Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 182 King Wu, was it Song Shi'an who taught you?
"Chen Bao, go and see the King of Wu off."

"Yes."

After the King of Wu bowed and withdrew, the emperor ordered the eunuchs to escort him out of the palace.

Then, he looked at the eunuch who had just brought the King of Wu to the side.

He was present at the Qionglin Banquet the entire time.

"Didn't Song Shi'an speak with the King of Wu in private?" the emperor asked.

Although each new emperor brings a new court, the eunuchs' power derives from the emperor. Those powerful emperors naturally have eunuchs who are absolutely loyal and have no selfish motives whatsoever.

He replied, “During the banquet, His Highness Prince Wu and Song Shi’an did not have a chance to speak. Afterwards, His Highness personally came out of the palace to see off the scholars. Song Shi’an alighted from his sedan chair, bowed, and then left with His Highness’s concern. There was no direct conversation, but…”

"Ah."

The emperor already knew everything while he was hesitating.

Even a single sentence can be a hint.

Even a single word will do.

It is very likely that Song Shi'an taught him.

Even if it's something they teach, it doesn't matter. As a strategist under my command, I have this responsibility; I can't just cover my mouth and not let people speak.

The key question is, how will the King of Wu respond?

His answer will determine whether he passes the test.

"Go down."

The emperor dismissed the eunuch who had been monitoring him.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After he left, Chen Bao came with light steps and a bowed back a while later, and went to the emperor.

"How did you think of the two princes' performance at today's Qionglin Banquet?" the emperor asked.

"Your Majesty, this servant dares not speak ill of the two princes..." Chen Baoxian put on his armor.

"To put it simply, setting aside the mistake that the King of Wu just admitted," the Emperor said.

"Both Your Highnesses have performed their duties admirably," Chen Bao replied.

If one were to speak in circles, one wouldn't use such a precise description based on parts of speech.

The emperor agreed: "Hmm, acceptable."

Aside from that incident, the royal family's reputation was not tarnished.

The two are indeed incompatible; everyone in the world knows that.

The two of them co-hosted the Qionglin Banquet, and there were no conflicts, no open competition for talent, and no recruitment of cliques. That was enough.

The emperor knew very well that they could not tolerate each other.

The struggle for the crown prince position has always been like this; it will inevitably be a life-or-death struggle.

Furthermore, if the matter is not resolved properly, one of the two people will surely die after I pass away.

But one thing at a time, the world needs a stable situation.

Confidence is more important than gold.

Without strong confidence, Ji Yuan could use gold to destroy the confidence of the people of Dayu.

"How is the handover of duties between the Minister of State Affairs and the Magistrate of Sheng'an proceeding?" the Emperor asked.

Chen Bao replied, "Your Majesty, I have already communicated privately with Song Jing, Ye Changqing, and Liu Zheng, the former Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. The Magistrate of Sheng'an, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and some important officials of the Court of Judicial Review are also basically aware of this."

"The results will be made public tomorrow," the emperor said.

"Yes."

"The day after tomorrow, the emperor will hold a face-to-face meeting with all the successful candidates at the Ministry of Personnel," the emperor said. "Ouyang Ke is currently on sick leave, so let Song Jing preside over the meeting personally."

"Yes." Chen Bao asked, slightly puzzled, "Were Song Shi'an and Song Ce also interviewed by Song Jing? Shouldn't we avoid any appearance of impropriety?"

"Ouyang Ke has pleaded illness, and Song Jing has avoided suspicion," the Emperor said. "Are there any others left who are of the fourth rank or above?"

"Your Majesty, there are several ministers of the fourth rank. The only one of the fourth rank is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Yu Xiu," Chen Bao replied.

"Ouyang Ke's beloved disciple, right?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

It is certainly against the rules to have a senior secretary make the appointment and removal of important officials of the imperial court.

Song Ce is a guaranteed seventh rank, so that's fine. But Song Shi'an starts at the fifth rank. How is Yu Xiu supposed to deal with that?
"Chen Bao, do you know why I don't want to see Song Shi'an?"

