Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 278 is what a traitor does.
Song Shi'an's reaction was exactly what Sima Yu had expected.

Because I was just as shocked back then.

And this so-called 'rebellious minister who appeared in a dream' refers to him.

I did the right thing.

One should not beg the emperor for a chance to live.

Furthermore, one should not trust future emperors or listen to their promises.

Ultimately, it all comes down to entrusting one's life to someone else.

To survive, go find the victims.

You can contact Chen Bao.

But Chen Bao is weak; he will not join me in the rebellion.

Slowly raising his head, Sima Yu looked into Song Shi'an's eyes.

Sure enough, what I saw in his eyes was not fear or apprehension, but a coldness devoid of any emotion.

"Does Lord Sima think I am this traitor who appeared in the dream?" Song Shi'an asked.

“No,” Sima Yu said seriously, “Shi An, you are definitely not a traitor.”

"Who is that traitor?" Song Shi'an countered.

“This Sheng’an is rife with treacherous officials!” Sima Yu said, his voice filled with malice. “Those who flatter the ruler are the greatest traitors.”

"Isn't a loyal minister one who can go against the ruler's evil intentions?"

"Is loyalty to one person enough?" Sima Yu stared at Song Shi'an and said firmly, "Loyalty to the Great Yu is also loyalty to one's country."

"Then me?"

“He is a loyal minister,” Sima Yu said firmly. “He is an unquestionably loyal minister!”

Their eyes never left each other.

This made Xin Yue, who was standing to the side, quite anxious.

At this point, instead of discussing strategies to survive, why are we talking about these things?

They are...

This is a jpg file showing the pairing process.

"Shi An, whatever you want to do, you don't need to care about this dream." Sima Yu said, then bowed to him, "In the future, I hope you will help this old man."

"Lord Sima," Song Shi'an said, supporting his arm, and then spoke with utmost sincerity, "This matter must be kept secret. Do not mention it to either the King of Wu or the King of Jin."

We must refuse to comply, even at the cost of our lives.

Because if I gave in, I would really die.

"Shi An, you can't tell anyone about this either," Sima Yu patted his hand and emphasized, "Otherwise, we'll both be in danger."

“Okay.” Song Shi’an nodded.

"Fine, then I won't talk to you anymore."

After saying that, Sima Yu climbed back into the vegetable basket.

Xinyue thoughtfully put the vegetable cover on for him.

A short while later, the servant returned.

The shop assistant also came over and asked Song Shi'an, "Young master, what do you think?"

“That’s right. I’ll have to discuss this with my father when I get back, and then I’ll come over again.”

"Alright, don't worry, the vegetables here are absolutely fresh and cheap, and we'll even deliver them to your doorstep."

"well."

Song Shi'an smiled and left the courtyard. As he passed the shop, he casually picked up a straw hat from the wall and put it on his head.

Xin Yue did the same, putting a straw hat on her head.

The two of them left the shop and immediately blended into the crowd.

"Two people came out."

Two spies hidden in the shadows spotted them.

"We don't need to worry about those who aren't from Sima Yu's family; we just need to keep an eye on them."

And so they left.

Song Shi'an quickened his pace, and Xin Yue beside him followed closely behind.

"What should we do?" she asked anxiously.

"We'll talk about it when we get back," Song Shi'an said expressionlessly.

"Where are you going back?"

"Where are you?"

"it is good."

After the two left, there were many people coming and going from the vegetable vendor's shop. After a while, Sima Yu's family led the vegetable vendor's assistant, who pushed a cart loaded with vegetables, towards the Sima Mansion in the imperial city.

However, halfway through the journey, as they passed through an alley, suddenly, a dashing-looking man in a white robe with a ponytail, accompanied by several people, blocked the car.

Thinking they were highway robbers in the city, the vegetable vendor's assistant immediately tried to intimidate them: "Gentlemen... I'm delivering vegetables to the Sima family, the home of the current fourth-rank official, Master Sima Yu."

“We are from Lord Sima’s household.” Wei Yiyuan waved his hand and ordered his men to drive the waiter away.

"Well then, I'll be going now."

Seeing that no one was bothering him, the vegetable vendor's assistant put down his cart and tactically left.

Only the servant from the Sima family remained, trembling as he looked at these people.

"You, stay here for a while too," Wei Yiyuan said with a smile.

"What are you doing?" the servants asked in a panic.

But the others simply grabbed him and took him aside.

Only Wei Yiyuan was left. He sat down on the side of the cart, put one foot on the cart, and slapped his hand on the vegetable basket: "What am I doing? I'm going to chat with the vegetables for a while."

"..." At this moment, Sima Yu, who was hiding inside, began to tremble.

The rustling sounds made Wei Yiyuan laugh: "Lord Sima, why are you so wary of me? I noticed you even before the news from the palace spread."

"Besides me, who else cares about you this much?"

"Tell me, if you don't want to come out, you can just stay in the manor." Wei Yiyuan's tone was always smiling. "Why did you sneak out today? To ask someone for help?"

This brat!

Sima Yu clenched his fists; he was genuinely getting angry.

However, at this moment, Wei Yiyuan's voice suddenly became serious: "My lord, you actually know in your heart which king is more benevolent, don't you?"

Wei Yiyuan has now been confirmed.

That dream was related to the factional strife between the Jin and Wu dynasties. Moreover, this dream carried immense weight.

It was even so powerful that it could influence the position of the crown prince.

But in the future, one of them will always have to be the emperor.

Choose one that you think you can win.

