Chapter 108 Selection
The letters from Minister Meng and the Crown Prince were delivered to Magistrate Meng one after the other.
Magistrate Meng had just settled the messenger of Minister Meng at the inn when the Crown Prince's entourage arrived, also handing him a letter. Like Minister Meng's messenger, the prince needed a reply from Magistrate Meng to complete his mission.
Magistrate Meng had no choice but to have Steward Zhao also arrange for the Crown Prince's messenger to stay at the inn.
Upon opening the two letters, which contained completely contradictory contents, Magistrate Meng sighed and shook his head gently after a long while.
Even though she already knew that she and her father had a distant relationship since childhood, she couldn't help but be hurt again and again.
Meng Guanqi came over after hearing the news: "Father, I heard that His Highness the Crown Prince and Grandfather both sent letters. What did they say?"
Magistrate Meng handed the two letters to Meng Guanqi.
Meng Guanqi read it quickly, his expression strange: "That's strange. What does Grandfather mean? Does he want me to refuse the Crown Prince's decree and not study at the Imperial Academy?"
This is the Crown Prince, how could he bear to turn down such a great opportunity offered by the Crown Prince? You must know that the Meng family has been waiting for a long time for an opportunity to get close to the Crown Prince.
Both letters mentioned the Imperial Academy, but the difference was that the Crown Prince gave Meng Guanqi a place to study at the Imperial Academy, while Minister Meng asked Meng Guanqi to voluntarily give up his place.
The two letters arrived almost simultaneously, so it's no wonder that Meng Guanqi misunderstood.
Magistrate Meng shook his head: "Your grandfather was unaware of His Highness the Crown Prince's plans. In fact, if he had known, he wouldn't have sent this letter."
Meng Guanqi was puzzled.
Magistrate Meng sighed, “Your two cousins, Guanyun and Guanfeng, did not pass the imperial examination, but you did. According to the clan rules, one of them should give up one of their places in the Imperial Academy to you. However, your grandfather is torn between them, and he is reluctant to give up either of them. So he wrote to me, hoping that I could propose that you continue to study at Wanshan Academy and give up the place in the Imperial Academy.”
Meng Guanqi's expression visibly turned cold.
No wonder my father was so heartbroken. My grandfather really spared no effort in suppressing our family time and time again. For the sake of his two grandsons' future, he didn't even care about the ancestral rules, and he even made my father play the villain.
A deep look of disdain appeared on Meng Guanqi's face.
Even though he had long planned to stay away from the murky waters of the capital, it was his freedom to choose not to go. Being forced to make way for his two cousins and then being branded as a villain was truly disgusting.
He chuckled coldly, picked up a small goldfish and glanced at it: "It's quite rare. At least they knew to give two hundred taels of gold. If they hadn't given a single penny and made Father the villain, Father would have found it hard to refuse."
After all, Magistrate Meng had very mixed feelings about his father, with fear and obedience making up the majority. He dared not disobey the old Minister Meng.
Magistrate Meng bowed his head and remained silent.
Meng Guanqi picked up the Crown Prince's letter, a smug smile playing on his lips: "But Grandfather's arrival has solved a major problem for us. I was just worried about not finding a suitable reason to refuse the Crown Prince's kindness, and Grandfather's letter has come at just the right time."
Magistrate Meng was taken aback for a moment, then frowned and said, "But your grandfather didn't know the Crown Prince's plans. He thought that you would refuse because your family needed to make room for you. If he had known that you could go to the Imperial Academy without having to make Guanyun or Guanfeng drop out of school, why would he have refused such a good thing?"
Meng Guanqi smiled slightly: "As long as we don't tell them the details, how will they know the truth? Anyway, we received these two letters one after the other. The Crown Prince recommended me to study at the Imperial Academy, but my grandfather objected and told me to give it up. My father simply chose to obey his father's orders. What's wrong with that?" If the order in which the two letters were received were reversed, the meaning would be completely different.
Magistrate Meng was dumbfounded.
