Chapter 31 Origin
Upon hearing these four words, Ye Jianshan and the Crown Prince stopped arguing about whether they should personally go to the kitchen to prepare the base ingredients and quickly bowed to the person who came.
The crown prince had expected his father to come, but he did not expect him to arrive so late.
The Emperor also wanted to come earlier, but there were matters to attend to in court, which delayed him a little. By the time he finished dealing with them, it was already lunchtime.
As soon as the Emperor entered, he saw the Crown Prince and Ye Jianshan standing side by side, dressed very similarly. Instantly, his eyes welled up with tears.
For so many years, he never dared to hope that he would see the Crown Prince and his child standing side by side.
Unexpectedly, my wish came true in just a few months.
Okay, great! The father and son look exactly alike.
To be honest, the Crown Prince doesn't resemble him much, nor does he resemble the Empress. I never expected that his son would be a carbon copy of him.
This scene was so heartwarming that it touched the emperor's heart.
The emperor felt he would never forget this scene; it was so beautiful it brought tears to his eyes.
The emperor stood frozen in place, not even noticing that a whole group of people had already knelt down below.
Ye Jianshan was a little confused about what was going on. His grandfather hadn't let them get up for so long, so he couldn't help but look up.
When the Emperor came to his senses, he saw that the father and son, who were standing side by side, had knelt down and even wore the same jade crowns on their heads. He quickly stepped forward and helped them up, saying, "Good children are good children. Get up quickly, both of you. I came here today to meet the future pillars of the Great Jin Dynasty in advance."
The words "pillar of strength" instantly energized everyone present.
Did they receive the emperor's promise directly?
Although it might be just polite talk or empty promises, these were the Emperor's words.
Before they even entered officialdom, they had already met the emperor face to face—an honor that many people could not attain.
You should know that some people spend their entire lives as officials and never get this opportunity.
I was initially thinking this trip would be a waste of time and that I wouldn't gain anything, but I was pleasantly surprised at the end.
The Crown Prince smiled and said, "These tribute students are all very outstanding. They are very polite in their speech and manners. Your Majesty also expects them to make more contributions to the Great Jin Dynasty."
"Very well, I can rest assured that the future of the Great Jin Dynasty is in your hands. This shall be the top scholar of this year's examination."
The Emperor abruptly changed the subject, steer the conversation towards Ye Jianshan.
Everyone was speechless for a moment.
How could the Emperor not know this?
The emperor pretended not to recognize him; this old man was quite interesting.
Ye Jianshan thought to himself.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Ye Jianshan was at the front. He winked at the Emperor and mouthed "Grandpa Emperor."
The Emperor coughed, amused by him. This child, he wanted to act serious, but he wouldn't let him act anymore.
The Crown Prince felt a pang of envy seeing how familiar Ye Jianshan was with the Emperor. If he hadn't been trapped in the examination hall for so long, he probably would have become familiar with Ye Jianshan as well.
Ye Jianshan is a very good-tempered, sunny, and cheerful boy with his own plans.
According to others, they would have panicked and not know what to do after finding out that he was the crown prince's son, but he remained calm from beginning to end.
They have always been very confident.
Because he is excellent enough, his confidence comes from himself.
So it doesn't matter whether he's the little prince or not.
He could also be the top scholar in the provincial examination, and even achieve the highest rank in the imperial examination.
There have been countless imperial grandsons throughout history, but only a few can be truly remembered by name.
However, the six-time winners were different. No matter how far the Jin Dynasty went, later generations would always mention the name Ye Jianshan whenever they talked about the imperial examinations.
"Get up! What are you all standing there for? I told you, I'm just here to join in the fun."
The Emperor straightened his robes and sat down next to Ye Jianshan. On the other side was Cui Jianbing, who was already pale with fright.
He had never been so close to the emperor before, and for a moment he didn't know what to do.
But when he saw the distance between the Emperor and Ye Jianshan, he felt a little disappointed. Although the distance had been reduced, the Emperor had not looked in his direction at all.
"What's this?"
Curious, the Emperor picked up the notes on Ye Jianshan's desk and looked at them.
Ye Jianshan explained, "These are some strategies for the imperial examination taught by Lord Sun. I've written them down so that I won't panic when I follow Lord Sun's advice during the examination."
"Don't panic, it's just the palace examination, it's not like they're going to eat you."
The Emperor spoke lightly, but who among us could truly relax?
Just as Cui Jianbing was feeling down, the Emperor spoke to him: "Are you the grandson of Chief Minister Cui?"
Cui Jianbing was startled and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I am Cui Jianbing, the grandson of Chief Minister Cui."
The Emperor looked him up and down, which made Cui Jianbing tremble with fear, afraid that he might do something impolite.
Ye Jianshan also curiously peeked over and saw that Cui Jianbing was very nervous.
Indeed, who wouldn't be nervous when meeting the Emperor? Even if he didn't know that the Emperor was his grandfather, he would still be sweating with nervousness.
"Is Chief Minister Cui feeling any better?"
Cui Jianbing was still ill. He had only come today because he was forcing himself to be. He was already quite nervous and uncomfortable after being pressed by the Emperor. When he heard the Emperor ask about his grandfather, he quickly replied, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. My grandfather is much better and will be able to attend court tomorrow."
The Emperor nodded upon hearing the reply: "That's good. With Chief Minister Cui away from court these past two days, I've been quite busy."
Cui Jianbing didn't know whether the emperor was telling the truth or not. It was impossible that he was too busy, otherwise why would he have time to come here? It was just a polite remark.
Choi Geon-byeong gave an awkward smile but didn't say anything.
Since you don't know what to say, it's best to keep quiet, after all, loose lips sink ships.
