Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 273 Sima Yu Has Gone Mad

After Song Shi'an returned to Sheng'an, the King of Wu summoned Ye Changqing.

The two men were in the courtyard, brewing plum wine and discussing this somewhat troublesome person.

"When Song Shi'an returned to the country, His Majesty did not send me to greet him," King Wu said with some complicated emotions. "And he did not come to see me either."

"His Majesty summoned him this morning, and he returned to his residence this afternoon," Ye Changqing said with a smile. "Your Highness need not be too anxious; he will surely come."

"Yes, they'll definitely come."

The King of Wu could understand; after all, the emperor was the most important person, and returning home was the second most important. He couldn't just come here to report for duty.

If Ke Wusheng were in Sheng'an, would he have changed his visit date?
He also knew that Song Shi'an and Wu Sheng's relationship was something he could never match.

But after all those experiences, he still felt guilty.

"Changqing, what do you think he'll think?" King Wu asked, still somewhat unwilling to give up. "After all, from an outsider's perspective, I haven't done anything."

Still not giving up.

“Your Highness, you know how wise Song Shi’an is.” Ye Changqing knew how anxious his Prince Wu was, but no matter how anxious he was, he couldn’t lose his mind, so he said directly, “Besides, Minister Song was also in the main hall that day. The common people really couldn’t see the political situation in the court, but his father saw it all.”

"Tsk, this is tough..."

The King of Wu held his forehead in his hand, looking quite exhausted.

“Your Highness, it’s not all bad news. Of course, I don’t mean that it’s a small matter to upset Song Shi’an,” Ye Changqing reminded him. “But these are all things His Majesty asked you to do, and you have done them very well. So, there’s no need to worry too much about some things.”

Some of the things referred to were: the position of crown prince.

The emperor made him do things and even made him kneel in the palace to win people's hearts; it was all paving the way.

It can be said that the competition for the crown prince position is no longer in doubt.

As the Crown Prince frowned in distress, Ye Changqing brought it up again: "Your Highness, you previously said that the Sixth Prince and Song Shi'an should be used without reservation. The purpose was to win them over first and then deal with the rest. Now, they have won them over."

To put it bluntly, the think tank had already warned that winning them over would risk them becoming too powerful, but at the time, King Wu's idea was: use them first and think about it later; taking down the crown prince was more important.

But now that he has already subdued the crown prince, he's starting to worry again: Song Shi'an and Wei Wusheng are such a troublesome pair, sob sob...

“Changqing, you’re right, we have a significant advantage.” King Wu bit his lip, still conflicted. “It’s expected they’ll distance themselves from us, but I don’t want to offend them…”

"Your Highness, please allow me to interrupt."

Seeing that his inner conflict was still very deep, Ye Changqing finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"Changqing, you speak," King Wu said, raising his head to look at him.

Ye Changqing looked at him and said seriously, "Song Shi'an and the Sixth Prince have always been one. No matter what we do, we cannot change that. The reason His Majesty wants Song Shi'an to stay in Yan is because the Emperor in the deep palace is far-sighted and has seen the problem."

"Does Your Majesty think I can't control them?" King Wu asked.

Ye Changqing did not respond directly, but said calmly, "That's how it is. This path has always been like this. No one can make everyone have the same idea unless you go along with their ideas."

He had wanted to say it for a long time.

Song Shi'an is a person who cannot be changed.

He wouldn't trust a King of Wu with whom he had no shared experiences.

This retreat of the King of Wu in the court was exactly what he wanted.

Finally, it can be cut properly.

The merits he had previously performed for him were considered as ransom for leaving the Wu King's faction.

“So…” King Wu finally understood, “From now on, what we need to do is—keep him in check.”

"And through land reclamation, you will accumulate your own strength," Ye Changqing said. "He will definitely be in charge, but he needs to use people. He can't have all his people. He wants our people to also benefit from his achievements and get ahead of others."

"Changqing, I understand."

The King of Wu abandoned his naive attempts to repair relations with Song Shi'an.

In Song Shi'an's eyes, there was never a self.

Unless he breaks ties with Wei Wusheng and the two sever all ties, it is impossible to win him over.

All we can do now is employ imperial tactics—use them while suppressing them.

Father, you are right.

Just then, a eunuch walked over and cautiously approached the King of Wu. Before he could speak, the King of Wu said unhappily, "There are no outsiders here, just speak."

"Your Highness, it's about some matters in the palace..." the eunuch said.

"Since this is a matter of the palace, I should excuse myself." No matter how familiar Ye Changqing was with the Prince of Wu, he couldn't possibly listen to other people's family affairs.

What if it's a scandal?

"Wait a moment." King Wu raised his hand, signaling Ye Changqing not to move. Then, he had a eunuch report to him.

After listening, his brows furrowed immediately.

"Your Highness, this servant will take her leave."

After saying that, the eunuch left.

“Changqing,” King Wu said, quite puzzled, “a message has spread from the palace that His Majesty summoned Sima Yu late at night, just over a year ago, before the provincial examination. And that was because he wanted him to interpret a dream.”

The eunuch was only responsible for informing King Wu about this matter.