Meng Guanqi's eyes gleamed: "Father, I never intended to go to the Imperial Academy. Compared to the atmosphere there, I feel that Wanshan Academy is more suitable for me. Moreover, Headmaster Gu and the other professors have already set a study plan for me. As long as I study diligently step by step and travel for another year, I am confident that I can pass the imperial examination in three years. On the surface, the Imperial Academy is the highest institution of learning in the Great Wu, the place that all scholars dream of. But in reality, it is a veritable mini-court, full of factionalism, favoritism, and infighting. If I were to enter the academy under the guise of the Crown Prince's recommendation, I would inevitably be drawn into it and unable to extricate myself. But didn't we already agree to stay away from the vortex of the succession struggle? Now that Grandfather has stepped in to stop us, isn't that the perfect reason? Why should Father be so honest and reveal the truth?"
Magistrate Meng murmured, "But this plan is too simplistic. The Crown Prince can easily discover the truth with a little inquiry. Your grandfather's aim is not to prevent you from entering the Imperial Academy, but to take up one of our family's spots..."
Meng Guanqi smiled slightly: "The Crown Prince won't investigate."
Magistrate Meng asked in confusion, "How can you tell?"
Meng Guanqi said, “Firstly, our Meng family never easily gets involved in factional struggles, which is known throughout the court. The Crown Prince’s hasty arrangement for me to be admitted to the Imperial Academy without prior recognition is suspected of trying to win over court officials, so it is reasonable for my grandfather to refuse. People will only praise our Meng family for our noble character, for being able to refuse even the Crown Prince’s offer, which will earn us a good reputation. Secondly, it is a well-known fact throughout the capital that my grandfather favors legitimate grandsons over illegitimate grandsons. Since the two legitimate grandsons are not as capable as the illegitimate grandsons, what’s wrong with him siding with them? Isn’t it normal for him to dislike our family? Therefore, it is perfectly justifiable for my grandfather to stop me from entering the academy. With these two reasons, the Crown Prince will not suspect anything and question the Meng family. We can just get away with it.”
He smiled slightly: "Moreover, I will divert the Crown Prince's attention to other matters and stop focusing on my not entering the Imperial Academy."
Magistrate Meng looked at his son with a strange gaze, a mixture of shock, heartache, and immense relief.
After his son passed the imperial examination, he seemed to have grown up overnight, and his thoughts became so comprehensive that even he felt like a stranger to him.
But this is my own son! He's so resourceful. If he were to pass the imperial examination and become an official, it would be better than me being complacent and unambitious...
Meng Guanqi added fuel to the fire: "Father, you obey Grandfather's orders in everything. Even though we have already separated, he still wrote such a letter to make things difficult for you. What's wrong with me slightly misinterpreting his meaning? If we were unaware of the Crown Prince's danger and had never done anything to help him, yet his selfishness ruined our future of entering the Imperial Academy, Father, are you not allowed to have even a little resentment?"
Magistrate Meng pondered for a while, then patted Meng Guanqi on the shoulder: "Let's do as you say. I'll entrust this letter to you to write back and forth. After you finish writing it, give it to me, and I'll copy it and send the two messengers back to report."
Seeing that his father was not blindly filial, Meng Guanqi breathed a sigh of relief.
This was merely a counterattack he made under the circumstances. If his grandfather were truly upright and honest, and had allowed either Meng Guanyun or Meng Guanfeng to drop out of school so that he could continue, he would not have used that as an excuse.
Since he has already openly favored his own grandson, then don't blame him for taking advantage of him a little and turning the unfavorable situation into one that is in his favor.
Meng Guanqi replied to Minister Meng in the tone of Magistrate Meng. The letter contained only a few words, the gist of which was that the son dared not disobey his father's orders, accepted the money, and would continue to study at Wanshan Academy. He would not be sent to the capital to avoid putting his father in a difficult position.
He also pointed out that Meng Guanqi was still young and would not be betrothed before he participated in the next imperial examination, and asked his father for his understanding.
