At the tender age of eight, he was hastily dragged out and made emperor!

In a sense, the imperial marriage ceremony and the selection of tribute students are equally important, as they concern the continuation of the dynasty. Any group that tries to interfere with or disrupt this is acting with impure motives, intending to meddle in the very foundation of the state in order to achieve ulterior motives.

Chu Ling saw through this essence, which is why he wouldn't allow the selection of candidates, a process of scheming and trading among various parties, to be held right under his nose.

If Chu Ling pretends not to know about this matter, the impact and reshuffling of the wedding, the investiture of the empress, and the conferment of imperial concubines will all be destroyed because of this incident.

The key issue is that Chu Ling isn't sure if anyone will expose this during the selection process. If that happens, his hard-earned image will be damaged and attacked. And since this attack is coming from among scholars, it will be far more destructive than attacks from other groups.

Given this situation, Chu Ling would rather expose it himself. Whether it's a boil or a hidden danger, leaving it will cause problems sooner or later. A short pain is worse than a long one!

Not to mention that there are already many festering sores and hidden dangers under the rule of Dayu. As the emperor of Dayu, Chu Ling has the responsibility and the obligation to solve these problems.

Otherwise, if the foundation of rule is eroded, the dynasty will collapse.

Boom~

Under the torrential rain, lightning flashed intermittently amidst the dense, dark clouds, followed by deafening thunderclaps that echoed across the sky, creating a suffocating and oppressive atmosphere that made people extremely uncomfortable.

This is the current central hub.

This is the present-day Yudu.

Inside the Imperial City, at the Secretariat.

The rain continued to fall, and the hall was somewhat dim. The important officials from the three departments of the Secretariat, Chancellery, and Ministry of Personnel, who were gathered here, all sat in their respective places with expressionless faces.

With the selection of candidates for the imperial examinations imminent, two shocking incidents have occurred, and the central authorities cannot circumvent these matters. Therefore, finding a solution has become an urgent matter.

After all, the day after tomorrow is the day when the imperial examination for selecting candidates will begin.

"The Imperial Censor has arrived!"

"The Prince Consort of Wu'an has arrived!"

As the loud voice rang out, the tranquility was broken. Everyone sitting there turned to look in the direction of the sound. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Imperial Censor Bao Yuan and Prince Consort Liu Chen entered one after the other. However, both Bao Yuan and Liu Chen walked to their respective seats with expressionless faces.

"Now that the person in charge of supervision has arrived, let this meeting of the three provinces, appointed by His Majesty, begin." Xu Chu, the Left Chancellor, sitting in the main seat, glanced at the crowd expressionlessly and spoke calmly.

"Since our dynasty established the imperial examination system to select the best talents in the country, appoint them to the central government and local governments, and govern the people to stabilize the foundation of the nation, although there have been cases of fraud and mob gatherings, none have been as severe as this year's imperial examination."

"It's only going to happen..."

"All officials of the Secretariat have arrived!!"

As Xu Chu was speaking, a voice from outside the hall interrupted him. This voice caused the assembled officials in the hall—including the Right Chancellor Wang Rui, the Grand Councilor Qi Sheng, the Left Chancellor Yang Bin, the Right Chancellor Fang Zhe, the Attendants-in-Ordinary Sun Miao and Cao Zhi, the Attendant-in-Ordinary Huang Kun, the Left Grand Counselor…, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel Xiao Jing, the Right Vice Minister Wen Shao, and the Left Chancellor…—to all show different expressions and then look in one direction.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Qin Zhibai, the Junior Supervisor of the Secretariat, and Zang Yu, leading a dozen secretaries and proofreaders, entered carrying various items.

"Prime Minister, we have come here on His Majesty's orders to record the important matters discussed by the Three Departments." Qin Zhibai said calmly. As Zang Yu led the group towards a certain place, Qin Zhibai walked to the center and, under the gazes of various people, raised his hand to bow to Xu Chu, whose brows were slightly furrowed.

"Ah."

Xu Chu responded calmly.

But the people gathered here had different thoughts.

When Liu Chen saw this, although his face remained unchanged, he was filled with amazement and respect. The emperor's methods were truly brilliant.

Even though he had already decided to postpone the selection of the imperial examination candidates, he did not make this decision lightly. Instead, he chose to expand the scope and bring in the most important parts of the central government. The key was to go through the process in a formal way and put everything on the table, which made things much more interesting.

Some people have started weighing the pros and cons.

While Liu Chen was thinking these things, his eyes observed discreetly, and after observing around, he caught the subtle changes in the expressions of some people.

"...With the selection of candidates for the imperial examinations about to take place, this incident in Yudu has caused a sensation in the court and among the people, with all sorts of opinions emerging."

While Liu Chen was pondering, Xu Chu paused for a moment, watched Qin Zhibai and his party take their seats, and then said, "His Majesty is furious about this. He previously summoned the three ministries to question them about this matter, but no one could resolve it. Therefore, this meeting of the three ministries was convened to discuss how to deal with the series of troubles caused by the tribute system."

Xu Chu paused here, looking at the crowd gathered in the hall.

"Liu Chen! As a member of the imperial family, you enjoy His Majesty's deep trust and reliance, hence you hold the important positions of Minister of the Imperial Guard and concurrently the important post of Commander of the Army. With the imperial examination selection about to begin, you first condoned the Commander of the Army's large-scale seizures and arrests, and then you died remonstrating outside the Taiji Gate. What are your true intentions?!"

Under these circumstances, the fact that someone no one expected would be the first to attack Liu Chen surprised many people, who then began to ponder the situation.

"For our dynasty, the selection of tribute students is of paramount importance. The rampant activities of the Embroidered Uniform Guard have already made this matter extremely difficult. Why are you adding to the chaos? Do you want to see this year's selection of tribute students become a laughing stock?!"

Liu Chen flicked his sleeves, looked at Huang Kun whose face was pale, and said calmly, "Could it be that, as the Imperial Uncle says, if we know that there are treacherous officials who are trying to interfere with the foundation of the dynasty and manipulate the imperial examinations, then as a minister of the Great Yu, we should choose to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear?"

"If that's the case, then what's the point of paying tribute?"

"We might as well just restore the old system; there's no need to waste so much money and food."

"Not to mention, I am a member of the imperial family. If I were to do everything according to what the Imperial Uncle says, I would truly be unworthy of His Majesty's trust and reliance."

"Humph~"

Huang Kun snorted coldly, ignoring Liu Chen's words, but his heart was beating faster. For him, the biggest goal of his trip to this three-province meeting had been achieved.

The rest is no longer his concern.

"So, according to the Prince Consort's wishes, with the imperial examinations about to be held, how should the central government handle this?" Xiao Jing glanced at Huang Kun, who appeared calm but was actually nervous, and then calmly looked at Liu Chen.

"The Imperial Guards went to Zhuque Avenue to arrest the students who had gathered to take the imperial examination. Although their actions were somewhat excessive, they were understandable given the upcoming selection process for the imperial examinations."

"But what about the Prince Consort?"

"Knowing that the court and the public were in an uproar and countless people in Yudu were paying attention to this matter, the entire military command was still dispatched to conduct large-scale seizures and arrests in all neighborhoods inside and outside Yudu. Even after the matter was over, he went to Taiji Gate to remonstrate to the death. This caused quite a bit of controversy."

Xiao Jing's words immediately brought the discussion among the three provinces to the forefront, addressing the issues arising from the imperial examination system and the court's course of action.