Chapter 037 Traitor 37
As the good news came from the county magistrate, the results of the provincial examination were announced.
Amidst the clamor of drums and gongs, Xiao Yan, unsurprisingly, was awarded Jieyuan, while Xiao Chen was awarded Yayuan. Jingkui was said to be the most likely candidate for Jieyuan, Murong Yu, a move that surprised and skeptical everyone.
After all, the Murong family is famous for its talent and learning, and is the leader of the southern literati. How could Murong Yu, who is so talented and knowledgeable, possibly win the first place in the imperial examination?
There must be a reason!
Everyone has their own opinions on this. Some say it must be the person above who didn't want the Murong family to become too powerful, but couldn't do it too obviously, so he gave Jing Kui the opportunity to suppress them.
Others said that the Murong family had an unclear position and offended various factions, and even ignored that person's goodwill, which aroused public anger.
No matter which statement is true, it all points to the top scorer in the Jieyuan exam, who is not worthy of the title, and there is a lot to it!
Inside the palace, Emperor Xiaozhi looked at the memorials presented to him and was so angry that he almost laughed.
"I intend to suppress the Murong family? Is it my selfish motive?"
He patted the dragon table and said, "What a Murong family! Even I have to retreat!"
Emperor Xiaozhi was already wary of the threat posed by the aristocratic families, and this only added fuel to the fire.
The Murong family is indeed capable. If it were just this, Emperor Xiaozhi would not tolerate it. However, ever since a powerful official emerged from the Murong family, they have become increasingly restless.
They recruited many disciples and sought various ways to build up momentum for the Murong family. After several dynasties, they had disciples all over the world, and their influence was so deep that even the imperial power could not be easily shaken!
In the era of imperial power, they were widely recruiting disciples and frantically building momentum. Now, even the imperial examinations have caused them to lose the support of the people, causing the emperor to be criticized and questioned by thousands of people. What is their purpose? Are they trying to make imperial power a puppet controlled by the Murong family?!
The troubles of aristocratic families have always been like this!
Eunuch Tao quickly stepped forward to help Emperor Xiaozhi calm down: "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. Anger is harmful to your health!"
He paused, then continued, "I heard that the Murong family has also clarified the matter, expressing their belief in Your Majesty and that they will not be unfair."
Eunuch Tao was a close confidant of Emperor Xiaozhi and an old friend of his mother. He was the most trusted and naturally took over Emperor Xiaozhi's network of contacts. Therefore, he knew what was happening in the outside world and knew that the Murong family's actions were not out of line.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Xiaozhi's expression did not improve. "Oh? So what's the public sentiment?"
Eunuch Tao lowered his head, "The popular sentiment is stronger, it is said that..."
He glanced at Emperor Xiaozhi and said with a stiff upper lip, "They say the Murong family is noble and upright, but they are not trustworthy."
Emperor Xiaozhi wasn't surprised; after all, the Murong family had always been like this. In an imperial society, how could a family that could manipulate public opinion be anything but simple?
As expected, while seemingly coming forward to clarify the matter, he was actually merely stepping on him to reveal his own true self. Outsiders might think the Murong family was too kind and speak up for them, while also thinking he was a treacherous and cunning emperor, exploiting even such a simple person! It's not impossible that under the pressure of power, he might be forced to change his words and think he was a bully.
Murong's move is more like adding fuel to the fire than clarifying the situation!
It seems that since Murong Guan retired, the Murong family has started to get anxious, and they have been vigorously building momentum for their descendants, hoping to create another "Murong Guan".
Emperor Xiaozhi narrowed his eyes, his expression mocking. "Everyone says the Murong family is full of scholars and learned men. In my opinion, they are nothing more than that! The Murong family has become increasingly decadent, and they are even capable of such self-destructive behavior."
Eunuch Tao was indeed a close confidant of Emperor Xiaozhi, and he immediately understood the meaning.
"Your Majesty, rest assured. I will take care of it myself."
Looking at the back of Eunuch Tao as he left, Emperor Xiaozhi picked up the memorial again with satisfaction and read it, and his mood returned to normal.
Reputation is a double-edged sword. The Murong family uses it as a sword, so how can they know that it won’t hurt their hands?
Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. Once the Murong family becomes infamous, they will no longer be a problem for them.
Xiao Yan and Xiao Chen, who are far away in the town, especially Xiao Yan, have been talked about a lot recently. However, he has few good friends, and only Mu Feng often comes to his house for small gatherings. Most of the time, he stays at home and does not go out, so even if others talk about it, they cannot talk about it in front of him.
But even if he lived in seclusion, he still had to go to the academy, and it was inevitable that he would hear some strange words.
Xiao Yan didn't know much about the Murong family, but he could tell from the praises of others that the Murong family was quite famous among literati.
Before, he had no feelings, but when the news of the Murong family's clarification came, he already understood that the Murong family did not seem to be as prosperous as they seemed. They were even a little impatient for some reason and took the wrong path, otherwise they would not have made such a foolish move.
Reputation is something that anyone can use, as long as it's used well. It's not something that's exclusive to one person. If the Murong family attempts to mislead the public with public opinion, then others can use it to fight back.
The reason why the Murong family is unshakable in the hearts of scholars is precisely because the Murong family has produced six top scholars and even three powerful officials.