This can be considered an unspoken understanding between the father and son.
You've cut off my son's path to studying at the Imperial Academy, so don't even think about interfering with his marriage anymore. Who he marries in the future has nothing to do with the clan.
Because of his selfish motives, Minister Meng secretly used underhanded means to achieve his own goals, which resulted in the clan failing to provide Meng Guanqi with the best educational resources. So when the clan wanted to arrange a marriage for Meng Guanqi, he naturally had to stand up and stop it.
Although he was not the clan chief, he actually had more say in the clan than Clan Chief Meng. However, since Clan Chief Meng was his elder brother, he often didn't bother to argue with him.
After all, he was a retired minister; if he stood up and explicitly opposed it, the matter would not succeed.
The father and son had a distant relationship, and due to their differing political views, they were even more estranged than a typical father and his illegitimate son. As a result, their correspondence rarely exceeded three sentences.
But this time there was a lot to explain, so Meng Guanqi edited and reduced it until it was about one page long, concise and to the point, without a single wasted word.
Scholar Meng was very satisfied.
This was a private reply to Minister Meng. He still needed to write a formal letter that could be shown to other members of the clan.
The content was also very simple. The gist was that Wanshan Academy was more suitable for Meng Guanqi than the Imperial Academy. The clan appreciated the kindness of the clan, but Meng Guanqi had already set off to return to Wanshan Academy to continue his studies on the fifth day after passing the imperial examination. Dean Gu probably wouldn't let him go, so it was better for him to stay at Wanshan Academy.
Biyang County is a thousand miles away from the capital, and it takes one or two months to send a letter. It would be better for the clan to pay more attention to the academic achievements of their own children and not to worry about his son, who is a scholar who is far away.
The text vividly portrays Magistrate Meng as a petty tyrant who has achieved his goal. The more arrogant he is, the more the people in the clan will believe that Meng Ying will not easily forgive the fact that his family has been abandoned. This gives him ample reason to arrogantly refuse to let his son enroll in the Imperial Academy.
How could he bear being trampled underfoot? Now that he had the power to turn the tables and be in charge, what was wrong with being a little arrogant? He had been exiled to such a remote place, yet his son still passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. On the other hand, none of the relatives who stayed in the capital passed the exam. They were the ones who should be ashamed.
The more arrogant he becomes, the more ashamed the clan will feel, and the less they will dare to interfere in his affairs.
This is the outcome that Meng Guanqi most wanted to see.
It's best to keep a certain distance from the Meng clan's main family.
It was easy to write a reply to the Meng family, but Meng Guanqi was much more cautious in writing a reply to the Crown Prince.
Logically speaking, although they saved the Crown Prince's life, the Crown Prince had already given them a respectable and generous reward. He really didn't need to arrange for them to have a place in the Imperial Academy, but he did it anyway. This shows the Crown Prince's magnanimity and breadth of mind.
Unfortunately, he was going to disappoint the Crown Prince's good intentions.
Meng Guanqi felt that, setting aside the identity of the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince himself was a gentleman. From his brief interactions with him, he found that the Crown Prince was open-minded and receptive to others' opinions. Even when Meng Guanqi was in danger, the Crown Prince would instinctively draw his sword to shield him from a fatal blow. This subconscious action under life-or-death circumstances was enough to show that the Crown Prince was an upright and honorable gentleman.
Keep in mind that he is the crown prince, truly second only to the emperor, yet he can still maintain such humility, which is a very rare quality.
If he can successfully ascend the throne, Meng Guanqi believes he has the potential to become a wise and benevolent ruler.
If I didn't really want to get involved in the struggle for the throne too early, the Crown Prince would be a very good choice.
Although Meng Guanqi wanted to refuse his kindness, she couldn't help but remind him about the third person lurking behind the scenes, who might be the mastermind behind the murder.
Perhaps the capital is calm now, but Meng Guanqi has discovered that this person has been making all sorts of underhanded moves behind the scenes. He has been planning for half a year just to make Meng Guanqi fail the exam. What about the other people around the Crown Prince who are more capable and useful than him? What methods will he use?
