mountain surrounded by clouds. He didn't know how high it was above the clouds, but this halfway up the mountain was something he could never reach in his lifetime.

Sun Heng, observing Sun Qian's expression, walked over, picked up the sample paper, and presented it to Sun Yan with both hands.

Sun Situ personally came to see the article that made his proud and arrogant son kneel down and surrender on the spot.

But after watching just a few clips, the anger completely vanished.

Yes, they were just as shocked as Sun Qian.

"Like light clouds veiling the moon, like swirling snowflakes in a flowing wind..."

Even with preconceived notions and a tendency to denigrate Song Shi'an as evil and despicable, the image still involuntarily surfaced in my mind as I murmured this phrase.

Even political enemies had to admit that the Goddess of the Luo River was truly a celestial being.

Every word is breathtakingly beautiful.

It is a place that is refreshing and makes you want to stay longer.

A young man in his early twenties, who 'considers himself to be the best in the world,' would only feel utter despair upon reading this.

Because he knew that even if he lived to a ripe old age, he might not be able to write a masterpiece that surpassed this one.

What meaning does life then hold?

"This child is truly a prodigy."

After reading it, Sun Yan forgave her son's negativity.

Sun Heng, who was watching from the side, nodded frequently.

His younger brother was indeed very outstanding. Among the many children of the Sun family, he was definitely exceptional and had always been regarded as the family's heir. However, compared to Song Shi'an, he was still far inferior.

"You should go back to your room first."

Sun Yan knew that Sun Qian was in pain, so he spoke up.

"Yes, father."

After bowing to Sun Situ, Sun Qian left.

Only the father and son remained.

“Is there something wrong with Qiandi being so depressed?” Sun Heng asked.

“If the two sides were evenly matched, a minor defeat would indeed be hard to accept. But now, he won’t be focusing his attention on becoming a literary leader anymore.” Sun Yan wasn’t worried about his mental state. “The original purpose of studying was to enter officialdom and to be a good official. Why put the cart before the horse?”

Of course, that's true, but we can't force ourselves to say that this top scorer's achievement is insignificant.

The significance of being the top scholar in the imperial examination certainly cannot compare to the significance of "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River".

The significance of this poem lies in the fact that students all over the world will take Song Shi'an as their idol, pursue him, and worship him.

He will have countless fans.

Those who pursued him considered it an honor to befriend him.

This influence was almost equivalent to that of the Sun family of Yangzhou.

Sun Yan was one of the Three Dukes of the court, and his protégés and former officials were all over the country.

Song Shi'an, who lacked such resources, was now able to recruit followers all over the world.

"Then wouldn't he be unstoppable?" Sun Heng voiced his concern.

"Quite the opposite," Sun Yan said without hesitation. "With a reputation and talent this great, can the emperor really trust him to be a powerful minister?"

"But won't it be too late if His Majesty takes him in?"

Sun Heng whispered.

“Ah, you’re right about that.” Sun Yan rarely affirmed his eldest son. “There will be retribution later, but at this time, he will still be the emperor’s sharpest sword.”

The saying "Those who are arrogant will surely be punished by Heaven" is pure Ah Q spirit.

Others can say that.

But for a political enemy to harbor such a pathetic thought is tantamount to being ousted.

What's the difference between this and the fact that bad people will definitely be punished and will eventually die of old age at eighty?
"The fight continues in the arena, and we will continue on our path." Sun Yan's steps remained firm.

Even powerful families can remain invincible by banding together.

How to control Song Shi'an was a problem for the emperor.

Just then, Sun Jinhua brought in tea and snacks, pretending to be a 'filial daughter' to gather information.

"Jinhua, take this to your brother; he forgot it." Sun Yan glanced at the sample scroll on the table.

"Yes, father."

Sun Jinhua took it and went out.

After walking for a while, Sun Heng said, "Father, my little sister is a bit rebellious. I also heard that she tried to secretly deliver food to Song Shi'an a few days ago."

"You think I don't know?" Sun Yan retorted.

“Father…is wise.” Sun Heng lowered his head.

Sun Yan looked outside and then casually told him, "Just pretend you don't know."

……

After casually handing the tea and snack plate to a maid, Sun Jinhua picked up the sample scroll and began to read it.

It seems that after seeing this, my brother left in a huff.

What did Song Shi'an write that had such a huge impact on him?

"Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River..."

She slowly read the article and couldn't help but feel moved.

It's written so beautifully, so wonderfully. Even though some of the words are obscure and difficult to understand, they still evoke vivid images.

Is this about a goddess with whom he had a past relationship?

There are no goddesses in the world... and he'll never meet one.

That was the woman he admired.

A beauty worthy of his longing, who could create such a timeless masterpiece.

Soul Girl.

.........

The procession of the top scholar would surely be a sea of ​​people, with gongs and drums resounding and firecrackers exploding.

