Building a Harmonious Song Dynasty

Chapter 7

"Then... if both the Liao and Jin dynasties extend invitations to our Great Song to form an alliance, what do you think we should choose, Father?"

Qin Hui never expected that Qin Zhen's questions would become increasingly probing, and even Zhao Gou listened attentively.

"The Liao Kingdom borders our Great Song Dynasty and has been a threat to our borders for many years. If we join forces with the Jin Dynasty to attack the Liao Kingdom, we can relieve the hatred of our Great Song Dynasty for a while. However, I am afraid that after the Liao Kingdom is destroyed, the Jin people will not be peaceful either. If we conspire with the Liao to resist the Jin... I am afraid that we will be asking the tiger for its skin, and we will be opposed by even more people."

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Weather forecast for February 25th:

Over the next three days, strong winds and temperature drops are expected in Northwest China, Inner Mongolia, Northeast China, North China, the Yellow River Basin, and the Yangtze River Basin, with some areas experiencing temperature drops of up to 10 degrees Celsius!

From today daytime to nighttime, moderate to heavy snow is expected in Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Hubei provinces, while heavy rain is expected in parts of Hunan and Jiangxi provinces.

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Oh my god, I was freezing in the classroom this morning! The weather suddenly turned so cold! Everyone, please keep warm!

Is it going to snow in Hubei again? Oh my god! LOL!

Volume One: Destiny's Fate 012 - Education in Casual Conversations

Qin Zhen shook her little head, nodding with each sentence Qin Hui spoke. This father, who was a third-ranked scholar, was not just a pretty face; he was quite thoughtful.

Qin Hui fell into deep thought. The Liao-Jin War had indeed put the Song Dynasty in a rather difficult position, as any choice it made would be disadvantageous.

"Father, Zhen'er only knows that it's better to offer help in times of need than to add to someone's glory! If our country were to ally with the Liao Kingdom now to attack the Jin Kingdom, it would be like asking a tiger for its skin. But if our country offers help to the Liao Kingdom in its time of crisis, it would be different; it would surely bring lasting peace. Firstly, the Liao Kingdom is already severely weakened and unable to fight against the Song Dynasty. Secondly, if we repay evil with kindness and become the Liao Kingdom's benefactor, what reason would they have to harass our country? They would only incur the wrath of the masses!"

Qin Hui nodded, but then suddenly shook his head and said, "From what Zhen'er is saying, are you sure that the Liao Kingdom can't defeat the Jin Kingdom? The Jin Kingdom has only just risen to power. How could the Liao Kingdom be so easily destroyed by them?"

Qin Zhen really wanted to say, "I know that," but she definitely couldn't say it out loud.

"Anyway, if the Liao Kingdom falls, it will definitely be bad for us," Qin Zhen said with a cheeky tone. Qin Hui smiled and asked, "How come Zhenzhen knows everything? Who told you about the Liao-Jin War?"

Qin Zhen was taken aback. Yes, she shouldn't know these things. The Jin Kingdom was only established at the beginning of this year, and it hadn't been at war with the Liao Kingdom for long. The war was still being fought on a small scale. How could a little girl like her know all this?

"He told me, Zhao Gou did." Qin Zhen immediately shifted the blame to Zhao Gou.

Zhao Gou was taken aback for a moment, and then said, "It was...it was the Grand Tutor in the palace who said it."

"Then, Your Highness, what do you think we should do in this matter?"

Zhao Gou pondered for a moment and said, "I think Qin Zhen is right. Although we have an old feud with the Liao Kingdom, if we rescue them from their predicament, the Liao Kingdom will definitely be grateful to us. However, who knows if the Liao dogs will be ungrateful!"

Qin Zhen argued, "We can get a lot of benefits before he becomes ungrateful. We can take advantage of his misfortune, make many demands, and then help him. Even if he becomes ungrateful then, we won't be afraid of him."

Zhao Gou looked at Qin Zhen's mischievous smile with a dark expression, but... her suggestion was indeed very much to his liking.

Qin Zhen looked around and saw that Zhao Gou and Qin Hui were both deep in thought. It seemed that this idea had more or less influenced them. So she stopped while she was ahead and said, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about war anymore. It will take several years to make a decision. We're here to have fun today. Talking about war is so boring."

"I wonder who brought this up, humph."

"So what if I brought it up? I've decided not to say anything more now!"

Qin Hui shook his head. These two kids always bicker whenever they're not talking about serious matters. There's just no way to deal with them!

As night fell, Zhao Gou returned to the palace. Before even going to his own bedchamber, he went directly to the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace.

“Brother, I heard something today, and I will tell you about it.”

Zhao Gou excitedly pulled Zhao Huan, who was painting, aside and told him everything Qin Zhen had said that day. That night, the lights in the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace remained lit all night.

Winter arrived, but for Qin Hui, this cold winter was quite warm, because the emperor held the Qionglin Banquet to entertain all those who had passed the imperial examination. As the third-ranked scholar, he was naturally beaming with pride, and his official career began from then on.

