Chapter 22 Xiao Yu spent seven days in prison. ...
Xiao Yu was taken away by the Imperial Guards. The Taiji Hall remained deathly silent. The examiners stood stiffly on both sides of the examination hall, and none of the candidates dared to continue writing. Some who were holding pens dared not write, nor lower their arms, for fear that if they made the slightest movement, the wrathful Emperor Yongcheng would glare at them.
"Father, please calm down, your health is of utmost importance!" The forty-two-year-old Crown Prince supported his father with one hand and gently stroked his father's chest with the other.
King Qi, King Shun, and King Fu also came over and whispered their advice.
Emperor Yongcheng closed his eyes, his chest heaving several times before letting out a long breath. He then gestured for the Crown Prince and Eunuch Ma to let go of his hands, and stood alone. Glancing at the group of examinees who seemed frozen in place, Emperor Yongcheng pursed his thin lips and said after a long while, "There is still one hour left. Hurry up and answer the questions."
The candidates felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and regardless of whether they had finished answering or not, they instinctively picked up their pens.
Emperor Yongcheng turned and walked towards the dragon throne. The Crown Prince and the others also prepared to return to their original positions. Only Prince Fu remained in place. He looked at his father ascending the steps, then at the scattered examination papers on the ground. After hesitating for a moment, Prince Fu knelt down and carefully folded up Xiao Yu's examination papers.
The answer sheet, filled with neat regular script, was over ten feet long when unfolded. Prince Fu began to fold it from the beginning, and while folding it, he took the opportunity to carefully read the first page that had always been on top.
"Your Majesty replied: For a nation to prosper, it must have a wise ruler in power. Therefore, Your Majesty's inquiry into the path to national prosperity is actually a search for the way to govern the country by a wise ruler."
"I have studied diligently for ten years, and all I have learned is how to be a loyal subject to the emperor and serve the country. I dare not presume to discuss how an emperor should govern the country. However, I have read extensively in history books and have observed the rise and fall of dynasties throughout history. I believe that there are ten wise emperors who founded and prospered the country, and ten foolish emperors who weakened and destroyed the country. If Your Majesty takes these ten wise emperors as your teachers and these ten foolish emperors as your warnings, perhaps you can find the way to make the Great Zhou Dynasty prosper."
Upon seeing this, Prince Fu guessed that the following section would list ten examples of wise rulers who brought prosperity to their countries and ten examples of foolish rulers who brought ruin and weakened their countries. Therefore, when he folded the next page, he only glanced at which emperors Xiao Yu had selected. Prince Fu was also a well-read scholar, and as soon as he saw the emperors listed by Xiao Yu, such as Tang of Shang, Wu of Zhou, Duke Mu of Qin, and Emperor Wen of Han, he basically knew the examples Xiao Yu was citing.
The examples of wise rulers were all praiseworthy, along with the candidates' lengthy discussions of their effective governance strategies, such as diligence in governing and caring for the people, encouraging open communication, and appointing virtuous and capable officials. Prince Fu simply skimmed over these. When it came to the section on tyrannical rulers, Prince Fu similarly didn't intend to look at it in too much detail, since tyrannical rulers often did the same few things. Sure enough, the first tyrannical ruler mentioned was the well-known King Zhou of Shang, whose actions included—continuous warfare, overdrawing the nation's resources, and causing hardship for the people?
This is because Father Emperor launched two consecutive northern expeditions against the Yin Kingdom over the past ten years, and suffered two defeats, almost depleting the national treasury that had been well-stocked over the previous twenty years...
Thinking of his father's wrath, Prince Fu felt a chill and quickly jumped to the second tyrannical emperor, Emperor Ling of Han, whose actions included executing several ministers who dared to speak out against him.
Prince Fu's hands trembled slightly. During the two Northern Expeditions, his father dismissed and neglected two founding heroes and executed three upright officials who dared to speak out against him. Was Xiao Yu really making a veiled attack?
The eight tyrannical rulers who followed in the footsteps of Xiao Yu either caused the downfall of their kingdoms, led to the decline of their states, or merely ruined their own reputations. However, the specific examples cited by Xiao Yu—such as being ambitious and fond of grandiose projects, favoring flatterers over loyal subjects, acting arbitrarily, being unrepentant, and neglecting to educate his children—all demonstrate this.
Prince Fu suddenly remembered Xiao Yu's sarcastic remark that he and his sister had monopolized a bridge to admire the moon. So Xiao Yu thought that if his father had spent more time disciplining the princes, he might not have used his power to drive away the people.
