A Way

Emperor Yuanjing gently tossed the approved memorial to the old eunuch and said with a smile, "Grand Eunuch, tell me, has there been any corruption during this Xu Xinnian?"

The old eunuch took the memorial, glanced at it quickly, and said, "This old servant is dull-witted, but this old servant feels that there is indeed something fishy about this matter."

Emperor Yuanjing stared at him for a few seconds, then ordered, "Instruct the local government and the Ministry of Justice to handle this case and get to the bottom of it."

After the old eunuch withdrew, Emperor Yuanjing sat on his dragon throne, gazing at the blue sky outside the imperial study, and suddenly smiled, "Killing three birds with one stone."

The old eunuch in his python robe left the imperial study, head bowed, and walked quickly. After a hundred meters, he patted his chest in alarm, his face grim.

"You even asked me after the approval was done. Wei Yuan, Wei Yuan, it's not that we don't want to help you, it's just that our lives are the most important."

Soon after, the imperial edicts were relayed to the Ministry of Justice and the local government offices.

Minister Sun of the Ministry of Justice seemed to have anticipated this, and upon receiving the imperial edict, he immediately dispatched men to arrest Xu Xinnian.

Upon receiving the imperial edict, Prefect Chen sighed and shook his head, "There will be times when the wind and waves are favorable, but what if a big wave comes crashing down and destroys your ship and kills everyone on board?"

He immediately summoned the Vice Magistrate and said in a deep voice, "Send men to arrest Xu Xinnian immediately and bring him back to the yamen for interrogation. Make sure to apprehend him before the Ministry of Justice does. Send someone to inform Xu Yinluo."

The Xu Residence.

The spring day was warm and gentle. Xu Xinnian had his desk placed under the shade of a tree. Sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves, dappling the desk, the books, and his handsome face.

There were teacups and pastries nearby.

Auntie, along with sisters Xu Lingyue and Xu Lingyin, and Lina who was staying at their house, were preparing to go out for a trip.

Lina saw Xu Xinnian under the tree and generously praised him, "Xu Erlang is really handsome. If he were in our tribe, the women would fight tooth and nail for him."

The aunt instantly became alert, as if she had spotted a sow trying to gnaw on her cabbage.

Is this dark-skinned girl from Southern Frontier hinting that she has feelings for Erlang? Bah, wishful thinking, a toad lusting after a swan.

The aunt glanced at Lina with her beautiful eyes and urged, "It's getting late, let's head out soon."

This trip will not involve any attendants. Even a hundred attendants could not match the strength of Little Blackie from Southern Frontier. Little Blackie's strength has been certified by Second Uncle Xu and Xu Dalang.

The aunt also witnessed Little Blackie easily crush a fist-sized stone into powder.

Lina immediately forgot about the handsome Xu Erlang and walked out excitedly, eager to explore the Great Feng.

Back when I was in Southern Frontier, I often heard the elders in the tribe talk about the Great Feng Dafeng, the most prosperous city in the world.

"That brat eats a lot and even has designs on my Erlang. I have to find a way to get rid of her," the aunt thought to herself.

This foreign woman, who seemed to have fallen from the sky, stirred up my aunt's xenophobic thoughts.

As she was plotting how to drive away the foreign woman, she saw a group of soldiers rush in, push the gatekeeper Old Zhang to the ground, and head straight for the inner courtyard.

The head constable, holding a portrait, compared it to the image, pointed at Xu Xinnian reading under the shade of a tree, and shouted, "This is Xu Xinnian, seize him!"

"Who are you people? What right do you have to arrest my Erlang?" The aunt was terrified. Out of her protective instincts, she didn't hesitate and stood in front of the soldiers with her eyebrows raised.

"The Ministry of Justice is arresting people, do you dare to stop them? Take them all away!" The head constable waved his hand and ordered his men to arrest the aunt.

Two officers immediately stepped forward, took out a rope, and put it over the aunt's head.

"Bang!"

Lina stepped forward and gently pushed the two officers in the chest. With two screams of pain, the officers were sent flying, landing in a daze.

Clang!

The officers drew their weapons, pointing them at Lina. The young woman from the Southern Frontier licked her lips, somewhat excited. She could kill all of them within ten breaths.

The aunt, still shaken, hid behind Lina, suddenly realizing how reliable and dependable this little dark-skinned girl was.

"Stop."

Xu Xinnian gave a stern rebuke, put down his book, walked over, and swept his cold gaze across the assembled officials, saying in a deep voice:

"I am a scholar who has achieved official rank. You have trespassed on my residence and dared to draw your weapons. This is a grave offense."

At this moment, the two constables who had been knocked away stood up, rubbing their chests. Seeing that they were unharmed, the head constable hesitated for a moment, then sheathed his sword, took out a warrant, and said:

"We are acting on orders from the Ministry of Justice to bring Xu Huiyuan back to the yamen for questioning."

