[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m":3,"chapter-simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-chapter-68":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Simultaneously Transmigrated: My Cheat Skill Is Myself",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2315323,4528,"Chapter 68: Attending the Banquet and Meeting Song Jiang","simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-chapter-68",68,"\u003Cp>At night, Zhang Jie and Chen Wen arrived at the Jinxiu Pavilion in Yuncheng County for a banquet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jinxiu Pavilion was the largest, most famous, and most luxurious tavern in Yuncheng County.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was said that the head chef of Jinxiu Pavilion had once worked at Fanlou in Bianliang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie suspected this claim was likely exaggerated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Fanlou was a tavern renowned throughout the land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Emperor of Great Song had visited Fanlou in disguise multiple times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The amorous Prince Duan was rumored to have met the famed courtesan Li Shi at Fanlou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chef of Jinxiu Pavilion may have worked at Fanlou, but surely not as the head chef—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More likely, he had merely studied there for a time and learned a few recipes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Dongjing, Bianliang, was the most prosperous city in Great Song, and indeed across all of Liao, Xi Xia, and Dali.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was naturally, like Paris in the 21st century, the trendsetter of its age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything from Dongjing was eagerly imitated, so Jinxiu Pavilion’s business was naturally thriving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even at night, guests came and went without pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All who passed through wore gold and jade, draped in silk and brocade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, they were wealthy families from Yuncheng County and its surrounding regions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were rotund squires and young masters waving folding fans, feigning elegance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The gates of the rich reek of wine and meat, while on the roads lie frozen corpses!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching this scene, Zhang Jie thought of the refugees he had seen along the way to Yuncheng County, and sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All men are born equal, yet some are more equal than others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All men are born free, yet some are freer than others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Great Song is sick.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Zhang Jie gazed upward at the starry sky, he reached this conclusion in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Chen, Master Zhang, the County Magistrate awaits you upstairs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Zhang Jie and Chen Wen drew near Jinxiu Pavilion,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the sharp-eyed Head Hu had already spotted them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Zhang Jie distracted, Chen Wen stepped forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bowed to Head Hu, now dressed in civilian attire, and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kindly lead the way, Head Hu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Follow me, gentlemen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Head Hu turned and walked into Jinxiu Pavilion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie pondered a moment, then suppressed certain thoughts within him:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The burden of Great Song’s realm is still too heavy for me to carry—at least not yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he had become a martial cultivator with the help of other Zhang Jies, what then?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he went to Bianliang and killed Emperor Zhao Ji, another emperor would rise in his place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kill the corrupt minister Cai Jing, and another corrupt official would take his place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention that he, alone, could never seize the realm—even if he could, what then?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One man cannot govern the realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only way is to quietly accumulate strength and cultivate a group of enlightened men before replacing the current order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Returning to the present, Zhang Jie followed Head Hu to a private room on the third floor of the tavern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap. Tap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Head Hu gently knocked on the room’s door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Creak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Head Hu stepped inside first and announced loudly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Excellency, Master Chen and Master Zhang have arrived.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good. You may leave.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the room sat a middle-aged man on the main seat, his face lean, dressed in plain robes,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>yet radiating authority—clearly a man long accustomed to high office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Head Hu bowed and withdrew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him, Zhang Jie and Chen Wen came into the man’s view.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ha! Master Chen, long time no see—off to Jinan, you’ll soar to the heavens!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The middle-aged man rose, speaking with great familiarity to Chen Wen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nonsense, nonsense. All thanks to Your Excellency’s grace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without your governance, how could Yuncheng County enjoy peace and prosperity?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could I, Wen Yun, live in such tranquility?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Wen replied with a practiced, amiable smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This middle-aged man was clearly the fatherly magistrate of Yuncheng County’s hundreds of thousands—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>County Magistrate Shi Wenbin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie knew Chen Wen was not flattering him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to other corrupt officials, Shi Wenbin was upright in office,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>honest in conduct, ever compassionate, always merciful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He emphasized public order: since taking office, he had assigned Zhu Tong and\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lei Heng to patrol at night, using red leaves as their credentials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In daily case rulings, he always discerned right from wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, Yuncheng County’s present prosperity owed half its credit to Magistrate Shi Wenbin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet in the case of Song Jiang killing Yan Poxi, due to his close ties with Song Jiang,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he displayed favoritism and corruption—this complexity defined his character.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But overall, Shi Wenbin was an official who maintained integrity and uprightness\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>amid a corrupt bureaucracy—a rare good official in Great Song’s court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This gentleman must be Zhang Jie, the newly crowned Jieyuan?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After greeting Chen Wen, Shi Wenbin’s gaze fixed on Zhang Jie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What a refined young man!