Chapter 36: I have the final say on whether the Qionglin Banquet is a treacherous minister or not
This face looked familiar; Song Mingjiao had even planted a kiss on its lips not long ago. Aside from the length of the hair at the back of the head and the official uniform he wore, everything else was exactly the same.
——It is “He Wang”.
But how could "He Wang" appear here?
At the end of the previous small world, Song Mingjiao had told He Wang that they would meet again. But in reality, those were just casual words of comfort; he had no idea he would run into He Wang again in the next mission world.
Even the male protagonist at the center of the world only had a similar name and face, not an exact match. How could "He Wang," originally just an NPC in the quest world, be following him around like a ghost or a system bug?
Song Mingjiao didn't say anything, and his eyes didn't even linger on He Wang's face for too long. Therefore, everything at the Qionglin Banquet remained normal, and no one noticed that the emperor had been distracted for a moment.
Song Mingjiao asked Eunuch Zhao, who was standing beside him, casually asking, "Why is he sitting here?"
Eunuch Zhao followed the emperor's gaze and saw that it was Prime Minister He Wen.
"Prime Minister He Wen arrived early today, so the eunuchs have seated him here. Your Majesty, do you want an extra seat next to him?"
Song Mingjiao heard the information he wanted.
He Wen? Prime Minister?
The name is a little different, but it seems to be closely related to the "He Wang" from the last time.
If any minister could receive the emperor's special gift at a banquet and sit beside him, it would be an unparalleled honor. He Wen was, after all, the prime minister, so it wasn't surprising that Eunuch Zhao thought the emperor was trying to bestow a favor.
"No, just let him sit there."
After saying that, Song Mingjiao closed his eyes.
Others would only notice that His Majesty seemed to be in a bad mood and was resting with his eyes closed, and would have no idea that Song Mingjiao was actually having a conversation with the system in his mind.
[System, can you give me an explanation? Is there a major bug in your program? Isn't this the same He Wen from the previous world? It's exactly the same, only the name has one character changed.]
The system's voice also revealed a bit of panic. The mechanical sound kept beeping, which made Song Mingjiao's mind a mess. It took a long time for it to calm down.
[Check completed - The host's current task program is running normally, no problems found.]
Song Mingjiao sneered.
[With such overwhelming evidence before you, you're lying with your eyes wide open.]
The system obviously felt that something was wrong with the screening result, and its already weak brain couldn't work anymore.
[Host, please wait a moment. The situation has been recorded and filed, and is being reported to the main system. Data is being transmitted! Host, please be patient and wait for the results.]
[System, you know what? In my previous world, some artificial idiots loved to respond to their employers with these kind of meaningless words.]
[...Host, please be mindful of your words.]
Song Mingjiao waved his hand, not expecting the system to answer his questions.
Anyway, He Wang, oh no, He Wen, is here. He should get in touch with He Wen more and find out what is going on and whether they are the same person.
But in fact, whether this He Wen was He Wang or not, it didn't matter to Song Mingjiao. The only thing they had in common was that they both aroused Song Mingjiao's interest.
Song Mingjiao held his chin and thought:
If it's the same person, then it's called past life and present life. If it's not the same person, then has he also caught up with the trend of substitute literature?
As he thought about it, Song Mingjiao couldn't help but laugh out loud.
After the emperor took his seat, he hesitated to call the banquet to a close. The newly minted scholars waiting below were all a little anxious, worried that they had done something wrong and were being scrutinized by the emperor.
A colleague who was close to Shang Nanxuan whispered to the person next to him, "Where's the number one scholar, Shang Da Ren? His Majesty is here, why hasn't he come yet? Go find him! This is the Qionglin Banquet. If we miss the time, His Majesty will blame us, and none of us can bear the consequences."
Indeed, when they heard that the emperor had arrived and Shang Nanxuan had not yet arrived, some people from the Censorate had noticed Shang Nanxuan's disappearance and were frowning secretly, as if they had already thought of an impeachment memorial.
