How Miserable Those Two Men Were (Please Vote and Bookmark!)

"Kaifeng Prefecture! I'm back!"

Huang Shang stood on a hillside, gazing into the distance at the city's majestic outline.

As it turned out, the world never went quite as expected.

Wu Que hadn't used the Beggar Sect's informants to find his location and track him down.

The Beggar Sect wasn't omnipotent, either. Finding one person in a vast sea of people was incredibly difficult and came down entirely to luck.

Clearly, Wu Que hadn't been very lucky.

As a result, much of Huang Shang's preparation had gone to waste. He'd spent all that effort outsmarting the air.

Fortunately, the journey had continued all the same.

It was December now.

Huang Shang had finished the Provincial Examination in August and left Yong Prefecture in September. He had traveled from Hunan down through Guangxi, turned into Liangzhe, then continued north until he finally returned to Kaifeng.

He had originally wanted to visit Weizhou on the Qinfeng Circuit—Gansu, in later generations—and pay Zhang Zai a visit. But with the Departmental Examination approaching, he decided to come to the capital early to avoid any unexpected complications.

In truth, Huang Shang was already late.

Once the Provincial Examinations were over in August, examinees from every circuit and prefecture across the country began converging on the Eastern Capital.

It was even more astonishing than the annual Spring Festival travel rush in later generations.

The examinees didn't travel to the capital alone. Most brought along a page, servants, or even their families.

The Eastern Capital was an unrivaled metropolis, with a population of over a million and wealth beyond compare. Even so, a sudden influx of so many people was a lot to handle.

Indeed, they were still a long way from the outer city gate, yet bustling streets had already sprung up, stretching beyond sight.

The scene was so grand it made one wonder whether they'd already passed through the city walls and entered the capital proper.

The page, Murong Fu, and the Four Great Retainers—some carrying loads, others leading horses—were all stunned by the city's prosperous splendor.

Having made their way in the martial world, they had favored avoiding the authorities and carving out domains of their own.

Only now did they clearly feel that no matter how vast the martial world was, it could never compare with an empire.

"This is where I'll take the first step toward restoring our kingdom!"

Murong Fu pressed his lips together, determination shining in his eyes.

Murong Bo had already said goodbye to Huang Shang, but in truth, he was still secretly watching over his son. With the two of them working together, they were sure to accomplish something.

Huang Shang couldn't be bothered with his subordinate's thoughts. He looked toward a group of scholars not far away.

They had gathered around a tall wall, craning their necks to peer inside, though all they could see were branches poking over the top.

Even so, their eyes were full of longing as they persisted in an activity that must have looked foolish to anyone else.

Huang Shang realized at once what place it was.

Qionglin Garden.

One of the sacred grounds for scholars throughout the realm.

In the Tang dynasty, there had been the Qujiang Banquet, held to honor scholars who passed the Imperial Examination. Now there was the Qionglin Banquet, hosted in Qionglin Garden.

Next March, when the successful candidates were announced, the new jinshi would ride through the streets, from Xuande Gate all the way to Qionglin Garden.

That day, hundreds of thousands of people would gather along the road to watch and cheer.

Just imagine the scene. For scholars who had spent ten years at their studies and finally made a name for themselves in one stroke, it was surely the highest honor.

"But there's no point staring a hundred times now!"

Huang Shang immediately looked away and rode on.

He could understand the scholars' feelings. It was like students visiting Beijing on Earth and making a point of seeing Peking University and Tsinghua.

Even if I can't get in, you can't stop me from dreaming~

Beyond Qionglin Garden lay Jinming Pool.

This imperial garden, also known as the West Lake, wasn't just for sightseeing. The navy also trained there.

In Huang Shang's memories, the emperor had still visited a few years earlier to watch the various armies compete for the prize. Ships wheeled about, and armor and weapons gleamed.

A pavilion had been erected on the east side of the pool, where hundreds of thousands of people watched and cheered so loudly they shook the heavens.

The atmosphere had been much like a sporting event in later generations.

In recent years, though, the emperor's health had steadily declined, making it impossible for him to attend in person.

The tradition of competition between the armies remained, but without the emperor watching, it clearly wouldn't be as fierce or as exciting.

"Historically, Emperor Renzong died next April. There's less than half a year left. He's been plagued by illness for a long time—will Emperor Yingzong oversee the Palace Examination?"

Seeing Jinming Pool, Huang Shang found himself thinking instead about the Palace Examination and which emperor of Great Song would preside over it.

