Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 46 He was granted an official position

He can hate, resent, and be angry.

Song Jing has accepted the failure of this father-son relationship.

But that seemingly pure concern left him instantly powerless.

A wave of sourness and guilt washed over me.

He realized that because he was concerned about the feelings of the matriarch of the Song family and did not want the family to be in chaos, he had never cared about this illegitimate son, especially after Song Ce was born.

Originally, he felt that he had done nothing wrong.

This is what all the heads of wealthy and powerful families do.

Given the wife's wealthy background and strong personality, it was only natural that the illegitimate son would suffer mistreatment and coldness. In fact, he was expected to accept this fate.

Until this word of concern came out.

Song Shi'an, does he seem to not care about these grievances?
Is he more concerned about himself as a father?
Of course, 'feeling guilty' is insignificant in the context of this emotion.

My heart skipped a beat.

The moment Song Shi'an stepped out, Song Jing was overwhelmed by a nameless fear.

What Song Jing was truly afraid of was Song Shi'an's back, which seemed to be bidding him farewell.

Suddenly, a night breeze blew into the main room.

The candlelight beside Song Jing flickered and then suddenly went out.

His fear intensified suddenly.

Sun Situ was indeed a leader of the gentry, with disciples and former officials all over the country, but he did not have absolute power.

Even if he went to Cangxia, as an official appointed by the imperial court, he would not be easily killed.

After discussing it with Song Shi'an, Song Jing realized that if Song Shi'an insisted on going there to fully demonstrate his political talents and achieve his goals in one step, Song Jing wouldn't necessarily refuse.

They might even use family resources in advance to pave the way for him.

Although the Cui and Song families are already very prominent, if they had the opportunity to produce a young aristocratic leader, they would definitely invest heavily in supporting him to rise to power.

What Song Jing disagreed with was not that Song Shi'an was to be appointed as the magistrate of Cangxia County.

Instead,

No, that would be certain death!

.........

The starlight will not fail those who are on their way.

Walking on foot through the imperial city.

At dawn, Song Shi'an finally arrived at the Ministry of Personnel.

Meanwhile, the officials in their carriages had already arrived at the entrance of the Ministry of Personnel, chatting and laughing amicably. But upon seeing Song Shi'an, their faces darkened, as if in a Sichuan opera face-changing act.

He alone is pure and noble.

The words Sun Heng uttered that day perfectly reflected the thoughts of the Asian Yuan members at that moment.

Only Gao Yunyi was alright; he smiled slightly upon seeing him, but did not take the initiative to greet him.

Because after he got home that day, he was confronted with reality.

His father's scolding was a bit harsh.

If you can't stand those who are opportunistic and want to show off, just ignore them. Why join in the hype?

That fame isn't yours, and you've offended everyone else too. Are you an idiot?
Already honest.

Upon seeing his colleagues in blue official robes, Song Shi'an walked over in a very approachable manner. After greeting them, he naturally took the center position, becoming the C position.

The official robes of the Da Yu dynasty officials, for ranks eight and nine, were blue.

Grades six and seven are black.

Song Shi'an was the top scholar in the provincial examination and was directly promoted to the seventh rank.

The remaining candidates are called "Yayuan," who, although they can also be considered for official positions and have the opportunity to become county magistrates, must start from the eighth rank.

Even if the old man in the family is a high-ranking official, there is no such thing as rising to the top overnight.

You must follow the procedures and advance step by step.

Only after Sun Laodeng stepped down from his position as one of the Three Dukes could Sun Xiaodeng "enter the hall" and complete the transfer of power.

It is impossible for one family to produce two ministers at the same time.

Not to mention the two "three publics".

What, do you own Dayu?
His smooth transition into everyone's 'big brother' status made everyone quite unhappy, especially Sun Qian.

There's nothing you can do about it. In a group of blue people, if there's a black one, even if he stands on the side, he'll still stand out like a crane among chickens.

"Today is your performance review. Where does the top scholar wish to go for his post?" Han Zhongchen asked sarcastically.

"Wasn't that decided by the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat?" Song Shi'an retorted.

“They’ve all become ‘scholars with ten thousand households,’ they can’t possibly stay in the capital and expect to live a life of ease, can they?” Han Zhongchen cleverly countered with a quote from Song Shi’an himself, adding, “A top scholar with lofty ambitions should speak up.”

