Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 16 Song Shi'an is going home

"Are you really willing to ask for me?"

Song Shi'an scrutinized Song Qin with suspicion.

"So, you actually want to go home?" Song Qin asked curiously.

“Isn’t that obvious? Who wants to wander outside?” Song Shi’an said without hesitation.

"I thought you'd really grown up and that's why you were so arrogant." Song Qin said incredulously, then teased, "So you're afraid to go home because you're afraid Dad will beat you to death?"

"Natural."

"If Dad promises not to beat you to death, will you go home?"

"No, even beating him half to death won't do."

Song Shi'an said earnestly.

"So if he promises not to beat you half to death, you'll go home?"

"You can't cripple someone."

"You're such a hassle..."

Song Qin glanced at him impatiently, then asked to confirm, "If your father promises you that he won't beat you to death or cripple you, you'll be willing to go home, right?"

"Yes, that's no problem."

Song Shi'an nodded, taking it very seriously.

“Alright, then I’ll go back and discuss it with my father. If he’s willing, I’ll send someone to inform you, and then you can go home,” Song Qin suggested.

"That's perfect, that's perfect."

Song Shi'an nodded simply.

"Around Shenshi (3-5 PM), just wait here at this bookstall, and a servant will come to meet you," Song Qin said.

After the other party said this, Song Shi'an clasped his hands together, bowed slowly to Song Qin, and thanked her very formally, saying, "Thank you, Miss. If things go well, I will definitely reward you handsomely."

"It's easy to talk about."

Feeling such respectful gratitude, Song Qin smiled with satisfaction.

Then she turned around and waved casually at him.

Watching the girl walk away, Song Shi'an, who had just been so devout and honest, immediately revealed his true colors, lazily holding "Springtime in the Garden" in one hand, turning around and walking while reading.

.........

“Father, I met Song Shi’an at the Student Inn.”

Upon returning to the manor, Song Qin sought out Song Jing alone. In his study, she cautiously yet directly raised the issue.

"What?!" Upon hearing this name, Song Jing instantly became furious.

The calligraphy brush in his hand was snapped in two by his grip.

Staring at Song Qin, he roared, "Where is that beast now?"

"Father, please calm down, Father, please calm down," Song Qin quickly reassured him. "I met him on the street near the post station, but I don't know exactly where he lives now. He was also very scared after I mentioned you, Father."

"Afraid? He knows what fear is?" Song Jing clenched his fist.

“I think he must know fear…” Song Qin thought of her plan and put it into action. “He told me that when he fell into the water, he seemed to be possessed and had some ominous dreams. As a result, his mind has been in a mess all day, and he feels drowsy. I asked him if he knew about breaking into the main gate, and guess what he said, Father?”

Song Jing stared at Song Qin, and asked impatiently, "How so?"

"He knew absolutely nothing about this!"

Song Qin suddenly became serious and mystical.

"Really?"

Song Jing could hardly believe it.

“He doesn’t dare go home, but he doesn’t know why he doesn’t dare go home,” Song Qin continued. “When I mention you, Father, he trembles. He doesn’t seem to be faking it.”

Because of Song Qin's description, he visibly softened and looked bewildered.

So Song Qin seized the opportunity and said, "He's afraid of his father, afraid he'll be beaten to death if he goes back. So he asked me to sound out his father's opinion. As long as he's not beaten to death, even if he's crippled or half-dead, he still wants to go home."

With a furrowed brow, Song Jing hesitated.

After a while, his expression turned solemn, and he slowly said, "Since he's possessed by a demon, I won't beat him. I'll find an exorcist to remove the demon from him. But the embarrassing thing he did drinking with those scoundrels earlier can't go unpunished."

"Is Father serious?"

Song Qin asked in surprise.

They wouldn't kill him as soon as they let him into the manor, would they?

“Really,” Song Jing said. “Let him come back in the evening. Leave the small gate open for him, without any guards. I will personally wait for him in the main room. As long as he confesses, we will let bygones be bygones for what he did when he was possessed.”

"Very well, Father, I'll send someone to tell them right away." "Hmm."

And so, Song Jing watched as Song Qin left his study.

After closing the door, his face instantly darkened, becoming extremely frightening.

"Obsessed? How could you come up with such nonsense?"

"Await your return."

"Look I don't kill you!"

.........

"Miss, Young Master Shi An said he would be back before 9 PM tonight."

After a servant informed Song Qin of the news, she excitedly relayed it to Song Jing.

"I understand. I'll wait for him in the main room at 11 PM."

"Okay father."

After facilitating this matter, Song Qin's world suddenly became much brighter.

If it weren't for that annoying Song Ce, I would have been living a pretty good life at home.

Now, his father finds fault with everything he does.

They said she didn't look like a girl, that she didn't study or play the piano properly, and that she was spoiled and stupid, saying she had no redeeming qualities at all.

Thankfully, Song Shi'an is coming back.

They should be scolded for what happened before, when they went out drinking and carousing.

This time, he failed the imperial examination for the third time and still deserves criticism.

Once Song Ce passes the imperial examination and becomes an official, this guy will be stuck at home like a parasite and will continue to nag.

Those days would be much better!
Thinking about this, Song Qin felt that the future was promising.

At 9 PM, Song Jing, who was sitting in the main seat of the main room, revealed a hint of cunning on his serious face.

A slight smile curved at the corners of her lips.

It seemed that he was the only person in the room.

But in reality, there were ten servants hidden behind the screen.

Each person held a wooden stick, waiting for their chance to strike.

If this kid dares to come in, we're definitely going to be caught in this trap.

He associates with bad friends, indulges in debauchery, forgets his status and trespasses through the main gate, and even thinks that passing the mere imperial examination will turn his life around.

You bastard, I'll beat you to death!

Only by living can one be worthy of being my son.

Song Jing was originally an impatient person.

But for some reason, he was particularly patient when doing this kind of thing.

And so he sat in the chair in the main hall, patiently waiting from 9 PM to 11 PM.

Then, from midnight, we waited until 1 AM.

Before we knew it, the rooster crowed.

"You bastard, I'll kill you!"

Realizing he had been stood up, Song Jing suddenly stood up, veins bulging, his fighting spirit at its peak.

.........

When Wang Shuishan woke up, he saw Song Shi'an lying on the bed, propping his head up with one hand and holding the book "Fragrant Garden" in the other. He couldn't help but feel a shameful curiosity: "What is this book about?"

Song Shi'an looked at him and gave him a mysterious smile: "It's beautiful."

"Then I won't ask."

Wang Shuishan quickly averted his gaze, then continued to daydream, "It's been three days already, the successful candidates should have been decided by now. What do you think the Grand Secretaries of the Imperial Academy are doing right now?"

"I don't know what the Grand Secretaries are doing, but I know what my sister is doing."

"what?"

.........

The Song residence, courtyard.

With her palms bruised and red from being slapped, Song Qin knelt in the middle of the courtyard, tears streaming down her face, and cried out to the heavens, "Song Shi'an, I hate you!!!"

(End of this chapter)