Renzong and Yingzong were temple names, bestowed only after death. Huang Shang used them directly for convenience.

There was no need to say much about Renzong. He had been on the throne for forty-one years, the longest reign of any Song emperor.

His successor, Yingzong, had a rather pitiful fate. He reigned for only four years before dying of illness, making him seem like a mere supporting character.

In truth, his path to the throne had been beset with countless difficulties.

He wasn't Renzong's son. Since Renzong had no surviving heirs—all his sons had died in infancy—Yingzong was chosen as heir only after repeated remonstrations from officials such as Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu, and Bao Zheng.

But he hadn't been chosen just once. As early as 1035, he had been adopted by Renzong.

Then, when a new prince was born to Renzong's harem, Yingzong was promptly sent back to his biological father. After that prince died, Yingzong was brought back to the palace, his role as a mere pawn plain for all to see.

It wasn't until this August, just before Huang Shang took the Provincial Examination, that Renzong finally gave up hope of having a son of his own. All his sons had died, and he was growing old and frail, so he made Yingzong crown prince.

From 1035 to 1062, Yingzong had waited a full twenty-seven years.

Throughout history, even a biological heir often had an uncomfortable time as crown prince, treading on thin ice for fear of being deposed. Yingzong's situation went without saying.

Of course, if you compared waiting times, a couple of decades was nothing. On Earth, there was even someone who had waited over sixty years...

Huang Shang wasn't thinking about all this out of boredom. He was preparing for the Palace Examination.

The emperor's attitude would determine who became the top candidate. He couldn't afford not to think about it.

Back to the point: Qionglin Garden and Jinming Pool were both west of the city. After passing these two landmarks and traveling a little farther, they finally reached the actual city gate.

From afar, the dark blue-gray walls, five zhang high, filled his field of view. These city walls stretched fifty li, protecting the greatest city of the age.

In terms of size, Kaifeng was actually larger than Chang'an and Luoyang.

With no natural defenses, there were no mountains or rivers to obstruct its expansion.

Too bad...

As Huang Shang thought of the Jingkang Incident, images of what he had seen at the Guangxi border suddenly flashed through his mind.

It had been just a small town of a thousand people.

What if the whole of Kaifeng suffered the same fate?

How horrific would it be?

"Fortunately, there's still time!"

Huang Shang gathered his thoughts and rode forward.

Though there were countless people entering the city, jostling shoulder to shoulder, Huang Shang sat tall in the saddle, his bearing straight and his looks striking. He stood out at a glance.

After half an hour of chaos, he had just entered the city when his vision blurred. Two men suddenly appeared before him, their tiger-like eyes red as they called out, "Brother! Brother!"

Huang Shang froze. He looked at them, then hesitated for a long moment before saying, "Brother Xu? Brother Hua?"

Xu Feng! Wu Que!

This time, his hesitation wasn't an act.

The two Reincarnators were simply too haggard. He genuinely hadn't recognized them at first.

Xu Feng had always been a burly, straightforward man, so that was one thing. But Wu Que had always been a graceful young gentleman. Now he looked as though he could join the Beggar Sect, which showed just how much he had changed.

Seeing Huang Shang with a page leading the way and four servants carrying his luggage, looking not the least bit travel-worn—in fact, looking even more handsome and distinguished than before—Xu Feng and Wu Que unconsciously licked their cracked lips.

Heavens knew, they had been guarding Kaifeng Prefecture's city gate for nearly a month, practically turning into Wangfu Stones.

First, there was Xu Feng.

After the battle at Worry-Free Cave, Huang Shang had been taken away. Xu Yue comforted Xu Feng afterward. The two of them had escaped with their lives and avoided using their trump cards, even though they had paid with the Dao Scripture. All things considered, they hadn't lost anything.

In terms of Reincarnation Points alone, that was true. More importantly, they had only one life, and a trump card that could save it was often worth far more.

So Xu Yue had been heartbroken in the moment, but later she made peace with it, deciding to treat it as paying to avoid a disaster.

But Xu Feng couldn't get past it. He felt as though he'd finally won the grand prize, only to lose the lottery ticket.

The feeling of losing ten billion kept him awake at night.

But with so many people in the world, Xu Feng had no choice but to accept reality.

Then, two months ago, he spotted Wu Que lurking around Kaifeng Prefecture's city gate.

How miserable those two men were—they'd finally met.

Thanks to readers "Sky Crystal Chaos Mirror" and "Brother Tutu, for real" for the tips.