Not to mention the Emperor was angry, Prince Fu was getting angrier and angrier the more he looked at it.
Finally, they reached the last page. As is customary, the candidates would summarize their advice here, and Prince Fu slowed down his reading speed once again.
"Looking at Your Majesty now, disregarding that the Yin Kingdom has produced another wise ruler and its national fortune is not yet exhausted, and that it has formed a strong alliance with the power to jointly resist the Great Zhou, the two northern expeditions have both failed, yet you still want to launch a third expedition, which has led to an empty treasury, the imposition of heavy taxes, and the suffering of the people. The people are terrified of war and regard becoming bandits as better than dying in the northern wilderness. Therefore, at this time when bandits are rising up all over the world and the court is exhausted from suppressing them, Your Majesty should be worried about how to prevent the feudal lords from dividing up the weak Zhou after the three expeditions fail and thus destroying the country, instead of thinking about how to revive the country."
Prince Fu: "..."
Overwhelmed with shock, Prince Fu knelt on one knee in the main hall, holding a stack of almost completely folded answer sheets, and remained motionless for a long time.
Emperor Yongcheng had already sat down on the dragon throne. Seeing that Prince Fu's hands were trembling slightly, clearly angered by Xiao Yu, Emperor Yongcheng gritted his teeth, ordered Prince Fu to present Xiao Yu's answer sheet, and immediately closed it.
.
The palace examination ended at the end of the day. When the time came, all the candidates were led out of the palace by officials from the Ministry of Rites, just as they had entered the palace.
In mid-March, the evening breeze carried a hint of warmth, but Pei Xingshu broke out in a cold sweat. Among a row of carriages that had come to pick up local candidates from the capital, Pei Xingshu managed to make out Qingchuan's figure with difficulty. He ran over with weak legs and said to Qingchuan, who was still craning his neck to look for Xiao Yu, "Let's go, hurry back to the Marquis's residence, something has happened to the Third Young Master!"
Qingchuan was bewildered: "What happened to the Third Young Master? Where is he?"
With so many people around, Pei Xingshu waved his hand to stop him from asking any more questions and hurriedly got into the carriage.
At the Marquis of Zhongyi's residence, Xiao Rong, Xiao Hu, and Xiao Lin had all returned early and gathered with the women of the household in Wanhe Hall to wait. In fact, Xiao Rong wanted to personally go outside the capital to pick up his third son, but he held back for fear of being ridiculed by his colleagues for not being steady enough.
“In previous years, the top scholar in the imperial examinations was at least a second-class scholar, and those with even a little bit of connections could stay in the capital to become officials. My third brother has shown his face in front of the emperor, so he should be secure,” Xiao Lin said, not hiding his joy.
Xiao Rong glared at his second son, telling him to shut up if he couldn't speak properly. His third son was aiming for the top scholar title and didn't care about the second-class scholar title.
Luo Fu and her daughters-in-law sat in the east side room. Deng Shi had the loudest voice and was discussing the banquet guest list with Yang Yanzhen. She wasn't picky; it would be best if her third son could become the top scholar, but it didn't matter if he only became a second-class scholar. It was still worth having a banquet.
The family waited chatting and laughing. When the gatekeeper sent someone over, Xiao Rong and Deng Shi immediately led the group to greet them.
Luo Fu and her three sisters-in-law lagged behind. When they reached the front yard, she looked up towards the gate and saw her brother-in-law, his face as white as paper, walking around the screen wall. He was usually such a steady and polite person, but now he was running over and almost bumped into his parents!
"Yunzhi? Where's the third son?" Xiao Rong helped up a promising younger relative from his in-laws' side, and asked in confusion as he looked for his son.
Pei Xingshu glanced at his wife's younger sister behind him, leaned close to Xiao Rong's ear, and whispered, "Today, the Emperor asked about the way to revitalize the country in the palace examination. I don't know what Yuanzhi answered, but the Emperor was furious after reading Yuanzhi's answer and ordered Yuanzhi to be imprisoned."
Xiao Rong swayed, and Pei Xingshu was quick but couldn't catch him. It was only thanks to the timely help of Xiao Hu and Xiao Lin that their father was prevented from falling to the ground.
Although he didn't fall, Xiao Rong couldn't stand up straight anymore. His third son had offended the emperor again. Three years ago, Yang Sheng told him that his third son had written some rebellious words on his exam paper. Without a doubt, his third son must have written something he shouldn't have today, and he had directly offended the emperor!
