Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 175 All the Jinshi Gather at the Imperial Palace

Song Shi'an finally left the mansion for the first time since returning home.

After paying his respects to his parents, he rode in a carriage with Song Ce.

The last time the two of them rode together was on the day they broke through the main gate for the imperial examination.

A year has passed in the blink of an eye.

Once in the car, Song Ce became somewhat nervous. He was visibly stiff, frequently glancing at his sleeves to make sure his attire was appropriate.

"You're nervous about meeting Princess Changqing, aren't you?" Song Shi'an asked.

“I am here to see His Majesty,” Song Ce corrected in his reply.

Although he was somewhat at a loss as to what to do with Princess Changqing, whom he had never met before, it was clear that this sixteen-year-old scholar valued the Emperor more.

"Indeed, he is, after all, the emperor."

Song Shi'an could understand.

To give an inappropriate example.

Forget it, I won't get it up.

"And what about you?" Song Ce looked at his elder brother and asked, "The military-agricultural colonies are for the benefit of the nation, and they are also used as the emperor's weapon, as everyone knows. His Majesty should be very interested in you, so will he personally summon you?"

“No,” Song Shi’an denied directly, adding, “I only need to be responsible to the King of Wu. His Majesty will not overstep his bounds by seeking me out alone.”

The old emperor is now in a phase, which is the end.

Power is like quicksand in his hands, slipping away silently and quietly from his fingertips.

He was slowly pushing his son into the public eye.

But anyone who has ever held sand in their hands knows that if you squeeze too hard, it will actually slip away faster.

Therefore, he has to take it slowly.

“I understand.” Song Ce nodded. “At this Qionglin Banquet today, we can do nothing and say nothing. If we do say anything, it will only be some polite words.”

“Hmm, I even have a premonition that I might not see His Majesty again…” Song Shi’an had this feeling vaguely.

"Huh? His Majesty can't be seen at the Qionglin Banquet?"

Song Ce didn't understand what his older brother was talking about.

“No, I don’t know either,” Song Shi’an murmured. “His Majesty may not want to see me right now. And I don’t really want to see him either.”

"..." Song Ce didn't dare to respond to that.

Only Song Shi'an knew that this was not just empty talk.

Rather, it is a genuine state of mind.

Crossing is an open-world adventure game with an incredibly high degree of freedom.

If one day he were to meet the old emperor alone, it would surely be because he wanted to give him a warning.

The carriage continued forward.

The further you go, the closer you get to the center of the empire.

There were fewer people on the road.

As you pass, there is a horse-drawn carriage directly in front of you.

Sun Qian and Zeng Ming, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) from Yangzhou, were sitting in the carriage. Zeng Ming was several years older than Sun Qian, but he seemed like the younger brother, and his aura was rather weak.

"Brother Zeng, why are you uneasy?" Sun Qian asked with a smile.

"In this imperial examination, Sizhou had the most successful candidates, while Yangzhou had the fewest. Besides me, there were only two others left," Zeng Ming said tremblingly. "Does His Majesty have some kind of dissatisfaction with us people from Yangzhou?"

This is self-evident.

There were a total of thirty Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), and only three came from Yangzhou. That's only one-tenth of the total.
There are only six prefectures in Dayu.

“Brother, you’re joking. Aren’t I also from Yangzhou?” Sun Qian said.

“Young master, you were registered in Sheng’an, and you were born and raised in Sheng’an. But in Yangzhou, the number of scholars and academicians is second only to Sheng’an, but the number of people who pass the imperial examination is the fewest…” Zeng Ming didn’t listen to his bluff; he knew exactly what was going on.

In the past, the admission rate for candidates from Jiangnan was no lower than that of places outside Sizhou.

But this year, the crackdown has been too severe.

Anyone with eyes to see knows that this involves the Wu-Jin factional struggle.

Yes, not everyone is as composed as Sun Qian, possessing the leverage to negotiate.

For the vast majority of people, if they choose the wrong side, their future is ruined.

"Well, we're from Yangzhou, what can we do?"

While he was feeling uneasy, Sun Qian's words left him speechless.

That's spineless.

Do you still think that having a Yangzhou household registration is a burden to you?

Is it unfair to you to be a Yangzhou native?
Of course, no matter how much backbone Sun Qian had, it was useless. The morale of the aristocratic families was currently loose and wavering.

Frankly, they had no reason to be enemies with Song Shi'an.

Because it is still unknown who will be the first to suffer the consequences of the reforms.

Before being beaten by Song Shi'an, no one would hate him.

However, with this mindset, Song Shi'an would definitely go to Yangzhou to quell the rebellion.

Let's not even talk about Qinzhou; the nobles only realized that murder was a crime after they left their hometown.

Sizhou is his family's territory, and most of his supporters are from Sheng'an. Would they really target their own hometown?
Yizhou, that's a state that receives government subsidies!

Liangzhou was a strategically important defensive prefecture!

That leaves only Huaiyang and Huaiyang prefectures.

If the emperor were to clear out the fields in those areas, siphon off the hidden households, and even set up a textile bureau to make money, then the people of Yangzhou would lose their confidence in the imperial court.

Since reading "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River", Sun Qian has given up on making progress in literature.

Now all he wants to do is politically bring down Song Shi'an.

The carriage gradually approached the palace. At the intersection, sharp objects blocked the way, requiring passengers to disembark and walk.

After Sun Qian and Zeng Ming got out of the car, they walked forward.

Many successful candidates in the imperial examinations had already gathered in the square in front of the palace gate.

