Chapter 128 The Jiangnan Cheating Case
After a new concubine enters the palace and pays her respects to the Empress, it's time for her to spend the night with the Emperor. Normally, both the imperial court and the harem would be unable to suppress their curiosity, wanting to know which one would stand out.
Unfortunately, the situation changed drastically. Before the new concubine could even serve the emperor, Yinzhen's attention shifted entirely to the court. Not only the new concubine, but everyone in the harem was sidelined. At this point, no one dared to speak out.
Because of a cheating scandal in Jiangnan, the students rioted, shocking the entire court and the public. Who could possibly have the mind to pay attention to the emperor's harem?
In September of the second year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, it was the time when the results of the provincial examinations were announced.
After the results of the Jiangnan provincial examination were announced, students who were initially confident of success discovered they had failed, and not just one or two. Those who thought they hadn't performed well were shocked to see that the list of highly anticipated candidates had all failed. Surprisingly, the names of those generally considered poor writers, such as Cheng Guangkui and Wu Bi, were listed, and ranked very high.
This discovery enraged all the candidates in Jiangnan, leading to a subsequent uprising that Jiangnan officials could no longer suppress and eventually reached the highest levels of government.
The enraged examinee changed the words "Gongyuan" (贡院, meaning "Imperial Examination Hall") on the plaque above the examination hall to "Sold Out," carried the God of Wealth to the Confucius Temple, and even told the statue of Confucius that it was "the God of Wealth."
The entire city of Jiangning was deserted as all the candidates were filled with righteous indignation. They clashed with the officials who came to suppress them, resulting in the arrest of dozens of candidates and injuries to many others. The candidates' anger ignited throughout the Jiangnan region and even reached the capital.
"Zuo Qiuming was blind, Zhao Zilong was courageous but foolish. What do you think of this couplet, my esteemed ministers?"
Yinzhen sat upright in the court, his tone not particularly serious. Yet, the court officials below were completely silent, and many who had heard the couplet before couldn't help but shrink back.
"What, no one has anything to say? Neither the Censorate nor the Hanlin Academy has anything to say?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive us." As soon as Yinzhen said this, the left and right censors of the Censorate and the academicians of the Hanlin Academy all knelt down. Seeing their superiors kneeling, the people from these two departments also knelt down.
They had no choice but to kneel. The chief examiner for this year's Jiangnan provincial examination, Zuo Bifan, was the Vice Censor-in-Chief, and the deputy examiner, Zhao Jin, was a Hanlin Academician. With such a huge scandal involving cheating, how could these two be unrelated? And how could their colleagues escape involvement?
The key point is that as soon as the atmosphere in the hall became tense, those who were already intimidated by Yinzhen's majesty had their legs go weak. Seeing the people from the two departments kneel down, they couldn't help but follow suit, triggering a chain reaction, one after another. Soon, in the entire court, except for a few Grand Secretaries and Princes standing in the front row, all the civil and military officials were kneeling.
"Hmph," Yun Tang couldn't help but sneer at the cowardly appearance of his courtiers. Yun Si, standing to the side, also coldly surveyed the group, his eyes filled with displeasure.
Yinzhi strode forward, stood in the center of the hall, bowed to Yinzhen, and said firmly, "Your Majesty, I am willing to go to Jiangnan to thoroughly investigate this matter."
Yinzhen looked at the large group of officials kneeling on the ground, not daring to look him in the eye, his expression inscrutable. He wondered how many of them had something to hide, and how many believed that the law would not punish everyone.
It's a pity. If they could have withstood the pressure, they might have been able to seize one last chance. Since they don't dare to raise their heads, their fate is no longer in their own hands.
"Very well, I hereby appoint Prince Lian, Yunsi, as Imperial Commissioner to go to Jiangnan to thoroughly investigate this matter. You are granted the authority to act first and report later. Prince Yu, Yuntang, and Prince Yi, Yunxiang, will accompany you to assist you."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Although Yun Tang did not understand why his name was called, he stood up with Thirteen, and the three of them accepted the imperial decree and expressed their gratitude.
As one of the few ministers still standing, Zhang Tingyu looked at his kneeling colleagues and the princes receiving the imperial decree, and couldn't help but sigh. Some people just can't see through things; they always think the new emperor will be as soft-hearted as the late emperor—I don't know where that misconception comes from.
