Chapter 124: Song Shi'an Returns to Sheng'an |
Chen Bao truly hadn't expected that he could refuse so decisively.
Among the several princes, he was the only one who was different.
There was no need to mention the Prince of Wu—he had already shown his talent and begun to reveal the bearing of a dragon.
As for the Prince of Jin, he only appeared to lack ambition, but everything he did was a concrete manifestation of ambition.
Wei Wusheng was only twenty-one years old. When Shuofeng was in danger, he had volunteered himself, and now it was time to receive his reward.
Prince of Qin, Inspector of Si Prefecture, Grand General—each of these three things was supreme and precious.
Even if accepting them would immediately attract the hostility of both the Jin and Wu princes, and might even force his own brothers to unite and eliminate the outsider first.
But what undertaking didn't carry risk?
Having received Ji Yuan's recognition, did he really not dare harbor even the slightest ambition?
No.
Song Shi'an might truly be the most important to him.
"You said this yourself."
Regarding Wusheng's request, the Emperor showed no surprise and remained extremely calm.
The Emperor's word was absolute law.
If you don't want it, then I won't give it.
"Very well, Song Shi'an can live."
Pointing at Wei Wusheng below the steps, the Emperor said, "But all those crimes—you must bear them in his place."
"This subject thanks Your Majesty."
Wei Wusheng bowed once more, showing no lingering regret for everything he had lost.
And refusing to become 'Prince of Qin' also meant that Wusheng had completely given up his chance to compete.
"You may withdraw."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Wei Wusheng stood up, preparing to leave.
"Go tell the Prince of Wu to come here." The Emperor didn't order a eunuch to do this, but directed it at Little Wei Ti instead.
"By your command, Your Majesty."
Facing forward, Wei Wusheng maintained his respectful posture, slowly bowing as he retreated. Upon reaching the threshold, he turned and left the hall.
And the moment he walked out, the deeply calculating Chen Bao finally understood everything.
And couldn't help but exclaim inwardly:
Your Majesty has not aged, Your Majesty is sagacious!
………
After going to the front hall, where only the Prince of Wu and some eunuchs were present, Wei Wusheng relayed: "Fourth Brother, His Majesty summons you."
"Mm, good." The Prince of Wu stood up, and when they faced each other, quietly asked, "How did it go?"
Wei Wusheng also lowered his voice in reply: "His Majesty inquired about the Langya matter. I said it was all my decision."
"Good, I understand."
The Prince of Wu patted his back, then went to Taiyuan Hall.
"This son pays respects to Imperial Father."
"Zisheng, rise."
Toward this prince, the Emperor was noticeably more affectionate, like family.
"This son thanks Imperial Father." The Prince of Wu also seemed more like a son; when facing his father, he showed much less restraint and awe.
"I just spoke with Wusheng, asking him about privately mobilizing troops in Langya and arbitrarily conferring ranks and making promises to the soldiers. He said it was all his own decision." The Emperor said, "What do you think?"
"After all, it was a special time, and everything was to hold Shuofeng. What Wusheng did truly made morale soar higher and united everyone's hearts to resist the Qi bandits." The Prince of Wu said, "This son believes that everything Wusheng promised those soldiers should stand."
"Naturally, he used the Wei family's credibility as guarantee." The Emperor's tone suddenly became somewhat stern, "I'm asking who must take responsibility for this matter?"
"……"
The Prince of Wu's expression darkened, feeling somewhat troubled, but remembering what Ye Changqing had told him about trying his best to shoulder the heavy responsibility of regent and not avoid it, he therefore seriously spoke: "This son is willing to take responsibility."
The Prince of Wu's performance was also excellent.
Chen Bao's eyes saw where the tide was flowing.
Your Majesty was waiting for exactly this answer.
"I wanted to hear exactly these words from you."
Hearing this, the Emperor immediately said, "When the time comes, there will still be officials impeaching Song Shi'an while praising Wusheng. Do you dare to have those few under you do everything to protect Song Shi'an and pull him out?"
"This son dares."
The Prince of Wu said with a resolute tone.
This was the Emperor's art of kingship.
Song Shi'an certainly had to be protected, but this grace of protection—he couldn't let it be credited to Wei Wusheng's account, nor did the Emperor need to.
The Emperor wanted all under heaven to see just how great a debt the Prince of Wu owed Song Shi'an.
The Emperor wanted the Prince of Wu to win Song Shi'an's heart.
Going back to the choice he gave Wei Wusheng earlier.
In reality, he had no choice.
Accepting the position of Prince of Qin meant losing Song Shi'an and also losing the hearts of the people—if he could sell out even a brother who had risked his life alongside him for wealth and honor, who would dare follow Wusheng?