Song Mingjiao propped up his head and listened to the conversation for a while. After finding nothing new, he waved his hand and said, "The champion scholar is not feeling well. There is no need to wait for him. Let's start the banquet directly."
So there was singing and dancing.
At Song Mingjiao's instruction, the eunuch in charge of ceremonies read out the decree that had been prepared long ago in front of everyone.
After the imperial examination, the rankings of the successful candidates were determined, but their specific official positions had not yet been decided. After the Qionglin Banquet, the emperor would personally make the official arrangements for the top three candidates, namely, the top three, and the second and third place. The Ministry of Personnel would make unified arrangements for the remaining candidates.
The main gifts given today were a banquet and the emperor's personal rewards to some of the Jinshi candidates he favored.
The imperial edict had been read out and the music had been changed several times. Shang Nanxuan, the top scholar who should have been the center of everyone's attention, arrived late at this time. He even limped in and covered his knees from time to time. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that he was uncomfortable after kneeling for a long time and had to hurry on his way.
Anyone with a little common sense knows that the top scholar is the emperor's new favorite. Now, apart from the emperor, who else would dare to punish Shang Nanxuan like this?
I'm afraid the illness I mentioned earlier was just an excuse from the emperor. I don't know what happened to this top scholar, but he offended his immediate superior before he even officially entered the officialdom.
"Brother Nanxuan, are you okay?" The person who spoke was Tanhua, who had not yet experienced the baptism of the officialdom and did not understand the meaning behind it. He just thought that Shang Nanxuan was really unwell and fell.
Shang Nanxuan pulled the corner of his mouth, but it was impossible for him to criticize the emperor in front of so many people, so he could only reluctantly say: "It's okay, thank you for your concern."
The runner-up also brought a large bowl and came over to toast: "Come, Lord Shang, I'll toast you a glass. We will be colleagues from now on, so please take care of me."
This sentence made Shang Nanxuan feel even more pain in his knees, but he could only drink it with a smile.
Song Mingjiao watched this scene with amusement. It was like being late for class, being stared at by the entire class, and enduring the teacher's accusations, anger, and puzzled looks. It was a hundred times more embarrassing than that.
He had seen enough of the show and abided by the emperor's ethics. He would not stay at the banquet from beginning to end, and would not make the ministers too restrained and afraid to speak freely.
After all, this was the Qionglin Banquet, and for many students who had studied hard for ten years, it was their most glorious and happiest moment. Especially since they were free from the pressure of imperial examinations and studying, and they didn't have to go to court and face beatings.
A rare opportunity.
Although Song Mingjiao hated Shang Nanxuan very much and was indeed deliberately targeting Shang Nanxuan, he believed that he would play the role of a good monarch.
"I'm going out for a walk, you guys continue." The emperor stood up and prepared to ride.
"Farewell, Your Majesty." The ministers stood up one after another to see him off. After a while, the originally quiet banquet finally became lively again.
*
After leaving the Qionglin Feast, Song Mingjiao went to the garden outside. This was the beauty of the ancient world: a wide variety of natural scenery and fresh air.
He only brought Eunuch Zhao with him, and did not make a big fuss about it, such as having an emperor's sedan chair and countless guards and eunuchs following him.
Along the way, Song Mingjiao saw many flowers and leaves of plants that he had never seen before. He walked for a long time and did not notice that he was getting further and further away.
After passing through a path covered with bushes, Song Mingjiao noticed that he had arrived at a pavilion.
"Your humble servant greets His Majesty."
A younger voice came from his ears, and even the tone was somewhat similar to Song Mingjiao's. Song Mingjiao looked over, but saw a man taller than him.
Royal brother?
It seems this is the younger brother the system mentioned, the one eyeing his throne? His name seems to be Song Chengnian.
How come his younger brother is taller than him?!
Song Mingjiao was a little unhappy.
The man who appeared before him was a stranger. "Young man" might be a more accurate description. He looked a year or two younger than Song Mingjiao. He was dressed in the attire of a prince, and with a hint of a smile on his face, he politely saluted Song Mingjiao.
