Chapter 474
Chapter 474
Not only among the common folk but also within the royal court, Shen Lang was a constant topic of discussion. Every day, censors impeached Shen Lang and Ning Zheng, arguing that Shen Lang’s recruitment of beggars into the Marquis of Changping's estate was an act of high treason and an insult to the dignity of the State of Yue. Now, his attempt to have eleven beggars sit for the Special Examination was a defilement of the dignity of the sages themselves. Numerous officials submitted memorials to the king, demanding that Shen Lang be punished, the eleven beggars be expelled from the Marquis of Changping's estate, and that their conferred statuses as literary and martial scholars of the Imperial Academy be revoked, barring them from the examinations. This topic became a fixture of daily court debates, with many impeaching Shen Lang and Ning Zheng each day.
Moreover, during negotiations with the states of Wu and Chu, the Chu delegation brought up the matter several times a day, mocking the State of Yue for its absurd governance and calling King Ning Yuanxian a fool. King Ning Yuanxian himself was exasperated by the situation, but since the matter was inherently unreasonable, there was nothing he could do.
‘Has the king gone mad along with Shen Lang? Letting eleven beggars sit for the Special Examination?’
The whole affair was utterly preposterous. So, how could he punish the ministers who were now relentlessly impeaching them? Left with no choice, Ning Yuanxian feigned ignorance every day.
‘Let them bite if they want to bite. In any case, I have only one thing to say: “We shall discuss this again later.”’
Of course, the king currently had the power to ignore the ministers’ impeachments. The State of Yue had just pacified its borders and achieved a great victory, so the king's prestige was at its peak. Thus, occasionally playing dumb and pushing the ministers' boundaries didn't significantly harm his reputation. However, the king found it agonizing to listen to the censors’ attacks every day without being able to refute them. One can only imagine how much Ning Yuanxian resented Shen Lang inwardly.
‘You wretched brat, look what you’ve done. You’re hiding away in peace, but I have to listen to their attacks every day, unable to counter or refute them. It’s enough to make me die of anger. You’d better not show your face before me, or else…!’
* * *
The incident continued to ferment and ferment, until one day, it finally exploded. Scholars from the Grand Academy, students from the Imperial College, and other intellectuals residing in the capital gathered to surround Prince Ning Zheng's Marquis of Changping estate, pressuring Shen Lang to cancel the eleven beggars' participation in the Special Examination.
‘This is truly outrageous. We have studied diligently for over a decade and trained in martial arts for over a decade just to earn the right to sit for the literary and martial examinations. Yet you beggars are granted the same right simply by relying on Shen Lang? On what grounds? Where does this leave the dignity of scholars, martial artists, and the civil and military examinations?’
The scholars and martial artists carried statues of the two sages and surrounded Ning Zheng's residence.
"Ning Zheng, come out! Shen Lang, come out!"
Ning Zheng, being an upright man, was about to go out when he heard his name called. Ultimately, Shen Lang stopped him, insisting that His Highness must not get involved in this matter. Then, Shen Lang went out the gate to face the scholars and warriors. The moment they saw him, they erupted in fury.
"Shen Lang, the man who succeeded through trickery, has finally shown his face."
"The rampant clown Shen Lang has finally come out."
"Shen Lang, don't take things too far. You never even took the examinations, yet His Majesty granted you the title of a provincial graduate, did he not? And now you want to let eleven beggars take the examinations? Where do you place the dignity of the sages?"
"Shen Lang, quickly cancel the participation of all eleven beggars in the examination, expel them from the Marquis of Changping's estate, and throw them into the dungeons of the Court of Judicial Review. Only after you apologize to the world can this matter be put to rest."
"How can beggars become officials? Do you take the laws of the nation for a child's game and the court of Yue for a pigsty? This is an insult to scholars and the dignity of our country."
Shen Lang spread his hands helplessly and said.
"Wise and discerning gentlemen, when I set up a platform to seek talent, I was desperate for capable individuals. If you had come to volunteer then, you could have become officials under His Highness Ning Zheng. Why didn't you come at that time?"
As soon as he said that, sarcastic remarks rose from the crowd below.
"There are no prospects in following His Highness Ning Zheng. I wouldn't take a position in the Marquis of Changping's estate even if you gifted it to me."
"Isn't that right? I wouldn't want it even if you offered me the position of Administrator, the one you hold, Shen Lang."
Shen Lang said.
"That's a funny thing to say. You refuse to take positions you deem beneath you, yet you won't allow others to have them either?"
A scholar retorted.
"How is that the same? You giving those positions to beggars is a disregard for the court, the monarch, and the way of the sages."
In truth, the eleven, including Madman Lan, had not yet received any actual official posts. Only after they passed the Special Examination in over a month's time would they be formally appointed as officials. Muyeol said quietly.
"Young Master, there's no point in reasoning with them. They won't listen."
"I'm not trying to reason with them."
"Then shall I have my men drive them away?"
"No. The more people, the more clamor, the better. This is a great miracle, and it needs this kind of dramatic buildup. The more seriously they surround this place and cause a disturbance today, the greater the shock will be when our beggars pass the exam in a month, and the more prominent the miracle will seem. That will be more advantageous for the Fifth Prince's bid for the throne."
Muyeol asked, puzzled.
