The other two nodded.

As Xu Pingchao opened the letter, the calm smile on his face seemed to freeze.

"I'm so sorry, Brother Yuanxi and Brother Yuning, I've dragged you both into this mess..."

The two stared at each other, fear gripping their bodies. They pounced on each other like vicious dogs, their usual elegance and composure completely gone.

"Pingchao, hurry up and pack up your valuables, the imperial edict will be issued soon."

Listen to me, don't go back to your hometown, never go back for the rest of your life.

You not only embarrass yourself, but you also bring shame to your family.

Find a village or town where nobody knows you, and hurry up and leave.

"Take care of yourself."

Xu Guang.

The letter contained no hysterical anger, but rather a calm account of a small matter.

Don't go back to your hometown, and take care of yourself.

Yang Yuanxi sat in the chair and asked, "Could it be that the three of us are going to lose our official positions?"

Huang Yuning shook his head, his face grim.

"Perhaps, otherwise Vice Minister Xu would not have told Brother Gongfu not to go back to his hometown."

As the group was talking, suddenly a dozen imperial guards, accompanied by a young eunuch, arrived at the Xu residence.

The eunuch's voice was shrill: "Which one of you is Instructor Xu?"

"I am……"

Xu Pingchao stared blankly at the three men, then chuckled.

"That's great, it saves us from having to run around one by one."

Xu Pingchao looked at the man, who was dressed in a red flying fish robe and wore a black gauze hat.

The dozen or so black-clad imperial guards beside him, dressed entirely in black leather armor, stared at him with unsmiling, expressionless faces.

I couldn't help but shiver.

"It's the Imperial Guards from the palace...an imperial edict!"

The three knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Xu Pingchao, Yang Yuanxi, and Huang Yuning, having abused their positions, forged a unique copy of a clear and concise letter, thus damaging the reputation of commoners, displaying low moral character, and being jealous of the virtuous and capable, are hereby stripped of their titles of Juren (successful candidates in the imperial examinations), have their one year's salary returned, and are dismissed from their positions as Fuzi (Masters).

"Receive the decree, Your Excellencies..."

The three of them collapsed to the ground.

The eunuch smiled and said, "I still need to rush to Quannan County and Bozhou County to deliver the imperial decree."

Yang Luobai seemed to realize something, and mustered her courage, stammering, "Father-in-law, what does this mean?"

Seeing his doubt, the eunuch showed unusual patience.

"Forget it, I'm kind-hearted and can't bear to see you all upset, so I'll just tell you."

Yang Luobai is your family member, right? Huang Bangchang is your family member, right?

The Emperor learned that these two men had bribed the Prefect of Yingzhou.

His Majesty knew that these two men wanted to advance, so he simply arranged for them to start from scratch, where there was plenty of room for advancement: one went to Yazhou as a post station official, and the other went to Jinzhou as a gatekeeper.

These are all wonderful places to calm the mind...

The three felt as if they had entered an ice cave.

...

The news quickly spread like wildfire throughout the city.

Some young people who have been sitting at home for a long time have been feeling repressed.

He started becoming a troll on online forums and seminars.

[A mere scholar, with the title of Xiucai, has no sense of shame whatsoever.]

I have never seen such a shameless person in the world.

Jealousy of someone's talent is simply taking advantage of one's age and past achievements to relentlessly exploit younger generations.

Not allowing younger generations to stand out.

Do you really think that if it weren't for these old and immortal people who became famous early and occupied high positions, you could compare with the younger generation with your foot-binding cloth-like things?

You guys are just lucky; you were born a few decades longer than others.

In today's world, it's nothing.

Moreover, these shameless people stand on high ground, distorting the truth and accusing others of not working hard enough or not giving their all!

These people deserve to die!

Disclaimer: I have never targeted any individual, and this is absolutely not directed at the trio who recently plagiarized.

...

Uncle Fu was also surprised when he heard the news of the imperial edict.

The swift and decisive methods employed in this matter suggest that Mr. Zhou's people were behind it.

Otherwise, this matter wouldn't have been resolved so quickly.

...

The Chen family residence.

Magistrate Su and Uncle Fu led the father-in-law directly to Chen Xian's house.

Father-in-law: "Is this where Mr. Jia lives?"

Uncle Fu smiled and said, "Yes."

Chen Xian heard a commotion outside. Liu Quan was sweeping the yard, his wife was cooking in the kitchen, and their two children were playing shuttlecock in the yard.

Upon going outside, they saw a man with a fair complexion and no beard, dressed in a red flying fish robe, followed by more than a dozen imperial guards.

The father-in-law was taken aback, then suddenly realized, "Could you be the master of our household?"

Chen Xian cupped his hands and said, "Yes, Father-in-law, it is my pseudonym. I apologize for making you laugh."

"Receive the imperial decree."

Su Yong looked at Chen Xian with some surprise; it was him.

He knew this person was extraordinary, excelling at writing storybooks, but he hadn't expected him to be such a good poet as well.

Chen Xian knelt on the ground.

A long string of reward words.

Su Yong said in a low voice: "Father-in-law, there is one more thing. In addition to writing poetry well and writing 'Poetry Appreciation', my master also wrote 'A Chinese Ghost Story' and 'Lu Pan' under the pseudonym Mr. Liaozhai."

I only found out now; if Uncle Fu hadn't led me there…

Uncle Fu laughed and said, "Father-in-law, that's true. Generally speaking, writers don't use their real names to protect their addresses and avoid being harassed. Magistrate Su didn't know that Mr. Jia and Mr. Liaozhai are the same person."

Chen Xian took out a silver ingot from his pocket.

“Father-in-law, I really didn’t mean to hide it. Besides that, I also tried to write a Judge Dee case and a storytelling of the White-Browed Hero.”

The eunuch smiled.

"I thought it was something serious. The matter involving the Xu, Yang, and Huang families mainly concerns bribery of superiors, abuse of power and reputation, and tarnishing the reputation of the county and prefectural schools. It mainly involves..."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!