Chapter 58 Beginning of Winter (Part )

The problem of cheating in the imperial examinations in the Qing Dynasty had been around for a long time, and there were often voices of dissatisfaction among students, but as Wang Xipu said, those voices ultimately fell on deaf ears and did not cause any major waves.

But the development of this situation was beyond everyone’s expectations.

Perhaps it was because this dissatisfaction had been suppressed for too long, the action of the Jinling students gathering together to block the examiners’ boats was like a prairie fire. The fire spread from Jinling to the entire Jiangnan region, and within a month, it spread to the capital. Some students united and went to Beijing to vow to report the matter to the emperor, and some officials even wrote to impeach the matter. This fire eventually caused the emperor to be furious.

The emperor denounced this matter angrily and ordered an imperial envoy to go to Nanjing to investigate the matter thoroughly. The emperor said that once the matter is found out, anyone involved in this fraud case will be severely punished and will not be tolerated.

The imperial envoys headed by the Grand Councilor Heshen quickly arrived in Nanjing City.

Even though Orange is just a cat, when he heard the name “Heshen”, he was able to realize the seriousness of the matter – he was the well-known No. 1 corrupt official in the Qing Dynasty!
A group of Jinling officials were so frightened that their legs went limp, and some even lost their souls.

The imperial envoy’s measures were swift and decisive. However, in just seven or eight days, more than fifty officials of all ranks were arrested and imprisoned. The cheating was particularly serious. Officials accepted bribes and allowed candidates to smuggle essays into the exam room. There were even candidates who asked others to take the exam in their names and sat in other candidates’ seats. Such chaos was common.

The case has come to this point. Simply punishing these officials and the candidates who were found to have cheated is not enough to quell the public anger. Those students who failed the exam as a result need an explanation, and who can guarantee that there are no escapees among the remaining candidates who have not been identified?

At this point, things are far from over.

With Nanjing as the center and even in Suzhou, Hangzhou and other places, all the autumn examination results in the entire Jiangnan area were invalidated, and the imperial court had to reopen the examination hall.

Many candidates who had already returned home were forcibly taken back to Nanjing by officials and interrogated like prisoners, and more than half of them fell ill on the way.

As a successful candidate in the imperial examination, Wang Jie had been interrogated several times by Nanjing officials and imperial envoys. He was often detained in the yamen for days and could not return home. He was questioned and interrogated again and again until he was told that his results were invalid. Under this sudden change and high pressure, Wang Jie quickly lost weight.

Everyone in the Wang family was unable to sleep or eat, like a taut bowstring.

On this day, the police broke into the house. Even though Wang Jie had always been cooperative and obedient, his hands were still handcuffed and he was taken to the examination hall.

“Don’t be afraid, Jie’er!” The Third Madam hurriedly chased after him, her voice trembling, but it was the first time she spoke so loudly: “You rely on your real talent! If you can pass the exam once, you can pass it the second time!”

But the examination room changed, and Wang Jie also changed.

The imperial envoy personally supervised the examination. There was an official with a sword standing beside each candidate. Most of the candidates were in dishevel, and they were stripped and checked before entering the examination room.

The examination room was filled with panic, and any candidate who looked suspicious would be dragged away for interrogation on the spot.

These scholars, who had been treated with courtesy in every way, no longer had any dignity to speak of. Some of them angrily denounced the imperial envoy’s actions, but were accused of defying the majesty of heaven, stripped of their clothes, and beaten in public.

Wang Jie was a cautious person, and he never stood up for righteous indignation. He tried his best to calm down, but the words on the test paper were distorted. He could no longer form a single sentence in his mind, and his hands, which were shackled with heavy chains, were shaking…

Cold sweat soaked his thin gown, and he lost track of time in his trembling. The only thing that kept him sitting there without fainting was his willpower.

Wang Jie almost handed in a blank paper.

The examiner who passed by him and took away the test paper looked furious and contemptuous.

This blank paper was seen as proof of ignorance or blatant defiance of the imperial court, and either charge was a catastrophic blow.

Wang Jie was stripped of his gown and taken to jail.

