Chapter 239 Civil and military officials each occupy half the sky
He retorted defiantly, "Without a military general like myself, civil officials could live a comfortable life. I think some people are utterly incompetent."
Jiang Huai continued, "The imperial examination is also for selecting talents for the court and contributing to the country. How can a person become a person if he is illiterate but only knows nonsense? Only humans know propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame. How could beasts understand it?"
"Jiang Huai, who are you calling a beast?"
"I didn't insult anyone, I was just using a metaphor. Doesn't General Su understand?"
Xie Shang listened from the side and finally understood who Jiang Fenghua took after in her logical thinking. Military generals would resort to violence when they quarreled, while civil officials would argue with reason. Sometimes, those who wield the pen can shake the world more, as they are the ones who write the history books of each dynasty.
Civil and military officials each occupy half the sky.
"What's all this noise about? Do you think I don't exist?" The Emperor put the chess manual into his pocket. With the manual in hand, his mood improved slightly, and he spoke less aggressively than before. "Since you received stolen silver at the Jiang residence, Jiang Huai, what explanation do you have?"
After exchanging a few words with Su Dehai, he became bolder and bowed respectfully, saying, "I did not sell the exam questions to the students. Who is framing me? I implore him to come and confront me in person. Only if he produces evidence will I be convinced."
"Grand Tutor Pan, where are the students who cheated?" the Emperor asked.
"This old minister will immediately have someone bring him into the palace to see His Majesty." Grand Tutor Pan also brought the man, intending to confront Jiang Huai face to face.
Soon, Wang Qing was brought here by people from the Ministry of Rites, and the person escorting him was Zuo Si, an official from the Ministry of Rites.
Jiang Fenghua had met him once and knew that he was fairly upright. However, people who could work with Grand Tutor Pan were generally of good character, otherwise Grand Tutor Pan would not have looked up to them.
The more influence Pan Taifu had in front of the emperor, the more confident he was in front of these officials; this was the case where he had the upper hand.
Zuo Si first bowed to the Emperor before saying, "Your Majesty, Wang Qing has arrived."
Wang Qing was clearly frightened. He knelt on the ground and said, "This humble subject Wang Qing greets Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"
The Emperor scrutinized the man and found him to be quite upright. "You cheated in the exam and still came in fifth place. You've got some nerve."
“Your Majesty, it is indeed I, the humble subject. I know I was wrong; I shouldn’t have taken the shortcut of bribing my teacher,” Wang Qing said.
"The fact that you were able to pass through so many layers of screening to enter the imperial examination shows that you are quite knowledgeable. You are now considered a successful candidate in the provincial examination, so why would you need to buy exam questions to cheat?" According to Jiang Fenghua, Wang Qing is an illiterate fool. How did he pass the provincial examination? He probably bought his way in.
“It was Prefect Jiang who said that I was not qualified enough and might fail the exam. He said he had the exam questions and that as long as my family gave him money, he could find a way to get me on the list and become an official,” Wang Qing said. “My family is in business and has saved up some money over the years. I thought it was foolproof, so I listened to Prefect Jiang’s enticement.”
As soon as Jiang Huai saw Wang Qing's face, he remembered who he was. Three years ago, this student had caused a scene at the Jiang residence, insisting on becoming his disciple. Not only was his aptitude poor, but his character was also improper. At such a young age, he was accompanied by a beautiful concubine who took care of him in every way, like a child who had not been weaned. So Jiang Huai did not accept him.
Unexpectedly, he ended up acting like a rogue, calling her "teacher" this and "teacher" that, refusing to leave. Later, Ruan Ruan reported him to the authorities, and he was finally driven away. His concubine even made a scene and cried for him. So, even though three years had passed, he still remembered his appearance, but not his name, which is why he hadn't remembered him just now.
Now she seems to speak more fluently.
The thought of this student spewing accusations without warning made Jiang Huaidao, “You say I taught you? Then what did I teach you?”
“I taught you all the classical Chinese phrases,” Wang Qing said. “Back then, I carried a whole chest of silver to the Jiang family to become their disciple. The teacher was very pleased with me. It was precisely because I was not good at my studies that the teacher had me find another way. It was also a whole chest of gold and silver. Now that my cheating has been exposed, the teacher cannot deny it and push all the blame onto the student.”
