Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 60 Sacrifice Ceremony
"Your Highness, then I shall take my leave."

With everything decided, Song Shi'an bowed to Wei Wusheng and then turned to leave.

But suddenly, he stopped.

He slowly turned around, looked at the other person, and a hint of hesitation appeared in his eyes.

"Shi An, there are no taboos between us."

Seeing that he hesitated to speak, Wei Wusheng spoke up.

"I am happy and honored to make knives for Your Highness."

Looking into his eyes, Song Shi'an said with particular seriousness, "The sharpness of the knife is very important, but if the person wielding the knife is not steady, they will not be able to kill anyone."

His words would have been offensive if spoken by anyone else.

A subject is someone who serves as a weapon for his ruler.

Even if it's difficult and dangerous, we must accept it with joy.

No one has ever dared to defy the emperor's demands; the emperor's hand must be steady.

But Wei Wusheng was not angry.

He was very clear about one thing.

According to his strategy, the execution process was indeed the most difficult part. Now that Song Shi'an had power, he had to do many extremely difficult things.

But the most important person is not him.

It was Wei Wusheng.

If he couldn't withstand the pressure and betrayed Song Shi'an halfway through when the wrath came, then all of this would be nonsense.

There's no such thing as a great flood after death.

Song Shi'an does indeed need a sense of security.

He has a comprehensive plan, and no matter what, he will do everything in his power to implement it.

If we lose

My plan failed; it was truly fate.

At worst, I'll just curse God.

But if my teammates betray me, shift all the blame onto me, and even kick me out halfway through, then Wei Wusheng, your lifeline is in jeopardy.

Song Shi'an requires absolute trust.

After staring at him for a long, long time, Wei Wusheng suddenly called out loudly, "Someone come here."

Song Shi'an was stunned for a moment.

Is this guy trying to arrest me?
The next moment, a guard entered, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Your Highness."

"Take a pot of wine and two cups."

Wei Wusheng gave the order.

"Yes, Your Highness." The guard, who was absolutely obliged to obey orders, clenched his fist in agreement, then looked up and whispered a reminder, "But Your Highness, drinking is not allowed in the army."

"Go get it."

Wei Wusheng answered without hesitation.

This action actually earned Song Shi'an some goodwill.

It's not that this minor violation shows his courage.

However, it's still possible to draw broader conclusions from specific examples.

After a while, a guard came in carrying a jug of wine. He placed the wine on the table, then took two wine cups out of his pocket. He wiped them with his already not-so-clean sleeve.

The military is simple and unpretentious; even generals have to keep a low profile, so there isn't much of a sense of ceremony.

"Step back. No one is allowed to enter except Xinyue," Wei Wusheng said.

"Yes."

So that girl's name was Xinyue.

However, what Song Shi'an was more concerned about was why His Highness was being so mysterious. If he was going to talk about something, he should just get to the point and bring out the wine.

She's so alluring and difficult to deal with.

In front of Song Shi'an, Wei Wusheng arranged the wine cups on the table. Then, he poured Langjiu into the cups, almost filling them to the brim.

Song Shi'an walked closer.

The next moment, Wei Wusheng suddenly drew his sword from his waist.

For a moment, Song Shi'an instinctively wanted to dodge. But he forced himself to remain calm and still, as if he were quite profound.

"Song Qing, please."

He took the initiative and pushed the sword horizontally in front of Song Shi'an. "I am grateful for Your Highness's favor, and I am willing to repay you with my life."

Holding the sword, Song Shi'an didn't even blink as he slashed through his palm, leaving a cut.

Then, his palms fell down.

Thick blood flowed slowly down his fingers, dripping into the wine bottle, where it instantly dissolved, giving the clear Langjiu a light blush.

Both bottles of wine are the same.

Immediately afterwards, Song Shi'an handed it to him.

His Highness was even more decisive, and before the blood could even drip from the smooth blade, he pulled it out.

The blood of the two men mingled in the wine vessel, making its original transparency even deeper.

Immediately afterwards, the two of them picked up the glass of wine in front of each other.

They drank it all in one gulp.

"If you do not betray me, I will not betray you."

Wei Wusheng knew that nothing he said could give him a sense of absolute security.

Then let's draw blood.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

After giving a final fist salute, Song Shi'an resolutely left the place.

Soon, Xinyue walked in.

Upon seeing the blood on Wei Wusheng's hands, he took out a clean gauze he always carried for bandaging and handed it to him.

Taking the gauze, Wei Wusheng's expression remained unchanged, a smile playing on his lips. As he casually wrapped it, he murmured, "Song Shi'an, are you my knife? Or am I your knife?"

Upon returning to the barracks, Song Shi'an immediately washed the wound with clean water, disinfected it with lime water, and then wrapped the wound with clean gauze, layer upon layer.

At the same time, he muttered under his breath, "You better keep yourself clean and healthy."

.........

The next morning, the troops were mustered at the drill ground.

While preparing for the cattle and sheep sacrifice, Prince Zhongping, who was in a corner, approached Prince Jin and whispered, "Just the day before, Zhao Yi and Ye Changqing raised money from all over the place, and there were also carriages and horses constantly going out from Prince Wu's mansion. In the end, all the money, grain and cloth went into the military camp."

"I know."

The Prince of Jin naturally had a denser network of informants than the Prince of Zhongping, and he had already obtained intelligence the moment the money was raised.

“Yesterday, they were all distributed to the families of the soldiers who accompanied the troops,” Wei Yiyuan said somewhat seriously. “Fourth Brother, under what pretext is this a reward for the troops?”

"It certainly couldn't be the imperial court."

The King of Jin made his judgment.

"Then why is that person acting so quietly and deliberately?" Wei Yiyuan asked knowingly. "What is Fourth Brother doing?"

The Prince of Jin's expression darkened, and he said, "How could Your Majesty not know something that even our spies know?"

“That means you’re clearly going to fight for it.” Grabbing the Prince of Jin’s arm, Wei Yiyuan said with extreme seriousness, “Fourth Brother is provoking you by doing this, Second Brother.”

"It depends on His Majesty's opinion."

The Prince of Jin was indeed provoked, but he remained calm and composed: "If Your Majesty remains silent, it would be an indication of favoritism towards us. If Zisheng is rewarded, we will also donate money and grain. What's wrong with that?"

"Why is it that I'm always one step behind Fourth Brother in everything, and he always beats me to it?"

Wei Yiyuan was clearly getting anxious.

Then, the Prince of Jin placed his hand on his shoulder and said earnestly, "Zishang, don't be hasty. Not making a mistake is doing the right thing. Trust your second brother, okay?"

Wei Yiyuan closed his eyes, pursed his lips, took a deep breath, looked away, clenched his fists, and said unhappily, "Yes."

"Your Highness, the sacrificial ceremony has begun."

After the two princes finished talking and fell silent, the Grand Master of the Imperial Stud, Sima Yu, walked over and spoke.

The Prince of Jin smiled and nodded, extending a hand: "Lord Sima, please."

"Your Highness, please."

And so the two of them went up to the altar together.

A thousand Imperial Guards may sound insignificant, but when a thousand men are gathered together, especially when they are all clad in black armor and perfectly aligned, they form a vast and imposing sight.

The King of Jin, standing on the platform, was about to turn around and perform the sacrificial ceremony.

Suddenly, he noticed Wei Wusheng, the number one person in the army.

Then, in the first row behind him was Song Shi'an.

Coincidentally, both of them had bandages wrapped around their left hands.

(End of this chapter)