Yue Kingdom.
The Legalist School oversaw the realm. As a member of the Han Feizi Household, the Han family paid even closer attention to the Legalist Sacred Way than ordinary prominent households.
The details of Fang Yun's trial were relayed by Hall of Punishment personnel to the Sacred Academy at the first opportunity, then passed through the Han Feizi Household into the Official Seal of Han Shoulu, a Metropolitan Graduate taking the Palace Examination.
Han Shoulu had been hearing a case, but after reading through Fang Yun's trial proceedings, he suddenly found his own case utterly dull. He took advantage of the midday break to suspend the hearing.
Han Shoulu turned and left, with a Han Household retainer following behind him.
"Shoulu, you seem absent-minded. Could something major have happened? The Palace Examination is of paramount importance right now. You must compete with the other Legalist Metropolitan Graduates for an A grade in the Criminal Justice Examination. You absolutely must not slacken!" Han Yuan said.
Han Shoulu gave a bitter smile. "I had thought that this year's A grade in Criminal Justice would merely be a contest against other Legalist disciples. Only today did I learn that there may be another unexpected formidable rival."
"A formidable rival? Is it Xiang Lancheng, whom the Zong Family took as a son-in-law the moment he left the Hunting Grounds? Or Lei Shushan of the Lei Family, who supposedly has a trace of Dragon Race blood—his poetry is poor, but his Classic Interpretation and policy essays are astonishing? It is said that after Void Sage Fang's Literary Battle for a Prefecture, the Zong Family and Lei Family respectively devoted themselves to cultivating these two Metropolitan Graduates. They demanded that the officials in their counties cooperate with them to contend against Fang Yun, hoping they