The key point is that this person is very likely not the Third Prince who is floating on the surface of the water.
Unfortunately, he didn't know who he was.
The answer to this mystery can only be revealed by the Crown Prince himself.
Meng Guanqi truthfully told the Crown Prince about being drugged during the provincial examination. He also attached the letter he had obtained from Zhang Li, along with portraits of his third aunt and Zhang Li. He warned the Crown Prince that the person behind him was very powerful and influential, and advised him to be careful. He thanked the Crown Prince for his kindness, but as a mere scholar, he decided to follow his grandfather's wishes, give up his enrollment in the Imperial Academy, and continue studying at Wanshan Academy.
The letter to Minister Meng and the Meng clan was only two pages long, but the reply to the Crown Prince was more than twenty pages long. Magistrate Meng was stunned when he received it.
After reading them, he said nothing, copied the letters to Minister Meng and the Meng clan, and kept the letter to the Crown Prince unchanged. He then put them all away in an envelope.
The imperial messengers were certainly faster than Minister Meng's entourage, so Magistrate Meng first handed the reply to the people in his household to take back, using the excuse that he needed to be careful when replying to the Crown Prince, which would take longer. He finally delivered the reply to the messenger three days later.
Of the three messengers, one was a confidant of Pang Shi. Seeing that all he received was a thick letter and no one was there, he couldn't help but ask, "Isn't Young Master Meng coming back to the capital with us? Where is Lady Li?"
Magistrate Meng bowed and said, "My son will not be returning to the capital with you, sir. I have already explained this to His Highness the Crown Prince in a letter. His Highness will know once he receives the letter."
Pang Shi's confidant was disappointed: "General Pang has been looking forward to seeing Lady Li."
Magistrate Meng laughed and said, "The boat is empty of wine cups, but we'll meet again somewhere. At the latest, my son will go to the capital to take the imperial examination in three years, and Xiaoxiao will definitely accompany him."
Pang Shi's confidants had no choice but to clasp their hands in a salute and bid farewell to Magistrate Meng.
Although they set off three days later, imperial messengers were much faster than ordinary people, and Minister Meng received the letter only one day earlier than the Crown Prince.
Upon reading the two letters written by Meng Ying himself, Minister Meng remained silent.
Meng Ying actually started bargaining with him, which was unprecedented. He had always respected him and listened to him.
However, he forced Meng Ying to agree not to send Meng Guanqi to the Imperial Academy. With his own son's future at stake, he finally couldn't help but ask his most respected father for a deal: to give up controlling Meng Guanqi's marriage.
The illegitimate son finally couldn't resist showing his fangs to his father.
He sneered. Although he knew to fight back and had become a little more ambitious, he thought he had made an equal exchange for such a big deal with a small marriage. He was still too short-sighted.
If he were to take advantage of this opportunity to demand that Minister Meng redistribute the family property and return all of his rightful share to him, Meng Rong and Meng Fang would have to foot the bill for the sake of their two sons' futures, and they wouldn't be able to utter a word of objection. In that case, Minister Meng would look at him with more respect.
But he didn't. Instead, he replied that Meng Guanqi didn't want to arrange a marriage within three years. He was Meng Guanqi's father, and if he truly didn't want the marriage arranged by the clan, he could easily use excuses like incompatible birth charts or clashes in destiny. They were also thousands of miles away, and the clan had no way to stop him. He even thought he had some great leverage over Meng Guanqi and solemnly proposed it as an equivalent exchange: a place at the Imperial Academy.
Minister Meng was once again utterly disappointed in Meng Ying.
Forget it, he's already in his thirties, his personality is already formed, and I'll never be able to become the kind of person he admires in this lifetime.
Upon hearing Meng Ying's reply, Meng Rong and Meng Fang immediately rushed over with Madam Nie and Madam Ye, craning their necks to ask, "Father, what did Fourth Brother say?"
