Chapter 12 Abuse of Power for Personal Gain
Upon hearing this, Ye Lei immediately felt that they had something in common and asked, "How old is your grandson? My nephew is only sixteen years old this year."
The pride in his voice was undeniable. Da Shan had been remarkable and sensible since childhood, and he was clearly extraordinary. He had grown up to be just as good as he had become. Who else could become a top scholar at such a young age?
I've heard that even the most famous writers in history weren't this amazing.
"Oh my, this is incredible! I heard that the youngest person to take the imperial examination this year is only sixteen years old. He's the top scholar from Qingyang. No wonder he's from your family, Brother Ye!"
Someone nearby excitedly chimed in.
Ye Lei casually said, "We are indeed from Qingyang. That must be him. I didn't expect everyone to know."
"What are you saying? Everyone knows him. Have you just arrived in the capital? I heard that the top scholar from Qingyang is very low-key. He hasn't shown his face at all and is very mysterious."
"There's nothing mysterious about it. He's been studying in the capital for several months. We went to the capital at the end of September last year."
Ye Lei felt that being low-key and not liking to meet people was not a good thing, and his expression turned cold.
Others might not know why Ye Jianshan hadn't shown up, but he did—it was all that Crown Prince's fault.
Moreover, they got along quite well with the people living in the Qingyang Guild Hall.
Ye Lei ignored the man and continued to ask the middle-aged couple whose grandson was a top scholar: "You haven't said how old your child is yet?"
The emperor took a sip of tea and chuckled, "We're about the same age."
The Empress also said, "Yes, they're all around ten years old, about the same."
Ye Jianshan was taken aback: "That's quite a coincidence."
"Yes, it's all fate."
But everyone around was stunned. They had never heard of a sixteen-year-old top scholar in the provincial examination. The youngest was the grandson of the chief minister Cui.
Could this be Chief Minister Cui?
But they all know what Chief Minister Cui looks like. If this isn't him, then whose parent is he?
Everyone was curious for a moment, but the Emperor and Empress remained silent, which only fueled their curiosity.
The middle-aged couple enjoyed talking to Ye Jianshan, who hadn't had a proper chat with anyone since arriving in the capital. Because their children were all taking the imperial examinations, the two families had a lot in common.
But Ye Lei doesn't tell everything.
Ye Lei had lunch with the middle-aged couple. Halfway through the meal, he suddenly looked up at the Emperor, glancing left and right.
The emperor felt a little guilty under their gaze; he had never felt this guilty when he was lazy and delegated state affairs to the crown prince.
He covered half his face with his sleeve while drinking, saying, "Eat your food, eat your food."
"Why do I feel like you look a bit like my nephew?"
Once the idea popped into his head, he couldn't stop it; the more Ye Lei looked at it, the more it seemed plausible.
The key point is that he also thought the Empress looked like her.
Although Ye Lei was not very knowledgeable, he was not stupid; otherwise, Ye Yun would not have trusted him to come to the capital.
For the past few months, Ye Jianshan and his life have been taken care of by him inside and out. In this unfamiliar place, it is already quite good that he has provided good food and clothing and taken good care of the scholar.
He had a guess in his mind: could this be related to the Crown Prince again?
It wasn't obvious in the teahouse, but it became immediately noticeable in a brightly lit place.
In addition, the visitor mentioned that the family had a grandson who had achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations, and that he was about the same age as his nephew.
Although he didn't know many scholars, he had heard a lot of discussions at the Qingyang Guild Hall.
The youngest is his nephew, and the second youngest is Cui Jianbing, the grandson of the richest man, who is seventeen years old this year.
Therefore, it is impossible for a sixteen-year-old top scholar to still exist.
Unless they are talking about his nephew, Ye Jianshan.
Ye Lei spoke first: "You wouldn't happen to be Ye Da's family, would you? Jian Shan's biological father has been dead for over ten years. How did you find out about this place?"
The middle-aged couple who keep talking about their grandson must be the parents of the young and deceased Ye Da.
The Emperor and Empress nearly choked to death by those words.