If he'd chosen Prince of Qin just now, his political career would have died!
But choosing Song Shi'an meant bearing a large portion of the blame. Once you become a guilty official, preserving yourself is enough—how could you still have the qualifications to guarantee Song Shi'an's wealth and honor?
Now, Song Jing's wealth and honor, Song Shi'an's wealth and honor—all given by the Prince of Wu.
Is this what His Majesty thought of to correct the dream?
"Then when the time comes, what happens to Song Shi'an depends entirely on you." The Emperor said.
"This son will certainly do his utmost."
"Good."
"This son has one more matter to request of Imperial Father."
The Prince of Wu raised his head, looking at him with an earnest tone.
"Zisheng, speak."
"If we are to clear Song Shi'an of his crimes, then Wusheng will certainly have to bear the vast majority of responsibility." After internal struggle, the Prince of Wu spoke: "When court convenes, can this son also memorialize to appropriately reward Wusheng?"
"What reward?" the Emperor asked.
The arrow was on the string and had to be released. The Prince of Wu said, "Enfeoff Wusheng as a prince."
When those two words 'as a prince' came out, even Chen Bao's heart dropped.
Staring at this son, the Emperor looked at him until the other became somewhat nervous, then said, "As long as Prince of Wu is satisfied."
………
"What does this 'as long as Prince of Wu is satisfied' mean?"
In the Prince of Wu's residence, the Prince of Wu somewhat worriedly recounted what had happened in the great hall to the two men.
After listening, both felt somewhat heavy.
"You went too far." Ye Changqing said.
"Too, too far?" The Prince of Wu immediately became uneasy.
Zhao Yi looked at him and had to remind him honestly: "Your Highness, a prince cannot enfeoff another prince."
This was exactly what the Prince of Wu had struggled with the entire way.
Now, he had spelled it out in one sentence.
Who could enfeoff someone as a prince?
Only the Emperor could.
Even if it was just memorializing the Emperor, if the other party didn't have that intention, this act would be overstepping.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I made a mistake."
Holding his forehead with both hands, the Prince of Wu's mind was truly a bit chaotic now.
"Your Highness, this isn't your fault." Zhao Yi consoled him, "We were the ones who told you to actively act as regent. This balance is inevitably hard to grasp."
"But I still got too excited..." The Prince of Wu reproached himself quite guiltily, saying, "Can't be hasty, can't be hasty."
"Actually, the problem isn't big."
At this time, Ye Changqing spoke.
"Changqing needn't console me, I know how serious it is." The Prince of Wu self-reflected.
"No, no, Your Highness, it's really not serious."
Placing his hand on the prince's, Ye Changqing said quite calmly, "If His Majesty were dissatisfied that Your Highness has ambition, he wouldn't have specifically given you this opportunity to win hearts. Memorializing to make the Sixth Prince a prince is also winning hearts—it's the same thing."
"But Imperial Father really did seem a bit angry."
"His Majesty might truly be angry, but the issue probably isn't this."
"Then what is it?"
The Prince of Wu and Zhao Yi both looked toward Ye Changqing together.
"If I may speculate,"
After boldly putting himself in the Emperor's shoes, Ye Changqing said, "What His Majesty was displeased about should be that Your Highness, in order to deal with the Prince of Jin, has drawn in the Sixth Prince."
The two of them were simultaneously stunned, only now reacting.
"Actually, I've had this worry too." Ye Changqing said, "If we draw in the Sixth Prince, our odds of victory will be much greater. But the Sixth Prince has military merit to his name—when the time comes, Your Highness, will you be able to keep him in check?"
Could he?
"But the Prince of Jin also pulled in the Prince of Zhongping to deal with me." The Prince of Wu said somewhat indignantly.
"Then what should we do?" Ye Changqing unusually became the one asking questions.
Zhao Yi beside them also fell into deliberation: "With the Sixth Prince, the chances of winning are much greater—we could say that as long as we don't make mistakes, victory is assured. But the Sixth Prince truly will hold very high power and influence. Without him, compared to the Prince of Jin, our advantage is quite slim, but if we achieve it relying on ourselves, there will be far less trouble."
This decision involved matters too significant; only the Prince of Wu could make it.
And ultimately, he decided: "Let's secure victory first, then deal with the rest. Besides, I can sense that Wusheng is quite kindhearted. I'll treat him like a real brother and be good to him."
Since he had said this, the two beside him nodded in agreement.
The succession struggle was like this—strategists could offer many opinions, but the person making the final decision had to be decisive.
This was where the Prince of Wu was more worthy.
"Then I have one more matter to request of you two."
The Prince of Wu looked at them both, somewhat embarrassed to speak.
"Your Highness, why so formal?" Zhao Yi didn't understand.