Minister Meng put the letter away and said expressionlessly, "It's done. He has already replied to the clan. Qi-ge'er will stay at Wanshan Academy and won't be coming to the capital."
Meng Rong and Meng Fang exchanged a glance, overjoyed. Meng Rong said, "Did Fourth Brother make any requests? If there's anything your son can do to help him, he will certainly do it."
Minister Meng said coldly, "If he had that ambition, I wouldn't necessarily have to separate him from the family. He only mentioned that he should make the decision about Qi Ge'er's marriage, and the clan should not interfere."
Meng Rong and Meng Fang were stunned: "That's it?"
Minister Meng said coldly, "Perhaps even this request took three days to come up with. This matter is over, and there's no need to mention the fourth son again at home."
Meng Rong and Meng Fang were taken aback, but seeing their father's bad expression, they immediately bowed and withdrew.
On the contrary, Madam Nie and Madam Ye felt quite embarrassed. Their son's enrollment in the Imperial Academy was saved, but Meng Guanqi's future was essentially ruined, and they felt rather guilty. The next day, the two sisters-in-law went to the market and each bought a cartload of local specialties, hairpins, fabrics, etc., spending over a thousand taels of silver. They then entrusted a security escort agency to deliver these items to Madam Liu in Biyang County.
A month later, Liu received two cartloads of lavish gifts for no apparent reason. She hurriedly inquired who sent them and learned that it was a generous gift from Nie and Ye, which left her speechless with astonishment.
These two sisters-in-law usually look down on her the most, so why would they suddenly give her such an expensive gift?
She hurriedly asked Magistrate Meng what to do, and Magistrate Meng calmly replied, "You don't need to do anything, just keep it safe and use it with peace of mind."
Liu was dumbfounded: "No need for a return gift?"
Magistrate Meng said, "No need to reply, not even a word. If anyone brings gifts in the future, just accepting them is the best response. You don't need to say anything else."
Liu had never played such a cold and aloof role before. This was usually Nie and Ye's forte. She never thought she would have to use it one day.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince also received a reply from Meng Guanqi.
He was somewhat surprised to hear that Meng Guanqi had refused the Imperial Academy's enrollment, but he quickly put the matter out of his mind.
After the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review joined forces to investigate but found no trace of the assassin, the Crown Prince's assassination case became a cold case. In particular, the Emperor had dismissed the staff of the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review, leaving only a junior official on temporary assignment. The Crown Prince knew that the case could not be investigated any further.
The emperor did not lower his guard against him, and he could no longer bring up the progress of the assassination case.
Unexpectedly, Meng Guanqi revealed some clues.
He began to read his letter quickly, skimming through it. After finishing the twenty-odd pages, he read it again from beginning to end, his face now clouded with gloom.
Meng Guanqi represents the Meng clan. The fact that they spent half a year plotting to make him fail the exam shows that they did not want him to receive help from the aristocratic families. Were his trusted confidants, advisors, and right-hand men also arranged to distance themselves from him?
Upon realizing this, the crown prince broke out in a cold sweat.
He couldn't help but think of the advisors and officials of the Eastern Palace who had been dismissed by him in the past two years for various reasons. These people were all exceptionally talented in some aspects, but they were expelled from the Eastern Palace for various reasons for violating his taboos. Considering Meng Guanqi's situation, could the departure of these people also be the work of someone behind the scenes?
And among the people he is currently promoting, are there any spies infiltrated?
Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Not only should we investigate those close to him, but we must also find out where those who left the Eastern Palace went.
He summoned the chief secretary, obtained a list of personnel who had left the Eastern Palace in the past two years, and dug out their resumes.
The more I looked, the more alarmed I became. So many talented and insightful people had left the Eastern Palace, and now I wondered where they had gone.
He then summoned Pang Shi: "Meng Guanqi's grandfather opposes his entry into the Imperial Academy. He has already decided to stay at Wanshan Academy. Li Xiaoxiao will not be coming to the capital for the next three years. Your plans have failed."
