The Seductive Beauty Breaks the Insecure Bottom Script [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 36.1

That face was very familiar; in fact, not long ago, Song Mingjiao had even pressed a kiss upon those very lips. Aside from the length of the hair at the back of the head and the different official robes worn on the body, everything else was exactly the same.

It was “He Wang.”

But how could “He Wang” appear here?

When the previous small world ended, Song Mingjiao had said those words to He Wang about meeting again. In reality, they were merely casual words of comfort; he never truly believed he would encounter He Wang again in a subsequent mission world.

Even the male lead at the center of this world only shared a similar name and face, but they were not identical. How could He Wang, who was originally just an NPC in a mission world, follow him here like a ghost or a systemic bug?

Song Mingjiao did not make a scene, nor did he allow his gaze to linger on He Wang’s face for too long. Consequently, everything at the Qionglin Banquet proceeded as usual; no one discovered that the Son of Heaven had momentarily lost his focus.

Song Mingjiao asked Eunuch Zhao, who was standing nearby in service, casually fishing for information: “Why is he sitting there?”

Eunuch Zhao followed the Emperor’s gaze and saw it was the Prime Minister, He Wen.

“Prime Minister He Wen arrived early today, so the eunuchs arranged for Lord He to be seated there. Does His Majesty mean to add a seat by your side?”

Song Mingjiao heard the information he wanted.

He Wen? Prime Minister?

The name was slightly different, yet there seemed to be a thousand threads connecting him to the previous “He Wang.”

If any minister were to receive a special grant from the Emperor to sit by his side during a banquet, it would be a supreme honor. Since He Wen was, after all, the current Prime Minister, it was not strange for Eunuch Zhao to think the Emperor wished to bestow such a favor.

“No need. Let him sit where he is.”

Having said that, Song Mingjiao closed his eyes.

To onlookers, it appeared only as if His Majesty was in low spirits and was closing his eyes to rest; they had no way of knowing that Song Mingjiao was actually conversing with the system in his mind.

System, give me an explanation, will you? Is there a massive bug in your programming? Is this not the He Wen from the last world? He’s exactly the same; the name has only changed by one character.

A hint of panic also leaked into the system’s voice. Its mechanical pings rang incessantly, turning Song Mingjiao’s mind into a chaotic mess, only quieting down after a long while.

Troubleshooting complete The Host’s current mission program is operating normally; no issues have been detected.

Song Mingjiao let out a cold laugh.

With such a glaring living piece of evidence right in front of me, you’re lying through your teeth.

The system clearly felt that this troubleshooting result was somewhat off as well; its already limited brain could not process the situation.

Please wait, Host. The situation has been recorded and filed, and feedback is being sent to the Main System. Data transmission in progress! Please wait patiently for the results.

System, you know? In my previous world, some ‘artificial idiots’ loved using these kinds of non-progressive phrases to reply to their employers.

Please mind your language, Host.

Song Mingjiao waved it off, no longer expecting the system to clear his doubts.

In any case, He Wang no, He Wen was right here. He would interact with He Wen more to investigate what was really going on and see if they were indeed the same person.

However, whether this He Wen was that He Wang did not matter much to Song Mingjiao. Their only commonality was that both had piqued his interest.

Song Mingjiao propped up his chin and thought:

If it’s the same person, this is a tale of past and present lives. If it’s not the same person, then has he caught up with the trend of “substitute literature”?

As he thought, Song Mingjiao couldn’t help but laugh out down.

After the Emperor took his seat, he was slow to call for the banquet to begin. The newly minted scholars waiting below grew anxious, fearing they had done something wrong and that the Emperor was scrutinizing them.

A colleague close to Shang Nanxuan whispered to the person next to him: “Where is the top scholar, Lord Shang? His Majesty has arrived, yet why is he not here? Go find him quickly! This is the Qionglin Banquet; if he misses the hour and His Majesty takes offense, none of us can bear the responsibility.”

Indeed, hearing that the Emperor had arrived while Shang Nanxuan had not, the officials from the Censorate had already noticed his absence and were secretly frowning, seemingly already composing their memorials of impeachment.

Song Mingjiao propped up his head, listening to the conversations below for a while. Finding nothing new, he waved his hand and said: “The Top Scholar is unwell; there is no need to wait for him. Let the banquet begin.”

And so, the music rose and the dancing began.

At Song Mingjiao’s signal, the Master of Ceremonies read out the already drafted imperial edict before the crowd.

After the imperial examinations, the rankings of the scholars were set, but their specific official posts had not yet been determined. Following this Qionglin Banquet, the Emperor would personally arrange the positions for the top three: the Zhuangyuan (Top Scholar), Bangyan (Second), and Tanhua (Third). The rest would be assigned to their posts by the Ministry of Personnel.

Today was primarily for the granting of a feast and the Emperor’s personal rewards for the scholars he favored.

The imperial edict had been read and several rounds of music had played before the man who should have been the center of attention, Top Scholar Shang Nanxuan, finally arrived late. He even walked in with a limp, clutching his knees from time to time; anyone with eyes could see this was the discomfort of having knelt for a long period before rushing over.

Anyone with half a brain knew that the Top Scholar was the Emperor’s new favorite. Currently, who besides the Emperor would dare to punish Shang Nanxuan in such a manner?

The “illness” mentioned earlier was likely just a face-saving gesture provided by the Monarch. No one knew what had happened to this scholar; he hadn’t even officially entered officialdom yet, and he had already offended his ultimate superior.

“Brother Nanxuan, are you alright?” The one speaking was the Tanhua. Having not yet been washed in the great dye-vat of officialdom, he did not understand the underlying meaning and simply thought Shang Nanxuan was truly unwell and had taken a fall.