What do you mean by "died young"? The crown prince is still alive and well.
The Emperor quickly coughed twice: "Ahem, it's all fate. We only just learned of Ye Jianshan's existence."
Ye Lei's expression changed, and he crossed his arms and looked seriously at the middle-aged couple in front of him: "We don't have grandparents in Jianshan, only maternal grandparents."
That's too good to be true. Ye Jianshan has become the top scholar and is starting to acknowledge his relatives?
They even took advantage of the time difference between entering the imperial examination hall in the mountains and coming to find him?
The Empress sighed: "There are other hidden stories about what happened back then. Don't worry, we won't do anything. We just want to see him."
Ye Lei raised an eyebrow: "Meet him? Shouldn't you have come knocking on our door already? You're not low-ranking, are you? It should be easy for you to find me and Dashan, and you should have known about his existence long ago. Why come now that Dashan has gone in to take the exam? What's the meaning of this?"
Ye Lei paused for a moment and continued, "I have no say in my own family. I was just sent here to run errands for Dashan. There's no point in talking to me. I'll take my leave now."
The Emperor and Empress watched him leave the restaurant. As soon as the guards behind him moved, the Emperor raised his hand to stop them: "Send someone to protect him secretly, but do not disturb him."
I thought I could keep up the act for a few more days, but I didn't expect Ye Lei to be so perceptive.
The Empress felt a pang of sadness at Ye Lei's attitude: "Did you hear that? Da Shan's uncle said that child looks like both of us..."
Since even his own uncle had said so, the Emperor and Empress were even more eager to see Ye Jianshan.
Just how similar will they be?
The emperor was also at a loss. If the child were six years old, it would be easier to handle, but now the child is sixteen years old, about to get married, and a top scholar in the imperial examination. He must be very smart, so it will definitely not be easy to get him back.
"I only want my grandson. The Crown Prince will do everything he can to bring Dashan back to the palace."
The Emperor gritted his teeth and said, "This Crown Prince is simply outrageous! He's raised his child outside for so long, and he still doesn't know anything about it."
He still acts like he's going to die every day. If he really goes with the Crown Princess, he won't even be able to see her when she comes back with her son.
This time, the Empress did not protect the Crown Prince. With a grandson, her son was sidelined. She condemned him, saying, "He's over thirty years old and doesn't know any better. He bears the greatest responsibility for this and must bring his precious grandson back."
The less they saw each other, the more the Emperor and Empress missed each other.
I wish I could rush into the examination hall and take a peek.
But all we can do now is wait.
"Pass down the order that no one is to be informed of the fact that the Empress and I left the palace today."
The guards had given prior instructions, and now they were relaying the Emperor's order again.
The Crown Prince, who had been nagged by the Emperor and Empress for several days, couldn't help but sneeze, and the second exam was about to end.
Ye Jianshan took a little longer to finish this exam; he was still checking the papers on the morning of the sixth day and only closed his eyes to rest for a while in the afternoon.
The second round of exam papers has been collected, and we're now just waiting for the third round.
When Ye Jianshan went to sleep, he put on all the clothes he had brought. The weather was getting colder and colder, and he was a little worried that it would rain in the next few days.
He's running out of carbon, and it's uncertain whether it will last until he finishes answering the questions in the third round.
While he was asleep, the Crown Prince came down and walked around to check on the condition of the candidates. Several candidates had fallen ill in the past few days.
Most people experience some symptoms of a cold or flu.
Before the third exam papers were distributed, the Crown Prince had someone bring in piping hot ginger soup.
Ye Jianshan also got a serving. It was very spicy, but after drinking it, he felt much warmer. His stuffy nose was able to breathe normally again, and he slept more comfortably.
But in the middle of the night, he was woken up by the cold, and heard the sound of rain pattering on the roof.
It did rain as expected.
There's never a good day for the spring imperial examinations.
Some people were even more unlucky, crying out, "Ah? My cell is leaking! My clothes are all wet!"
"My charcoal brazier got soaked by the rain!"
"Invigilator, someone has fainted..."
The entire examination room descended into chaos, with everyone groaning and complaining about their bad luck.
