YA Ch126: Three Lifetimes of Service (Extra)

Shen Ying sat at the Qionglin Banquet, listening to the emperor’s long-winded speech on the high platform, letting the words go in one ear and out the other.

He had heard these words in his first life, not a single word different. Back then, he was full of youthful enthusiasm, thinking that after achieving high honors, he could save the country and revive the Great Zhou. But in the end, he had been too naïve. This dynasty, though glamorous on the surface, had long been eaten away inside like rotting wood consumed by termites. Any attempt to repair it would be futile, for a mere push could make it collapse.

The articles of praise shared today, including the emperor’s speech, were all nonsense in his eyes.

“When Hua Wenyuan was young, he was famous for his looks and skill in archery, often referred to as ‘Little Li Guang.’ With the deep-rooted family heritage of the Hua family, defending Han City was no difficult matter.”

Suddenly, the Emperor began to mention Hua Wenyuan, who had recently set out to defend the frontier, praising him.

Hearing this name, Shen Ying immediately snapped back to attention and looked up at the emperor. What “Little Li Guang”? That name didn’t bode well. Couldn’t this foolish emperor choose his words better?

The person next to him, the second-place scholar, quickly tugged at him and whispered, “You must not look directly at the emperor.”

Shen Ying lowered his gaze. His carefree days in his second life had almost made him forget the rules for dealing with emperors. After all, his own lord had never put on airs in front of him and even respectfully addressed him as “Master.”

He softly asked the second-place scholar beside him, “Did the Minister of War just say that General Hua has already set out for Han City?”

“Yes,” replied the scholar, a man in his thirties. His family had some connections with the Shen family, so the two were familiar with each other. He whispered the news he had heard from his father and brothers, “It’s said that the troops in the Jiangzhou camp were in disarray, and Hua Wenyuan spent half a year sorting them out. He set out two months ago and should be nearing Han City by now.”

Nearing Han City…

Shen Ying clenched his fist inside his scholar’s red robe. It seemed Hua Wenyuan had not been reborn. It made sense. When Shen Ying died, the world had mostly settled. After defeating the Tartars, the dynasty was stable. Hua Wenyuan likely had no regrets left. Even heaven must have seen his life as complete, with no need for him to return for another chance.

So why had Shen Ying come back? To fulfill a destiny of saving the world all on his own?

Shen Ying let out a self-deprecating laugh, feeling completely disillusioned.

Suddenly, the emperor called his name: “Zixia, tell me, which should be dealt with first—the Tartars or the rebels?”

The Minister of War softly reminded the emperor, “Your Majesty, the Qionglin Banquet has always been about poetry and verse.” He said this mainly to protect the young top scholar, who was still underage and had just passed the imperial exam. If he said something inappropriate and ruined his future, it would be a pity.

The emperor had been caught up in the conversation and, hearing this, regretted his words. Ever since he ascended the throne, apart from aggressively suppressing factional strife, he had been cautious in all matters, afraid of making mistakes.

Shen Ying thought, “You can’t eliminate either of them,” but before the emperor could retract his question, he stood and responded, “Your Majesty, I believe that if we have enough resources, we should eliminate both. But if we must prioritize, then the Tartars should be dealt with first. The current rebels are not yet a serious threat. The passes at Han City and Ping City must not fall. If the Tartars break through, the barbarian chieftain Luo Da Hu will surely march south and ravage the people. The other three rebel leaders in the north might seize the opportunity and launch a surprise attack on the capital.”

The point of his statement was that Han City’s defenses must be reinforced—not only to fight the Tartars but also to deter the rebels from daring to attack the capital.

As soon as he finished speaking, the hall fell silent.

Shen Ying’s mentor, Master Yao, was frantically signaling at him with his eyes, nearly giving himself a spasm, but his rebellious student ignored him.

The Minister of War was wide-eyed. He had recently been urging the emperor to allocate more troops and supplies to Han City, but he had never thought to use this argument. Now, he looked at the young top scholar with newfound admiration. Such vision, such courage—this young man would make an excellent assistant minister in the Ministry of War!

“I have spoken out of turn. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness,” Shen Ying bowed, his smiling peach-blossom eyes making him look quite charming—completely different from the typical upright and stern officials who offered advice. The emperor laughed, finding this young scholar rather interesting, and rewarded him with a box of tribute ink.

After the Qionglin Banquet, the Minister of War approached Shen Ying and asked if he would be willing to serve in the Ministry of War.