Shang Nanxuan twitched the corner of his mouth. Unable to speak ill of the Emperor in public, he could only say forcedly: “It is nothing. Thank you for your concern.”

The Bangyan also brought over a large bowl to offer a toast: “Come, Lord Shang, I toast to you. We shall be colleagues from now on; please look after me.”

These words made Shang Nanxuan’s knees hurt even more, but he could only drink with a forced smile.

Song Mingjiao watched this scene with amusement, as if watching a student who had suddenly arrived late to class, bearing the stares of the entire class and the accusing, angry, and confused eyes of the teacher. Furthermore, this scene was a hundred times more awkward than that.

Having seen enough of the drama, and adhering to the conduct of an Emperor, he would not stay at the banquet from beginning to end; he would not make the ministers too constrained or afraid to speak freely.

After all, this was the Qionglin Banquet. For many scholars who had studied hard by the cold window for ten years, this was their most glorious and happiest moment especially since the pressure of the exams was gone, and they had not yet had to endure the beatings of the morning court.

It was a rare opportunity.

Although Song Mingjiao loathed Shang Nanxuan and was indeed deliberately targeting him, he considered himself one who would play the role of a good monarch.

“We shall go for a walk; you may continue.” The Son of Heaven rose to depart.

“We respectfully see off His Majesty.” The ministers rose one after another to see him off. After a while, the originally quiet banquet finally became lively with the clinking of cups again.

After leaving the Qionglin Banquet, Song Mingjiao went to the outer garden. Ancient worlds were good for one thing: all sorts of natural scenery and fresh air.

He only took Eunuch Zhao with him, without making a grand display or using the imperial sedan with countless guards and eunuchs following.

Along the way, Song Mingjiao saw many flowers and plants he had never seen before. He walked for a long time without noticing that he was wandering further and further away.

After passing through a small path filled with shrubs, Song Mingjiao noticed he had reached a gazebo.

“This younger brother greets Imperial Brother.”

A younger voice reached his ears, with a vocal timbre that was even somewhat similar to Song Mingjiao’s. Song Mingjiao looked up and saw a man taller than himself.

Imperial Brother?

It seemed this was the younger brother the system mentioned who was eyeing his throne with tiger-like greed apparently named Song Chengnian.

How is even the younger brother taller than me?!

Song Mingjiao was somewhat unhappy.

The man who appeared was a stranger, though “youth” would be a more accurate description. He appeared to be a year or two younger than Song Mingjiao, dressed in the robes of a Prince. With a faint smile on his lips, he bowed politely to Song Mingjiao.

According to the plot given by the system, this was the “rebellious younger brother” who would compete for the throne and launch a rebellion in the later stages. Though, from Song Mingjiao’s first look at Song Chengnian, he couldn’t quite see it.

After straightening up, Song Chengnian stared unceremoniously at Eunuch Zhao’s position: “Eunuch Zhao, it is enough for this Prince to serve Imperial Brother.”

Eunuch Zhao knew that this Sixth Highness was not born of the same mother as the current Emperor; his personality was unpredictable and his behavior erratic. But he had not expected this Highness to dismiss him, the personal eunuch, right in front of the Emperor before His Majesty had even spoken.

Eunuch Zhao looked at Song Mingjiao with hesitation: “Your Majesty, this…”

Song Mingjiao looked at Song Chengnian, wanting to see what kind of schemes this cheap, “good” brother of his was harboring. Thus, he gave the order: “You may step down first.”

Eunuch Zhao bowed in response. As he withdrew, he saw the Sixth Highness cast a triumphant look at him, as if celebrating that he had successfully “stolen” the Emperor brother away.

Eunuch Zhao: ?

Only the two brothers, Song Mingjiao and Song Chengnian, remained in the gazebo.

“You deliberately dismissed Eunuch Zhao; who will serve Us? Surely not you?”

Song Mingjiao wanted to find a place to sit, but looking at the stone bench in the gazebo, he felt a momentary sense of distaste. His germaphobia would not vanish just because the era had changed.

But his cheap brother was actually quick of hand and eye, pulling up his exquisite and magnificent robes to carefully wipe the stone bench several times: “Of course this brother can, Imperial Brother.”

The cheap brother was quite sensible.

In the identity Song Mingjiao used in the last world, he had no relatives like parents or siblings.

Therefore, having traveled to this small world and suddenly having a brother connected to him by blood, even knowing this was someone in the plot who eyed him with malice, he felt a moment of great sentiment.

When Song Mingjiao sat down, he did not notice the scorching, irrepressible predatory desire hidden in his “obedient” Imperial Brother’s eyes.

The Imperial Brother was indeed eyeing him like a tiger, just not in the simple sense Song Mingjiao imagined.

Song Chengnian’s eyes were very bright.

Was Imperial Brother finally willing to look at him? Finally no longer like before, appearing like a pool of stagnant water, where every action was as if pre-planned even while handling government affairs every day?

There was no vitality, and he never saw the him who was unrelated to government affairs.

Today, hearing from the eunuchs that Imperial Brother no longer paid heed to that wretch Shang Nanxuan, Song Chengnian immediately felt something was different.

The Qionglin Banquet originally had nothing to do with him, an idle Prince, yet he still urged the groom to rush to the banquet, finally “coincidentally” encountering his Imperial Brother in an inconspicuous gazebo in the garden.

Song Chengnian once felt that the Son of Heaven did not seem like a living person; he had even privately invited a master to read his fortune. The master gave him no answer, only saying:

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