Chapter 316 Silencing
The Minister of Rites and the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy were relieved of their duties and were to remain in their respective residences to await the results of the investigation. During this time, soldiers guarded the gates of their residences, and no one was allowed to leave.
This case of favoritism and corruption in the imperial examinations spread throughout the capital in less than three days, drawing condemnation from countless scholars.
Officials, on the other hand, were more astute, sensing danger in this case of favoritism and corruption, and feeling that a storm was brewing.
In an instant, families who were on good terms with the Minister of Rites and the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy severed ties with them, fearing that they would be dragged down with them.
Needless to say, those officials with guilty consciences dream of their entire families being taken to the execution ground and beheaded.
Princess Pingyuan received the news immediately and, unusually, threw a tantrum, smashing the teacup in her hand.
She took a deep breath and immediately summoned her trusted confidants to discuss countermeasures.
The Minister of Personnel and the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy are both her people. Once the matter of favoritism and malpractice is verified, she will also be implicated.
A trusted confidant cautiously suggested, "Your Highness, why not set fire to all the examination papers from previous years and burn them? That way, without evidence, no one can find out anything."
The ink scrolls are the original papers written by the candidates themselves, while the vermilion scrolls are copied by the scribes. The examiners see the vermilion scrolls.
The purpose of doing this is to prevent favoritism and corruption.
However, the devil is always one step ahead, and this method cannot completely eliminate cheating.
Over the years, Princess Pingyuan has secretly won over many officials to her cause, using methods of corruption to control their weaknesses.
Upon hearing her confidante's suggestion, Princess Pingyuan's face turned cold and grim.
"You can imagine it, but Ning Sihan can't? I'm afraid the warehouse where the Ministry of Rites stores the vermilion ink scrolls has long been heavily guarded, and not even a fly can get in."
The trusted confidants exchanged glances, unable to come up with a better solution.
Princess Pingyuan, feeling agitated, cursed, "They're all useless!"
The confidants all lowered their heads, not daring to utter a sound.
Princess Pingyuan sneered inwardly, and after a long period of contemplation, a sly glint flashed in her eyes: "At this critical moment, we have no choice but to cut our losses and save ourselves."
The confidants were filled with horror and suddenly looked up at Princess Pingyuan.
One of them asked cautiously, "Does Your Highness mean... to shut those two up?"
Princess Pingyuan coldly replied, "Do you have a better way?"
The confidant immediately shut up.
As Princess Pingyuan had said, Ning Sihan immediately dispatched people to the Ministry of Rites' warehouse where the vermilion ink scrolls were stored, and they surrounded the warehouse with one person every five steps, making it impossible to pass through.
After the establishment of the Great Wei Dynasty, all the red and black scrolls from previous dynasties are here. Finding all the red and black scrolls from the past twenty years and comparing them one by one to find the scrolls with questions is not an easy task.
In order to find out the results as soon as possible, Ning Sihan reported to Emperor Jinghe and Empress Dowager Jinghe, who transferred a lot of people from the Six Ministries and several from the Hanlin Academy, including Xu Jinnian and Song Zhihang.
They were the newly appointed third and fourth-ranked scholars, whose talents and knowledge were recognized by Emperor Jinghe, so they could not possibly be among those who cheated.
Upon suddenly receiving this assignment, Song Zhihang was a little excited. While comparing the scrolls piled high on his desk with those in vermilion and ink, he whispered to Xu Jinnian beside him:
"Fortunately, my fiancée is indifferent to fame and fortune and does not try to climb the social ladder. She was not bewitched by the young master of the Imperial Academy Chancellor's family, otherwise she would have been in big trouble this time."
At the beginning of the year, Tan Qingrou had met the son of the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. After the Marquis of Yongyi decided to arrange a marriage between the two families, Song Zhihang learned about it.
However, it's normal for men and women to meet before marriage. It's not like they're getting married based on their birth dates. Neither Song Zhihang nor the Marquis of Yongyi felt anything was wrong.
