Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5007: Trying to Win Over
Inside Shujing Palace, there was a pot of fragrant tea and several plates of cakes on the table. The Queen, Changle and Jinyang sat around the tea table, whispering to each other.

When Empress Su saw the female official beside her walk in quickly from outside the palace, she asked hurriedly, "What's going on in the imperial study?"

The female official came closer, bowed, and whispered the details of what she had heard from the imperial study...

Hearing that the mastermind behind this was Princess Jinyang, Empress Su and Princess Changle looked over in surprise. Seeing Princess Jinyang lowering her head and looking demure as if it had nothing to do with her, Empress Su patted her on the shoulder and said angrily, "What nonsense! The imperial examination is something that your majesty attaches the most importance to. The whole country is working for it, and you dare to mess with it?"

Princess Jinyang sipped her tea and said leisurely, "Li Yun beat him up. What does it have to do with me?"

Anyway, as long as she refuses to admit it, who can do anything to her?
Princess Changle snorted and said, "Queen, don't worry. This matter can only be left unresolved."

The Queen asked suspiciously, "Why do you think so? The imperial examination is extraordinary. Even if Your Majesty dotes on Sizi, I'm afraid he will have to punish her."

Princess Changle glanced at Princess Jinyang, who was dignified and motionless. "Because this little girl is very cunning, she will drag the Duke of Yue into this. Your Majesty is afraid of the consequences, so you won't punish the Duke of Yue for this, right?"

The Queen became more and more worried and could not help but blame Princess Jinyang: "Recently, things have been a bit tense between His Majesty and the Duke of Yue, and both of them are restraining themselves. What if you make a fuss and cause them to fall out?"

Everyone can see that Your Majesty and Fang Jun are in a state of mutual competition. Both sides are "fighting but not breaking". They want to determine who is superior, but at the same time they are forbearing and restraining themselves, trying to maintain the situation within a stable range.

This is the most dangerous time. Any external factors may lead to unpredictable consequences. If this balance is broken, it will surely set off a huge wave...

Princess Jinyang was very wise: "Don't worry, sister-in-law, my brother-in-law won't put me in this situation. He will definitely compromise with His Majesty."

Princess Changle said angrily, "Even if you allow that fellow to dote on you, you will suppress the matter completely, right?"

Queen Su suddenly realized.

The ultimate purpose of Princess Jinyang's action this time is to pull Fang Jun over to stand in front of her. As long as Fang Jun discusses the matter with His Majesty face to face, given the delicate relationship between the two, Fang Jun will definitely give in, and His Majesty will not be aggressive.

In fact, there has been a substantial improvement in the relationship between the two, and it is no longer as tense as before.

At the same time, His Majesty will not continue to force Princess Jinyang to marry, because no matter whether Fang Jun covets Jinyang or not, his doting on her is absolutely genuine, and Jinyang's feelings for Fang Jun are also obvious. If you continue to force Jinyang, wouldn't it be equivalent to straining the relationship with Fang Jun again?
Therefore, Jinyang's marriage will also be eased.

Kill two birds with one stone...

The queen asked the lady-in-waiting, "How will this matter be dealt with in the end?"

The female official said: "Duke Yue advised that His Royal Highness King Jiang be severely punished and deprived of his qualification to take the imperial examination for life..."

Queen: "..."

Sure enough.

What severe punishment? This kind of punishment is probably just what King Jiang wants. That prince is not a scholar to begin with, and he is usually a playboy and willful. Even if he is allowed to take the exam, he will not pass it.

To sum up, it is nothing.

The only one who was hurt was Dou Huairang, who had lofty ambitions and wanted to make a splash in the imperial examination...

Even though the result was pleasing, the queen couldn't help but complain: "You are too bold, girl. Don't do this again in the future."

The imperial examination is a national policy and the whole country attaches great importance to it. No one dares to interfere or sabotage it. If everyone uses it as a tool to achieve their own goals like Princess Jinyang did, wouldn't it end up in a farce?
Princess Jinyang looked well behaved and harmless: "Well, I won't dare to do that again."

Princess Changle rolled her eyes. How could she not know her sister's temperament? This girl looked well-behaved, but in fact she was bold and had very righteous ideas. She had clearly become a nun but she did not practice in a Taoist temple. Instead, she tried every means to sabotage her marriage. Her true thoughts were obvious.

I couldn't help but feel a headache, and I didn't know where this evil fate was going.

While pouring tea for her two sisters-in-law, the queen asked the court lady, "Has the Duke of Yue left the palace?"

The female official shook her head and said, "She did not leave the palace. When I came back, the Duke of Yue was drinking tea and chatting with His Majesty in the imperial study."

The Queen let out a long sigh and smiled, "Although Jinyang is making a fuss, if those two can put aside their past grudges and reconcile their differences, it would be a great achievement."

In her mind, as long as His Majesty and Fang Jun have no barriers between them and work together, they will be invincible.

*****
The imperial examination was vigorously promoted by the state, and everyone in the government and the public knew that this national policy could not be changed, and they had to participate in it regardless of whether it was in their own interests. Therefore, all parties paid close attention to it. A fight between candidates broke out in the examination hall of Wannian County, and the news soon spread throughout Chang'an.

Liu Li was in charge of the Chang'an County Government, which had another examination hall under the Jingzhao Prefecture. Upon hearing about this, he immediately summoned personnel and soldiers to maintain order in the examination hall and would never allow such incidents to happen again.