By choosing the right side, one can always survive.

Sure enough, this kid is going to use this to control me!
Sima Yu knew the character of these royal family members.

They always felt that their only chance of survival was the mercy of the next emperor.

So come and flatter me, come and support me.

Tell me the emperor's secret quickly, so I can win this battle for the throne!
"The more you hide it, the more suspicious it becomes. Lord Sima, you need to be brought into the light."

Slowly standing up, Wei Yiyuan deliberately patted the basket containing Sima Yu: "Only by openly becoming our friends can we receive protection."

After saying that, he walked away.

Then, he beckoned to his men to release the servant.

I watched as the cart was pushed away.

Wei Yiyuan was quite confident.

If Sima Yu had to choose between the King of Wu and the King of Jin, he would definitely choose the King of Jin.

.........

"Chen Bao, if Sima Yu had to choose between the King of Wu and the King of Jin, who would he choose?"

The emperor, seated on the dragon throne, asked Chen Bao, who was standing beside him.

He lowered his head and said softly, "This servant believes it should be His Highness Prince Jin."

"I think so too."

The emperor shared the same idea.

There are three reasons for choosing the Prince of Jin.

Firstly, the King of Jin is currently in a weak position. Joining the King of Wu at this time would be adding flowers to brocade, while joining the King of Jin would be providing charcoal in snowy weather.

Secondly, the Prince of Jin's approach of favoring aristocratic families would elevate the scholar-official class to counterbalance the nobility, and treating aristocratic families well was his diplomatic principle.

Thirdly, the King of Jin was not good at killing.

Most importantly, and this is the third point.

Of course, the King of Wu was not good at killing either.

In fact, he had hardly ever killed anyone.

Just because someone didn't kill anyone doesn't mean they didn't want to kill anyone.

As a prince, how could he possibly kill ministers indiscriminately? He had neither the right nor the ability.

But once he became emperor, the one who would be decisive in killing and wielding was definitely the even more resolute King of Wu.

"But," the emperor suddenly asked, seemingly to himself, "Song Shi'an is a minister of the King of Wu. If he were to defect to the King of Wu along the way, his chances of winning would be even greater, and he could also curry favor with Song Shi'an, wouldn't he?"

"Your Majesty is wise," Chen Bao said softly. "Yes, that's also a possibility."

“But if I were him, I would choose neither the Prince of Wu nor the Prince of Jin.” A slight smile played on the emperor’s lips. “I would choose Song Shi’an.”

"..." Chen Bao was taken aback, feigning surprise, and said somewhat seriously, "Then Your Majesty, are you going to give Sima Yu a warning?"

"No." The emperor shook his head gently and said calmly, "Let him choose."

.........

He raised the sword, which gleamed with a chilling light, high, and then brought it down with force.

With a snap, it was cut in two.

A large winter melon was skillfully chopped open by Song Shi'an.

Then, he started hacking wildly.

Cut the melon into pieces.

At this moment, Xinyue brought over a winter melon and placed it in front of him.

Then, sitting on the corridor behind her, she propped her chin up and looked at him: "Go ahead and chop, I've sent two people out of the manor."

"Fuck your mother!"

Song Shi'an unleashed another flurry of attacks.

A rather violent outburst.

He then tossed the sword aside, turned to look at Xinyue behind him, and said with particular excitement, "Do you know what this dog emperor is thinking? He wants to put me into a self-proving trap."

"What is a self-proving trap?" Xin Yue asked, puzzled.

“In order to prove that I am not a traitor who appeared in the dream, I must do as much as possible that I do not appear to be a traitor.” Song Shi’an saw through it at a glance. “The prince I instigated in this dream is most likely Xiao Wei.”

"I think so too."

"Therefore, the only way I can prevent this dream from coming true is to sever ties with Xiao Wei and devote myself wholeheartedly to assisting the King of Wu."

"What if we do that, and the prince in my dream becomes the King of Wu?" Xin Yue asked.

“That makes even more sense,” Song Shi’an cursed. “This old man isn’t afraid that I’ll instigate his son to kill his son; he’s afraid that I’ll instigate Xiao Wei to kill his son.”

Xin Yue understood: "He dislikes Xiao Wei, not his rebellious son."

“Yes, if I instigated the King of Wu to kill the King of Jin, that at least means the King of Wu is alright,” Song Shi’an cursed. “But if I instigated Xiao Wei to kill either the King of Wu or the King of Jin, that would be more than just killing one king; it could mean killing them all.”

In other words.

The emperor wanted to use this dream to restrain Song Shi'an, to trap him in a self-justification trap, and to make him a dutiful retainer of the Wei family, so that he would not have any ideas of usurping power from the princes.

Even if this dream cannot restrain me.

The winner is the King of Wu.

"So what are your plans?" Xin Yue asked with concern.

"What are my plans?" Song Shi'an asked directly. "Someone wants you to leave me. Are you willing?"

"..." The sudden test of true love made Xin Yue click her tongue, but she still answered, "Why should I listen to him?"

“Yes,” Song Shi’an said, equally unconvinced. “Why should I listen to him?”

Xin Yue frowned upon hearing this: "What kind of relationship do you two have...?"

Song Shi'an slowly sat down beside Xin Yue, looked at the mess of broken winter melon pieces on the ground, and sighed, "The probability of me suddenly dying in Sheng'an is no longer zero."

"On the bright side, what if this dream really came true?"

Xin Yue looked at his profile and said calmly, "The person you instigated ended up carrying a sword in front of the emperor."

(End of this chapter)