However, the current Chancellor of the Imperial Academy is clearly in big trouble. He might face execution or exile of his entire family. Song Zhihang can't help but feel fortunate for his fiancée and her family.
"A blessed person does not enter the door of an unblessed person."
Xu Jinnian didn't even look up, but with just one sentence, he elevated both of them to a higher status.
Song Zhihang was in a great mood upon hearing this and said with a smile, "You certainly know how to speak the truth."
Xu Jinnian had been reading the vermilion scrolls all morning, and his eyes were inevitably tired. So he put down the scrolls he had just finished reading, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and massaged the area around his eyes and temples to relieve the discomfort.
Song Zhihang was even lazier, so he simply got up and brought two plates of snacks and a pot of freshly brewed tea from the makeshift tea room, and sat down next to Xu Jinnian to eat and drink with him.
Xu Jinnian was also hungry, so he washed his hands and slowly ate his snacks.
Song Zhihang, never one to keep quiet, glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to them, then lowered his voice and asked, "Who do you think will ultimately be implicated in this case of favoritism and corruption?"
Xu Jinnian was speechless. Could such an important matter be discussed in a place like this?
Song Zhihang saw through his thoughts and couldn't help but look embarrassed: "Isn't it just too boring to sit here like this?"
Immediately afterwards, he emitted a barely audible whisper:
"This matter was exposed in the imperial court without any warning. It's probably aimed at those two old men who are about to retire. There's probably a bigger fish behind them."
Xu Jinnian glanced at Song Zhihang, a dark glint in his deep eyes: "Just do your own thing and don't think too much."
Song Zhihang clicked his tongue twice and stuffed a piece of pastry into his mouth:
"I suspect the big fish behind this is desperate and might resort to murder to silence me. But what I can think of, Prince Ning can certainly think of too. It all comes down to who is more cunning between him and the person behind it."
Xu Jinnian remained silent, his heart filled with even greater worry for the warehouse where the vermilion ink scrolls were stored.
The case of favoritism and corruption caused a great uproar. Tan Qingrou came to the Xu residence to visit Sheng An and her daughter, and told Sheng An about the matter.
Sheng An knew more than she did, but she didn't reveal a single detail.
Tan Qingrou was a little worried: "What if it is found that someone cheated in this year's spring examination? Will the people who passed the exam based on their own abilities be affected?"
Her brother and Jin Nian had both studied hard for many years and finally made it through. If their results in the imperial examination were invalidated, wouldn't they have to start all over again?
This kind of thing had happened before in previous dynasties.
Sheng An comforted him, "No, even if His Majesty has doubts, he will at most test them a little."
Upon hearing this, Tan Qingrou's expression softened somewhat: "I was overthinking it."
After saying that, she shifted her attention to the unusually lucid baby on the bed, who was stretching and kicking his arms and legs:
"Zhuozhuo is growing up so fast. She has grown a lot in just a short time and looks more and more like Brother Jinnian."
Sheng An was quite pleased to hear the first part of the sentence, but when she heard the second part, she hurriedly looked at the baby's face: "Does she only look like her father and not me? Look at her eyebrows, eyes, and mouth, don't they look more like me?"
Tan Qingrou carefully examined Zhuozhuo, then compared her face to Sheng An's, her tone hesitant: "It seems he looks more like Brother Jin Nian."
Sheng An: "..."
She gave birth to the baby, and she's also the one taking care of the baby. But the baby is starting to look more and more like her father. Is that appropriate?
Even during her postpartum period, you could tell that this girl's appearance was half like her and half like her father. How come she started to look different as she grew up?
Seeing Sheng An's bewildered expression, Tan Qingrou couldn't help but chuckle and quickly comforted him:
"They say daughters resemble their fathers. Jin Nian is both talented and handsome, which means that when Zhuo Zhuo grows up, she will also be a remarkable woman with both talent and beauty."
Sheng An was not comforted and poked the little dumpling's tummy: "You little brat who doesn't give her mother any face."
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