If we follow the plot given to Song Mingjiao by the system, he should be the "rebellious brother" who will compete with him for the throne and launch a rebellion in the later period. Although it is not easy to tell from the first sight of Song Mingjiao and Song Chengnian.
After Song Chengnian stood up, he stared at Eunuch Zhao's position without any hesitation: "Eunuch Zhao, it's good that my brother has me to serve him."
Eunuch Zhao knew that the Sixth Prince and the current emperor were not of the same mother, and that he had a fickle personality and erratic behavior. However, he had never expected that the Sixth Prince would actually want to drive out his personal eunuch in front of the emperor, before the emperor had even spoken.
Eunuch Zhao looked at Song Mingjiao with some embarrassment: "Your Majesty, this..."
Song Mingjiao looked at Song Chengnian, wanting to see what his good, cheap brother was thinking, so he said, "You go down first."
Eunuch Zhao nodded with his hands hanging down. As he retreated, he saw the smug look the Sixth Prince gave him, as if he was celebrating that he had successfully "snatched" his brother the emperor away.
Eunuch Zhao:?
Only the brothers Song Mingjiao and Song Chengnian were left in the pavilion.
"You deliberately drove Eunuch Zhao away. Who will serve me? Do you think you can?"
Song Mingjiao wanted to find a place to sit, but looking at the stone bench in the pavilion, he felt a moment of disdain. His obsession with cleanliness would not disappear even with the changing times.
But his adopted brother was actually very quick-witted. He pulled up his exquisite and luxurious robe and carefully scanned it several times on the stone bench: "Of course I can, my royal brother."
My younger brother is quite sensible.
In Song Mingjiao's previous world, he used that identity and did not have any relatives such as parents, brothers and sisters.
Therefore, when he traveled to this small world and suddenly had a brother who was related to him by blood, even though he knew that this was the person who was eyeing him covetously and had ulterior motives in the plot, he felt a lot of emotions for a while.
When Song Mingjiao sat down, he did not notice the fiery and undisguised aggressive desire hidden in the eyes of his well-behaved royal brother.
The emperor's younger brother was indeed eyeing him covetously, but it was not as simple as Song Mingjiao thought.
Song Chengnian's eyes were bright.
Is the emperor finally willing to see him? He is finally not like before, a stagnant pool of water. Even though he handles state affairs step by step every day, every action seems to be planned.
He is lifeless and has nothing to do with the government.
Today, Song Chengnian heard from the eunuch that his brother no longer cared about that bitch Shang Nanxuan. He felt something was wrong at the time.
The Qionglin Banquet had nothing to do with him, a leisurely prince, but he still urged the groom to come to the banquet, and finally "accidentally" met his royal brother in an inconspicuous pavilion somewhere in the garden.
Song Chengnian once felt that the emperor was not like a living person, and even privately asked a fortune teller to tell his fortune. The fortune teller did not give him an answer, but only said:
【After a few years, God's will will change.】
Is it just like now?
Song Chengnian looked at his brother's lively and beautiful eyes, and suddenly a thought came to his mind:
——He wanted to disband all the private armies he had.
"what you up to?"
Song Mingjiao picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a sip. It was the new tribute tea before the rain, Longjing.
He sighed in his heart, he was indeed the most extravagant emperor. He just came out to attend the Qionglin Banquet, and even the inconspicuous pavilion in the back garden prepared such precious tea for him, even though the probability of him coming here was very low.
Song Chengnian squatted down next to Song Mingjiao. He looked only two or three points similar to Song Mingjiao. Even though he was still young, one could see that his facial features were more three-dimensional and sharp, which was completely different from Song Mingjiao's soft and bright appearance.
Song Chengnian placed his hand on the clothes of Song Mingjiao, who was sitting on a stone bench, and said, "My royal brother has selected so many loyal ministers for you recently. Could you please take a look at me, too?"
Song Chengnian's eyes were bright, with an innocence that was almost impossible for someone of his age and status, but there was always something weird in his words.
Song Mingjiao didn't quite understand why this was so strange. He just thought that there might be a generation gap between him and his younger brother of the same age and generation.