The third wife fainted upon hearing the news, and the Wang family was in chaos overnight.

Four days later, the Wang family received news that Wang Jie had been convicted of cheating to steal the title of Juren. According to the law, all his titles would be stripped and he would be exiled to Jilin.

“No…” The third wife said in a lost tone: “My son did not cheat! It was the court that wronged him!” – The old man was exiled to Jilin during his lifetime and never came back until his death!
The Third Wife was forcibly taken back to the room. When the hall was in a dead silence, Zhenyi came in hurriedly from outside: “… Second Brother is innocent and should go to the government office to seek justice and clear his name!”

Juzi followed behind and jumped into the hall, only to see Wang Xipu slumped back into his chair with a look of dejection, muttering, “No, this can’t be done…”

“I’ve already inquired… This time the court is not only trying to eliminate cheating in the imperial examinations, but also involves the dispute between the northern and southern parties in the court…” Wang Xipu’s voice was so low that it was difficult to hear clearly: “Even His Majesty… intends to use this opportunity to intimidate the students in Jiangnan… If they hadn’t received some instructions, those imperial envoys would never dare to act like this…”

Wang Xipu lowered his head in fear and despair, and closed his eyes: “I have been an official for many years, and I have never seen such a big imperial examination case. How many innocent officials were implicated and beheaded? What can a family like us count for? The interests involved are beyond your and my imagination…”

He was extremely scared, and it was precisely because he understood the darkness and bloodiness of the officialdom that he was even more afraid. He was so scared that he dared not do anything, fearing that any carelessness would bring about even greater disaster.

Zhenyi could hardly believe it – so, second brother was abandoned just like that?
“Zhen’er, the severity of this matter is far beyond the ability of a girl like you to judge…” Wang Xirui interrupted his niece’s words with a hoarse voice, looked at Mother Zhuo, raised his hand weakly, and signaled her to take Zhenyi back.

Zhenyi, who had not been able to sleep all night, suddenly got up when the sky outside the window began to lighten.

Orange hurried to follow.

Zhenyi ran all the way to Jifang Bookstore and searched everywhere in the bookstore in the dim light.

Orange also jumped up and down. Although it didn’t know what Zhenyi was doing, it still followed suit and was busy.

Zhenyi found many articles and essays written by her second brother, as well as several volumes of calligraphy and paintings, held them in her arms, and walked out quickly.

The wise retreat in fear because of their knowledge, and therefore the ignorant are fearless.

It was already daybreak and still early. Zhenyi had just stepped out of the house when she saw a guest arriving early.

The young man in a long gown who got off the mule cart was actually Zhan Mei.

“Second Miss!” A strange voice of pursuit and shouting came from the yard behind.

Zhenyi: “Brother Zhan——”

Without further ado, Zhan Mei seemed to have understood instantly, and just raised her hand to open the curtain: “Second sister, please get in the car!”

Zhenyi nodded hurriedly and got into the car, followed closely by Juzi.

On the first day of the beginning of winter, the morning breeze was mixed with a bit of early chill, and the wheels rolled away.

On the beginning of winter of that year, Mother Zhuo no longer had the heart to get up early to steam a pot of bacon and vegetable rice, and Zhenyi had no time to open the volume of Yueling Jijie again.

Zhan Mei’s appearance was not accidental. He rushed to Jinling because he heard about Wang Jie’s experience.

After a conversation in the not very spacious car, the young man said seriously: “Unlike my second sister, I am used to being casual. I have never been as determined as my second sister. Most of the time, I even believe in the saying of destiny.”

Zhenyi was still holding those articles, calligraphy and paintings, and he continued, “But I also believe that before we listen to fate, we should do our best.”

He finally said, “Second sister, I will go with you.”

(The Qing Dynasty was plagued by corruption. This passage is based on the experience of Wu Zhaoqian, a talented scholar from Jiangnan during the Qing Dynasty. In fact, Wu Zhaoqian was exiled for life until his tragic death.

The original intention of writing this book was to restore the era and environment of Zhenyi as much as possible, but that feudal era was too dark and miserable for ordinary people, so there was Orange.)
Good night everyone~