Those in the cells who hadn't been injured felt a chill run down their spines upon hearing these voices. They wondered if these people could hold on until the end, and if they were carried out, they would have to wait another three years.
Cui Jianbing was also awakened by the noise. Hearing these sounds, he silently wrapped his clothes tighter. He was in good condition, but he had run out of charcoal and could only rely on his clothes for warmth.
Ye Jianshan drifted in and out of sleep amidst the noise and the proctor's shouts for silence, spending the rainy night in a daze.
When it got light, he touched his forehead and found that it was still a little hot.
He touched his forehead again, feeling that he could still hold on.
"Cough cough."
The bell rang for the distribution of the cigarettes. Ye Jianshan casually ate a few mouthfuls of dry rations and drank them down with ginger soup.
No matter how awful the ginger soup tastes, he'll still drink it.
The Crown Prince felt a pang of sympathy, but Ye Jianshan wasn't the only one in the examination hall who was feeling unwell. Even if he wanted to do something, he couldn't, for fear of giving others cause for gossip and affecting Ye Jianshan.
The only thing they could do was keep ginger soup flowing continuously so that the candidates in the examination rooms could drink it to warm themselves up and get through the last three days.
Ye Lei changed teahouses after meeting Ye Jianshan's "grandparents." He was still worried about his nephew and kept watch outside. When it rained at night, he didn't sleep for half the night, constantly worrying about his nephew's health.
This wasn't the first time it had rained during their exams.
Last time, Da Shan fell ill and had to be helped out of the prefectural examination. He went back and recuperated for half a month before he recovered.
This time, he was afraid of the same thing, so he went to the clinic in advance to get medicine and see a doctor.
The doctors at the clinic are experienced and have prepared several prescriptions for coughs and colds, so that when all the examinees rush out and can't find a doctor or get their medicine, these prescriptions can be used to cope in advance.
The Emperor and Empress in the palace were also worried, and in the end they still couldn't put their minds at ease: "Let Physician Zhao rent a house next to the courtyard where he lives in the mountains and his third uncle. Take all the medicines for treatment with him and wait there. Let's keep a low profile."
This was the first time the Emperor had ever experienced his own children taking the imperial examinations in the examination hall. During the morning court session, he mentioned several times that he was worried about the candidates' health, which moved the ministers deeply, and they kept praising the Emperor.
The emperor felt he couldn't get along with them, so why praise him? They were all talk and no action.
It was because Chief Minister Cui was worried that his grandson would get cold inside that he suggested sending in more charcoal.
The Emperor quickly replied, "Chief Minister Cui is truly sensible."
The other ministers rolled their eyes. He wasn't being considerate at all; he was just thinking of his grandson and abusing his power for personal gain.
Later, the ministers realized that the emperor was the one who was truly abusing his power for personal gain.
The last exam was crucial. By the second to last day, Ye Jianshan had developed a fever. He wet a handkerchief and applied it to his forehead, enduring the pain until he passed the final exam.
The Crown Prince was heartbroken. Was he made the chief examiner to punish him?
They actually showed him such cruel scenes; the child is almost driven to madness by the fever.
When the exam ended, Ye Jianshan handed in his paper and didn't even speak to the Crown Prince. He went straight to the door to wait, where a group of people were already queuing to leave. There was a chorus of coughs; no one was spared, they had all fallen ill.
Ye Jianshan prayed that his third uncle had already prepared the medicine for him. All he wanted to do now was drink the medicine for his cold and sleep for three days and three nights.
He was exhausted from taking the exam.
Ye Lei was staring at the old man who was staying at his house.
"See? I told you you couldn't find a doctor. Go and get him back, I'll treat him."
Ye Lei: ...
It makes him seem pretty useless. Well, he really couldn't beat them at stealing.
At this time of year, it's not something you can just ask for a doctor on a whim.
Ye Lei went to pick up the person, feeling frustrated, while also praying that his nephew Dashan would come out in excellent health.
But when he saw Dashan, whose face was ashen, he knew something terrible was about to happen.
Oh no, the child really did get sick!
A note from the author:
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