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Madam Third Master has two sons and one daughter, the eldest of whom is the daughter named Wang Jinjing. She is tall and voluptuous, considered a rare beauty in the Wang Family, even surpassing Madam in some aspects. She is Madam's cousin and is a few years older than her, which contributes to her more mature and alluring appearance.
She married an old official from the Ministry of Personnel early on, but he was an elderly man who passed away after a few years, leaving her in charge of the household with significant power. She also has a five-year-old son who is tall and strong.
However, this woman is quite flirtatious, though slightly less so than Wang Jinjing. It is said that she often meets secretly with Bai Lian, who not only looks handsome but also has a talent for poetry and prose, making him quite charming.
When her husband was still alive, Wang Jinjing was very persistent in her pursuits, managing to place her two younger brothers in high positions—one in the Ministry of Personnel and the other in the Ministry of Justice. Both of her brothers hold high official titles, ranking as first-class officials, just below the top leaders.
Thus, the relatives of the Wang Family are truly impressive; nearly all of them are high officials in the Song Dynasty and possess considerable influence. Despite their wealth and power, they do not have much regard for Madam and the Master. Even with their familial ties, they only visit during weddings or funerals.
Their ambitions differ greatly; they are solely focused on money and power, while the Master seems indifferent to such pursuits, preferring to read books and wander around leisurely.
Qin Fu whispered something that could only be heard by those at the same table, making it a secret. Some things can be overheard by others while others cannot.
Qin Feng sighed heavily, feeling like a pool of stagnant water. He was astonished that there were so many powerful people within the Wang Family. It was understandable to feel somewhat inferior about oneself, but it was unacceptable that they disregarded their own lives—truly beastly behavior!
There were generals stationed at the borders who may not have been very useful but commanded thousands of soldiers and controlled local taxes, allowing them to collect taxes at will. Their households were filled with wealth.
There were also high officials from the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Personnel who held real power. Especially in the Ministry of Revenue, which controlled the finances of the Song Dynasty; extracting money from there was incredibly easy.
The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Justice also had lucrative positions; one managed officials and could extract considerable sums as long as they held leverage over them. The other dealt with criminals—both corrupt officials and common citizens alike!
The Ministry of Justice in the late Song Dynasty was no joke; it could lead to severe punishments. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many criminals walking in only to be carried out later.
Although he did not wish to become a corrupt official oppressing ordinary people—his conscience would not allow it—he still felt some envy towards those powerful relatives of the Wang Family.
In reality, he was merely a Third-Rank Official who didn’t even know what his authority entailed. He asked, "Afu, what exactly does my position as Imperial Historian entail? Do I have to go to court regularly? I seem to have plenty of free time to wander around while casually reading books."
Qin Fu laughed heartily and replied, "Actually, being an Imperial Historian is just a title; it's essentially a position where you receive a salary without any real responsibilities. Most of the time you can rest at home. You only need to attend court meetings when summoned for Morning Court."
In earlier times, Morning Court sessions were infrequent—sometimes once every seven days or even once every half month—but now it seems they occur every two days or even daily at times. The main purpose is for the emperor to gather opinions from ministers during early meetings; Imperial Historians merely offer suggestions unless specifically asked by the emperor. If not summoned, they can return home after court.
Qin Feng felt his integrity shatter; he had thought himself a clean official serving the people despite being overlooked by Wang's relatives! To find out he was merely receiving a salary without any duties was absurd.
It seemed too ridiculous—doing nothing yet receiving pay sounded appealing but felt wrong deep down.
As he pondered further into his memories, fear began to creep in. Since Dajin had already destroyed Liao, it wouldn’t be long before they turned their attention to Great Song.
The war lasted only a few years before the vast Song Dynasty fell; it appeared grand but was truly vulnerable at its core! The Song Dynasty had never placed much emphasis on its military forces, allowing them to become increasingly lax and negligent about training.
In military camps, soldiers idled away their time without proper training; even farmers who knew nothing but agriculture possessed greater strength than them. In battle, they would likely fare worse than these farmers.
For such an army not to be defeated would indeed be miraculous; after all, Jin had fought many wars over several years.
Meanwhile, Qin Fu observed that Master seemed more dazed than usual as if lost in thought. Could it be that Master had lost his memory? His position seemed useless compared to those high officials among Wang's relatives, leaving him disheartened.
He quickly added, "Although your position as Imperial Historian is empty and comes with no responsibilities while still providing a salary, it does hold some value. The current Emperor Qin Emperor particularly admires you! Many suggestions have been taken into account because of you."
"This is true; Afu isn’t deceiving you! This is something you’ve mentioned before—the current emperor is indeed a wise ruler. Although somewhat timid now, he will certainly become an enlightened monarch."
His words seemed to awaken Qin Feng from his deep thoughts as he returned from his memories with a smile on his face—there truly was some value in his position after all.
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