lcionline Chapter 30 "Keep your voice down, it hasn't been announced to the public yet!"
Chapter 30 "Keep your voice down, it hasn't been announced to the public yet!"
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lu Yuxi tapped Lin Shiming on the head. "A person who only knows etiquette but has no skills cannot sit on the throne of the crown prince. My bottom line is not to affect the court and to benefit the country."
This was something his elder brother had told him before: all actions of the imperial court should be based on the interests of the country and the people, but some methods that do not violate principles can be used cautiously. Lu Yuxi deeply agreed.
Emperor Longyun nodded approvingly. A crown prince with principles, methods, and a focus on the well-being of the people and the nation should be a qualified crown prince for Changping.
"Therefore, before each imperial examination in the future, let's send someone to the capital in disguise to scout ahead."
Using the imperial examinations to train soldiers was a win-win situation.
Lu Yuxi nodded and made a note of it.
However, "You're so actively arranging for people to investigate these things, it's not like you think 'if you can't do it, no one else can either,' is it?"
"...Okay, I know you're smart, just shut up."
Let's save face for the child.
Lin Shiming's resentful gaze amused Emperor Longyun and his son.
But at this point, everyone remembered their original topic.
"So, what you know about the bookstore in the distance is also about selling fake exam questions for profit?"
"more than."
Lin Shiming immediately put down his chopsticks and became serious.
"Your subject originally thought this was just an ordinary case of profiteering, so I only arranged for people to follow those who came to buy exam questions, so that they could find out their names and backgrounds, and inform Your Majesty in the future."
This is a normal arrangement, because those who buy exam questions will certainly not leave any evidence against themselves in the future. The seller's ledger will never leave a name, only a record of the amount of money transactions.
"However, the latest news I received today is puzzling. Many soldiers who followed those who bought the exam questions to investigate reported that those people discarded the fake exam questions after obtaining them. Only a few people tried to study those questions. Therefore, I believe that two-thirds of those who traveled a long way to buy the exam questions are probably not candidates for this year's exam at all."
Upon hearing this, both Emperor Longyun and Lu Yuxi were quite surprised.
Emperor Longyun quickly pressed further, "Is it possible to be certain?"
“Alright.” Lin Shiming nodded. “Today, I went to the Ministry of Personnel to check the list of candidates. Sure enough, most of them were not on the list.”
This is rather bizarre. A group of people who don't take the exam spent a lot of money to buy the exam questions, and these people accounted for more than 60% of the total.
Lu Yuxi turned the teacup, lost in thought.
"What exactly do they want to do?"
Yes, there has to be a purpose, right?
Emperor Longyun seemed to be deep in thought, then suddenly stopped tapping his fingers on the table.
"Shi Ming, do you know the exact number of people?"
"I know. There are 132 people in total, but only 33 of them are actual examinees."
Emperor Longyun clasped his hands together and sighed, "That's right."
"What's right?"
Seeing the two pairs of blank eyes opposite him, Emperor Longyun suddenly felt a sense of being the only one sober in a world of drunks.
Well, let's get down to business first.
"In order to ensure that the candidates' efforts were not wasted as much as possible, and knowing that cheating was difficult to completely eliminate, our imperial examination system had a regulation."
Lu Yuxi suddenly realized something.
"Is it the rule that 'if more than half of the students are found to have cheated in an exam, then the entire exam score can be canceled'?"
“Indeed.” Emperor Longyun rose and paced back and forth. “If I remember correctly, there are 2,416 candidates for this year’s imperial examination. Half a percent is 121. The number of participants reported by the bookstores in the distance has already exceeded that number.”
Therefore, once this matter is revealed, this imperial examination will be invalidated.
No, it will inevitably be exposed.
This was a scheme targeting the Crown Prince, the chief examiner.
Changping has not seen such a major case of imperial examination corruption in nearly a century. This time, it happened in the metropolitan examination presided over by the crown prince. It will be a major blow to the crown prince's prestige in the court and among the people.
Therefore, it is said that "someone deliberately impersonated a test taker to buy exam questions in order to increase the number of perpetrators."
Lin Shiming still had doubts, "But this is, after all, a fake question..."
Lu Yuxi frowned. "Whether it's a fake question or not is irrelevant."
The same principle applies: ordinary people only know that someone is buying and selling exam questions; they don't care whether the questions are real or fake, or whether they affect the exam.
"Your Highness, you will personally lead a team to shut down the bookstores in the distance. There's no need to hide it; make a scene. Go immediately."
First, Emperor Longyun still needed to remove the crown prince from the list.
"My son, I accept the decree."
"Li An, convey the imperial decree."
Li An immediately knelt down.
"Today, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess reported that a bookstore in a distant place was selling fake exam questions for profit. After investigation, this has been confirmed. Therefore, as the Crown Prince suggested, all those involved should be arrested immediately and handed over to the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review for strict interrogation. Any officials and students involved will be severely punished after verification. The exam questions for this imperial examination will be revised, and the examination time... remains unchanged."
"Your servant obeys the decree."
"Remember to spread this imperial edict throughout the land."
The difference between a case being exposed after or during an exam and Lu Yuxi discovering and dealing with the issue early on is like night and day. One is due to insufficient ability and a complete lack of authority, while the other demonstrates keen insight, preventative measures, and skillful tactics.
Li An accepted the order and left, while Lu Yuxi and Lin Shiming also got up to leave.
Before leaving, Lin Shiming, under the incredulous gaze of Emperor Longyun, also took two plates of pastries from the table by the window.
"My son, please retire!"
Emperor Longyun looked speechlessly at the awkward bow he was performing because he was carrying two plates, waved his hand, and let him go.