"Good children, you two are second and first, you must get along well. Shan'er is not knowledgeable, you should learn more from the grandson of Chief Minister Cui in the future."
The Emperor spoke half-truthfully.
Although the emperor was praising Cui Jianbing, Cui Jianbing felt very uncomfortable listening to him. In the emperor's mouth, he was only worthy of being called the grandson of the chief minister Cui, and he did not even have his own name.
Ye Jianshan modestly agreed, but Cui Jianbing quickly replied that he dared not accept such praise.
How could he possibly accept such a responsibility? Even with his thick skin, Cui Jianbing couldn't agree to it at this point.
"Since you're the same age, you can learn from each other."
The Emperor was not yet ready to let Cui Jianbing off the hook, and continued.
Ye Jianshan agreed first, and then Cui Jianbing nodded.
After that, Cui Jianbing was extremely anxious, as he had already heard Ye Jianshan calling him "Grandpa".
Why were you so polite before?
"What were you and the Crown Prince talking about just now? Hot pot base?"
The Emperor heard it when he came in, but he never had a chance to ask.
Ye Jianshan explained it to him, and the Emperor was immediately intrigued: "Shall we eat tonight? It's a good opportunity to get together. Your mother has come to the capital, and your grandmother hasn't met her yet."
Ye Jianshan thought for a moment. Since the Crown Prince and the Emperor had both said so, it seemed that they had to have hot pot. He nodded in agreement: "Alright, let's have hot pot tonight. My cooking skills are not good. Grandfather, you can send more imperial chefs over. I will be going into seclusion again tomorrow to prepare for the palace examination."
The Emperor felt sorry for him, but he didn't say anything to stop him from working hard. With the Emperor, his grandfather, around, he was sure the Emperor wouldn't let him down.
He felt that these words were disrespectful to Ye Jianshan's efforts.
Ye Jianshan is clearly a person with goals and is willing to work hard for them. He doesn't want his efforts to look like they were obtained through connections.
That's why he went into such intense seclusion.
"Very well, after you finish your seclusion and the palace examination, I will take you students of this year on a spring outing."
The Emperor also had this plan for this trip, but Ye Jianshan said he was going into seclusion, so it had to be postponed.
"OK."
The people behind were also quite excited. They were going on a spring outing with the Emperor; they were really lucky to have Ye Jianshan's help.
Moreover, Ye Jianshan also inspired their fighting spirit. You should know that not everyone can become a Jinshi after the palace examination. A group of people will become Tong Jinshi, whose status is not as good as that of a Jinshi.
Therefore, the imperial examination could not be taken lightly.
If Ye Jianshan is rolling it up like this, they'll have to roll it up when they get home too.
After the Emperor arrived, the atmosphere at the banquet was subdued for a while, but then it became lively again.
The emperor was not the kind of lifeless, rigid person; he was all smiles throughout, which put everyone at ease.
But the students could relax, while the proctors and examiners were all on tenterhooks, unaware that they had witnessed the emperor's temper during the morning court session.
The emperor kills people without batting an eye; he's someone who's actually been on the battlefield.
The reason things seem peaceful now is because Ye Jianshan is there; he's his precious darling now.
As long as Ye Jianshan nods, the position of Crown Prince will be handed to him.
The banquet ended in the late afternoon. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the food. The Crown Prince, the Emperor, and Ye Jianshan were also happy to have spent so much time together, and they all went home happily.
Ye Jianshan parted ways with everyone at the entrance of the Ye residence, wanting to invite Luo Shaohui and Yang Shuqing inside for a meal, but the two refused without even thinking about it.
This place is too close to the Crown Prince's residence, and the Emperor hasn't left yet. I was thinking of waiting for them to leave before coming to the Ye residence to have a meal together.
Ye Jianshan was speechless at how fast they were running. Weren't they having a pretty easy time before?
Now everyone is so afraid of him.
Cui Jianbing collapsed as soon as he got into the carriage, saying, "Let's go back to the manor and get a doctor."
He wanted to leave several times during the banquet, but he didn't dare to say it.
It felt like an eternity.
The physical discomfort and the psychological discomfort were double the torment.
After returning home, he went to bed. Chief Minister Cui was quite frightened. He was waiting for Cui Jianbing to come and tell him what had happened at the banquet. But he was gone for most of the day. He heard that not only the Crown Prince was there, but also the Emperor.
Who knew the person would be carried back?
Chief Minister Cui was full of conspiracy theories, thinking that the Emperor had done something wrong. Unexpectedly, the servants who were with him said that Cui Jianbing had been ill before and was not in good condition at the banquet, but he had been forcing himself to be strong.
After listening to the servant's report in detail, Chief Minister Cui was somewhat disappointed with Cui Jianbing's performance at the banquet.
Ye Jianshan is quite formidable; he wasn't intimidated by Cui Jianbing's aura even when he met his grandson, which shows he's no ordinary person.
Cui Jianbing was someone he had personally raised and nurtured, and had seen many big scenes; he was simply incomparable to Ye Jianshan, who came from the countryside.
The Crown Princess is truly remarkable.
The Ye family, a family of a pig butcher, must have put in a lot of effort to raise Ye Jianshan to his current level of success.
What exactly does this Crown Princess want to do, and what does Ye Jianshan want to do?
Did Ye Jianshan really say that the first time he saw the Crown Prince at the Examination Hall was the first time?
It seems like they came prepared. Could this be the work of remnants of the Great Wei Dynasty?
Since Ye Jianshan returned, Chief Minister Cui has not been sleeping well. He is not faking his illness; he really hasn't slept well for several days.
Who exactly is Ye Jianshan?
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Author's note: Goodnight! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]
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