逐王水千丞 ZhuWang The Blood Crown novel by ShuiQianCheng English translation: Chapter 28

Feng Ye's return to the capital was nominally to report his father's work on his father’s behalf.

It's unheard of in ancient times for a son to report his father’s work on his father’s behalf. Everyone knew that he was reporting on his father’s work on the surface, but in fact, he came back to be a hostage*.

Over the past 20 years, after the death or resignation of three Datong governors, coupled with the growing power of Wala, Feng Jianping became the first general in the history of Dasheng to sit on the governor’s position. This meant that he not only controlled the political power of all of Datong prefecture, but also grasped more than 200,000 soldiers in his own hands.

Datong prefecture is only a three or four days of trip away from the capital on horseback. It is an important defense area in the northwest of the Central Plains. Once the Datong defense line collapsed and Wala took the advantage to attack, half of Dasheng’s land would be lost. Therefore, Emperor Zhaowu relies heavily on Feng Jianping and is extremely fearful of him. He gave him military power and recalled his only son back to the capital at the same time.

Probably only a fatuous and self-indulgent ruler like Chen Zhao would dare to entrust the political and military power of the 16 prefectures and 77 counties of Datong prefecture to one person, so that this person could assemble an army, present a challenge to him, and is enough to threaten him with that person’s mighty power. If the wise and powerful first emperor of this dynasty knew that his descendant was so absurd, he would be so angry that he would be able to come back alive from the underground.

However, just because the person who did this was Chen Zhao, everyone wasn’t surprised. After all, he was also the one who gave up the natural barrier of the seven states in Liaobei and opened the door* of Liaodong.

Of course, this is good news for Yan Sikong, and Feng Ye's return to the capital is even better news for him.

Currently, he was in Hanlin Academy listening to Yan Zilian's teachings with Shen Hexuan.

"You two are smart, sensible, and are Dasheng’s future pillars of society. Among the new jinshis, I have confidence in you two. Overall, you two didn’t disappoint me at the jingyan the day before yesterday."

Yan Sikong said, "I thank teacher for granting me this opportunity. This student is overwhelmed by your favor."

Shen Hexuan also cupped his hands and said, "Fortunately, we didn’t disgrace teacher's reputation."

"During the jingyan, Hexuan's lecture was excellent, but it was a little boring, so the emperor didn’t like to listen. And Sikong, although it was interesting and pleasing to the emperor, the seriousness of the lecture was lost. In my opinion, they’re not good enough. At the next jingyan, you will ask each other for advice, learn from each other, and make up for your own shortcomings."

"Yes.” The two said in unison.

"Alright, it's getting late. You guys can go back."

"Is teacher not going home tonight?" Shen Hexuan asked, "Are there official documents that have not been approved? This student is willing to stay and help teacher."

"No need, I need to visit my friends later. You guys can just go back."

They retreated slowly while bowing.

When they walked to the courtyard, Yan Sikong said, "Brother Shen, Liang Sui and the rest arranged to meet and drink in Baishenglou today. I heard that Zhou Mixing is treating everyone to a drink. Why don't we go together?”

Shen Hexuan said politely, "Thank you, my dear brother. I still have some unfinished business, so I won't be going."

Yan Sikong said with a smile, "Then I’ll make a move first."

The two cupped their hands and bid farewell.

------

Zhou Mixing is the prefect of Shuntian prefecture. He failed to pass the exam, but he loves poetry, wine, and makes friends with famous scholars. He often held banquets to entertain people everywhere. Liang Sui is a descendant of an aristocratic family in the suburbs of the capital. He made friends with Zhou Mixing when he was young. At the same time, he also passed the provincial level imperial examination together with Yan Sikong and became good friends. Through Liang Sui, Zhou Mixing met many distinguished personages.

Yan Sikong arrived at the restaurant, and Liang Sui was greeting the guests downstairs. As soon as he saw him, he came over with a smile: "Sikong, did that 'sanyuan*lang*' reject you again?"

This new batch of jinshis secretly nicknamed Shen Hexuan "sanyuan lang". Although they had no evil intentions, they somehow detested him for being smug and self-righteous and never had any fun with them.

