Frost for a Thousand Years

Xiao Wei's impulsive act of taking out the ear of wheat caused Song Shi'an to be momentarily stunned, but then instantly filled with resentment.

Wei Wusheng, you bastard...

Did you cite any references?!

Is it disrespectful to me, the first author, to just publish it like this?

Do you know how long I thought about that brilliant move that made me shine with just a single coin?
It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Even if the results you achieve are spectacular, you won't get my approval.

He's just a plagiarist.

However, his bold actions made some of the 'loyal ministers' present feel uneasy and apprehensive.

You must understand, this is the emperor.

The crown prince was also in a rather passive position. Everyone knew that the emperor was going on a western tour to cultivate land. It could be said that he was given at least a month to prepare, allowing him, as a prince, to fulfill the same obligations as his other sons, so that their father could have a good time in his last major event before his death.

However, he completely disregarded this dignity.

This incident alone is fine, as the imagery is appropriate for the occasion and can be considered acceptable. However, this is based on his originality, and his action already had a precedent not long ago.

What was the reason behind Song Shi'an sending a copper coin that Sun Situ had previously supervised the production of?

That was because Sun Situ had humiliated him first, and he wanted to humiliate him back.

So, are you also trying to humiliate the emperor?

Wei Wusheng's eyes remained silent and still, showing no emotion whatsoever. He showed no unease or deliberate intent regarding the perfunctory gesture of presenting this ear of rice as a gift.

The emperor stared into his eyes, and then slowly raised his hand.

Just as the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Zhongping, who were terrified and thought their father was about to slap them, the emperor gently placed his hand on the rice stalk and picked it up.

Looking at the abundant grains of rice, he observed them slowly and carefully, making all the ministers hold their breath in astonishment. Suddenly, he asked, "Is this the rice from Jianxing?"

This was a stalk that Wei Wusheng had casually pulled from the field on the way here. It wasn't the first stalk of the harvest at all, but he said without batting an eye, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"How do the rice from Huaiyang and Jingxian compare?" the emperor asked. "Which is larger?"

"Your Majesty, the rice yields in all the counties of Huaijun are roughly the same. Among them, the rice in Jing County, which was overseen by Wang Shuishan when he was the magistrate, has the highest yield and quality," Wei Wusheng said.

"What was Wang Shuishan's previous position?" The emperor turned to the side and asked the eunuch Xishan, "What position does Wang Shuishan hold now?"

"Your Majesty," Xi Shan replied, "When Wang Shuishan was the county magistrate, he was meritorious in resisting the locust plague. When many officials in Huai County were demoted and transferred, he temporarily served as the Huai County Inspector."

“That’s a fifth-rank official.” Without hesitation, the emperor immediately promoted him, “Immediately, promote Wang Shuishan to the position of Assistant Prefect of Huai County… Oh, and the original Assistant Prefect will also be promoted one rank and appointed as Prefect.”

Wei Wusheng's explanation caused Wang Shuishan's official position to rise from acting inspector to full prefectural magistrate.

Ji Zhi, who had previously been on probation and had some responsibilities, was also promoted.

It can be said that the Song Party was praised to a great extent without any hesitation.

This left the officials with a somewhat subtle sense of surprise...

"Among all the princes, the one who disobeyed the emperor received the most severe punishment."

Looking at the rice, the emperor actually smiled sincerely: "He gave me thousands of acres of fertile land."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere at the banquet instantly became deliberately relaxed.

It was a rather awkward situation, which the leader defused with a joke. The others quickly followed suit with smiles to ease the tension.

Wei Wusheng slapped the emperor across the face, and the emperor could still laugh and say: "Oh, my Liubao is so filial, he even knows how to give his father a facial massage."

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."

After bowing, Wei Wusheng returned to his seat.

Song Shi'an kept his eyes fixed on the emperor's hand.

After being insulted, Sun Situ outwardly agreed, but the next moment he casually tossed the copper coin aside.

Just when everyone thought the emperor would change his expression like in Sichuan opera, the old man slowly wrapped the rice stalk around in a circle, tied a knot with the rice joint, and then put it on his head like a wreath, revealing a very satisfied and fulfilled smile.

That's kind of cute.

It's even a bit heartbreaking to watch.

At this moment, the emperor gave Xishan a kind smile.

Xi Shan then said, "Next up is a grand performance presented by His Highness Prince Zhongping for His Majesty and for all the officials, titled 'The Three Battles with the White Bone Demon'."