Newly minted top scholars typically went to the Hanlin Academy to work as editors, but if a minister took a liking to them, they could be pulled into one of the six ministries to begin their career early. Shen Ying had been wondering how to leave the Hanlin Academy and get into a department with real power. This opportunity was like a pillow handed to him just when he needed a nap. His peach-blossom eyes curved in a smile.

By the time Master Yao remembered to give his student some advice, he found that his top scholar had already gone to the Ministry of War.

Minister of Personnel, Master Yao: “???”

After checking in at the Ministry of War, Shen Ying suddenly noticed two familiar figures: “Second Uncle Hua? Mr. Mo Tai?”

Lu Yu was startled, looking warily at the young official in his court robes. “Um, how does this lord know me?”

Shen Ying was momentarily stunned, but then he saw Ming Yan’s expression, lips pressed together in amusement, and breathed a sigh of relief. “Second Uncle, you still like to joke around like this.”

Lu Yu chuckled and said, “Xiao Yuan wasn’t reborn. That stubborn fool refused to rebel and even accused me of spreading treacherous rumors, so I had no choice but to come find you.”

As expected…

Shen Ying sighed. “I’m just a civil official. It’s hard to get things done.”

Lu Yu raised an eyebrow. “A civil official has no military power, but he can certainly influence those who do.”

Han City Pass.

The autumn grass had turned yellow, and the west wind carried sand.

“General caught a deer!” a soldier excitedly shouted from a distance as they retrieved the prey.

Hua Wenyuan lounged lazily on horseback, casually chewing a blade of grass. Before the snow came, he led his soldiers out to hunt, stocking up on food for the winter.

Who knew when the grain shipments would arrive? Hua Wenyuan had been starved once before in Han City during his first life. Now, without his golden finger—his second uncle—there was no way to make supplies appear out of thin air. So, whenever there was time, he took the men out to hunt.

Lu Yu did not allow him to do anything beyond the scope of his actions in his first life, but hunting was still permissible.

“General, the imperial court’s grain delivery team has arrived! The one in charge of escorting them is a young civil official, someone unfamiliar,” a soldier rushed over on horseback, grinning widely. “He’s quite good-looking.”

“You brat, I sent you to scout, and all you remember is how good-looking people are. You’re so useless.” The deputy general beside Hua Wenyuan kicked the messenger soldier.

As the saying goes, after three years in the army, even a sow looks like Diao Chan. These soldiers, stationed at the border and used to seeing rough men for a long time, couldn’t help but appreciate the sight of a tender young man, staring at him again and again.

The messenger soldier laughed, “It’s true! I heard he’s this year’s top scholar, and because he’s young and good-looking, that’s why he was picked.”

Hua Wenyuan straightened up, gave the messenger a slap on the back of the head, and rode off immediately.

The long convoy of grain was being escorted by the army. Since it wasn’t too cold yet, Shen Ying wasn’t huddled inside the carriage; instead, he was riding at the front of the team.

This batch of grain had been calculated under his watch, and it was through a series of cunning moves that he managed to get both the eunuchs and the cabinet to recommend him to escort it. Among the court’s civil and military officials, eunuchs, and even the emperor, not a single person could be trusted. He had to personally deliver the grain to Hua Wenyuan, and along the way… meet him face to face.

Without having experienced the downfall of the country and the loss of his family, Hua Wenyuan would be difficult to persuade to rebel. Shen Ying had no choice but to take it step by step.

While pondering this, he suddenly heard the sound of hoofbeats in the distance.

“Not good, it’s bandits!” General Qian, who was riding alongside Shen Ying, shouted.

Shen Ying glanced at the panicked man. They were already in the territory of Han City, which Hua Wenyuan guarded like an iron fortress. How could there be bandits here?

Yet in the next second, he saw a group of riders with their faces covered in red cloth, galloping towards them, kicking up yellow dust.

Before Shen Ying could react, the leader of the “bandits” charged forward, stretched out a long arm, and scooped Shen Ying onto the horse by the waist, turning around and riding off.

Shen Ying was draped over the horse like a sack of grain, his head and feet hanging down as the horse jolted him. Fortunately, there were two sturdy legs underneath him, preventing his chest and abdomen from being squashed and making him vomit.

They reached a forest, and the horses stopped. The next second, Shen Ying passed out.

The person with the red cloth mask pulled it down, revealing Hua Wenyuan. He picked Shen Ying up, only to find that his almond-shaped eyes were tightly shut, startling him. “A-Ying!”

“Stop shouting, I did it.” Lu Yu walked out of the bushes, carrying a seven-stringed qin.

Hua Wenyuan dismounted with Shen Ying in his arms. “Second Uncle, what are you doing?”