Of course, there were no firecrackers, but the public sentiment that had been amplified was overwhelming. "This is Lord Song, who stood guard against the north wind alongside the Sixth Prince. Not only is he a skilled military commander, but he also achieved first place in two imperial examinations. Our Great Yu's savior has arrived!"

"I've heard that there are already model collections of classical Chinese poetry and prose; I must go and buy a copy!"

"Young Master Song has just come out of the Dali Temple and has also become the top scholar in the imperial examination. The person he fears most is Ji Yuan. He would probably wet his pants if he heard about it!"

"Yes, only Song Shi'an can defeat Ji Yuan, yet some of us are targeting him. Have those people taken money from Northern Qi? They're traitors!"

Foreign powers have started to sponsor it.

Song Shi'an knew that he was currently enjoying too much attention.

Especially riding on the back of a high-ranking official of the second rank in the imperial court, it made Old Wei so angry that he wanted to kill him.

There was no other way; Song Shi'an needed to win popular support and show a ruthless attitude towards his political enemies in order to proceed with his next steps.

What if Old Wei really can't help but want to kill him?
He can indeed kill now, kill at will.

It refers to the kind of killing that disregards the consequences and insists on eliminating someone.

But Song Shi'an knew he wouldn't.

Because both the primary and secondary contradictions of the Great Yu Dynasty still exist, killing oneself would only resolve the secondary contradiction.

If we want to save the nation and ensure its survival, we must address the primary contradictions.

This is the truth.

Song Shi'an is destined to be the one who resolves the main contradictions.

Now that the main problem has been solved, what will he do?
Very simple.

To create a new principal contradiction.

Throughout history, have there been more powerful ministers who bullied their monarchs or those who were killed by their monarchs?
Even if we include the great emperors who indiscriminately killed meritorious officials during the founding of their dynasties, the former group would certainly outnumber the latter.

Song Shi'an will never be a hypocrite.

The term "powerful minister" naturally refers to someone at the height of their power.

To kill someone so easily, is this some kind of child's play?

Just as he was thinking this, suddenly, a red embroidered ball was thrown at him.

Fortunately, he dodged it with a quick dodge.

The city was filled with laughter.

"Who threw this embroidered ball?"

"Even the top scholar dares to openly seek a son-in-law?"

"However, Lord Song is indeed unmarried. If he's interested, there might actually be a chance..."

After the top scholar's impressive appearance and a round trip along the central axis of the city, he would return to the imperial city.

However, after the imperial city was opened up, allowing ordinary people to go to the Dali Temple to "pick up people," this privilege was quickly closed.

The imperial city thus became a place where ordinary people could only leave, but not enter.

However, there were also tens of thousands of nobles and servants in the imperial city.

There were still quite a few people watching from both sides.

"Shi An! It's us!"

"look here!"

Chunhou and Zhang Ji waved enthusiastically, as if they had just met General Jin.

Why didn't I see any tears?

If you don't cry, you'll never have the chance to cry again.

Song Shi'an smiled and clasped his fists in greeting to them.

Along the way, there were acquaintances or people who wanted to join in the fun.

But after working for several hours, he was really tired.

I just want to get home as soon as possible.

Finally, we arrived at the Song residence.

The entrance was still bustling with activity, with a constant stream of people coming to offer their congratulations. However, Song Shi'an only noticed a girl with a sword standing in a corner, detached from the noise.

Song Shi'an dismounted, thanked the guards who were protecting him, and then dismissed them.

"Shi An, it's been a long time."

"Congratulations, congratulations."

"Now, you're going to soar to great heights!"

Song Shi'an bowed to each person politely, while also glossing over some of the formalities.

Finally, he stood before Xinyue.

And she was still putting on airs.

He looked at himself calmly, without much reaction: "I'm out."

Seriously, what kind of attitude is this?

"You've become the top scholar! Congratulations!" she smiled.

Song Shi'an immediately felt relieved and smiled, "I told you, you can pass the test no matter what you take."

"awesome."

"So who are you here?" Song Shi'an asked.

"I came to congratulate you, and by the way, I have a few things to say. His Highness has also come out of the Imperial Clan Court. I think we should arrange for you two to meet first."

After looking around and seeing that no one was being tactless enough to approach, Song Shi'an said, "You'd better see me before the King of Wu sees me."

The part about asserting sovereignty.

"Understood." Xin Yue nodded. "Then I'll head back to the palace now."

"So urgent?" Song Shi'an asked.

"I'm not in a rush," Xin Yue explained, "but I don't have anything else to do."

"What are you saying? You're already at my house and you're not even going in?" Song Shi'an said, his voice trembling with emotion.

"But I've eaten."

"It's not like you can only eat when you come to my house."

"What can you do with that?"

As a prince's bodyguard, Xin Yue was considering the reasons for doing this.

"Does everything need to have meaning?"

Song Shi'an grabbed her hand directly and pulled her away before she could react: "Come on, come inside with me."

(End of this chapter)