Chapter 580: The Panicked Scholar from Jiangnan
Everyone looked at each other, and their eyes involuntarily swept over Lu Yong’s face. Not finding anything unusual, they felt relieved.

Wang Shizhen said: “Mr. Hai has posted a notice that the case will be tried publicly in Suzhou in five days. The scholars and gentry who have been summoned now are just being called in for questioning.

The trial will start in five days, so we will still have time to leave the day after tomorrow.

Eunuch Lu, do you want to join us?”

Lu Yong laughed, “Mr. Fengzhou, we went to Suzhou just to do the job. The Suzhou Weaving Bureau, Hangzhou Weaving Bureau, and Jiangning Weaving Bureau have all been abolished.

Now in the southeast, the only people left in the inner court are Fang Wenshan, the eunuch guarding Nanjing, and my family. Of course, my family has to go and take a look at such a big thing, otherwise the eunuchs in the inner court will not know how to report it.

Eunuch Fang is old and has poor legs and feet, so how can we invite him? Let’s go there. We came early to visit the Fengzhou Mansion because we admire the Opera Research Institute.

This visit is not important. We don’t want to leave. We just want to live here. We are so happy here that we don’t miss Shanghai or Suzhou! But the emperor has ordered us to leave together the day after tomorrow.”

Everyone listened with a smile. Lu Yong loved Kunqu Opera and other operas very much and were famous in the southeast.

Moreover, it is said that Lü Yong and Feng Bao were classmates in the Neishu Hall. They were equally knowledgeable, humble and polite, and had close contacts with scholars in the southeast.

It is beneficial to interact more with the kind people in the inner court, as they can provide you with more help to plead for mercy and save your life at critical moments.

But Lu Yong’s words just now were just for fun. However, they did have some comforting meaning for everyone.

Hearing what Lü Yong said, Wang Shimao turned to look at Wang Shizhen and said, “Brother, shall we set out the day after tomorrow?”

“Yes, we will set out the day after tomorrow morning. I have asked the steward to book two boats, and we will set out together.”

“Okay, now that you are ready, I am relieved.”

After a few pleasantries, Wang Shizhen and Wang Shimao excused themselves and went to the study.

“Jimei, you must stay calm when things get serious!”

As soon as he entered the study, Wang Shizhen couldn’t help complaining.

Brother, do you know that you almost shattered the character that I worked so hard to build?

Wang Shimao lowered his head and said, “I know I was wrong. I was indeed impatient and impulsive just now.”

“The people in that room just now were all very cunning. No one knows what they are up to. If we are not careful, the Wang family will be in big trouble.”

Wang Shizhen sat down and said with a sigh.

Wang Shimao sat down next to him, shook his head and said, “Brother, I never thought that the court’s chop to the southeast was actually made by Hai Rui, the Lord Hai.”

Wang Shizhen stood up irritably and paced back and forth in the study. Fatigue and fear appeared on his face and there was lingering fear in his eyes, as if all the courage he had in his life had been used up in the early morning court on the first day of February.

“Alas, man proposes, God disposes. The situation in the southeast is volatile and unpredictable. No one knows what will be revealed in the Suzhou trial in five days.”

“Brother, I heard that the eldest son of the Xu family, the one who became a monk in Shuiyue Zen Temple, was related to the three banned books that caused a sensation last year, “Dream of Spring in the Western Garden”, “Zhang Ge Lao Huaqi Lu” and “Record of Xu Shilang’s Retribution”.

It was really unexpected. Everyone originally thought that these three banned books were secretly written by Gao Gong and others, but unexpectedly they were the works of the eldest son of the Xu family to vent his anger.

I heard that Prime Minister Xu was summoned to Suzhou just for this matter. “

Wang Shizhen glanced at Wang Shimao, said nothing, and continued to listen to him.

“It was a coincidence. I heard that it was the Haifutai who sealed off the Tianjie Courtyard, and the eldest son of the Xu family happened to be there, so he was arrested as well.

This young master was guilty of his crime, and before the police officer could ask any questions, he told the whole story, spilling the beans, saying everything he should and shouldn’t say.”

Wang Shizhen sat down, encouraged his brother with his eyes, and continued, “Tell me everything you know.”

“Brother, I also heard that Haifutai is going to re-examine the fraud case of the Southern Examination in the first year of Longqing. It is said that on his way south, he met a few scholars who insisted on filing a complaint, and then he secretly investigated and found out a lot of things.

The chief examiner, co-examiner, and invigilator of the Southern Examination, more than 20 people, who were in Nanjing and Jiangsu, were all detained by the governor-general and taken to Suzhou. Those who were transferred to other places were impeached by the governor-general and the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Justice detained them all.