Emperor Huizong, his thin frame barely able to support his imperial robes, staggered to the head seat of the Qionglin Banquet, where all the officials bowed. Huizong waved and greeted the successful candidates one by one. When he saw Qin Hui, he couldn't help but glance at him a few more times, wanting to see who had managed to make his usually indifferent crown prince begin to care about state affairs.

Zhao Huan initially thought that the Qin father and daughter were rare talents, and after hearing some words from Zhao Gou, he felt even more strongly that they should be kept by his side. Therefore, he privately requested Emperor Huizong to keep Qin Hui in Bianjing and not send him away.

Even before the Qionglin Banquet, the Secretariat had already drafted the official positions and locations for each Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination). Due to the combined interference of the Crown Prince and the Emperor, Qin Hui's official position was changed from Professor of Mizhou to Tongzhilang and Imperial Academy Instructor, with the special honor of being appointed as the Crown Prince's tutor. (Note 1)

Qin Hui's good fortune aroused envy among many, as he was able to accompany the Crown Prince so soon after entering officialdom. Little did they know that this was at the Crown Prince's own request.

Since Qin Hui had become an official of the court, it was impossible for him to teach Zhao Gou every other day. Therefore, Zhao Gou had to return to the palace to study, learning literature on odd-numbered days and martial arts on even-numbered days. Fortunately, he could often see Qin Hui at the Crown Prince's residence, so he still treated him with the respect due to a teacher.

That day, he arrived at the study he hadn't visited in a long time. When Grand Tutor Zhu saw Zhao Gou returning to class, he coughed awkwardly. Zhao Gou thought the Grand Tutor would test him with some difficult questions, but to his surprise, Grand Tutor Zhu completely ignored him.

Back in his study, everything was fine except for the curious glances from the other princes that would linger on the back of his head. But Zhao Gou still felt uneasy and lost interest in his lessons.

Qin Zhen's stubborn expression suddenly appeared in Zhao Gou's mind, startling him. Why would he suddenly think of her?

Once longing is stirred, it has no end. After all, the two had been classmates for half a year, not to mention their frequent bickering and arguing. The sudden loss of such a close friend made Zhao Gou feel very lost.

Zhao Gou leaned against the window, thinking, "Why do I like arguing with her so much? It's a very unsolvable question... It seems I can't control my emotions in front of her."

After wandering around thinking like this for most of the day, it was finally time for school to end.

Zhao Huan, who cared deeply for his younger brother, had long noticed that Zhao Gou was absent-minded and roughly figured out what he was thinking. So when he left school, he said to him, "Ninth brother, the palace will be recruiting a new batch of palace maids in the spring. It must be very inconvenient for you to be without Qingmei by your side. Would you like to hire someone else?"

"These things can be arranged by the eunuchs. It's too much trouble for Your Majesty to concern yourself with such trivial matters."

Seeing that Zhao Gou did not understand his meaning, Zhao Huan said again: "Among the palace maids to be selected this time, there are a few special people. Zhu Taifu is going to send his daughter to serve my third brother, and his niece has also been arranged to be by my side. If you were not too young, his family would definitely have other daughters to send to you. You can't give him that opportunity."

Zhao Gou's face remained expressionless, but in his heart he deeply loathed the Zhu family. They were truly a greedy family, unwilling to let even one prince slip through their fingers.

Seeing that Zhao Gou remained silent, Zhao Huan impatiently tapped his head and said, "If the Zhu family can send their daughters into the palace, others can too. Don't you want to add someone else to your side?"

He then opened his eyes wide and looked at Zhao Huan, wondering if his brother was hinting that he should bring Qin Zhen into the palace.

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Note 1: Qin Hui's fate is now being changed by me!

Tongzhilang was Qin Hui's official rank, a sixth-grade official, who served as an attendant to the crown prince.

What does "rank official" mean? Here we need to explain again: In the Song Dynasty, official titles and duties were separate. The official title was only used to determine the rank and salary. Unless there was a special imperial edict, the official did not care about the affairs of the department and was called a "received official". The various departments of the court and local government offices were managed by officials appointed by the court, which was called "dispatch". The dispatch was the actual duty.

The Imperial Academy Attendant was Qin Hui's actual position, because the Attendant-in-Ordinary was only a rank official. Therefore, although he was nominally the Crown Prince's attendant, he was actually unable to enter or leave the palace. Hence, Qin Hui was given the special privilege of being "specially granted the title of Crown Prince's Attendant Reader" so that he could frequently appear by Zhao Huan's side.

Volume 1: Fate Destined 013 Entering the Palace Was Also Boring

“But…the person I’m looking for…may not…enter the palace?” Zhao Gou stammered.

Seeing his younger brother like this, Zhao Huan laughed heartily: "It's alright, I'll talk to Lord Qin about this for you!"

Zhao Gou's face flushed slightly, which made Zhao Huan smile again.

In fact, Zhao Gou's worries were completely unnecessary. Even if he didn't invite Qin Zhen into the palace, Qin Zhen was already trying to find a way to get there. Right now, she was writing a letter to her fourth senior brother, Chief Eunuch Liang Shicheng, at her desk!