As soon as they left Xuanzheng Hall, Lin Shiming pulled Lu Yuxi, who was about to transfer people, aside and stuffed the list of test-takers and pastries from his arms into Lu Yuxi's hands.
"You can use this list as you like. But I noticed you haven't eaten much, so take these pastries with you and eat them on the way, so you don't go hungry."
"I..."
"What's more important than appearance? Whether you're hungry or not."
Lu Yuxi sighed helplessly, "Okay."
Lin Shiming was finally satisfied. "Then go ahead! I'll go back to the East Palace and wait for you."
*
Lu Yuxi's actions were carried out with great fanfare, and with Emperor Longyun's decree, the news quickly spread throughout the capital. So, before dinner time, everyone in the court and the public knew that the Crown Prince had arrested a group of people who sold fake exam questions and had sent them to the Ministry of Justice prison.
The Crown Prince's wisdom and prowess quickly spread among the people, and many candidates preparing for the exams were greatly impressed, becoming even more convinced of the upcoming exams.
Meanwhile, in the Prince An's residence, Prince An, Lu Yuchen, was pacing back and forth anxiously, his forehead covered in sweat.
"Fools! Fools! Didn't I tell you to be careful and cautious? What did you all do?!"
The people kneeling below trembled with fear and dared not utter a word.
"Everything was fine the last few times, so why did the Crown Prince catch us this time? Now look what's happened. The Crown Prince is in charge of this imperial examination, and given how much Father Emperor values him, this matter will probably not be easily let off the hook."
"This path has brought me so much benefit, and I've invested so much manpower in it. I'm afraid I'll have to lose it all this time!"
Selling fake exam questions was low-cost and high-profit; a set of provincial exam questions could sell for several thousand taels of silver, while even the provincial exam questions were cheaper, selling for only a few hundred taels, but the sheer number of people doing it still made up for it. Therefore, Prince An arranged for many of his subordinates to profit from this in the provincial and provincial exams, as well as the previous provincial exam, in various regions. Within three years, he had made countless profits, making it one of the most important sources of his wealth.
“Your Highness,” an official sitting next to him stepped forward, “now is not the time to worry about manpower and resources. The Crown Prince has caught you red-handed. The important thing now is how to extricate you from this matter.”
Yes, people can be trained again, and new paths can be found, but if something happens to you, you lose everything.
Prince An stopped and pointed to a servant kneeling in the corner. "You just said that the Crown Prince sent everyone there?"
The servant replied tremblingly, "Your Highness, all the people from the bookstore on the distant road have been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice."
"Criminal Department?"
Prince An's expression changed, and he raised his hand to stroke his chin.
“Your Highness, isn’t the Princess Consort’s grandfather the Minister of Justice? In that case, although we can’t absolve them of their crimes, we can at least prevent them from implicating Your Highness.”
"The last time I ordered someone to impeach the Crown Prince, which resulted in the loss of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, it already angered Minister Mu. Now that this blatant violation of the law has occurred, I'm afraid he won't cover for me."
"Then we can only approach the Princess and ask her to intervene."
Prince An was silent for a moment, then said, "Liang Qing, go and tell the Princess that I will be visiting her tonight."
"Yes."
*
In an attempt to save himself, Prince An sought to cede territory, pay reparations, and even sell himself into servitude to Princess An. Lu Yuxi, on the other hand, handed over the remaining matters to the Military Affairs Department and returned to the Eastern Palace.
The sky was not yet completely dark. Lin Shiming was sitting on the veranda of the front hall, listening to the stewards report on the affairs of the harem, while constantly throwing two balls out for the two wolves to retrieve.
Upon closer inspection, it was observed that the legs of several of the managers trembled whenever Lin Ha and Lin Qi eagerly retrieved the ball.
Listening to the increasingly erratic voice of the manager who was now reporting on matters, Lin Shiming finally couldn't help but slap the armrest of his chair in frustration.
Unlike modern unleashed dogs, Lin Shiming possesses internal energy. He killed a wolf pack in an instant, and now he could easily send two wolf cubs flying with a wave of his hand. In fact, the intimidation these two wolves wielded by Lin Shiming was probably no different from that of a few kittens.
"What are you afraid of? I (Note: I can refer to myself as the Crown Prince, so the protagonist uses this title here) have already said that they will not bite without orders. Besides, even if they wanted to bite, I am a military general and can protect you immediately."
The steward immediately knelt down, "Your Highness, Your Highness, please forgive me, this servant simply couldn't control myself..."
"You—" Lin Shiming gritted his teeth, "Never mind."
There are always some people who are afraid of the word "wolf".
You cannot force someone to control their inner fears. Nor can you force someone to entrust their life to someone else.
"Eunuch Zhao! Go find a few guards and take the two of them to the training ground to play."
Zhao Lei accepted the order and quickly led his men away with the two wolves, much to the relief of the managers.
"Okay, get up."
"This servant thanks Your Highness, thanks Your Highness..."
Lin Shiming shook his head helplessly, "In the future, if you need to come to me, remember to inform me in advance. I will try my best to keep you away from these two wolves."
The stewards, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, said, "Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness!"
Lin Shiming waved for them to rise, preparing to continue listening to their report, when he saw Lu Yuxi enter the East Palace gate. His eyes lit up immediately, and he quickly went to greet her.
Lu Yuxi naturally saw him too, so she quickened her pace and took a few steps.
"How's the matter going? How much money have you recovered?"
...I thought you were here to greet me.
Lu Yuxi smiled helplessly, "Two hundred thousand taels."
"twenty--"
Lu Yuxi immediately covered his mouth.
"Keep your voice down, it hasn't been announced to the public yet!"