Yan Sikong helplessly spread his hand: "Do you still need to mention it?"

"Lord Zhou has always wanted to meet this genius who has consecutively scored first place in the civil service examinations at three levels, but I think it's better if he doesn't come." Liang Sui curled his lips and said, "To prevent offending people."

Yan Sikong said with a smile, "Yeah. Let’s go in."

Yan Sikong recognizes the worth of Shen Hexuan, it's just that when he sees that Shen Hexuan is completely focused, busy with official business all day, stubborn, and unreasonable, he can only sigh in his heart. Shen Hexuan is capable of being a knowledgeable man, but this kind of person is not suited to be an official. Sooner or later, he will become a great disaster.

During the banquet, many people couldn't help asking Yan Sikong about the jingyan on that day. They had heard the rumor long ago, "I heard that sanyuan lang reproached the emperor for his improper sitting posture. Is that true?"

Yan Sikong said with a bitter smile, "Yeah. He said, ‘As a sovereign, how can you lose your dignified posture?’.”

"Hahaha, he is really an unusual man."

"This man has talent and knowledge, but why is his brain as rigid as an elmwood*?"

"You don’t say. I think it's precisely because he's so stubborn and had Confucius and Mencius specially drilled into his head that he could consecutively score first place in the civil service examinations at three levels. Otherwise..." a jinshi complimented, "based on Brother Yan's talent, he’s not inferior to him at all."

"Exactly, exactly. Brother Yan's poems and paintings are more beautiful than ours.”

"I’m not worthy of such compliments, I’m really not worthy of such compliments." Yan Sikong said with a smile, "I've only read some unofficial histories and essays. These tacky things cannot be presented to the public."

The people flattered each other again and exchanged wine. The atmosphere was very warm.

No one knew who started to talk about the return of King Jinyuan’s Shizi to the capital.

Zhou Mixing smiled and said, "Before I went out, my father told me that Shizi’s horses and carriages have reached the post house and will enter the capital early tomorrow morning."

"I still can't believe that the emperor gave the military's power to King of Jingyuan. It's simply..."

"Everyone thought of the same thing too."

There were many words in everyone’s stomachs. They didn't dare to say anything on the usual days but dared to say one or two things with the help of the wine’s strength: "That's why they want to bring Shizi back to the capital. King of Jingyuan has only one son left. Getting a hold of him is equivalent to getting a hold of King of Jingyuan. His Majesty still took some precautions against him."

Liang Sui sighed, "I'm worried. This Shizi is not a fuel-efficient lamp*. Haven't you heard of the rumors about him?"

Today, most of the people Zhou Mixing invited over were new jinshis. They did not enter the imperial court for long and did not encounter anything confidential, so naturally, they didn't know much. Everyone immediately became curious about Liang Sui's words and told him to continue.

Yan Sikong took a sip of wine and smiled silently.

Liang Sui said, "That Shizi was nicknamed 'little wolf king'. He was born and grew up in the military camp.”

"Wow, he must be a valiant general."

"More than that." Zhou Mixing also said mysteriously, "I heard that he was born with divine power. He was born with a tiger's back and a bear's waist*. His arms drop to his knees, his eyes are like copper bells, his voice is resonant like a large bell, and his sideburns are thick like a beast..."

Yan Sikong couldn't resist, and a mouthful of wine spurted out of his mouth.

"Brother Yan, what's wrong?"

Yan Sikong coughed hard: "Wine... this wine is strong..."

"Hahaha, this is to punish Brother Yan for drinking alone. Come on, let's drink together."

After drinking, they urged Zhou Mixing to continue.

"In short, he’s the ‘little wolf king’ because he looks like a wolf."

"Oh." Everyone nodded.

Liang Sui said, "I don't think this name only refers to his appearance."

"What my dear brother said is true. This Shizi is really a capable young man from a distinguished family and fierce in nature. He went to battle to kill the enemy at the age of 11. When he was 14, his elder brother fell into an ambush. He led a team of 100 elite calvaries to kill the enemy, killed the great general of Wala from his horse, took back his elder brother's body, and became famous from the victory of one single battle!" Zhou Mixing said while gesturing with excitement, "Since then, he has followed King of Jingyuan to charge and break through enemy lines and is extremely brave. The people of Datong gave another nickname to Shizi --- 'the Child God of war’."