Upon hearing this, King Wei Yixun of Changsha became excited and exclaimed, "It was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who defeated the Yellow Robe Monster!"

"Yixun." Seeing his younger brother behaving so unruly and shouting in this setting, the Crown Prince reprimanded him in a low voice.

Wei Yixun shrank back in fright, immediately becoming obedient and somewhat scared.

"Alright, Your Highness, please forgive him." The emperor pleaded with the crown prince with a smile while addressing the officials, "At today's banquet, there are no distinctions of age or rank. There is only one command: may all guests rejoice."

"Yes, Father," the Crown Prince replied.

The other officials also completely relaxed.

It's surprising that such a fierce old emperor could become so kind and gentle in his old age.

This is truly a benevolent ruler.

Our emperor of Dayu wasn't that fierce.

Even some of the old man's previous strict policies and methods became understandable because of his current kindness.

So let's have a blast today!

"This 'Three Battles with the White Bone Demon' must be the best story in 'Journey to the West'."

"It's truly spectacular; you could watch it multiple times without feeling overwhelmed."

"Young people may like 'Havoc in Heaven,' but 'Three Battles with the White Bone Demon' is more memorable."

"Yes, Tang Sanzang had it tough too."

Amidst everyone's anticipation, Xishan personally went to deliver the message, allowing the 'Journey to the West' opera troupe to take the stage.

Behind the screen, after notifying the people to go on stage, Xishan said to the eunuch on duty, "After the play is over, have the Embroidered Uniform Guard come and report."

Although Xi Shan didn't understand the emperor as well as Chen Bao, he was, after all, the chief eunuch and had served this tiger for so many years. It was impossible for him not to understand whether Chen Bao's smile was one of tolerance or something else.

Therefore, the public trial of the Beiliang Group was originally scheduled to take place after the banquet was more than halfway through, when everyone had enjoyed themselves to the fullest.

And so, they made their disappointing entrance right before the banquet even began.

This is the emperor—an emperor who cannot tolerate the slightest grievance.

The emperor is not to be offended.

Even if you have been wronged by the emperor.

I may feel guilty on my own initiative, but I will never allow you to remind me that I should feel guilty.

At this moment, the characters from Journey to the West appear.

These are all ministerial-level leaders, and they have absolutely no chance of watching a play on the street with ordinary people, so they have never seen their performance style.

These people's makeup and costumes alone caused a burst of cheers.

"This is exactly how I imagined the four characters from Journey to the West when I was reading the book."

"This is so lifelike! The monkey fur... it must be real, right?"

"Is Pigsy's big belly because he has a piece of pork hanging from it?"

"It's so similar, it really is!"

As Sheng'an's first blockbuster IP, "Journey to the West" has become a household name after such a long time. Even though it has boosted the popularity of supernatural tales, this pioneering work is still a perfect book that everyone can read again and again with great interest.

The emperor knew the story; Wei Yixun had specifically told it to him before he came, so there was no barrier to watching the play for him. However, Wei Yixun, who was standing to the side, still thoughtfully explained to his father, "Father, this is a story that has already come from under the Five Finger Mountain."

"I see." The emperor nodded, then looked at Wei Yiyuan. "The appearances of these strange people are truly lifelike and incredibly realistic."

“Father,” Wei Yiyuan looked over and explained with a smile, “This opera troupe was found by your son among the common people. In order to recreate the costumes, the monkey hair and tiger skin were all actually taken from monkeys and tigers by your son.”

"Indeed, they put their heart into it." After praising them, the emperor remarked, "But why do those two's weapons look like they're made of paper?"

The props here are particularly out of place.

“Yeah, right,” Wei Yixun muttered, “Pigsy has a nine-toothed rake, and Sandy has a demon-subduing staff, they’re not like that.”

“Your Majesty, it is truly inappropriate to bring weapons on the stage,” Wei Yiyuan explained. “Sun Wukong’s weapon is a wooden staff, so only he is allowed to carry it. The others can only make paper replicas.”

"There's really no need for that," the emperor said, not taking it too seriously. "There will even be sword dances at the banquet."

“Your Majesty, the servants who did the work were ignorant,” Xishan quickly said. “I will punish them later.”

"It's alright now, see?"

The emperor waved his hand dismissively, displaying a magnanimous tolerance.

And so they continued to watch the spectacle.

The 86 TV series "Journey to the West" originally portrayed Tang Sanzang in a somewhat negative light.