Suddenly, the emperor asked.

"Your Majesty, this servant does not know," Chen Bao replied.

"Because recently, I dreamt of a rebellious minister again."

The emperor's words sent chills down Chen Bao's spine. The next sentence was even more terrifying, like something out of a horror story: "And in my dream, his features became increasingly clear."

"..." Chen Bao trembled and asked nervously, "Does Your Majesty wish to have an artist paint it?"

If you find them, kill them!
No, since they all look alike, why not just ask Song Shi'an to confirm?
If it is, kill it; if not, everyone is happy.

In other words, the emperor has absolutely no intention of killing Song Shi'an.

He even worried that the person in his dream might actually look like Song Shi'an.

"Whether he is a traitor who appeared in a dream is no longer important." The emperor looked at Chen Bao. "What is important is that I want to see for myself what he is capable of."

.........

The King of Wu sat in his chariot, completely wooden.

His face was blank, and he didn't say a word.

And in my mind, all I could see was that scene—

"Did Song Shi'an teach you to say these words?"

The emperor asked the question directly.

He was so frightened that his body tensed up and his mind went blank.

Fortunately, he was prostrating himself in prayer at the time and did not show his panic and unease to anyone.

My mind went into a brainstorming session in an instant.

Song Shi'an didn't teach this!

Want to say something?
If you don't admit it, that's deceiving the emperor.

When he said goodbye to Song Shi'an, the eunuch must have seen it. As for whether they exchanged 'whispers', although there is no concrete evidence, everyone would think in that direction.

Are you trying to deceive the emperor?

Or is it that you acknowledge part of it was taught, but the rest was genuine?

But in that instant when he looked up, he thought of something else.

When I apologized, I said that I did something wrong because I wanted to relieve my father's worries.

They were completely unaware that they had overstepped their bounds.

But if you say that this was taught by Song Shi'an, then your own apology and your own tears are not sincere at all.

This is also deceiving the emperor, and even more serious!
“Father, Song Shi’an never taught me to say these things.”

Looking at His Majesty, the King of Wu said sincerely, "It was at the banquet when he came to my rescue that I realized I had made a mistake." That's what he said.

The emperor didn't ask any further questions and even nodded.

But the King of Wu was still unsure whether he had done anything wrong.

What should we do next?
So, as soon as he returned to the Prince of Wu's residence, he sent someone to invite Ye Changqing over, even though it was already quite late.

Seeing the King of Wu's anxiety, and not at all showing signs of drunkenness or fatigue from the banquet, the Queen of Wu walked to his side, took out a silk handkerchief, and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Wasn't it the Qionglin Banquet? Did you not drink too much?"

"He drank, and because of drinking, he ruined a big deal."

The seated King of Wu murmured to himself.

"Something terrible has happened?" Upon hearing this, Princess Wu immediately tensed up. "What is it?"

Then, the King of Wu recounted everything that had happened.

Princess Wu asked worriedly, "Won't this affect the position of the Crown Prince?"

"It should have had some impact, but not too much," the King of Wu explained. "After all, Song Shi'an came to the rescue, and he managed to salvage the situation when he met the Emperor later."

"Then Song Shi'an is very loyal."

Because the Queen Consort of Wu often heard the King of Wu say that Wu Sheng and Song Shi'an were very close, and that the two should be guarded against.

But now it seems he's also keeping the King of Wu's affairs in mind.

“He is indeed a talented man. With him around, my position as crown prince will be very secure,” said the King of Wu.

"Then why can't we try to win him over more?" Princess Wu asked. "You said before that he and Wusheng were very close and impossible to separate. But, didn't we try to separate them?"

“It’s too late to dismantle them now,” King Wu said with a hint of impatience. “Those two of them crawled out of piles of corpses.”

"If we don't want to demolish it, we can try to reward them," said Princess Wu. "We've never given them official positions, money, or jewels. How can we not win people's hearts?"

What she said was direct, but it actually made a lot of sense.