As she wrote, she muttered to herself, "You blockhead, I'll figure something out myself. Just wait and see how I deal with you when I get in!"

After quickly finishing the letter, she walked out with it, just in time to bump into Wang, who was tidying up the study. Wang looked at her daughter in surprise, because she had heard Qin Zhen say before she came in, "One is influenced by one's company; let my great personal charm change you!"

Who...is she trying to reform?

Before Wang could ask, Qin Zhen ran over and said, "Mother, I'm going out to play. I'll be back in a bit."

Before she could even call her, Qin Zhen had vanished. Wang was worried, thinking that her daughter would be eight years old at the beginning of the year, not so young anymore, and she needed to discipline her properly to prevent her from running around like this. However, Wang didn't know that she would never have the chance to discipline Qin Zhen again.

Meanwhile, in the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, Zhao Huan was discussing with Qin Hui the matter of sending his daughter into the palace.

"This..." Qin Hui hesitated. He said that she was to be the Ninth Prince's tutor, but the rules were there. If Zhen'er entered the palace, she could only be Zhao Gou's maid. Why should his daughter suffer like this?

"My daughter is used to being carefree and undisciplined. I think she is not capable of serving Your Highness properly and is not fortunate enough to have that honor."

Zhao Huan quickly said, "Why should Lord Qin worry? It's not like your daughter really needs to serve Ninth Brother. He just needs someone to discipline him. I think your daughter is young, but she is sensible and can keep Ninth Brother in check. Wouldn't it be a good thing to have the two of them together?"

Qin Hui looked at Zhao Huan in surprise. Considering the previous incident where the Crown Prince had Zhao Gou and Qin Zhen study together, did he mean to match Zhen'er with the Ninth Prince?

He thought seriously that the Crown Prince would become the Emperor in the future, and the Ninth Prince was the closest to the Crown Prince. Therefore, if this marriage could be arranged, it would be a great thing. He also thought that Zhao Gou was intelligent and did not seem like a mediocre person. Following him, Zhen'er would definitely not suffer. So he said with great joy, "This matter is left to the Crown Prince to decide."

And so, in the spring of the sixth year of the Zhenghe era, Qin Zhen left home and entered the forbidden palace of the Great Song Dynasty.

After a month of torment in the Yeting (a special medical facility), Qin Zhen was finally brought before Zhao Gou by the Yeting official.

Zhao Gou had assumed that Qin Zhen would develop a sense of master-servant relationship after entering the palace and would not treat him as presumptuously as she had at home. However, the moment Zhao Gou saw Qin Zhen, he told himself that he was completely wrong! Because Qin Zhen's eyes were still so bright, and her appearance was still so flamboyant, without the slightest hint of the humility that a palace maid should have.

Actually, this is quite good... Zhao Gou comforted himself.

After the Lady of the Imperial Palace delivered the person, she left. Qin Zhen, disregarding the palace maids behind Zhao Gou, casually sat down with him at the small round table and said, "This past month has been so tough! I never knew learning to serve others was such a tiring thing!"

Qinglan, the head palace maid behind Zhao Gou, stared in disbelief at the new palace maid who had no manners whatsoever. Although she had vaguely heard that this little girl was the daughter of the newly appointed third-ranked scholar, how dare she be so presumptuous in front of His Highness!

Although Qinglan was surprised, she didn't say anything because Zhao Gou didn't reprimand her or change his expression.

Qin Zhen felt a little uncomfortable seeing both of them looking at him. He swallowed and asked Zhao Gou, "You don't really want me to serve you, do you? I'm younger than you, shorter than you, and not as strong as you..."

"Alright," Zhao Gou interrupted Qin Zhen's rapid-fire words, and said, "From now on, you just need to study with me. You don't need to do anything else."

Qin Zhen thought to herself with a smile, "This kid isn't so bad; he didn't use his status to force me to do hard labor." But the moment she thought this, Qin Zhen regretted it, because Zhao Gou said, "However, I am your master, and you must listen to what I say, or I will punish you according to the palace rules."

"You..." Qin Zhen stared at Zhao Gou, and Zhao Gou glared back without hesitation. He thought to himself, if we don't make it clear beforehand, who knows who will become the master in the future!

"Alright, alright, you're the master. Who told me to have such a miserable life?" Qin Zhen shrugged and said helplessly.

After settling into the palace, Qin Zhen found it very boring. She knew that the seemingly peaceful palace was actually full of dangers, so she only acted arrogantly in front of Zhao Gou. In her spare time, she studied very seriously how to be a palace maid.

Qinglan, who had only ever seen both of her expressions, almost doubted her own eyes. Was this cute and obedient palace maid Zhen'er the same girl who had been so rude to the Ninth Prince that day?

Qinglan didn't understand, she didn't understand what kind of relationship existed between His Highness and Qin Zhen, and she didn't want to explore it. She just wanted to do her job well.

That day, Zhao Gou went to learn horsemanship with the Grand Tutor of Martial Arts. He had originally brought Qin Zhen with him, but the Grand Tutor, being biased towards women, sent Qin Zhen back. "If you don't want to learn, then don't learn. It's not like others can't!"