"Oh? You also want to enter the court?"
Song Mingjiao laughed and reached out to swat away Song Chengnian's claws that were on his robe.
It was common knowledge that the Sixth Prince's mother and the current emperor's mother had been at odds with each other since the late emperor was still alive. When the current emperor ascended the throne, the throne nearly fell to the Sixth Prince, Song Chengnian.
Therefore, even to this day, although the emperor had conferred the title of king on his sixth brother, he had not driven him away to his fiefdom or imprisoned him. However, the Sixth Prince was still just an idle prince, unable to participate in politics, unable to hold power, and isolated from the power center of the capital.
If it were an ordinary person, he would have understood the emperor's intention by his gesture of slapping him away, and would have retreated tactfully and no longer desired things that he should not have.
But Song Chengnian is different. He has had mental problems since he was a child.
The emperor's brother slapped his hand away. Not only did he not feel angry or humiliated, he even felt an unprecedented excitement.
——Because his royal brother actually revealed emotions in front of him that were beyond the dragon robe.
It’s so unique! He loves it so much!
So Song Chengnian still persevered and said, "Don't worry, my royal brother. I have been idle at home for a while and have been improving my abilities. I hope to be able to help you share your worries soon."
A prince who was a great confidant of the emperor and had a bad relationship with him for the throne said in front of the emperor that he had been gathering his strength. What is the difference between this and saying that he had always wanted to rebel?
Song Mingjiao glanced at Song Chengnian with a smile.
He now believes the plot background given to him by the system. His good brother is really not a simple person.
But Song Mingjiao wasn't a native emperor of this ancient world, and he didn't harbor any obsession with the throne. This was merely a role he used to complete his mission, and he knew he wouldn't stay in this world for long.
Because I don't know if the system had a brain injury to choose this mission world for him. Given the huge gap in status between him and the male protagonist, the emperor and the top scholar, there is no need to go to great lengths to find evidence, hand it over to the police, and then bring the male protagonist to the bottom like in the previous entertainment industry world.
Here, he was the true emperor, the true heaven. Crushing Shang Nanxuan to death was as easy as crushing an ant. It all depended on when he had had enough fun and when he would leave this world.
Therefore, Song Mingjiao would not stay in the so-called Daliang Dynasty for long. So, for the sake of the future operation of the small world, if his good brother was truly capable, perhaps he could pass the throne to him in the future.
In any case, Song Mingjiao would definitely not continue the family line or get married and have children here!
So, the emperor, who was looking down from a high position, said, as if granting a favor, "Yes."
Song Chengnian was only asking tentatively. He knew the huge gap in status between him and his brother, and had already prepared himself mentally for a lifetime of idle princehood.
Now, his brother suddenly agreed to his long-cherished request.
Song Chengnian stood there in a daze for a moment, not knowing what expression to make.
Song Mingjiao walked slowly, looking at Song Chengnian's dazed look, and smiled in his heart: Little brother, you still want to play tricks in front of him.
Piece of cake.
"Your Majesty, better go back and prepare well. I heard from the eunuchs that your Majesty is still like a child, playful and sleepy. It was okay in the past, but if you miss court meetings in the future, I will not give you any special treatment."
After saying that, Song Mingjiao straightened the complicated dragon robe on his body, and without paying any attention to Song Chengnian who was squatting there, he stood up and left.
"Eunuch Zhao, please get up."
"Hey, Your Majesty, be careful, the ground is slippery."
While helping the young emperor out of the pavilion, Eunuch Zhao couldn't help but look back and curiously glance at His Royal Highness the Sixth Prince who was still squatting there and hadn't stood up.
It seems that this day is really going to change.
Unexpectedly, the Sixth Prince, who was believed to never make a comeback in his life, actually won the emperor's favor again with just such a simple chance encounter.
This reminded Eunuch Zhao of Shang Nanxuan who had happened some time ago. He was in the same situation and rose to prominence because of the emperor's appreciation. It was a pity that he was useless and could not live up to the emperor's high regard for him.