Ming Yan walked over slowly, chuckling, “Xiao Yuan, this isn’t how the script was written, is it?”

Hua Wenyuan felt guilty for a moment, but then justified himself confidently, “The script said I should keep the teacher as my strategist, so I thought if I snatched the grain, killed Qian, and brought Shen Ying back to Han City, it would be fine.”

Crack!

Lu Yu raised his hand and smacked him. “You brat! I told you to act out the Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage, and you’re giving me the Seven Captures of Meng Huo instead!”

When Shen Ying opened his eyes again, he found himself lying in a warm tent, and the familiar surroundings reminded him of Hua Wenyuan’s command tent, making him feel a bit disoriented, unsure of whether he was in his past or present life.

Hua Wenyuan entered with a tray of hot tea. Seeing Shen Ying awake, he immediately smiled and said, “Master Shen is awake! Come have some tea. Don’t worry, the bandits have already been chased away by this general, and the grain is completely unharmed, though General Qian did suffer some injuries.”

Shen Ying raised his almond-shaped eyes and looked at Hua Wenyuan for a moment, taking a small sip of tea. “That’s good. Thank you, General, for saving my life. I was too narrow-minded before, thinking the General was dissatisfied with the court and had disguised himself as a bandit to steal the grain.”

Hua Wenyuan choked for a moment and sighed, “To be honest, this bitter cold land of the North has indeed made me consider resorting to banditry. But this grain is meant for Han City, so how could I steal it?”

Shen Ying’s almond-shaped eyes curved slightly. “What the General says is quite right.”

Even so, after taking a tour of the military camp, Shen Ying silently thought to himself that things were not looking good. It seemed he was being soft-imprisoned by Hua Wenyuan. He was allowed to verify the grain records but not permitted to meet with the officials sent by the court to deliver the grain, nor was he allowed to visit the supposedly injured General Qian.

“What does the General mean by this?” Shen Ying asked Hua Wenyuan, his almond-shaped eyes always smiling, making it impossible to read his emotions.

“I’ve long heard that Master Shen is clever and resourceful. To have secured such a lucrative position in the midst of the two factions’ strife is truly admirable,” Hua Wenyuan said, choosing his words carefully. “Recently, I’ve been dreaming of the country being torn apart and my family lost. These dreams have left me uneasy, so I wish to seek a strategist.”

“The General wants to invite me to be his strategist?” Shen Ying was somewhat surprised, and also quite pleased. If this man had started remembering scenes from a past life, things would be much easier.

“Yes, don’t worry. No news can get out from here. If you agree, I’ll report that you were killed by bandits.” Hua Wenyuan’s eyes shone brightly as he stared at Shen Ying, hoping for praise from him.

Shen Ying was silent for a moment. “General, are you asking me to be your strategist, or are you planning a rebellion?” Even a fake death was part of the plan.

“Of course, I’m asking you to be my strategist to rebel,” Hua Wenyuan said without the slightest hesitation.

“Not agreeing would be… Oh, no, I mean,” Hua Wenyuan coughed lightly and solemnly bowed, “If Master Shen does not agree, then I’ll ask again tomorrow.”

“What if I refuse?” Shen Ying looked straight into Hua Wenyuan’s eyes, searching for something familiar.

The next day, Hua Wenyuan arrived on time outside the tent with various gifts. “Master Shen, I’ve come to visit. Please be my strategist.”

Shen Ying picked up a folding fan from the gifts and waved it dismissively. “General, please return.”

Hua Wenyuan didn’t hesitate, turned around, and left.

On the third day, Hua Wenyuan enthusiastically barged into the tent carrying a roasted leg of lamb. “Master, quickly agree to my offer and come eat roast meat.”

Shen Ying shook his folding fan. “I cannot comply with your request. General, please return.”

Hua Wenyuan was dumbfounded. “Huh?” He had already visited three times, how could he still be rejected? At that moment, he suddenly felt like complaining, shouting, “Second Uncle, look, he’s not even following the script!”

Shen Ying’s almond-shaped eyes curved as he smiled and accepted the roasted lamb. “I’ve served as a minister for three lifetimes. I’m tired of it.”

“Then you can become… emperor. Once we conquer the world, you can ascend the throne, and I’ll be your Commander of the Guards,” Hua Wenyuan said with a grin, though a flash of shock passed through his heart. Just now, he almost blurted out the word “empress.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Shen Ying folded his fan, bowed, and his smiling eyes were as radiant as peach blossoms. “Since Your Majesty has admitted that you’ve also been reborn, I shall accept this third visit and continue to serve as your minister.”