Chapter 305 Song Xing
Song Xing had just attended the Qionglin Banquet. As a newly-appointed Jinshi this year, his ranking was not high but not too low either, which just qualified him to attend the Qionglin Banquet.
Hadn't he been looking forward to this day after studying so hard for ten years? Even though he was sitting in the corner at the end, Song Xing's heart was still pounding.
He came from an ordinary family, but the educational resources he could enjoy at Dongping Academy were the best. During his travels abroad in recent years, the teachers in the academy used almost all the resources and connections they could.
It was also the experience of studying abroad in recent years that made Song Xing understand a truth: the gap between people is natural. Your background determines whether you have the opportunity to become a scholar, and your talent and hard work determine how far you can go on this road.
Song Xing is undoubtedly smart, but he feels that there are many things that have supported him to where he is today. He has just gotten a glimpse of the rules of officialdom at this Qionglin Banquet.
He also clearly knew that the road he was about to take was also full of difficulties and obstacles. If he succeeded, he would leave his name in history, but if he failed, he would be left with nothing.
Zhuoyan didn't want to attend this Qionglin Banquet. He is a loyal minister. Over the years, no one except Your Majesty the monarch can influence his thoughts.
Moreover, today's Qionglin Banquet is not so much a welcome for the new nobles in the court, but rather a place for the old officials in the court to win over the people's hearts.
People like Zhuoyan are actually not welcome in such occasions.
Look at that new number one scholar, he's drunk to the point of being out of his mind.
My humble words are trying to hide in peace and quiet, but I am always being followed by a burning gaze.
Song Xing prepared himself mentally for a long time before he mustered up the courage to pick up the wine glass and walk towards Zhuo Yan. When he stood in front of Zhuo Yan, the young man even had a slight blush on his cheeks.
If Mr. Song in Mr. Nancheng's book is the enlightener of Song Xing's life, then my humble words are Song Xing's role model in the real world.
It took Song Xing more than ten years to go from being an unknown ordinary student to standing in front of Zhuoyan with honor today.
"My Lord, I am Song Xing from Qinghe Commandery. May I have a drink with you?"
In fact, before walking in front of Zhuo Yan, Song Xing had been thinking about it in his mind for a long time, such as talking about his admiration for Zhuo Yan over the years, how seriously he had studied the cases handled by Zhuo Yan, and saying that he came here by following in Zhuo Yan's footsteps. But when he actually stood here, Song Xing could not say anything else except whether he could have a drink with him.
"Song Xing?"
I have some impression of this name. After all, among so many test papers, this person was the only one who had his own opinions on legal judgments. Your Majesty once took out this test paper separately to discuss with him.
But Zhuoyan didn't want to say these words to the young man in front of him. He silently raised his glass and gestured to Song Xing, then drank it all without hesitation.
In the eyes of others, Zhuoyan's action was both to give face and to appear perfunctory. After all, look at the adults present. Whenever a student came to toast them, they would give earnest instructions even if it was just for show. No one would be as perfunctory as Zhuoyan.
But for Song Xing, this was already good enough. He drank the wine and quickly returned to his seat.
The person sitting next to him had already drunk quite a bit. Seeing that Song Xing seemed to have hit a snag, he spoke up, "That Zhushang is notoriously unkind. Instead of trying to get close to him, why don't you go say hello to the officials at the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue and get to know them. Even if you're exiled, you might still be able to find a good place."
Song Xing felt that this person had no bad intentions. After all, except for the top three and those with family connections who could stay in the capital, most of these new scholars were destined to be sent to other places, and the weaker their status and background, the worse the place they would be sent to.
To be able to sit in the same corner with me, this guy must have neither status nor connections to rely on.
"Nothing, I have admired you for a long time. If I am sent out in the future, I am afraid I will never have the chance to speak to you again. Now I am very satisfied to be able to offer you a glass of wine at the Qionglin Banquet."
This man has come to this point and has seen a lot of darkness in the officialdom. When he heard such innocent words, he even sobered up a little.
But I was secretly thinking in my heart that this brother is also a talent since he regards Zhuoyan as his idol.
After the Qionglin Banquet, Song Xing met Zhuo Yan again when he was leaving along the palace road.
Zhuo Yan saw the other person's long back falling on the palace road, and it seemed as if he saw himself many years ago. "Why didn't you go out with the others?"
Song Xing was lost in thought and was startled when he heard the voice. But when he saw that the person behind him was Master Zhuo Yanzhu, he quickly became excited. "When I first came out, everyone had already left."
Zhuo Yan was not surprised to hear this. Although these students were all disciples of the emperor, the people in the palace were also very good at judging people by their abilities. People like Song Xing were not the type of people the palace people would flatter.
Being left out is perfectly normal.
Meeting is destiny. Perhaps because of some similarities, Zhuo Yan suddenly felt like giving Song Xing some advice. "I'm about to leave the palace. Why don't you come with me?"
Song Xing wanted nothing more than to follow Song Xing's side obediently one step behind.
For the first time, Zhuo Yan spoke to someone like a true elder. "Why do you want to go down the path of criminal justice? If you can pass the imperial examination and attend the Qionglin Feast, any other path is better than this."
Song Xing, stepping on Zhuo Yan's shadow, asked without even looking up, "What about you? Not only did you attend the Qionglin Banquet, you were also the runner-up in that year's exam. Why did you choose this path?"
Zhu Yan didn't take it as an offense, instead he chuckled: "Why? No one else has taken this road, so I just took it."
Song Xing: "I am different from you. When I was a child, I was determined to take this path. My Lord, I will become a prison official as powerful as you."
The young man's voice was gentle but firm, and he didn't know that the road he chose was full of thorns and that everyone who walked on it would be covered in blood.
My humble opinion: “I’ll watch you.”
Even after returning to the inn, Song Xing couldn't calm his pounding heart. Zhuo Yan's words, "I'll watch over you," made him happier than all the praise and congratulations he had heard in recent days. He was so happy that he couldn't calm down for half an hour.
......
This was the first time Cui Qingyi met Song Xing, the loyal fan of Mr. Song as Qi Moxuan called him.
The young man was tall and slender, and from a distance he looked like a newly grown bamboo. He walked towards them holding a copy of the "Xiyuan Jilu" (A Collection of Clearing Injustices), looking around as if searching for someone.
After seeing that there were only a few women here waiting quietly under the tree, Cui Qingyi told Taozhi: "Go and invite Master Song over."
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