Your Majesty, Your Majesty…
Xiao Rong suddenly pushed his two sons aside and rushed outside. He untied the black horse pulling the carriage outside, mounted it, and went to the palace to plead guilty on behalf of his sons.
After Pei Xingshu explained what had happened to Deng and the others again, Deng's eyes rolled back and she fainted in her eldest son's arms. Luo Fu was also so frightened that her whole body went limp, and she leaned weakly on her sister-in-law. At first, her mind was blank, but when she realized that Xiao Yu had become a sinner, and that the sin would even implicate the entire Xiao family, including her and the Luo family, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
Xiao Hu carried his mother to Wanhetang. Xiao Lin frowned and first arranged for servants to fetch a doctor. Then, looking at his third sister-in-law who was still terrified, he instructed his wife, Li Huaiyun, "Help your third sister-in-law back to her room first. We'll wait here for news from Father."
Li Huaiyun nodded and, together with Ping An, helped Luo Fu away.
Yang Yanzhen, who came from the Left Prime Minister's residence, was the most composed. She had also heard about Xiao Yu's examination papers from three years ago from her mother and guessed some of the inside story. Yang Yanzhen said to Xiao Lin, "The Emperor asked about the way to revitalize the country. Third Brother must have offered some advice on current affairs. Honest advice is hard to swallow, which is why he offended the Emperor. The word 'maybe' in the Emperor's words should have been 'execute.' Since the Emperor has withdrawn his order to execute Third Brother immediately, there is still room for maneuver. Let's not rush things. We should wait until the Emperor's anger subsides before making any further decisions."
If Xiao Yu's crime would implicate the entire Xiao family, her father would not stand idly by for her sake. If the Emperor only targets Xiao Yu, her father-in-law would have some influence with the Emperor.
Xiao Lin said gratefully, "Fortunately, I still have my sister-in-law, otherwise I would have been completely at a loss. I also need to trouble my sister-in-law to comfort and console my mother."
Yang Yanzhen agreed and went to Wanhetang to visit his mother-in-law.
On the imperial city side, Xiao Rong stood alone, but when the Imperial Guard who had gone in to report returned, he told him that the Emperor refused to see him.
Xiao Rong had no other choice but to kneel to the side and kowtow, saying, "My unfilial son has angered the Emperor. I have failed in my duty to educate him and have come here to beg for forgiveness."
Upon seeing this, the guards sent another man to the Qianyuan Hall.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Yongcheng simply waved his hand at Eunuch Ma. Xiao Yu was Xiao Yu, and Xiao Rong was Xiao Rong. He had no intention of punishing the entire Xiao family, but he was too lazy to care if Xiao Rong was willing to kneel.
.
Xiao Yu was imprisoned in the Dali Temple prison. Because he had a father who was a marquis and he himself was a scholar who topped the list of candidates in the imperial examination, the Dali Temple Minister specially arranged a quiet cell for him, far away from ordinary prisoners. But that was all there was to it. The cell, which was surrounded by fences, did not even have a wooden board. In the corner, there was an old straw mat and an equally old covered chamber pot.
The jailer opened the cell door and was about to push the new prisoner in when Xiao Yu stepped in himself. He was handsome and unhurried, as if he were just checking into an inn, which made the jailer glance at him a few more times before leaving.
Xiao Yu watched the jailer walk away, then turned around to look around. Smelling the faint, musty smell inside, Xiao Yu could only smile bitterly.
Xiao Yu wasn't unaware of the consequences of writing such an article, but after hesitating for a whole morning, he ultimately wrote it anyway.
He was loyal to the emperor and had no regrets, but his family would worry about him and even be implicated in his crimes, so Xiao Yu felt guilty towards his family.
As darkness fell, the cell with only a small window on the north wall became dark even earlier.
Xiao Yu got tired of standing and sat down on the old mat in the corner.
After a while, the jailer reappeared and brought Xiao Yu his dinner, which, like the other prisoners, consisted of a bowl of thin porridge and a cornbread.
The porridge was still warm, but the steamed buns were already cold.
Xiao Yu ate the cornbread one bite and the porridge the next. When he couldn't eat anymore, he put the cornbread in his pocket to save for when he got hungry in the middle of the night.
Dirty or smelly, it's your choice, so there's no need to complain.
The imperial examination papers were read for seven days, and Xiao Yu also spent seven days in prison.
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Author's Note: Just take a whim at Xiao Yu's imperial examination essay; my analysis of classical Chinese is mediocre, and my writing is even worse. [Clown]
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow!
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