Pang Shi exclaimed in surprise, "Didn't his grandfather already separate from their family? Why are they still interfering in his affairs?"
The Crown Prince's face was grim: "The Meng family has never participated in factional struggles, and it is understandable that they do not want Meng Guanqi to have too much contact with me. However, the main reason I summoned you here is not this matter, but another, even more shocking thing."
After saying this, he handed Meng Guanqi's letter to Pang Shi.
Pang Shi took the document and became increasingly alarmed as he examined it: "Your Highness, who do you think is behind this? Could it be the Third Prince?"
The Crown Prince shook his head: "It's not him. The Third Prince doesn't have such a meticulous mind. Moreover, this person's goal is to make me fight with the Third Prince. The Third Prince and I have already revealed our hand in the open. The Third Prince has no need to do anything extra, so it can't be him."
Pang Shi pondered, "Then who exactly is it?"
The Crown Prince said in a deep voice, "No matter who it is, we can only find leverage against them if they take action. The situation was too tense recently, and they didn't make a move. That's why we were in a real predicament, like a dog trying to bite a turtle, unable to find a way to attack them."
Holding up the portraits of Third Aunt and Zhang Li, Pang Shi said, "General Wu has committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and the trail has been completely cut off. Now that Third Aunt and Zhang Li have appeared in Lin'an Prefecture, and we still have their portraits, should I send someone to Lin'an Prefecture to investigate the truth?"
The Crown Prince said, "Let's put those people aside for now. The person you need to investigate now is someone else."
Pang Shi asked curiously, "Who?"
The Crown Prince handed him a list, which Pang Shi opened and found to be full of people he recognized. He asked in confusion, "I know all of these people. What does Your Highness want me to investigate?"
The Crown Prince said in a deep voice, "Investigate where they went after leaving the Eastern Palace, where they took up their posts, or whose residence they became advisors to. Find out everything for me. I want to know if their departure was accidental or if someone set a trap for them, like they did with Meng Guanqi, to force them to leave the Eastern Palace!"
The Crown Prince lowered his voice slightly: "This matter should not be publicized. Investigate it quietly and report only to me. If anyone asks, you must not reveal a word. Do you understand?"
He no longer trusts anyone except Wan Quan and Pang Shi, who have been through life and death with him.
Pang Shi was shocked. Had the person who orchestrated this already begun infiltrating the Eastern Palace so early? The people the Crown Prince had asked him to investigate had already left the Eastern Palace, but what about those still in office? Could they also be his pawns?
Pang Shi felt a chill run down his spine. He had always thought that His Highness the Crown Prince was absolutely safe in the capital, but little did he know that this was likely just a facade of peace, with countless hidden knives waiting for the right moment to deliver a fatal blow to the Crown Prince.
He truly had no time to concern himself with Meng Guanqi's refusal to enroll in the Imperial Academy or Li Xiaoxiao's inability to come to the capital. Compared to the possibility that the Eastern Palace was infested with parasites and the safety of the Crown Prince, the fact that Meng Guanqi studied was utterly insignificant.
By diverting the trouble to the east, Meng Guanqi achieved four goals at once: he wanted to continue studying at Wanshan Academy, he successfully postponed his marriage proposal for three years, he fulfilled the wishes of Minister Meng, and he even repaid the Crown Prince's kindness by handing over all the evidence he had.
As expected, the Crown Prince did not investigate the truth behind Meng Guanqi's refusal to enroll in the Imperial Academy. Since the Crown Prince did not investigate, the Meng clan naturally did not know that the Crown Prince had once provided Meng Guanqi with a place in the Imperial Academy. Only the clan head of the Meng clan saw Meng Ying's letter and angrily scolded him for being a petty person who had achieved success and did not know what was good for him.
But Meng Ying was a thousand miles away, so no matter how loudly he cursed, he couldn't hear him. On the contrary, Meng Rong and Meng Fang, who knew the truth and had benefited from it, felt rather guilty and wondered if they should send some more gifts to their fourth brother.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com