Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress
Chapter 311 - 308: Do Well in _1

Chapter 311: Chapter 308: Do Well in _1

"Hanlin scholar Wen Zhenkang was Left Prime Minister Li Mao’s man. This you should know! But Minister of Revenue Chu Zhongxing was also Li Mao’s man... you probably didn’t know that!" Bai Qingyan gestured for Bai Jinxiu to sit on the stone bench. "Since Li Mao’s hand stretched out to me, if I don’t cut off one of his arms, how will he know pain, how will he know fear?"

She placed the wet cloth on the black lacquer tray in Chun Tao’s hand and continued, "They did this themselves. No matter how capable others are, it is just making use of situations, adding fuel to the fire."

"Minister of Revenue Chu Zhongxing is also Li Mao’s man?!" Bai Jinxiu was greatly surprised.

"Back then, the Second Prince rebelled, and after his death all his connections fell to King Liang. So, Jinxiu... don’t be deceived by the pretense of cowardice in King Liang." Bai Qingyan poured a cup of tea for Bai Jinxiu and pushed it to her, "I’ve thought it over. If we fear breaking the jade vase by hitting the rat, we can’t break Li Mao’s arm! Although making a big scene would nullify the results... making a big scene also has its benefits. Qin Lang and our cousin Chang Yuan both have real talent. They wouldn’t fear retaking the exam!"

Bai Jinxiu bowed her head in thought and then nodded, "Eldest Young Lady is right!"

"Where is Qin Lang?" Bai Qingyan asked.

"I heard that failed examinees caused trouble at Wude Gate, and he was called there by friends." After Bai Jinxiu said this, she stood up and saluted Bai Qingyan, "I’ll send someone to call Qin Lang back. At this time, he should be at home studying hard, preparing to exert himself for the retake!"

Bai Qingyan nodded to Bai Jinxiu.

Just as Bai Jinxiu left, Lu Ping arrived.

Some of the servants that Lu Ping had sent out to gather information returned with new news.

They reported that Prime Minister Lu had entered the palace and come out again, no longer in the hurried state he had been in when he went. Prime Minister Lu’s two sons had also come out of the Court of Judicial Review and returned home. Upon hearing the news, Minister Chen also hitched his carriage and entered the palace.

Prime Minister Lu was indeed the most adept at self-preservation in the royal court, as slippery as an eel. Upon catching wind of the situation, he went to the palace to plead guilty. Minister Chen probably saw Prime Minister Lu’s actions and guessed why he had entered the palace, so he too hurried to plead guilty before the Emperor.

Once these two pleaded guilty before the Emperor, the Emperor would understand how serious the bribery issue in the current examinations was. The angrier the Emperor became, the more dangerous Wen Zhenkang would be.

The Left Prime Minister likely was extremely restless now!

She narrowed her eyes, her finger rhythmically tapping the stone table. The news of the examination fraud was spreading like wildfire outside, and Wen Zhenkang’s family must be on edge.

Wen Zhenkang dared to receive bribes so blatantly in his first time as chief examiner. Could it be because he had the support of Left Prime Minister Li Mao?

If Left Prime Minister Li Mao was indeed involved, and if someone directed Wen Zhenkang’s family to seek the Left Prime Minister for help, the Left Prime Minister would be even more terrified, even if Li Mao was not involved directly. He would still have headaches dealing with this!

Thinking of this, Bai Qingyan ordered Chun Tao to call Nanny Tong.

Bai Qingyan planned to start from the inner court. Wen Zhenkang’s wife must be panicking and in a mess. This was the best time to strike.

Nanny Tong understood immediately, "Rest assured, Eldest Young Lady. This old servant will handle it."

After the palace examination, the results were originally supposed to be posted on the third day of April. However, due to nearly a hundred examinees kneeling outside Wude Gate, beating the complaint drum, and appealing to the Emperor for justice, there were no results posted on the third day. Instead, there was an Imperial Edict ordering the Minister of Judicial Review and the Crown Prince to jointly investigate the examination fraud case within three days.

The Crown Prince had headaches over this, as this was an offense-laden task. Many noble families had candidates in this spring’s examination. Which family didn’t send gifts?

But the Emperor’s intention was to punish severely. Besides Prime Minister Lu’s two grandsons and Minister Chen’s grandson, whose essays had genuine merit, all those who bribed would be punished severely and barred from future examinations.

Some people sought the assistance of Minister Lu Jin, but Lu Jin closed his doors and refused visitors, accepting no gifts. Lu Jin, who was in the limelight, could only ignore everyone unless he didn’t want to keep his position.

The Crown Prince wasn’t as steadfast as Lu Jin. Initially, he managed to deal with a few noble families, but later he couldn’t withstand the pressure and called his advisors to come up with a solution that wouldn’t offend anyone.

Qin Shangzhi’s opinion was that the country had its laws, and the family had its rules. The Crown Prince, as the heir, should stand righteous and not allow favoritism in the face of national law, so the Emperor could see the Crown Prince’s value.

However, Advisor Fang suggested that the Crown Prince should personally scold and appease those who cried and begged, and when it came to the verdict, work with Lu Jin to give a harsher punishment, then plead for leniency before the Emperor. Thus, those noble families would see the Crown Prince as winning their favor.

Qin Shangzhi was deeply disdainful. In his opinion, the current Crown Prince was no longer the former King of Qi. As the heir, the Crown Prince should be the foundation of the country. Only a just foundation could support a righteous country!

Yet, after pondering Advisor Fang’s idea, the Crown Prince found it appealing, much to Qin Shangzhi’s boiling anger.

The heir of the country should indeed win people’s hearts, but not in such a manner. Examination bribery undermined the country’s foundation. Such a grave offense... how could the Crown Prince tolerate it? If these corrupt officials remained, what future did the Jin Kingdom have?

The polo match originally scheduled by Prince Three for April Sixth was also impacted by the examination fraud case, with fewer noble families attending than expected.

Those involved in bribery naturally had no mood to attend, while those not involved had examinees in their households confined to study hard at home, to prepare for a potential retake ordered by the Emperor.

Prince Three’s original intention in hosting the polo match was to find suitable noble ladies for his son, to test their families. As long as the noble girls came, it was enough.

On the polo field, groups of three to five discussed the examination fraud case.

Bai Jinxiu sat for a while, overheard someone mention that Wen Zhenkang’s wife had gone to the Left Prime Minister’s residence at night and stayed for a long time. She then excused herself and returned to the Bai family to inform Bai Qingyan.

"Wen Zhenkang’s wife remarried after an earlier divorce. The women gathered were discussing some unsavory matters, but I thought... since Wen Zhenkang’s wife stayed at the Left Prime Minister’s residence for a long time, she must have bargained with the Prime Minister and might have some leverage against Li Mao."

Bai Jinxiu leaned closer to Bai Qingyan and lowered her voice, "I’ll find a way to get some leverage from Wen Zhenkang’s wife."

"No matter what leverage Wen Zhenkang’s wife has, Wen Zhenkang’s life can’t be saved." Bai Qingyan pursed her lips and smiled at Bai Jinxiu, "It would be best if you can get it, but don’t force it if you can’t."

"Rest assured, Eldest Young Lady!" Bai Jinxiu nodded, just as Nanny Tong parted the curtain and entered from outside.