☆, Chapter 141: They're all tough nut to crack!
The Sixteenth Prince stared at him for a long time before saying, "This is a matter of great importance. I have no authority to make the decision. It must be reported to the court and decided by the Emperor."
"On behalf of the twenty students from Peach Blossom County, I thank Your Highness."
"but,"
The Sixteenth Prince walked in and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Your move, to put it nicely, is to undermine our foundation; to put it bluntly, it's to use the emperor to command the princes. Do you really think that our emperor really needs a top scholar who achieves the highest rank in the imperial examinations to prove that he is a wise ruler?"
Zhao Yunjing cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Highness just said that if Heaven is unjust, then the court will seek justice for us. The current emperor is brave and wise, and will naturally make a wise judgment."
“If His Majesty’s decision is to treat you as cheaters, and your descendants for three generations will be barred from taking the imperial examinations, you will likely regret it.” The Sixteenth Prince smirked. “I will give you another quarter of an hour to consider. During this time, you may change your mind at any time. I will not pursue your arrogance and disrespect, and your results this time will not be canceled.”
Zhao Yunjing cupped his hands in greeting but remained silent.
The Sixteenth Prince turned to Lord Luo and asked, "Where are the cheating candidates?"
"Your Highness, he has been imprisoned."
"What about the other two?"
"They've been locked up too."
"What about the other candidates from Taohua County?"
"They are all in their respective examination rooms."
The Sixteenth Prince originally intended to send someone back to the capital immediately, but seeing Lord Luo's cautious demeanor, he changed his mind: "Let's go, let's meet these nineteen students one by one."
The Sixteenth Prince first met Feng Wei and immediately tried to trick him, saying that Zhao Yunjing had changed his story and identified Chen Liangjin as the real cheater because Chen Liangjin's father was a county magistrate: "Because Zhao Yunjing has made a meritorious report, I have decided to recommend Zhao Yunjing to the imperial examination. As for you, that depends on your performance."
Feng Wei was silent for a while, then said, "Zhao Yunjing changing his tune is Zhao Yunjing's business, it has nothing to do with me. Anyway, if Chen Liangjin cheated, then I must have cheated too."
“Zhao Yunjing said that he can represent all of you.”
"...Anyway, it's possible for ordinary people to cheat."
Since Feng Wei refused to change his tune, the Sixteenth Prince switched to another person to seduce. The second person was Hu Peiran, and he started by trying to trick Hu Peiran, using the exact same tactics as Feng Wei.
Hu Peiran, being younger, was completely fooled. He was utterly bewildered and dumbfounded: "How could he go back on his word? It's impossible for him to go back on his word. But the Prince wouldn't lie! But Brother Zhao wouldn't go back on his word either! Ah, I must have misheard! Yes, that's it! I'm dreaming! I misheard! You're not the Prince, you're an imposter!"
The Sixteenth Prince broke out in a cold sweat. Had this kid really lost his mind? How could a grown man like him say that he was a fake?
"Change!"
The nineteen students were tricked one by one. Ten of them were shocked, but since things had come to this, they figured they had to do what they had to do. They said that a man's word is his bond, and he couldn't go back on his word so easily. If Zhao Yunjing went back on his word, it was because Zhao Yunjing was a bad person, and it had nothing to do with them...
Seven of them followed Hu Peiran's approach, each one as stubborn as a mule, impervious to reason, almost making the Sixteenth Prince furious.
Lord Luo cautiously said, "Your Highness, these twenty people are so ungrateful. Why not just give in to their wishes and have them arrested for cheating?"
The Sixteenth Prince chuckled: "Lord Luo can't even guard the gate of the examination hall properly, why not just cut off his head?"
Lord Luo suddenly felt a chill on his neck, and the group of people accompanying him broke out in a cold sweat.
Lord Hu whispered, "Your Highness, there are still two cases to be tried. Shall we finish them first?"
"What kind of interrogation are you talking about? Do you want me to lose face twice more?"