Those who are tempted to act should be prepared to have their hands chopped off; their emperor is not one to show mercy. As someone who had once gone through the Jiangnan corruption case with the emperor, Zhang Tingyu had a premonition that the emperor had purged half of the Jiangnan officialdom last time, and this time it might not just be Jiangnan, but the entire court would undergo earth-shattering changes.
May these foolish and greedy colleagues die a little easier...
"Prince Yu, His Majesty requests your presence."
Presumably because of the cheating scandal in Jiangnan, Yun Tang followed Su Peisheng to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, only to find that only Yinzhen was inside, while his eighth brother and thirteenth brother were not there.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." After bowing, Yun Tang stood aside and waited quietly.
Seeing his expression, Yinzhen put down the memorial in his hand and said calmly, "No need to wait, I have summoned only you."
Yun Tang looked up in surprise and met Yin Zhen's gaze. Confirming that he was not lying, he couldn't help but frown.
"I wonder what important matter Your Majesty has summoned me for?"
Knowing that no one else was around, Yun Tang suddenly felt a little awkward. What was the fourth brother up to? Were they so close that they could meet alone? Or was this the fourth brother's new way of winning him over?
"Ninth Brother, do you know why I sent you to Jiangnan today?" Yinzhen asked slowly, admiring Yuntang's uneasy posture, which showed no trace of his serious and angry demeanor in the court.
"Your Majesty, I do not know." At this moment, Yun Tang seemed to have switched personalities with Yin Zhen; he had become the one who didn't like to talk. Mainly, he genuinely didn't know, and didn't know what to say to cover up the faint embarrassment and awkwardness in his heart.
I feel like I haven't officially reconciled with Lao Si yet, but Lao Si seems to think we've already made up. Did we skip some steps?
"The eighth brother is good at academic papers, and the thirteenth brother is good at martial arts. Both of them are meticulous people and are more than capable of handling cheating cases..."
"What does Your Majesty mean by this? If you don't approve of my younger brother, why bother with all this trouble?"
Before Yinzhen could finish speaking, Yuntang's face immediately fell, interrupting him. Ultimately, even though Yinzhen had become emperor, Yuntang outwardly remembered to show respect. But deep down, because of Yinzhen's indulgence, he was still that sharp-tongued Ninth Prince who showed no respect to anyone and could change his attitude in an instant.
Seeing Yun Tang's angry expression, Yin Zhen raised an eyebrow, not feeling offended at all, and continued, "So I didn't send you to investigate the cheating case, this is just a pretext."
"Then what does Your Majesty want me to do? Your Majesty knows that I am neither good at literature nor martial arts." Seeing that Yinzhen's attitude was still gentle, Yun Tang suddenly felt a little guilty, but still spoke with a firm tone. However, he felt in his heart that he had been a little too demanding.
The main problem is that the fourth prince is too easygoing. Does he even remember he's the emperor? He has no authority whatsoever. What if he gets bullied by other officials? He's the only one who's capable; at most, he's sharp-tongued. Tsk—
“Jiangnan is the most prosperous region. I intend to fill this wealth into the national treasury, so naturally I must invite my Ninth Brother, this God of Wealth, here. It would be a waste of his talents to keep him in the Ministry of Revenue.”
Yinzhen smiled gently and praised Yuntang with a sincere expression.
"Ahem," it was all sweet talk, but Yun Tang still couldn't help but smile. "Since Your Majesty has said so, I can't refuse."
Yinzhen smiled and nodded, "I knew Ninth Brother was righteous." After saying that, he tossed a folded document into Yuntang's arms.
Yun Tang hurriedly took it, giving Yin Zhen, who had suddenly attacked him, a disgruntled look. However, given Yin Zhen's sweet talk, Yun Tang decided not to argue with him for the time being.
Upon opening the memorial and reading its contents, Yun Tang's eyes lit up with astonishment. Reluctantly, he looked away from it and turned to Yin Zhen, asking impatiently, "Your Majesty, who wrote these?"
"These are some of my humble opinions, and it seems they might be of some use to Ninth Brother."
Yinzhen smiled modestly, which shocked Yuntang. He had never known that the fourth prince possessed such business acumen. Who would have thought that the one whose ideals aligned most with his own, the one who earned his approval, would be the fourth prince?
If Yun Tang had agreed to this matter three parts because of his own ability and three parts because of Yin Zhen's praise, then after reading this memorial, Yun Tang was filled with confidence for the trip to Jiangnan.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, your humble brother will surely conquer Jiangnan. The wealth of Jiangnan will belong only to Your Majesty and to the national treasury."
"Alright, then I'll leave everything to Ninth Brother!"
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