The two were noticed as soon as they walked over.

Then, everyone stopped talking and turned to face the two of them. As Sun Qian approached, they bowed in unison: "Young Master Sun, Young Master Zeng."

This display of talent and influence was an eye-opener for Zeng Ming. No wonder it was said that when Yangzhou scholars went to the capital, they would always treat Minister Sun with the same devotion they would show to their own father.

That prestige, that network!
Sun Qian smiled gently, then, with Zeng Ming in tow, gracefully bowed and said, "Greetings, everyone."

After he raised his head, he was surrounded by several people and became the center of attention among the scholars.

The eye of the typhoon that everyone is watching.

This is what true depth and heritage are all about.

This is glory.

"Young Master Sun, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard so much about you." Ge Zhao, the second-place finisher in the imperial examination, was a man who appeared quite gentle and refined. He was completely unpretentious and took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Sun Qian.

Sun Qian replied, "The Ge family of Huaizhou is also a renowned family. Your father, Ge..."

But he had only spoken halfway when the second-place finisher in front of him seemed to have lost focus.

Has your gaze wandered?

Sun Qian was puzzled, when someone shouted, "The top scholar has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, Ge Zhao casually greeted Sun Qian, showing no airs of being the runner-up and no competitive spirit of being second. He chased after Sun Qian like a devoted fan.

The remaining people had mostly left and were all rushing to join the group.

Sun Qian became an instant sensation.

Xu Xu turned around slowly, looked at Song Shi'an over there, and clenched her fists in anger...

"Brother Song, which beautiful woman did you describe in your 'Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River'? She is so captivating!"

"Yes, do they exist in reality?"

"Could you please allow me to see you?"

The fans gathered around, each one quite interested. Regarding the timeless masterpiece, Song Shi'an smiled and said, "That's my beloved, how could I let you all see it?"

A whole cow, right?
"Is there really a woman in the world that Brother Song can't have, so he can only express his longing through poetry?" Some people were even more curious.

“She is, after all, a goddess,” Song Shi’an explained. “If you could marry her so easily, wouldn’t that be something to yearn for?”

Song Ce, standing to the side, sensed a growing urgency.

He likes Xinyue so much, why doesn't he say so?

Wouldn't the other party agree?
He was finding it increasingly difficult to keep the secret of the goddess...

"Brother Song, I am Ge Zhao."

With a big smile, the second-place finisher came over to say hello.

"Hello, hello." Song Shi'an took the initiative to shake hands with him.

Because of the ceremony, the others gathered around, and he greeted them one by one.

Everyone felt extremely honored.

You can tell just by looking at the second-place finisher's attitude.

He was already second in the imperial examination, but he ranked fourth in one subject and second in another, a far cry from being the top scholar. He couldn't possibly consider Song Shi'an a worthy opponent.

He himself didn't really want to.

Seeing Song Shi'an is like seeing your idol.

"If I could write 'Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River,' my life would be worthwhile." One person, his hands trembling, looked at Song Shi'an with envy, expressing what everyone was thinking.

At this moment, someone said, "Then you must see such a beautiful goddess, just like Brother Song."

Song Shi'an laughed at what was said, and everyone else laughed along with him.

At this moment, a person who was on the periphery walked in quite discreetly.

Upon seeing him, Song Shi'an immediately went up and hugged him.

Wang Shuishan immediately laughed, hugged Song Shi'an, and the two patted each other's backs vigorously.

"You brat, you didn't even come to see me?" Song Shi'an cursed.

“The young master’s family is frequented by distinguished people, and Shui Shan is embarrassed to pay them a visit,” Wang Shui Shan said awkwardly.

"You're being sarcastic, I'll beat you up." Song Shi'an clenched his fist and punched him in the chest.

He was driven back, then smiled apologetically and bowed, saying, "Brother Jingxiu, it's been a long time. I've missed you dearly."

"Yes, it's been a long time."

Song Shi'an returned the greeting gently.

Everyone envied the relationship between the two, as they were from the same region, had passed the imperial examinations at the same time, and had both become Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations).

However, Gao Yunyi and Fan Wuji knew that their close relationship was not because they were from the same cohort, since they were also the top scholars of Sizhou last year.

That pure friendship was forged from sleeping side by side!
"Everyone, this is my younger brother, Jingming," Song Shi'an introduced, pulling his brother along.

"Young Master Jingming." Everyone greeted him warmly.

“You’re the youngest here,” Song Shi’an said. “Everyone here is an older brother, so call them ‘brother’ quickly.”

Very honest and obedient, Song Ce bowed to everyone and said, "Greetings, brothers."

A boy who comes from a wealthy family, is handsome, has excellent grades, and respects women is the best.

Every scholar who passed the imperial examination wanted to exchange his own younger brother for this one.

"Is everyone here?" Song Shi'an asked.

"Everyone's here," someone said. "Young Master Sun Qian is at the palace gate."

"Then shall we go together?" Song Shi'an asked.

"Please." Ge Zhao extended his hand, automatically becoming the secretary to receive the leader.

And so, the thirty successful candidates in the imperial examinations, carrying their gold credentials, headed towards the palace…

……

"Do you think those scholars knew that we would be hosting today's Qionglin Banquet?"

"We just found out, what do you think?"

In the palace gardens, inside a grand hall, the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Wu sat on the top steps, one on the left and one on the right, dressed in python robes, facing forward.

After waiting for so long, the King of Jin finally spoke, and the King of Wu replied with a sentence.

Then, they remained silent...

(End of this chapter)