Jiang Huai was surprised that Wang Qing had become so eloquent after three years. He said, "Your Majesty, please investigate. I really did not give him any test questions, nor did I receive any money from him. I also have no idea where the test questions he mentioned came from."
Wang Qing argued, "The teacher once told the students that he saw the exam questions in the Emperor's study and wrote them down."
"Where and on what day did I give you the test questions?" Jiang Huai asked.
“More than a month ago, it was raining that day. The teacher went to the clothing store, and I was waiting for you there. We met there. The teacher doesn’t remember, but you told me the test questions,” Wang Qing said.
Jiang Huai thought for a moment, "I did go to a clothing store on a rainy day, but I didn't go there to meet him. I went there to buy a birthday gift for my wife. I'm still holding the gift in my arms."
Su Dehai said, "You think Grand Tutor Jiang can get away with such a lie? Do you think all the civil and military officials in the court are children who are easy to fool?"
"If I were to deceive anyone, it would be the Emperor. Why would I try to deceive all the civil and military officials? Does General Su only have eyes for the court officials and not for His Majesty?" Jiang Huai was cowardly and timid because he didn't want to cause trouble in a high-profile manner. Once he started to argue his point, few people could out-argue him.
Su Dehai hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, that's not what I meant. The candidates all confessed on the spot, and stolen silver was found in the Jiang residence. Grand Tutor Jiang is still trying to deny it. I think Grand Tutor Jiang doesn't respect Your Majesty at all. He must be relying on the fact that his daughter is the Crown Princess and has the Crown Prince's favor to dare to do this."
“General Su’s daughter is also a concubine of the Crown Prince and is also favored by the Crown Prince. Does General Su not respect His Majesty?” Jiang Huai asked again.
“You…” Su Dehai was speechless. His daughter had been banished to the cold palace. “Listen to this, everyone. Jiang Huai has personally admitted to deceiving the emperor.”
"Your Majesty, I was merely using a metaphor. I had no intention of deceiving Your Majesty, nor did I have any reason to deceive my colleagues." Jiang Huai knelt on the ground. "I have never met Wang Qing, nor have I seen him at the clothing shop."
The Emperor narrowed his eyes. Jiang Huaiping was usually timid and hesitant when he came to him, but today he was like a cannon. "What gifts did you buy? Was there any witness to prove that you did not meet Wang Qing, but only went to buy gifts?"
Jiang Huai reluctantly took out the gift and clutched it even tighter.
At this moment, Wang Qing said, "This humble subject knows what the teacher bought. It's a nightgown. The teacher bought a revealing nightgown for his wife. Grand Tutor Jiang has no sense of shame at all, buying such a thing. It's truly immoral."
In everyone's eyes, Jiang Huai was over fifty years old, and it was indeed too lewd for him to buy his wife an revealing nightgown.
People started talking about it again.
Jiang Fenghua, listening from behind, felt a cold sweat break out all over her head. This was something her father would actually do. It seemed that Su Xuan had been keeping an eye on him for a long time, and even knew that he had bought a woman's nightgown.
She knew that shop; the dresses there had a unique style, and the more unique the style, the more customers it attracted. She bought several of her dance dresses and practice clothes there, and only wore them indoors. They were not only comfortable but also very beautiful. Women of all ages would like the clothes from that shop.
Jiang Huai said, "I did not meet you at the clothing shop, and I have never seen you before."
"Teacher, stop hiding it. After we met, you bought a nightgown and left. The evidence is right here in your arms, isn't it? I remember you bought a bright green dress with lotus flower patterns on the sleeves. I even helped you choose it. You haven't forgotten, have you?"
Wang Qing thought he had Jiang Huai under control, and pressed on relentlessly. He believed that as long as it was proven that the box did indeed contain a revealing nightgown, Jiang Huai would be unable to defend himself.
Jiang Jinyan also became nervous. It turned out that someone had been watching the Jiang family for a long time and even knew where his father had gone. Judging from Wang Qing's posture, he was very certain that his father had given him the test questions there.
If the father were to actually produce a nightgown that he had given to the mother at this moment, then he would truly be unable to defend himself.
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