I heard that there were monks from Tianjieyuan who were involved in the cheating case in the Southern Examination in the first year of Longqing, so they were investigated.

Brother, in addition to the examiners and invigilators, I wonder how many noble families and gentry will be implicated in the Nanwei case, and I don’t know how many scholars in Jiangnan will be implicated.”

For every provincial examination, the famous scholars representing the local aristocratic families would negotiate secretly to allocate the number of juren candidates early on, and the examiners would take the opportunity to make a fortune while doing favors.

All kinds of fraud have become an open secret among scholars.

Especially in the Nanwei examination, which gathered talented scholars from Southern Zhili, cheating was the most rampant.

Wang Shizhen said calmly: “In the past, the government and the people turned a blind eye to these frauds.

Now the Emperor has sent Hai Qingtian to investigate the Nanwei case in the first year of Longqing. Everyone knows that this time the Emperor and the court are serious about it, and it will be difficult to get away with it.

These days, the noble families have been exchanging letters with each other eagerly. I guess they have discussed it secretly and decided on a scapegoat, so the water has calmed down again. “

“Brother, I heard that the main culprit in the Nanwei case in the first year of Longqing was Ruan Rendao.”

Wang Shizhen sneered twice, “He is a student of Zhang Shuda and a core member of the Chu Party. He was just a fellow examiner, sent by Zhang Juzheng to stir up trouble.

But now everyone has determined that he must be the principal offender.”

Wang Shimao couldn’t help but say, “If that’s the case, then everyone can breathe a sigh of relief.”

“Relieved? You’re overthinking it, Ji Mei!”

Wang Shimao was stunned. “Brother, what do you mean?”

Wang Shizhen leaned back in his chair, his expression calming down. “This matter is not that simple.”

Wang Shimao asked, “Brother, is there any mystery in it?”

Wang Shizhen did not answer him directly. He squinted his eyes in the sunlight cast by the window lattice and murmured, “The left and right wings of Mongolia in the south of the desert, Jianzhou and Haixi, and Annan in Korea, do you really think that God is blessing the Ming Dynasty and giving it a good opportunity?
We are still fighting over trivial matters, but the emperor is already playing the game of war with us. “

Wang Shimao was shocked, “Playing with military tactics, the emperor playing with military tactics? What about the Suzhou trial?” Wang Shizhen said quietly, “Looking back over the past few years, the emperor has used military force abroad, and every time he did so, he killed the chieftain and destroyed the country.

If we attack Jiangnan now, do you think he will play the game of hello, hello and hello to us?”

Wang Shimao’s expression changed constantly, “Mr. Xu is in danger, and the scholars in Jiangnan are in danger too.”

“Perhaps it has been dangerous since Mr. Xu retired, or perhaps since the early morning court session on the first day of February. Yesterday’s cause leads to today’s result.”

Wang Shizhen glanced at his brother and said, “Wei Yi, does Ji Mei want to be buried with them?”

Wang Shimao shrank his neck and said, “Although I am a fool, I am not stupid.”

On the first day of February, I thought our Wang family was doomed. Either the entire family would be confiscated, or the whole family would go fishing in Sanbao Mansion.

We never expected that more than 20 days later, by some unexpected turns of events, my brother and I, along with our family, would return to our hometown in Taicang safely.

I really don’t want to experience those twenty-plus days of anxiety, with my life hanging by a thread and my heart being eaten by a million ants, again.

Having walked through the gates of hell once, I really don’t want to go through it again.

In the theater of Wangfu Yanshan Garden, only the drama fanatic Lu Yong was still sitting in his original seat.

He closed his eyes and tapped his hands on his thighs as he listened to the actress next door singing Wang Shizhen’s new Kunqu opera, “Strange Stories in Jianzhou.”

It tells a touching love story that took place when the imperial court recovered Jianzhou and Haixi and the Tumen Khan of the Chahar tribe broke his promise and allowed his troops to invade Liaodong, causing chaos in Liaodong and the border troops to defend the two cities of Kaiyuan and Fushun.

It is still driven by two main storylines.

The first main plot is about Xia Zhaozhao, the daughter of a convicted official who was banished to Qingyun Fort of Liaohaiwei in Liaodong. When Kaiyuan City was in danger, she disguised herself as a man and took the place of her sick brother to serve in the army. She fought bloody battles in Kaiyuan City and met and fell in love with Gao Changming, a general of the Kaiyuan garrison, in the crisis.

The second main plot is that Gao Changming’s twin brother Gao Haoming was a garrison commander in Fushun City who went out of the city to spy on the enemy at night. Unfortunately, he was injured and was rescued by Duo Linghua, a woman from the Jurchen tribe, and then they fell in love.