In the minds of contemporary people, the only way to prove one's talent and learning is through the imperial examination. The fact that the Murong family produced six number one scholars also shows that they were extremely talented and learning.
The Murong family became famous because of this, and indeed they lost their original intention. Instead of studying hard, they were eager for quick success and took unconventional paths.
They have been sitting on the altar for too long. Once their reputation is tarnished, they will inevitably fall into an irretrievable situation!
That's why Xiao Yan felt that the Murong family's move was a bit too stupid and not worth fearing.
If Xiao Yan could think of this, Xiao Chen could naturally think of it too. Therefore, when Mu Feng, the teachers of the academy, and their relatives and friends came to comfort and persuade them, fearing that they would be affected, they found that they were like old monks in meditation, extremely calm and indifferent, with no intention of being affected at all.
Everyone was pleased with their inner strength and their indifference to the outside world, but they were also a little surprised, and then they understood.
Yes, if you are afraid of other people's gossip, you might as well retire to the mountains and forests as soon as possible to avoid the world. After all, where there are people, there will inevitably be disputes. Since you have chosen to enter the officialdom, this day will come sooner or later. It's just that you are encountering it in advance.
There will be more incidents like this caused by interests and power in the future. This time it was just gossip from others, which is still a small matter. It is better than losing your life.
Just as Xiao Yan had guessed, the Murong family's move was well known to the other families. Those with shared interests and those seeking to curry favor with them chose to go along with it, while many chose to wait and see the Murong family's struggle with imperial power, while others were happy to see the Murong family suffer a setback.
Because the Murong family has been established for a long time and has attracted countless covetous people, the Murong family has become famous and survived the successive struggles for the throne precisely because they never take sides.
Once involved with any force, neutrality will no longer be valid. In the end, one will either be able to follow the dragon or become ashes in the fight for the throne.
Therefore, the Murong family has been prosperous for too long and has firmly occupied the power of southern literati. Too many people can't wait to see the Murong family fall and want to get a piece of the pie.
The Murong family blatantly trampled on the royal family's reputation and became a stepping stone for the Murong clan. This was something that neither Emperor Xiaozhi nor the Empress Dowager could tolerate.
This is a contempt for imperial power. As long as one is a member of the royal family, no one wants to see aristocratic families do whatever they want over them, or even be suspected of attempting to control imperial power.
When Emperor Xiaozhi took action against the Murong family, the Empress Dowager and the Queen also fanned the flames.
Almost overnight, all kinds of secret scandals of the Murong family, from the head of the family to the maids and servants, spread throughout the streets and alleys, and were sung by storytellers and children in nursery rhymes.
For example, the current head of the Murong family pretends to love his wife and has never married a concubine. He is known as the most infatuated man in the world, but secretly he has several mistresses and even the maidservant of his brother's wife. He also occupied fertile land and lent money at high interest rates.
And Murong Yu's eldest brother was secretly having an affair with his father's concubine, which was completely unethical! Not only that, he was also promiscuous and loved to force himself on children, which was simply insane!
For example, the Murong family was difficult to enter. If you wanted to visit them, you had to give them money or bribes to get them to help you. Often, you would pay them money but still not be allowed to see them, while the powerful and noble families could be welcomed in without any invitation. They also changed the saying of the predecessors and jokingly said: "A seventh-rank official is in front of the prime minister's door, and hawks and dogs bark in front of the Murong family's house."
Since ancient times, gossip has been the easiest to spread widely, and to some extent, it also conforms to people's stereotypes and prejudices about the powerful.
If you say that the imperial power is unfair, it can indeed make people angry, but the imperial examination has nothing to do with ordinary people, and only scholars can empathize with it.
Scholars throughout history were not to be trifled with; if angered, they would be condemned with pens and ink. As the only source of information, books and articles conveyed a sense of 'everyone seems to agree,' allowing them to dominate and no one dared to provoke them.
But the situation is different now. The Murong family scandal has affected the interests of the lower classes. Whether it's usury or bullying, it harms these lower-class people, so the common people are also angry.
Common people were not like scholars; they couldn't read, but they had mouths! Thus, all sorts of mocking and criticizing children's rhymes spread everywhere, some secretly threw feces at the door of the Murong Mansion, some refused to work for the Murong family, and the slightly irrational ones would point at their noses and curse them.
Although the lower class people have no power, they have the advantage of being numerous and powerful. They can guard against one or two people, but it is difficult to guard against a group of people. Even the servants in the mansion found various excuses to refuse after this incident, and those who signed death contracts secretly spit in the food.
The last straw that broke the camel's back for the Murong family was the wife of the head of the family. She actually wanted to divorce her husband, and divorced him on the grounds that the head of the Murong family had sworn before the marriage that if he was unfaithful or unclean, he could be divorced.
You have to know that the wife of the head of the Murong family is the orphan of a sage, and her status as a scholar is higher than that of the Murong family. It is more accurate to say that the head of the Murong family is consolidating his status as a scholar rather than marrying her.
In this way, it can also prove that the rumors are true. The head of the Murong family is such a person, so the other rumors are likely to be true!
For a time, the Murong family was like a rat crossing the street, and everyone was shouting and beating them, and their stench was unbearable.
Those who had originally questioned the court also changed their tune, saying that Emperor Xiaozhi had a sharp eye and was not deceived by villains, which was a sign of great wisdom. It was as if the people who had previously criticized the court were not them, and they were quite opportunistic.
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