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Wenbin inwardly marveled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first glance, Zhang Jie had not struck him as extraordinary, but as he focused on him,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he grew increasingly aware of an indescribable charm about Zhang Jie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially Zhang Jie’s eyes—warm, luminous, like polished ink jade—left a deep impression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Confucius’s saying, “The gentleman is like jade,” must have meant this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Excellency.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie bowed with neither humility nor arrogance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ha! Master Chen, Master Zhang, please, take your seats.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In high spirits, Shi Wenbin invited the two to sit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Zhang Jie’s gaze was drawn to a short, dark-skinned man who,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>despite his plain appearance, radiated an extraordinary presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“May I ask, Your Excellency, who is this gentleman?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie asked, already suspecting the answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ha! I was just about to introduce him—this is our Yuncheng County’s Yasi,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Jiang, Song Gongming.” Shi Wenbin smiled as he introduced him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course. Such distinctive features, combined with an invitation to the Magistrate’s private banquet,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>could only belong to the Heavenly Kui Star—Song Jiang, Song Gongming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie understood at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Zhang Jie found Song Jiang did not match Shi Naian’s description:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eyes like phoenixes, brows like curled silkworms; ears dangling with pearl pendants, eyes bright as polished lacquer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Square lips, straight mouth, a light beard gracing the chin; broad forehead, flat crown, plump cheeks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seated, he resembles a tiger; moving, he moves like a wolf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his thirties, he possesses the generosity to feed ten thousand;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Six feet tall, he harbors the ambition to sweep clean the four seas.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was merely a short, dark-skinned middle-aged man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anything set him apart, it was Song Jiang’s natural warmth and approachability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhang Jie greets you, Song Yasi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie silently scoffed inside, but his expression showed no sign of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Jiang was slightly taken aback by Zhang Jie’s courtesy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was merely a lowly clerk with no official rank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Zhang Jie was a rising star, destined to enter the imperial court and govern a region as the top provincial scholar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gap between them was like chickens and ducks on the ground versus phoenixes in the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Jiang quickly bowed in return: “Song Jiang greets Scholar Zhang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One was curious, the other eager to flatter;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>for a time, the two men with vastly different outlooks conversed with great ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Wenbin, seeing Zhang Jie and Song Jiang chatting merrily,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>could not help stroking his beard and smiling—he had not wasted his effort bringing Song Jiang along.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In official rank and status, the Assistant County Magistrate and County Commandant both outranked Song Jiang, the Yasi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Song Jiang maintained excellent relations with everyone in the yamen—he was truly a rare talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had long heard of Song Jiang’s reputations as “Holding Righteousness,” “Timely Rain,” and “Filial and Righteous Black Third Brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For this banquet honoring Zhang Jie, he had specifically brought Song Jiang along,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>using him as a lubricant to deepen his bond with Zhang Jie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paid little mind to Chen Wen—just a juren who had only reached mid-tier after turning thirty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he later passed the palace examination, he would still be on the same starting line as Shi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Wenbin himself was a genuine third-rank palace graduate!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But with Zhang Jie, he had to take care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie was too young; as the saying goes, better to anger an old man than to mock a poor youth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Youth meant Zhang Jie had limitless potential.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he knew, the ministers of the Six Ministries and above in the imperial court\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>were eager to take a young talent like Zhang Jie as a son-in-law.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a few years, Zhang Jie might rise swiftly and become his own superior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ha! Since everyone has arrived, let the banquet begin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Wenbin instructed the owner of Jinxiu Pavilion, who stood nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your servant will attend to it at once.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The owner of Jinxiu Pavilion, who had been waiting, bowed and departed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie was not surprised by the owner’s deference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Shi Wenbin was only a seventh-rank county magistrate,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>occupying the lowest rung of the Song bureaucracy’s pyramid,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>within a hundred li of Yuncheng County he was a true “Hundred-Li Lord,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>though “life and death” might be an exaggeration, controlling a mere merchant was child’s play.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Offend Shi Wenbin, and he had ten—or even nine—ways to shut down Jinxiu Pavilion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Song Jiang, an unranked Yasi, was a significant official by modern standards,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>roughly equivalent to a clerk or secretary in a county government office today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the sharp and efficient waiters of Jinxiu Pavilion swiftly brought out the dishes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Wenbin raised his cup and invited:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come, everyone, drink deeply.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Drink deeply.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Wen and Song Jiang both raised their cups.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Drink deeply.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since he had come to the banquet, Zhang Jie would not insult Shi Wenbin—he raised his cup too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Song Jiang as the lubricant, and Shi Wenbin, Chen Wen, and the others all adept at social graces,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the feast ended with all guests delighted.\u003C\u002Fp>",1653,"2026-06-20T14:22:35.989Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","510ec78f9b9a93d1883b4002fa3656d6cdc05b83ed237fe2df83c6c304f7f415","simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-chapter-69","simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-chapter-67",601,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsimultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-cover.jpg"]