The King of Wu could decide for himself who he wanted to talk to.

The same principle applies to the workplace.

Power is only accountable to the people from whom it originates – Montesquieu.

This statement can be said to be the foundation of all political activities.

"Hiss..." Upon hearing this, Ye Changqing, who was usually calm, composed, and quick-witted, also turned serious and his face darkened.

"What's wrong?" King Wu asked, puzzled.

“Your Highness, Sima Yu hasn’t attended court for a long time. Have you noticed?” Ye Changqing said. “Indeed.” The King of Wu also realized this. “This old minister, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him.”

After all, he was just a lowly fourth-rank official with no real influence. With so many important figures in the court these days, who would even notice him?

"But what does it matter?" King Wu was still puzzled.

"His Majesty asked him to interpret the dream, and he hasn't attended court these past few days. And now, news of something that happened more than a year ago has suddenly surfaced." Ye Changqing's tone grew increasingly mysterious.

The King of Wu suddenly realized, "There's something wrong with this dream!"

.........

"Second brother, second brother, something terrible has happened!"

Wei Yiyuan barged directly into the Prince of Jin's study, chased away the eunuchs, and ordered that no one be allowed at the door.

Even the Prince of Jin, who was always extremely focused when writing calligraphy, had his mind disturbed by this noise.

He put down his pen before he had finished writing a single word.

“Sit down and talk, Zishang.”

Then, Wei Yiyuan sat down in front of him. Moreover, he pulled his chair forward so that he was face to face with the Prince of Jin. At a very close distance, he whispered, "Didn't I say before that His Majesty summoned Sima Yu alone before summoning my second brother and the Prince of Wu? After that, he stayed at home and never went to court again. There must be something fishy about this."

"You even went to spy on him."

"They either monitor him or send people to block the road, thinking they'll catch him or his family sooner or later." At this point, Wei Yiyuan, like an American rapper, slapped his thigh in frustration, looking utterly speechless. "But they haven't caught him even once!"

"And then? What happened?"

"And then, just as I thought, he definitely has a problem!" Wei Yiyuan said solemnly. "Today, news spread in the palace about an incident a year ago when the emperor summoned Sima Yu late at night, saying it was to interpret a dream."

"So what?"

"Why is news of something that happened a year ago coming out now?" Wei Yiyuan said with absolute certainty. "Isn't this just His Majesty wanting us to investigate this matter?"

“Indeed, there is no reason to bring up something that happened a year ago without any reason.” Prince Jin thought so too.

"What kind of dream is it that we should pay attention to at this critical juncture?"

The Prince of Jin was quite puzzled, then, as if remembering something, he suddenly asked, "By the way, when was that dream?"

“It was a few days before last year’s provincial examination,” Wei Yiyuan said. “Back then, Song Shi’an wasn’t such a prominent figure yet.”

"What can we do? Sima Yu is holed up in his residence and refuses to come out," the Prince of Jin said, troubled.

"Second Brother." Looking down, Wei Yiyuan said calmly, "This message was sent to us. But it may not be just for us."

.........

Sima Yu had been in the mansion for a very, very long time.

During this time, he also prevented his family from going out.

This single Sima family lived a life of leisure and family bliss in their large mansion in Sheng'an City.

At first, I was indeed a little worried, but as the quiet time flowed by, I gradually felt at ease.

Every day, I just tend to the flowers and birds, feed the fish in the pond, and stay away from the hustle and bustle of the world.

Some people are just too obsessed with power and have too much of a thirst for official positions.

He can't let go of his identity as a high-ranking leader, no matter where he is.

Sima Yu didn't care whether or not he was addressed as Lord Sima.

Retiring early like this is a good thing.

"Master, His Highness Prince Zhongping..."

"not see."

Sima Yu, who was feeding the fish, waved his hand and immediately refused.

"His Highness did not intend to enter the residence; he merely sent a letter via a servant," the servant explained.

"A letter?" Sima Yu asked, puzzled, before extending his hand.

"Master." The servant presented it to him with both hands.

Sima Yu opened the mailbox himself and found that there was no letter inside, but a small note.

He reached out and casually tossed the mailbox to a servant standing nearby.

Then, slowly unfold the strip of paper.

"What exactly does the Prince of Zhongping want to do..."

He was summoned by the emperor that day, and after being summoned before the two kings, he decided to live out his days at home.

He had already discovered that the Prince of Zhongping was preparing to arrest him.

"I won't listen, I won't listen, the prince is chanting scriptures."

The resolute Sima Yu remained steadfast.

But when he saw the words on the note, his face turned deathly pale.

—When the Duke went to court to interpret the Emperor's dream, the matter was exposed.
"Sir, what's wrong?"

Seeing that Sima Yu was acting strangely, the servant asked him with concern.

But the other person seemed not to hear anything at all, their expression blank.

Slowly, a hand rested on the covered bridge over the courtyard pond, and a foot was lifted...

"Adults can't jump!"

Realizing what had happened, the servant quickly stepped forward and hugged his waist.

The old man cried hysterically, "They're bullying us! They're bullying us!"

(End of this chapter)