Because the TV series aimed for more dramatic conflict, it portrayed Tang Sanzang's cowardice and pedantry in a more extreme way, even depicting him as somewhat spineless. In this era, overly negative portrayals of authority could also carry a malicious undertone, so Song Shi'an struck a balance.

This opera troupe completely copied the original "Journey to the West".

"You demon, take this from my old Sun Wukong's staff!"

The White Bone Demon's first transformation into a woman was thus killed by the Monkey King with a single blow.

He immediately collapsed to the ground and died there.

Instantly, a wisp of white smoke rose from the spot.

A shadow, symbolized by clothing representing the soul leaving the body, is pulled out of the body and thrown behind the curtain, representing the White Bone Demon's escape from the girl's body, and this is explained by narration.

Then Pigsy checked the woman's breath and said, "Master, this woman is not breathing!"

"Goku!"

Tang Sanzang immediately rebuked him.

"Master, this is a demon in disguise, trying to deceive you."

"Nonsense! You're clearly a woman from a commoner family!"

Seeing this, Wei Yixun became anxious and couldn't help but shout, "That's a monster in disguise!"

This vivid response made even the officials laugh.

The prince is kind of cute.

However, the performance was indeed very tight and fitting.

These people have never even seen a TV series before.

Everyone was completely immersed in this captivating performance.

Compared to reading a book, it is much more vivid and lifelike.

It's incredibly infectious.

When they fought the White Bone Demon for the second time, everyone felt the heartache of Wukong being misunderstood.

The third time Tang Sanzang fought the White Bone Demon, he was completely disappointed. He frantically recited the Tightening-Headband Mantra to Sun Wukong, making Sun Wukong writhe in pain on the ground. Tang Sanzang was both angry and heartbroken.

When Tang Sanzang angrily dismissed the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and sent him back to his Flower Fruit Mountain, almost everyone was moved to tears by the incredibly moving performance.

In ancient times when culture was not flourishing, people did not have many heroes in their hearts.

When the storyteller spoke of Cao Cao's rise to power, the people gritted their teeth in anger. But when he spoke of Liu Bei's downfall, they wept bitterly.

So this Wukong really earned them a lot of tears.

These adults, they might not even be this heartbroken when the emperor dies.

Even the emperor, who hadn't read much of the original novel, gradually became emotionally involved after immersing himself in the captivating storyline.

The Sun Wukong before my eyes has transformed into a human.

He is Song Shi'an.

Sun Wukong of Dayu is Song Shi'an.

Could I really bear to let him go back to Flower Fruit Mountain?

The emperor was saddened, disappointed, and regretful.

I regret that I didn't live another ten years.

In this way, we will surely see this young man, under our tutelage, become a renowned minister for all time.

But there was nothing he could do; he had no other options.

No one but himself can subdue this person.

The only one who could possibly do this was Wei Wusheng, who could empathize with him and reciprocate his sincerity.

But the emperor realized it too late.

No, it's because there's too much prejudice against Wei Wusheng.

The story continues.

For a good half hour, not a single person left under the pretext of going to the toilet, for fear of missing even a moment of the plot.

Finally, the action scenes reached their climax.

After Sun Wukong returned from Flower Fruit Mountain, he fought a great battle against the Yellow Wind Monster.

This is truly a visual feast.

It was a play that Wei Yiyuan rehearsed for a very long time in order to please the emperor and win over the ministers.

Wielding his golden cudgel, the Monkey King nimbly dodged and weaved. After withstanding the Yellow Wind Monster's attack with his cudgel, he leaped up and swung it with tremendous force.

Between our comings and goings, afterimages darted about.

His series of somersaults drew cheers from the entire audience.

This Wukong is so cool.

This fight was absolutely amazing.

The audience was thrilled, and some military officers even stood up and clenched their fists to cheer them on.

Wei Yiyuan knew that he had really put on a great show and made his father look good.

His later years should have been happy.

But suddenly, he sensed that the fighting position had shifted...

It doesn't seem quite right compared to the original rehearsal.

But it seems that Sun Wukong's positioning went wrong, and things became strange as he carried the Yellow Wind Monster along with him.

Suddenly, Sun Wukong was repeatedly knocked back and rolled all the way down the steps.

That scene didn't happen!
While Wei Yiyuan was the only one in awe, the others remained engrossed in their performance.

Only after Sun Wukong stood up, twirled his golden cudgel, and drew a thin sword! (End of Chapter)