The two love stories that took place during the war, separated from the previous love stories under the moonlight and flowers, appear to be heart-wrenching against the backdrop of the times.

At the same time, the first heroine disguises herself as a man and joins the army, looking extremely brave and heroic; the second heroine rides a horse and shoots arrows, looking heroic and dashing, breaking away from the previous shackles, which is a pleasant surprise.

This drama has love, fighting, territorial expansion, and exotic (Northeastern) customs, all of which are attractive to people at the moment.

As soon as the script was written, it became an instant sensation. Theater troupes from all over the country rushed to rehearse the play, and a new female character name was born, Daomadan.

But where this name came from is unknown.

From the perspective of later generations, this play is about defending the country, killing enemies and gaining merit, and national integration. It is a definite Ming Dynasty version of the main theme play.

The Taichang Temple praised this play explicitly and implicitly, and encouraged various drama troupes to perform it.

Then coal and iron companies, factories and businesses in Luanhe, Taiyuan and Shanghai all paid a lot of money to invite troupes to perform the play. The Taichang Temple also paid to invite troupes to perform the play in various colleges and public schools.

It became more and more popular and has become the most popular play in the first year of the Wanli reign.

The eunuch who was serving nearby looked around, lowered his head and said softly to Lu Yong: “Godfather, they have all gone somewhere else.”

“Haha, the scholars in Jiangnan are now feeling like they have dozens of cats scratching their hearts. They are very panicked. Let them panic. Our work is done. We can just watch the show peacefully from now on.”

“It’s godfather.”

Hu Yinglin and Shen Mingchen made an excuse to visit Yanshan Garden. They walked to a pavilion in the garden, sat down and couldn’t help talking.

Shen Mingchen sighed, “Yuanrui, it looks like Duke Fengzhou has really been recruited.”

“Recruitment?” Hu Yinglin smiled faintly, “On the morning of February, Lord Fengzhou stood up and made a deafening voice.

Man proposes, God disposes. The emperor is a wise ruler appointed by heaven. He showed mercy beyond the law and released the brothers of Fengzhou. These people then said sourly that they should be recruited.

Haha, they are just jealous because they want to be recruited by the emperor, but they can’t find a way.”

Shen Mingchen glanced at Hu Yinglin and smiled, “You, you are so sharp-tongued that you never spare anyone.” Five days later, Suzhou will hold a joint trial. I heard that the first case to be investigated is the Nanwei case in the first year of Longqing.

The Nanwei is the most important provincial examination in the country.

Now the Governor of the Sea is investigating the Southern Examination in the first year of Longqing’s reign, which may have far-reaching consequences. It just so happens that the Autumn Examination is approaching this year. Once implicated, the examination will be suspended by imperial decree. Tens of years of hard study by tens of thousands of students will be wasted for three years.

How many three years are there in a lifetime? “

Hu Yinglin disagreed and said, “Your Majesty is wise and has opened up many avenues for advancement. There are academies for law, mathematics, medicine, and the study of physics, where students can study and practice in depth. Those who excel can be recruited into the six ministries and temples.

There is also the Imperial College.

The road to the blue sky and the road to Kunpeng are not limited to scientific tests. “

Shen Mingchen knew that Hu Yinglin was talented, but he just didn’t like imperial examinations.

His father was a Jinshi from a legitimate family, and he wanted his son to be successful, so he urged him on repeatedly. Hu Yinglin just passed the exam and became a scholar, and that was enough to get by.

Later, Li Zhi’s new learning flourished, and Hu Yinglin became more fond of it. He became more and more indifferent to the imperial examination and only wanted to be admitted to the Imperial College.

But his father Hu Xi was not happy about it, so he went on a study tour, first visiting Ningbo, Shanghai and Nanjing Imperial College where the new learning atmosphere was strong, and then went to Beijing Imperial College for pilgrimage.

“Yuan Rui is a man of high talent, and is not restricted by the imperial examinations. But ordinary students spend more than ten years on the imperial examinations. If they are cut off from this, their situation will be tragic and devastating!”

Hu Yinglin blinked his eyes and said, “Brother Jia Ze, don’t worry. I guess that the Suzhou trial will only punish the tigers and wolves, and will not harm the sheep below.”

Shen Mingchen was stunned, “Did Yuanrui hear anything?”

He knew that Hu Yinglin was very much loved by Wang Yi’e because of his father Hu Xi, and he had always wanted to accept him as a disciple.

Could it be that Hu Yinglin saw some clues from Wang Yi’e’s correspondence?
(End of this chapter)