The rest of the people waited to see what would happen.

"Praise to death" means to elevate someone to a high level and then destroy them.

There have been many such cases throughout history.

If you like being flattered, then do what others cannot.

But you should know that 'what no one can do' means that no one can do it.

Everyone else is no good, but you are?
what do you?
Being a good official isn't something you can achieve simply by writing a few good articles.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be better to let the best poets be the prime ministers of all dynasties?

"Comfort leads to death, so it's impossible to be comfortable."

Without needing to react at all, Song Shi'an immediately replied.

This was another round of sweeping generalizations, leaving everyone present who wanted to steadily climb the ladder of officialdom or rely on their fathers' connections to get ahead.

"I have no great ambitions, I'm afraid I'll have to go to the Imperial Academy, please excuse my presumption." One person, not wanting to be coaxed, quickly spoke up with a smile, not going along with Song Shi'an's outrageous remarks on 'rule-making'.

By what right do you dictate what constitutes great ambition?
"That's normal, that's normal. Not everyone has great ambitions."

Song Shi'an smiled and gestured for the man to speak, echoing his words. This caused the man's face to darken, and he immediately became unhappy. Song Shi'an then turned to Han Zhongchen: "This gentleman must have great ambitions, why not accompany me to a certain place to report on his duties and achieve fame and success?"

If you kidnap me, then I'll kidnap you too.

If you dare to take the bait, then come with me to deliver it.

"Humph!"

Han Zhongchen flicked his sleeves, turned his head to the side, and wasn't fooled: "Why should I go with you? Everyone has their own ambitions."

"Oh!" Song Shi'an suddenly realized, as if recalling something, and said slowly, "This brother's ambition seems to be to steal the hundred-year peach from Yaochi for Minister Sun?"

The moment those words were spoken, Han Zhongchen turned into a red-skinned duck in an instant.

The others couldn't help but laugh as well.

Those who didn't laugh either have extremely strong willpower and can really endure it.

Either he is Sun Qian.

I felt disgusted, and my face turned black.

Who has grand ambitions?

As they were talking, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat arrived with the Imperial Physician Yu Xiu, who joined in with laughter and conversation.

The students quickly bowed and paid their respects.

As everyone bowed in greeting, he walked directly into the Ministry of Personnel's office.

Yu Xiu then said to the people behind him, "You, come in."

Then, everyone followed them onto the stage.

The Grand Secretariat of the Great Yu was equivalent to the Organization Department, in charge of the appointment, removal, promotion, and demotion of all officials.

He was undoubtedly the head of the civil service.

Of course, unlike the Ministry of Personnel in the Tang Dynasty, his power was divided.

This also prevented the situation of 'wielding absolute power' from occurring.

As for the current Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, he cannot be strictly defined as belonging to the nobility or aristocratic families.

His ancestors did not follow the emperor and were not among the nobility. Although his family was a prominent clan, they were different from the gentry in Jiangnan, both in terms of geographical location and political affiliation.

The reason he was able to sit in this extremely important position for so many years was because of his 'non-partisan and impartial' nature.

In politics, there is no such thing as absolute 'non-partisanship and impartiality'.

The ability to remain relatively impartial and unbiased is the reason why the emperor trusts him.

The Minister of Personnel led everyone into the Ministry of Personnel.

This is a rather grand and solemn building.

It consists of an outer hall and an inner room.

The Jinshi degree holders also served here.

Usually, the rest of the people wait in the outer hall, while the appointed person conducts the conversation in the inner room.

Throughout the entire 'interview' process, palace eunuchs accompanied the interviewer.

Without the arrival of palace officials, the proceedings cannot begin.

When Ouyang Ke said "seeing someone from the palace," he didn't mean that any random eunuch had come.

In previous years, when the Prefectural Governor reported on his duties, the eunuchs who came were no more than fifth-rank officials, and their role was simply to report according to the law.

If there is an imperial decree from above, at least one high-ranking eunuch should be appointed.

And finally, the person arrived.

"Eunuch Chen has arrived!"

Upon hearing this name, Ouyang Ke immediately stood up.

The palace's intentions were just in time at the last minute.

(End of this chapter)