After hearing Prince Cheng's report, Emperor Kangxi turned his gaze to Rong Haibin. He was also sensitive to this surname and immediately asked, "Do you have any brothers?"
Since he was not called to his feet, Rong Haibin could only kneel on the ground: "I am the only son in my family. Does Your Majesty mean that you have seen someone who looks very much like me?"
"People may look alike," Kangxi waved his hand. "When have you ever seen the Eighth Prince's wife?"
“It was during Your Majesty’s last southern tour.” Rong Haibin recalled, “Your Majesty may not remember, but last time you summoned three students from Jiangnan. I was fortunate enough to see Your Majesty’s face. Your teachings are etched in my mind day and night, and I dare not forget them in the slightest.”
Emperor Kangxi squinted and recalled that when he toured the scenic spots of Jiangnan, he was indeed inspired to write poetry and invited several local scholars to enjoy the scenery together.
"Yes, that is true." Kangxi softened his tone.
How do you know that is the Eighth Prince's wife?
"This... She claims to be a prince's wife, wears the clothes of a prince's wife, and even gave money to students. How could it be fake?" Rong Haibin feigned incomprehension.
Liang Jiugong frowned: "How dare you! This is before the Emperor. Watch your tone."
"Even if it were true, you are a scholar who doesn't think about how to pass the imperial examinations and enter officialdom, but instead focuses on unorthodox methods. This is not the behavior of a gentleman. Furthermore, I have more than ten princes. The eighth prince is neither the crown prince nor the eldest son. Why would I want to promote him?" Perhaps because of past ties, Kangxi did not dislike this glib and eloquent scholar, and his attitude was relatively mild.
Rong Haibin said sincerely, "Because of the virtue of the Eighth Master, although our county is small, we have a lot of students. The Eighth Master paid for everyone to go to the capital to take the imperial examination out of his own pocket, saying that all expenses would be covered by the Eighth Master's mansion. There are quite a few like our county. The Eighth Master deserves the students' help."
"Besides, the Eighth Prince's wife has given us real benefits; only a fool wouldn't acknowledge it." Rong Haibin revealed a smug smile.
"How much silver did you take from them?"
Rong Haibin counted on his fingers: "The first time it was one hundred taels, the second time it was one thousand taels. I am not very talented but I have some reputation. Finally, I received ten thousand taels. I have spent almost nothing in the capital these days."
Emperor Kangxi looked Rong Haibin up and down: "You've got some nerve. Aren't you afraid I'll issue an edict to take your head?"
Rong Haibin stared wide-eyed, looking incredulous: "Your Majesty is a wise ruler, and a wise ruler must uphold the law. I wonder which law I have violated that makes you want my head?"
"Is this enough of a breach of etiquette before the Emperor?" Kangxi smiled and gave a name.
"The student is guilty and willing to accept punishment." Rong Haibin revealed an expression that read, "Your Majesty is being unreasonable," and kowtowed to admit his guilt.
"Hmph, I'll spare your head. But if the palace examination in a couple of days reveals you to be a useless mediocre talent, I will punish you for all your crimes."
"Your Majesty, I thank you for sparing my life. It is said that dragons beget dragons and phoenixes beget phoenixes, and the sons of rats know how to dig holes. The Eighth Prince's courtesy and respect for scholars is a direct result of your influence. I shall take my leave."
Rong Haibin quickly got up and left, exiting the scene before Kangxi became angry.
Seeing this, Yinxiang shifted his body slightly and shrank behind Prince Cheng.
As expected, Kangxi turned his anger on Prince Cheng: "You, surnamed Rong, have been living a life of extravagance and debauchery in the capital for so many days, praising the Eighth Prince everywhere, and you didn't even notice anything amiss. You've really done a good job as the chief examiner!"
Prince Cheng shrank his neck: "Father, he spent his own money and didn't dine or dash. I just thought he was funny, and he did nothing wrong."
You don't have to be so obvious about taking your anger out on others, okay?
Kangxi shook his head, then laughed in exasperation, pointing at Yinxiang behind Prince Cheng: "What are you hiding for? Come out!"
"Thoroughly investigate all the scholars who passed the provincial examination. The palace examination has been postponed. I want to see how many others, besides Rong Haibin who stood out, were recommended by others. It's utterly absurd!"
With Emperor Kangxi's decisive action, the largest and most far-reaching case of imperial examination fraud and the buying and selling of official titles in the history of the dynasty officially began.
Meanwhile, a farce was unfolding at the main gate of the Eighth Prince's mansion.
A man dressed in tattered clothes, carrying only a bag, with a face covered in soot and shoes with two holes in them, knocked on the gate of the Eighth Prince's residence.
The gatekeeper saw an old beggar and felt disdain in his heart, but he maintained a smile on his face. The Eighth Prince and his wife had instructed that no matter who it was, they had to greet them with a smile. Anyone who couldn't do that was never seen in the mansion again.
"And you are?"
The old beggar spoke in a youthful voice: "I am a student who came to the capital to take the imperial examination. I failed and was returning home when I encountered bandits. All my travel money was stolen. I was even beaten up for keeping the few books I had. I heard that you are generous and righteous. Could you please give me some silver? I will repay you double in the future."
This passage is so poignant that it brings tears to the eyes of anyone who hears it.
Of course, this is only limited to the first or second time. This is already the umpteenth time, and the doorman is getting a little tired of it.
He had lost money gambling yesterday and was feeling down, so he vented his frustrations on him: "You don't look like a scholar at all. I won't make things difficult for you. If you can memorize the Analects, I can give you twenty taels of silver. Even when buying steamed buns, you have to break them open to see what fillings are inside. You can understand me, can you, sir?"
The down-on-his-luck scholar was overwhelmed with shame and covered his face with his sleeve. Unfortunately, there were several irregular holes in the sleeve, which still revealed his true appearance.
The scholar began reciting the Analects in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz, speaking until his throat was dry, and he stopped halfway through to drink some water.
The gatekeeper had been talking nonsense for a while, but he was tired of it and was getting sleepy. The words of the sage were like a mosquito chanting.
He took out a purse containing twenty taels of silver. The gatekeeper thought for a moment, chuckled, and took out five taels of silver, stuffing it into his own purse.
The scholar thanked him gratefully and left happily.
This quickly spiraled out of control, attracting many students who were short of money and needed to return to their hometowns to beg for alms. The gatekeeper also opened the door to a new world, taking five taels from each student, enough for him to play three hundred more rounds in the casino in a day.
The students had previously socialized and exchanged information, discovering that those who went to the Eighth Prince's mansion before the exam could receive twenty taels, but now they only received fifteen.
Those who received less were unhappy. I already failed the exam, so I'm considered inferior by nature, right?
Urged on by a few ounces of wine, a group of drunken students mustered their courage and caused trouble at the Eighth Prince's residence.
The Eighth Prince was still serving in his post, and when his wife heard about this at home, her first reaction was that it was ridiculous.
“This is truly a case of giving a little kindness and then turning it into enmity; giving money has become a mistake. These people are useless at studying, but when it comes to drinking and causing trouble, one of them is worth two. Take our mansion's token and go to the Shuntian Prefectural Governor, and have him arrest all these people and send them to the jail to sober up.”
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