What makes a leader able to manage his subordinates?
What can I give my younger brother?

If I can't give him anything, then he only has nominal respect.

The position of prime minister is a pie.

"He doesn't need anything outside of worldly affairs..."

"Zishang," Princess Wu said earnestly, "tell me about his hobbies."

“He wants me to unify the world and win him eternal fame,” said the King of Wu.

"Isn't there anything else?" Princess Wu asked. "Heroes love beauties, surely he's not interested in beauties either?"

"That's not it."

"That's easy," said the Queen of Wu, who had an idea. "I have a younger sister who is beautiful, charming, and adorable. Why don't we marry her?"

Princess Wu was from the Xiao clan of Qinzhou.

Xiao Qun, the Marquis of Liangzhong, was her cousin.

However, Princess Wu was not considered a branch of the family, but rather part of the main household.

However, Xiao Qun was too outstanding among the clan's children, so he took over the position from the father of the Princess of Wu.

In ancient times, it was common to pass on titles and power to one's nephew.

“He seems to have a woman he likes,” said the King of Wu.

"Is she as beautiful as my sister? Is she as noble as her?" Princess Wu asked.

“Let’s not talk about appearances,” said the King of Wu. “His family background is far from suitable.”

“Who in this world wouldn’t want to marry into a noble family? He’ll definitely agree,” Princess Wu said smugly and confidently.

No one wanted the emperor's daughter, but the daughters of nobles were highly sought after.

If one can marry the daughter of a nobleman, the child born will be stained with some blood.

Becoming brothers-in-law with Song Shi'an seems like a good idea.

But King Wu also knew that Song Shi'an was no ordinary man: "He might really not want to marry into the nobility."

"What? That woman is as beautiful as an angel?" Princess Wu asked sarcastically.

"In his heart, she was just like a goddess."

"goddess?"

"The Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River was written for her."

Princess Wu understood what was said.

However, there was no hint of difficulty in his expression; instead, he smiled and said, "I understand. It means he has someone he wants to marry, and that person still exists."

"What, you have a solution?"

"Then I'll just use that girl's connections, won't that solve the problem?" Princess Wu said confidently.

You should have told me sooner if I had a girlfriend.

"Do you have an idea?"

"Your Highness, you shouldn't interfere in matters between women," Princess Wu said calmly. "Anyway, it's easier to win over a man by starting with his women."

"Then be careful not to discuss state affairs."

The King of Wu stopped caring, since he had no better ideas anyway.

What he cared more about was what he should do.

What kind of person did the emperor want him to become?

Just then, a maid came to report: "Your Highness, Lord Ye has arrived."

"it is good."

The King of Wu immediately got up and hurried to the main hall of the palace.

"Changqing, it's urgent, please sit down."

Upon seeing him, the King of Wu didn't even have time to greet him before directly inviting him to the Qionglin Banquet. But more importantly, he wanted to tell him about his conversation with the Emperor.

And because he was in such a hurry, he was still standing.

And so, King Wu stood beside Ye Changqing, who was sitting in deep thought, waiting for his reply.

"Your Highness, did Song Shi'an take the initiative to help you out of that predicament?" Ye Changqing raised his head and asked.

“Yes, it seems he was waiting for me before he left, wanting to tell me what to do,” King Wu said. “He only said to cry, so I went in and started crying.”

"No problem, that's right."

"But His Majesty seems to have realized that it was Song Shi'an who taught me."

"His Majesty asked that question because that's what he thinks," Ye Changqing said.

"You know? What should we do then?" King Wu panicked. "Isn't this deceiving the king?"

"Your Highness," Ye Changqing said earnestly, "His Majesty knows everything."

"So he knows I'm still lying? Won't my father be disgusted with me?" King Wu asked, puzzled.

"Your Highness, no, that won't happen."

Staring into the eyes of the King of Wu for a long time, Ye Changqing solemnly said, "As a king, one may know one's mistakes, but one cannot admit them. Even if one must admit a mistake, one cannot admit a real mistake."

(End of this chapter)