Xu Xinnian frowned and asked, "What crime have I committed?"

"Xu Huiyuan will find out once he comes with us." The head constable waved his hand and shouted, "Take him away!"

Lina was about to make a move, but Xu Xinnian stopped Ministry of Justice, saying, "I'll go with you."

Aunt and Xu Lingyue chased after them all the way outside the mansion, until the officials escorted Xu Xinnian and disappeared at the street corner.

Lina whispered, "Xu Erlang is robbing silver too?"

She knew that robbing silver would get her arrested by the soldiers.

At this moment, Old Zhang, the gatekeeper, led in Xu Xinnian's horse and said, "Madam, Miss, this old servant will send someone to inform the master immediately."

Aunt and Xu Lingyue turned around at the same time and called out, "Let's go find Dalang (eldest brother)."

"What? Officials from the Ministry of Justice have come to the mansion to arrest Erlang?"

When Xu Qi'an received the news at the Nightwatchers's office, he was stunned and caught off guard.

"Dalang, please think of something quickly! Madam and Miss are crying in distress." Old Zhang's son, the gatekeeper, looked anxious.

Why arrest him?

Old Zhang's son shook his head and said, "Suddenly a group of soldiers rushed over, pushed my father over, grabbed Erlang, and left."

"I understand. You can go back now." Xu Qi'an instructed, "Tell Aunt and Lingyue not to worry, I'll handle this."

"Dalang, you have to go back and talk to them yourself," said Old Zhang's son, the gatekeeper.

Xu Qi'an nodded, waved him away, sat down at the table, pondered for a moment, then got up and left Yidao Hall, intending to go to the Ministry of Justice to find out why the Ministry of Justice wanted to arrest Xu Erlang.

"It's not that the Minister of Ministry of Justice is deliberately picking a fight to avenge his niece, is it? If that's the case, then it's easier to resolve. Erlang has an official title; ordinary matters can't harm him."

"But the way the bigwigs in the court act is such that even if they are avenging their niece, they would not arrest someone without reason. They must have found something to hold against them and be confident that they can strike decisively before they take action."

"Therefore, Erlang must have gotten himself into some trouble, but I don't know it yet."

Thinking to himself, he left the courtyard and was about to turn around and go to the stable to bring back the mare when he saw Lu Qing, the chief constable of the prefectural government, hurrying into the courtyard with two quick-thinking men.

"Lord Xu."

The two met face to face. Lü Qing's face lit up with joy, but this was quickly replaced by anxiety. He said repeatedly, "The Prefect sent me to inform you that Xu Huiyuan is in trouble."

"I know, he was taken away by the Ministry of Ministry of Justice not long ago." Xu Qi'an nodded calmly.

"It seems the Ministry of Ministry of Justice acted faster." Lü Qing sighed.

"Officer Lü, please come in. I have something to ask you."

Xu Qi'an abandoned the idea of going to the stable and led Lü Qing back to Yidao Hall.

Lu Qing accepted the tea offered by the clerk, took a symbolic sip, and went straight to the point. "His Majesty has issued an edict to investigate Xu Huiyuan's alleged cheating in the imperial examinations."

The words "cheating in the imperial examinations" made Xu Qi'an's brow twitch.

I did indeed give Erlang the poem "The Road to Shu is Hard," but does that count as cheating in the imperial examination? I guessed the exam question correctly. The court didn't support guessing the questions, but it never prohibited it either. It was a common practice among Confucian scholars to guess the questions. Strictly speaking, it doesn't count as cheating. No, the question itself isn't about cheating.

Xu Qi'an sensed a conspiracy and said in a deep voice, "Is His Majesty ordering an investigation?"

Lu Qing glanced at the clerks in the hall and said in a low voice, "I don't know, and Lord Xu shouldn't make any unfounded speculations."

I misspoke.

But this is very important. If Emperor Yuanjing wanted to get rid of Erlang, it would be difficult to handle, and Erlang's future would be almost ruined. "If you sell yourself to the imperial family and the imperial family doesn't want you, then the scholar is doomed," Xu Qi'an said with peace of mind.

"Thank you for the reminder, Officer Lü, but I am in a hurry to deal with this matter and cannot keep you here."

"Lord Xu, please see me off." Lü Qing said meaningfully.

The two left Yidao Hall and walked side by side towards the gate of the mansion. Lü Qing lowered his voice and said:

"Lord Xu would be best off going to the Ministry of Justice. Once he's in their hands, he'll be completely at their Ministry of Justice. If you delay, he'll probably confess to everything. That's all I have to say."

Lu Qing had practiced martial arts since childhood and had worked in the government office for many years. He had seen many similar cases and was very clear about the shady dealings in officialdom.

After seeing Lü Qing off, Xu Qi'an turned and went into the Haoqi Tower to seek help from Wei Yuan.

His intuition told him that this matter was not so simple. He lacked experience and was not skilled enough in the intrigues and power struggles of officialdom. Fortunately, he had a powerful patron to rely on.