The progress of the fight naturally attracted his attention. He wanted to know what punishment the two parties who disrupted the order in the examination room would receive?

Inside the government office, Liu Li and Chang'an County Magistrate Yuwen Jie sat opposite each other and drank tea, listening to the news gathered from the Wannian County Government by their subordinates.

Yuwen Jie frowned: "It is surprising that Prince Jiang beat Dou Huairang, and Dou Dexuan actually came to the palace to plead guilty. There must be something hidden behind this."

Liu Li also felt that it was a bit strange, but as more and more information came out, the general thread gradually became clear, and he smiled and said: "Prince Jiang may seem to be a dandy, but he is actually a coward. He would never dare to beat up a candidate or disrupt the order of the examination in the imperial examination hall. There must be someone behind him. But who has such a deep grudge against the Dou family that he would instruct a prince to disrupt Dou Huairang's examination?"

This is no longer a "exchange of pieces". The price one pays for being able to order Li Yun around must be huge.

Of course, there are some people who can order Li Yun around without paying any price...

When the final news came, Liu Li became more and more certain of his inference: "Dou Huairang was not allowed to take the imperial examination for three years, while King Jiang was not allowed to take the imperial examination for his entire life... It seems that the latter is more severe, but in fact, Dou Huairang is the one who is most wronged. How many three years can there be in a person's life?"

Three years later, times have changed and no one knows what the imperial examination will be like. Today, the imperial examination has just started and the gap between all candidates is not much, they are almost at the same starting line. Perhaps Dou Huairang is confident of passing. But three years later, the rules of the imperial examination will inevitably be gradually completed, and candidates all over the world will be more fully prepared, the gap between them will widen, and perhaps Dou Huairang will fail.

Did Li Yun need to take the imperial examination? He didn't.

Even if it is necessary, can he pass the exam?

There are many kinds of punishment, but the one that seems extremely severe but is actually insignificant was chosen for Li Yun, the Prince of Jiang...

"The person behind this has compromised with Your Majesty."

Liu Li concluded that although he didn't know who was hiding behind the scenes, the basic context was like this.

Yuwen Jie said: "Your Majesty's attitude is also very firm. Those who disrupt the imperial examination will be severely punished."

Although the imperial examination had become an unshakable national policy, and even the only way for the future empire to select talents, it had damaged the foundations of the aristocratic families after all. Although many people in various parts of the country seemed to respect the national policy, in fact, there were many who pretended to obey it and there were countless people who were waiting and watching.

Liu Li nodded: "That's right. King Jiang's punishment may seem insignificant, but that's because he is King Jiang. If it were another student who was banned from taking the imperial examination for life, it would be tantamount to cutting off his official career. It is extremely severe."

Simply disrupting the order in the examination room will result in a lifetime ban from taking the exam. Such severe punishment is enough to serve as a warning to others.

As to whether such punishment is effective against King Jiang, that is another matter. If you punish King Jiang in this way today, and punish others in the future, who can say that Your Majesty is unfair?

Compared to this, Dou Huairang's punishment was a lenient one. Not only could the Dou family not have any resentment or dissatisfaction, they even had to shed tears of gratitude.

Yuwen Jie hesitated for a moment and said softly, "In that case, disrupting the order of the examination room is not a bad thing."

Through this incident, the people of the world can see clearly your Majesty's firm determination. Even your own brother is banned from taking exams for life. Wouldn't others be trembling with fear and trepidation?
Liu Li's heart moved and he looked at Yuwen Jie. Their eyes met and a thought came to their mind at the same time: Could it be that His Majesty is manipulating this and is the mastermind behind it?

They then looked away. After all, even if the truth was like that, it was not something they could guess.

Everyone tries to figure out their boss' intentions, but they can only do it and not say it...

After taking a sip of tea, Liu Li glanced at the drizzling rain outside and asked softly, "Although Yuwen County Magistrate has only been in office for a short time, he has made outstanding achievements in politics and has a good reputation among the people. If he can successfully complete the imperial examination, he may be able to make further progress when it comes to rewarding meritorious service."

Yuwen Jie heard the music and understood the meaning of the music. He said respectfully, "I dare not accept the false praise from the Minister of the Central Secretariat. I am incompetent and of low moral character. I have been trembling with fear and treading on thin ice all day long, fearing that I would disappoint your majesty's trust and the people's expectations. I dare not slack off in the slightest. If I can be praised for my diligence in my work when I am evaluated one day, I will be satisfied."

Liu Li praised: "'Diligence' is the foundation of being an official, but looking around the world, how many people can really do it? The Secretariat is in great need of such talents. Now that the position of Secretariat Sheren is vacant, there is no suitable candidate. County Magistrate Yuwen might as well give it some thought."

Originally, Yuwen Jie was implicated in Zhangsun Wuji's rebellion and was about to be exiled to the Western Regions, but the remaining power of the Guanlong clans still managed to protect him. Your Majesty also knew that too much is as bad as too little, so he appointed Yuwen Jie as the magistrate of Chang'an County.

Although he may not hold a high official position now, he has inherited all the legacy of the Guanlong clan. He will certainly not be in this position in the future and is qualified to be won over.

Yuwen Jie paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Thank you very much for selecting me. I will definitely follow your lead and do my best to serve you."