Yan Sikong’s eyes were filled with a trace of gloom, and he drank another mouthful of wine silently.

The crowd exclaimed, "He’s a really young hero."

Liang Sui said: "That’s why I said it's really anxious and frightening to call such a person back to the capital to be a hostage."

"Brother Liang's concerns are reasonable."

"Will he enter the capital tomorrow? I want to see what this young man looks like."

"Haha, with that kind of appearance, I'm afraid children will pee their pants when they look at him."

Zhou Mixing's eyes lit up and clapped once fiercely: "Hey, I have a suggestion."

"Brother Zhou, please speak."

"This Baishenglou is the most prosperous place in the city. When Shizi enters the city, he must pass through this street. Let’s drink all night, get hammered, and be here early tomorrow morning to see the little wolf king’s venerable appearance. What do you think?"

Liang Sui pretended to be unhappy and said, "Not good, not good. The night is still long. If Brother Zhou doesn't invite the girls from Zuixianglou on the other side to play and sing for us, I'll go home now."

"Hahahahaha, this fellow."

Everyone chimed in one after another. Zhou Mixing has always lived extravagantly, so there’s always wine and pleasure when one follows him.

After a while, seven to eight beautiful ladies walked in leisurely and danced together. The house was even more dazzling with paper and gold*.

Liang Sui drank too much. He hugged Yan Sikong's shoulder and teased: "Sikong, I invited you to go to Zuixianglou on the usual days, but you didn’t go. Tonight, I have a chance to entertain you, although, haha, it's presenting the Buddha with borrowed flowers*."

Yan Sikong patted Liang Sui's chest and said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Brother Liang, you and I have entered the official career, so we still have to be more cautious in private."

Liang Sui is a child of an aristocratic family. Even if someone spreads rumors of him loitering the red-light district, there’s no harm, but Yan Sikong can't. He doesn't want people to have something on him.

"Hey, are you infected by sanyuan lang when you work together with him every day? A distinguished and admirably gifted scholar. Gifted scholar, distinguished and admirable, not a single one is dispensable, hahahahaha!!!” Liang Sui laughed evilly, “However, you’re not attracted to beautiful women. Could it be…”

The people around laughed and said, "Is it because Brother Yan has a unique taste and doesn't like women..."

Yan Sikong said with a smile, "Don't make fun of me. I'm a scholar from the countryside and have never seen much of life."

"Hahaha, no, I don't think so. I think…it's because Brother Yan has features like Pan An. How can he be interested in these tacky women?"

"That’s reasonable. Sikong is so beautiful. Do you think he's whoring others or others are whoring him? Sikong will be at a disadvantage, hahahahaha!"

The room was full of laughter.

Yan Sikong's drinking capacity was excellent, but he pretends to be drunk. His eyes are still clear and penetrating. Looking at these usually dignified high officials and famous scholars revealing their disgraceful manners to the greatest extent, he felt as calm as an ancient well.

He really doesn't love women. Of course, he doesn't love men either. Eroticism is meaningless to him. He needs to fight with his life to get what he wants, so how can he lose himself to lowly desires?

In the middle of the night, there were people who were too drunk to get up and there were people who embraced the ladies and went next door. There was no light in the house. Yan Sikong sat on the soft couch and let the cool wind of early spring blow away the tipsy feeling. He looked at the bustling night of the capital outside the window and fell into deep thoughts.

Ten years, ten years have passed.

He changed back to his original surname and forged his family background. As requested by his biological father, he didn't take the preliminary round of imperial examinations until he was 19. He made great progress all the way and passed the provincial level imperial examination smoothly. He is the youngest among the new jinshis. After that, he took one year to associate with influential officials and explore the complex relations in the officialdom. He was appreciated by the senior grand secretary and was familiar with the emperor and all officials at the jingyan.

For a new jinshi, it has been smooth sailing.