Upon entering the Haoqi Tower and entering the tea room, Xu Qi'an recounted the matter to Wei Yuan, seeking his advice. "Please, Duke Wei, teach me."

Wei Yuan held his teacup and pondered, "I haven't received any notification from the palace, which means His Majesty doesn't want me to know, at least not immediately."

Xu Qi'an's expression changed. "Is His Majesty trying to get me?"

"How vulgar is the word 'do'," Wei Yuan said disdainfully, then shook his head. "You Xu Household brothers are not qualified for His Majesty to personally intervene; you should be impeached."

"As for the purpose, firstly, based on the examples of cheating cases in previous imperial examinations, since it is cheating, there must be examiners who leaked the questions. The three chief examiners for this spring examination are Zhao Tingfang, Grand Secretary of the Dongge Pavilion, Liu Hong, Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, and Qian Qingshu, Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall. We will ignore the rest of the minor officials for now."

Of the three examiners who might have leaked the exam questions, Qian Qingshu can be ruled out first.

Xu Qi'an frowned. "Why?"

Wei Yuan replied, "Impeachment memorials must first go through the Grand Secretariat, which is Wang Zhenwen's territory, and Qian Qingshu is Wang Zhenwen's man. Do you understand?"

The fact that Chief Minister Wang didn't return the memorial means that this matter has nothing to do with Qian Qingshu. Xu Qi'an nodded. "Understood."

Wei Yuan continued, "Secondly, your cousin Xu Xinnian is from the Cloud Deer Academy. Although there are many factions in the court, all civil officials tacitly agree to suppress the scholars of the Cloud Deer Academy. This is the main reason for the cheating in this imperial examination."

"Didn't the great scholars of the Cloud Deer Academy remind me?" Xu Qi'an frowned.

"It's inevitable that they'll suppress him, but they might not use the pretext of cheating in the imperial examinations. Even if Xu Xinnian becomes the top scholar, they can still sweep him into a corner. There are no fixed rules, and too many methods. How can we defend against them?" Wei Yuan shook his head.

"Finally, Xu Xinnian is your cousin, and you are my confidant. If you encounter a matter of great importance concerning your future, will you ask me for help? If I don't, a rift will inevitably form between us. If I do, then the follow-up moves will begin." Wei Yuan sneered.

"Our Emperor is pleased to see me fighting with the civil officials, so the news hasn't spread out of the palace."

Killing two birds with one stone. No, if there's also the examiner who leaked the questions, then the person behind it all is killing three birds with one stone. As for Erlang, being involved in the imperial examination cheating case, there are only three possible outcomes: First, with conclusive evidence, he'll be exiled or beheaded. Second, with conclusive evidence but a lesser charge, he'll be stripped of his academic honors and banned from employment for life. Third, he'll be found not guilty after investigation, but will miss the palace examination and his reputation will be ruined.

Xu Qi'an took a deep breath, his head feeling like it was about to explode.

Scholars are disgusting! Whatever the conflict, let's draw our swords and fight it out, settle things once and for all. How much more straightforward and efficient!

They resort to all sorts of underhanded and insidious tricks.

"Duke Wei, what should I do?" Xu Qi'an humbly sought advice. He was full of confidence when it came to solving cases. As for political infighting, he was like a silver-level expert facing off against a group of kings.

Fortunately, I had a top-tier player behind me.

"I can step down, but then Xu Xinnian will be mine, and that label will be indelible for the rest of his life." Wei Yuan sipped his tea, looking at him with gentle eyes.

This matter is very troublesome. Even if Duke Wei intervenes and helps Erlang escape, it will likely be a major blow, since the other side is not just one faction, but possibly a tacit agreement between multiple factions.

Moreover, if Erlang becomes a member of the eunuch faction like me, it would be better to let him leave his hometown and the capital.

Xu Qi'an frowned deeply, sat silently for a long time, and said in a hoarse voice, "Duke Wei, is there any other way?"

"Have!"

This answer surprised and delighted Xu Qi'an.

But Wei Yuan changed the subject, shaking his head and saying, "But you can't do it."

PS: Just to correct you, the donation from "SeanGhoust" was 230,000, not 190,000. I miscalculated in the previous chapter.

Also, I've been dealing with some upsetting things lately. I didn't sleep a wink last night, slept for four hours during the day, and then got up to write. But I haven't really been in the mood to write.

Thank goodness it's the weekend, otherwise I'm afraid I'd collapse from exhaustion. Only one update today, sigh.

Don't worry, I'll make up for the words I owe you today tomorrow. I keep my word.

By the way, this case was inspired by the Tang Yin imperial examination cheating case, so it's not entirely fabricated. I've researched a lot of materials on imperial examination cheating; some cases have solid evidence, but there are also many cases where people's lives were ruined without any evidence.

Just to warn readers, in case they find this unreasonable.