"Your Highness, rest assured. When Song Shi'an returns, he can directly stand equal with us." Ye Changqing understood at a glance and said with a light smile, "As long as Your Highness doesn't become too enamored of the new and neglectful of the old."
"I won't, definitely won't."
Seeing that he understood immediately, the Prince of Wu also hastened to promise: "The three of you, even if your positions are all the same. But you came first and are the most trustworthy confidants—it will definitely still be you."
………
It would take Wei Wusheng about a month to return to Sheng'an.
After six days into the second month, Song Shi'an also received an eight-hundred-li emergency dispatch from Sheng'an, arriving slightly slower.
Ordering him to return to the capital.
But the army didn't need to come back.
He only needed to bring Ran Jin, Zheng Tong, Zhao Xiang, and the various powerful families of Shuofeng.
It seemed the Emperor had already accepted the fact that he wasn't handing over military authority, wasn't handing over the official seal, wasn't handing over the dragon-head staff—wasn't handing over a damn thing.
Getting scolded, getting scolded—time to go back and get scolded.
Song Shi'an would prepare to depart tomorrow.
The snow was also falling somewhat lighter, and moreover the sun came out from time to time. In about ten days at most, spring would arrive.
So this trip would also be much faster than Little Wei's.
Before returning, Song Shi'an still enjoyed his leisurely time, playing chess with Xinyue in the county yamen hall while warming themselves by the fire.
Pa.
With a crisp sound, Song Shi'an placed a white piece on the board, then pointed quite seriously: "These five are connected."
Xinyue frowned, sighed, then raised her head, looking at Song Shi'an with a subtle expression: "Can we play proper Go?"
"Can't beat you, getting frustrated."
Song Shi'an spread his hands.
Closing her eyes and biting her lip, Xinyue seemed to have manga-style anger marks appear on her forehead: "Again."
At this moment, Zhu Qing walked in.
Seeing the two playing chess, he said, "Shi'an, I need to speak with you."
"It's fine, Xinyue isn't an outsider." Song Shi'an didn't mind at all.
"Alright." Zhu Qing walked before him, took out a solid gold crouching tiger from his sleeve, and placed it in Song Shi'an's palm. "This—Laoye Song gave it to me."
"Since he's already given it to you, why are you returning it to me?" Song Shi'an pushed it back to him, unwilling to accept.
"Laoye Song told me to protect you, but I didn't do anything." Zhu Qing had originally wanted to leave this for his wife. With this gold tiger, it would be enough to ensure a worry-free life. But his wife, knowing this journey was dangerous, insisted he keep it on his person, saying that in a critical moment it might save his life.
"Don't say that. You had San Gou serve as my guard—you deserve to receive this tiger for that alone."
"No."
Zhu Qing placed his hand on Song Shi'an's shoulder, seriously shaking his head: "I was originally going to die in Shuofeng, but now I've survived. So it was you who protected me."
After forcibly returning the item, he left.
Looking at the gold tiger in his hand, Song Shi'an studied it for a while, then held it before Xinyue: "Then Xinyue, I'll give it to you."
"Why?" Xinyue wasn't particularly enthusiastic. "Why are you trying to curry favor with me?"
"Curry favor?" Song Shi'an said displeased, "This brother is going to be a high official when he returns to Sheng'an—why would I need to curry favor with you? This is a reward for you."
"I'm not your subordinate, you can't reward me."
Xinyue showed no greed for this wealth: "Without a proper reason, I won't accept it."
This woman was truly troublesome.
With no choice, Song Shi'an said impatiently, "I left in the sixth month and returned in the second month. During this half year or so, your birthday was probably somewhere in there. Can't I give you a gift?"
"Third month."
Fuck.
"Since it's a gift, then I'll accept it."
Having at least some explanation, Xinyue accepted this expensive gift. Then, after feeling around on herself, she found a protective charm and handed it to him: "I'll give you this."
"You actually believe in this kind of thing?" After receiving it, Song Shi'an was somewhat curious.
"His Highness gave it to me."
"Oh."
"But the Prince of Jin gave it to His Highness, and he didn't want it, so he casually tossed it to me."
"Tsk... something from the Prince of Jin?"
Holding this protective charm, Song Shi'an raised his head, looking at Xinyue with eyes carrying a hint of 'are you fucking kidding me' skepticism.
"Oh, oh." Xinyue quickly reacted, "We're the Wu Prince faction now. Keeping something from the Prince of Jin really isn't very appropriate. Then how about we just throw it in the brazier and burn it?"
"Forget it, I'll keep it."
Looking at this delicately crafted small sachet protective charm, Song Shi'an held it in his palm: "Who knows, it might actually be a bit useful."