The emperor's mind is hard to predict.
Eunuch Zhao shook his head, casting aside all distracting thoughts. Fortunately, from the beginning to the end, he knew that he had only one master, and that was the emperor before him.
Eunuch Zhao looked at Song Mingjiao's back. The emperor had a thin figure, and even wearing a grand dragon robe, he could not hide his youthful spirit. But it was such an emperor who always kept the world in his heart and supported the entire Daliang Dynasty.
Song Mingjiao was still wearing the emperor's regular clothes and was walking towards the Qionglin Banquet.
It had been a while, and his ministers should have finished chatting. It was time to go back and show up, to put a perfect end to this Qionglin Feast. Of course, this "round" did not include some people.
But who would have thought that as he walked, Song Mingjiao saw that familiar figure again.
He had not intended to provoke He Wen, who was already the prime minister, but since it was such a coincidence that he met this man twice in a row, it was no wonder that he, the emperor, wanted to damage the prime minister's "reputation".
He Wen in this world wears an official uniform, and his whole demeanor is like that of a gentleman, nothing like a sycophant.
But whether he is a treacherous minister or not is up to Song Mingjiao to decide.
Song Mingjiao pretended not to see the person in front of him and nonchalantly asked Eunuch Zhao beside him: "Who is in front? Why are they blocking the road?"
Eunuch Zhao hurriedly took two steps forward with a bent waist, raised his voice, and reminded He Wen, who was in a daze and had not noticed that the emperor's carriage had arrived beside him.
"Your Majesty, the one in front is Lord He."
Eunuch Zhao's shrill voice finally brought He Wen back to his senses, as he was lost in thought.
Given He Wen's experience as prime minister, he had attended countless banquets like this, all the same old routine, with no novelty. Therefore, once the emperor left, the prime minister, second only to the emperor, didn't linger long, but went out for some fresh air.
He Wen was deep in thought beside the pond, thinking of Shang Nanxuan whom he met at the Qionglin Banquet today. He knew that this man was enjoying a special favor from the emperor.
At that moment, he recalled that the little emperor he had seen from a distance today was very different from the emperor in his memory, and he seemed more vivid. He didn't know if it was because he was outside the court.
Her eyebrows are as curved as willows, her eyes are as clear as autumn water, and her lips are red without any makeup.
It makes people unable to take their eyes off it.
Hearing Eunuch Zhao's louder voice urging him, He Wen realized his impoliteness and quickly bowed, "I have been disrespectful. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
The little emperor's voice, tinged with laughter, drifted out, "The scenery itself is intoxicating. My dear, do you also think the lotus flowers here are beautiful?"
He Wen responded, straightened his back and looked up, but inadvertently saw the emperor walking up to him.
There was no distance and estrangement like a divine punishment in the Golden Palace, nor was there the pearl curtain of the emperor's crown blocking the view. The face of the young emperor entered He Wen's eyes without any defense.
He Wen had always known that the emperor was extremely handsome, but he had never felt the shock at such a close distance as he did now.
He was stunned for a moment.
"Hmm? My dear, why don't you say anything? Do you disagree with my point of view?"
Song Mingjiao watched with satisfaction. He Wen was stunned by the atmosphere he deliberately created. This was normal.
But he still asked this terrifying question with malicious intentions.
Eunuch Zhao, standing by, was sweating profusely. He didn't know what had happened today, but everyone had made a mistake in front of His Majesty. From Shang Nanxuan at the beginning to the calm and self-possessed Prime Minister now, no one was an exception.
"I have spoken out of turn, and I hope Your Majesty will punish me."
He Wen finally came to his senses, lifted his clothes and knelt in front of Song Mingjiao to apologize, but he was still restless in his heart. The image of the emperor looking at him with a smile on his face lingered in his mind.
Song Mingjiao chuckled softly, and condescendingly bent down to whisper in He Wen's ear. His voice was so soft that only the two of them could hear:
"Could it be that the scene you were intoxicated by just now was not the lotus, but me?"
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