But he’s still too slow. Although he did not dare to enter the top three in order to hide his light under a bushel*, with an ordinary rank, he had to spend a huge amount of effort to squeeze through so many outstanding people in order to get the appreciation of the shrewd Yan Zilian. Next, he must become a royal tutor of the emperor or the crown prince, otherwise, he might have to spend another ten or twenty years to get close to the center of power. He couldn’t wait that long. He would never let those people die of old age.

Yan Sikong drank the wine in the cup in one gulp. Looking at the dark street, he thought of the main topic of their discussion ---- "Feng Ye".

He sent someone to check on Feng Ye, so he was already very familiar with those rumors.

But what has that man become? He couldn’t be like what they had said, with sideburns thick like a beast, right? Yan Sikong smiled slightly and laid back on the soft couch, feeling sleepy.

Feng Ye, it’s been 10 years since we were separated from each other. His past as "Yuan Sikong" has been gone for 10 years.

-----

Yan Sikong was shaken awake by someone.

When he opened his eyes, Liang Sui's swollen face appeared in his sight: "Sikong, get up, Shizi has entered the capital."

Yan Sikong instinctively turned over and sat up, but immediately slowed down his action. He leaned softly against the edge of the window, supported his forehead with his hand, and pretended he had a headache. He was worried that Liang Sui would see that he knew kung fu.

"Heh, I also have a headache. After seeing Shizi, I'll have someone take you home."

Yan Sikong shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Thank you, Brother Liang."

Most of the people at the banquet yesterday had woken up and gathered at the window to watch Shizi and his army enter the city from a distance.

No horseback riding is allowed in the capital unless special permission is given or there’s important maintenance to carry out. They clearly saw that the leader of the army was sitting steadily on the horse, it's just that they couldn't see his face clearly as he was wearing a straw hat.

"Goodness gracious, the emperor actually allowed him to ride into the capital."

As the army got closer and closer, Yan Sikong felt his heart beating hard. He stared hard at the man on the horse and wanted to see what kind of person he was through the straw hat.

That man was tall, strong-built, and was wearing armor. He was sitting on the horse's back with a straight back.

"Heh, he must have a face that is covered with sideburns like a beast. That’s why he hid it"

"It makes sense. Looking at this figure, he doesn't look like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy."

"Say, do you think the birth of this son of King of Jingyuan has something to do with him using the wolf as the guide of their army?"

"Probably..."

When that army passed Baishenglou, the leader suddenly pulled the reins and stopped. As soon as he stopped, the entourage also stopped immediately. At first glance, he was highly disciplined and well-trained.

The people watching in the street and the people upstairs were stunned.

They saw the general on the horse suddenly raise his head and look in their direction.

Everyone was surprised, and Yan Sikong was even more bizarrely surprised.

Under the straw hat covered with black silk, he could only see a pair of eyes as sharp as a wolf. Just a glance, it seemed like he was going to pounce over and tear the people alive.

The people upstairs dared not to breathe. Yan Sikong instinctively retracted his head back from the window.

Feng Ye quickly lowered his head, clipped his long legs hanging on both sides of his horse's belly and left.

Yan Sikong recovered from the shock and couldn't help thinking of the scene when he met Feng Ye 10 years ago.

That boy, who was only eight years old, was lying on his horse's back and sleeping until his saliva was drooling continuously. He was charmingly naïve, as if everything in the world was less important than a sweet dream at that moment.

In ten years, he has changed, and Feng Ye has changed. Everything has changed.

----

PS:

Sikong's revenge in 5 steps:

1. Get the favor from the emperor and be the crown prince's royal tutor

2. ???

3. ???

4. ???

5. ???

PS from Emzie: Did anyone else read Zhou Mixing as in "mixing caking batter"? XD If so, I can assure you that that is not his name LOL. It's Zhou Mi Xing

hostage*[质子]--- a prince sent to be held as a hostage in a neighbouring state in ancient China

opened the door*[门户大开]----not literally opening a door. When the natural barrier of the seven states of Liaobei was given up, this made the Jins go one step nearer to attack them.

sanyuan*[三元]--- first place in civil service examinations at three levels: provincial 解元, metropolitan会元 and palace状元 (previously I used this English explanation in the previous chapter, but if I put this chunk into ‘sanyuan lang’ it’ll be too long and unnatural.