"Your Highness, I've heard that the examinee surnamed Chen has a grudge against Zhao Yunjing, a grudge for stealing his love. Perhaps we can find a breakthrough from him."
Prefect Zhao coughed lightly: "Forgive me for speaking out, Lord Hu, although these two have a feud over stealing someone's love, the one who was originally implicated was Chen Liangjin. Zhao Yunjing could have said nothing. With his usual performance, even if he wasn't the top scorer this time, passing the provincial examination would have been a sure thing. However, Zhao Yunjing took a huge risk to speak up for Chen Liangjin. Unless Chen Liangjin is an ingrate, he certainly wouldn't betray Zhao Yunjing."
"What the Prefect says is absolutely right," Lord Fang added.
Lord Luo was about to say something when the Sixteenth Prince abruptly waved his hand: "Enough, all of you shut up. Where is Chen Liangjin? I want to see him!"
Chen Liangjin was lying down, almost asleep, when he was suddenly taken by Lord Luo to see the Sixteenth Prince. He was very surprised. Along the way, he addressed Lord Luo as a brother and subtly tried to get a lot of information out of him. After learning that no one had gone back on their word, he was not too surprised.
Lord Luo was secretly surprised. Could it be that the students of Peach Blossom County really couldn't be persuaded?
He threatened Chen Liangjin: "Young Master Chen, your father and I are acquaintances, so I'll give you a piece of advice: A wise man knows when to yield. Know when to stop, or you'll go too far and there will be no way to recover. The future of all twenty of you and your descendants for three generations will be in jeopardy. Threats are the most taboo thing for those in power. You understand the meaning of this."
"I have taken Lord Luo's wise words to heart. If I succeed in the imperial examination one day, I will definitely come to your door to express my gratitude."
When Young Master Chen arrived, the Sixteenth Prince was drinking tea.
The tea soup at the examination hall wasn't clear, but it was sweet and mellow. Upon asking, it turned out to be from Taohua County. The Sixteenth Prince's expression became a bit strange, and he called over Lord Tang: "Lord Tang, your Taohua County has developed quite well in recent years. You've even started growing tea. Not bad."
"Your Highness, compared with Yuzhou and the Imperial City, Taohua County has only made a little progress. Other aspects are still unsatisfactory. However, since Zhao Yunjing of Taohua Village successfully planted autumn rice, the grain output of Taohua County has tripled. In the past two years, no one has starved to death, and every household has surplus grain."
"Zhao Yunjing? Aren't scholars supposed to be ignorant of farming, lazy, and unable to even cook? How could he possibly know how to grow grain?"
Lord Tang humbly replied, “That’s an ordinary scholar. Zhao Yunjing is no ordinary scholar. Before entering the academy, he farmed for more than ten years. The autumn rice, rose fields, cotton fields, tea fields, and the melons that Your Highness just ate are all the results of research by Zhao Yunjing’s family.”
"Is this really true?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
The Sixteenth Prince clicked his tongue: "No wonder he's so fearless. He's a meritorious official of Peach Blossom County! Lord Tang, you were rewarded for reporting Prefect Feng for assassinating students. You were promoted three ranks from the seventh grade to become the highest-ranking county magistrate. Under your jurisdiction, no one has starved or frozen to death in the past two years. You truly deserve to be called a capable official!"
"I dare not take credit. It is all thanks to the efforts of our predecessors! If it weren't for the tireless promotion by the former magistrate, Lord Chen, who built roads and reservoirs to store water, how could things have gone so smoothly for me upon my arrival?"
The Sixteenth Prince knew that Chen Liangjin's father was the former county magistrate.
He laughed and said, "Zhao Yunjing is a hero who contributed to the increase in grain production, and I cannot touch him. Chen Liangjin is also a descendant of a hero, and I cannot touch him either. Since that's the case, Lord Tang, you shall take responsibility for the students' disturbance in Taohua County this time!"
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