"Young Master, don't people say that one should be modest when competing for the throne? Isn't there a saying, 'Gather provisions widely, and be slow to proclaim yourself king'?"
"That applies to those who have the qualifications to be modest."
Who didn't know that being modest was the hardest thing in the world? But if one feigned modesty without any real strength, their name would never be known to the world, and they would be completely forgotten. At that moment, a group of scholars and martial artists suddenly caused a commotion.
"Let's break in and beat all those beggars to death!"
"That's right! Let's beat them to death to restore the dignity of the Yue court and the sanctity of the sages' way. Charge in and kill those eleven beggars!"
The several hundred people gathered there intended to storm Ning Zheng's residence and commit acts of violence. At Shen Lang's command, the formidable female warriors rushed out. Shen Lang gave them an order.
"Hanu, Muyeol. It's fine if they surround the residence, but if they dare approach the walls or the main gate, you are to act decisively. Grab their eggs and crush them!"
"Yes!"
The hundred female warriors shouted in unison. Instantly, the surrounding scholars and martial artists felt a chill run down their spines, and their little treasures shriveled.
‘Grab and crush our eggs? That's too terrifying. Not only would it wither away, but the pain would be excruciating enough to kill a man.’
Besides, women grabbing and crushing eggs couldn't be considered armed suppression; it would be treated as a personal brawl.
* * *
For the past few days, Shen Lang had been extremely busy. Every day, he was in the underground secret chamber, conducting experiments related to blood and parasites. After over a thousand experiments, the success rate had now reached 99.99%, and he was on the verge of the final breakthrough. Madman Lan spent his days memorizing essays and poems. This man was the first intellectual genius Shen Lang had met in this world, truly enough to make anyone feel inferior. He could memorize any text after seeing it just once. Seeing him made Jin Mucong so jealous he could spit blood, and even Shen Lang felt a pang of envy.
Originally, it was thought that Madman Lan would be incredibly busy during the month-long period, painstakingly memorizing over a thousand essays and several thousand poems, with no rest day or night. However, he spent only about three hours a day memorizing and spent the rest of his time fooling around. He would go flirt with Hanu, read miscellaneous books, write novels with Jin Mucong, or tell people's fortunes. His behavior was truly infuriating.
His taste was exceptionally peculiar. Although Ning Yan's guard unit was composed entirely of female warriors, and among them were several quite beautiful women of Tuno origin, he had fallen for Hanu at first sight. With a waist and height both measuring eight feet, calling her the size of two people was a kindness. She was so robust that Madman Lan might genuinely not be able to reach inside her. In such a state, what could he possibly do? If Hanu was on top? Madman Lan's bones would break, and he would die instantly in less than a minute. Hanu weighed even more than that female butcher from before.
One day, Jin Mucong couldn't contain his curiosity and asked him.
"Madman, why did you fall for Hanu at first sight? Isn't your taste a bit too unique? Do you have a thing for enormously large women?"
Madman Lan shook his head.
"Of course not."
"Then why were all the women you slept with before over two hundred catties?"
Madman Lan sighed.
"Because they're cheap. For the price of one night with a thin woman, I could sleep with a woman over two hundred catties ten times. Young Master, you wouldn't understand the world of us poor folk. You were surrounded by beauties from birth; what beauty haven't you slept with? For us poor people, we just think that once you close your eyes, they're all the same."
The moment Jin Mucong heard this, he wanted to burst into tears. He was almost twenty, yet he had only slept with one person, and even then, he hadn't done it properly—he had been the one taken. But Jin Mucong had no intention of admitting this in front of him. Instead, he shamelessly nodded his head, acting like an experienced man in agreement with Madman Lan's words. Of course, Madman Lan had long seen through Jin Mucong and was just teasing him.
Jin Mucong asked.
"If your sense of beauty is normal, then why did you fall for Hanu?"
"Everyone sees a 280-catty Hanu, but I see a future Hanu who has lost weight and is only 130 catties. A peerless beauty, and a virgin at that. I'm investing in her early, you see? Do you understand?"
Hearing this, Jin Mucong was dumbfounded.
"Sister Hanu won't want to lose weight. Once she loses weight, her combat effectiveness will decrease. She needs her current weight to overwhelmingly crush enemies on the battlefield."
"A woman adorns herself for the one she loves. I will wait for the moment she falls in love with me. Then, she will willingly lose weight for my sake."
At that moment, Hanu, who had overheard him from outside, said.
"Dream on. You're not my type. You're too small."
Instantly, Madman Lan's face turned red to his ears as he retorted.
"Miss Hanu, you mustn't believe such vicious rumors. That's all slander."
Hanu shook her head and said.
"I saw it with my own eyes."
* * *
Two nights later.
Shen Lang was sleeping with Bing'er in his arms when he suddenly heard someone call out. Muyeol had made the sound very quietly, but Shen Lang stirred slightly, which in turn woke Bing'er.
"Husband, what is it?"
Bing'er murmured. She only called Shen Lang 'husband' when she was drowsy from sleep; when she was fully awake, she called him 'Young Master'.
"It's nothing, go back to sleep."
Shen Lang said gently, kissing her on the cheek.
"Okay!"
Bing'er kept her eyes closed, maintaining her original sleeping position as if Shen Lang were still holding her. Shen Lang left the room and asked Muyeol.
"Has he arrived?"
Muyeol replied swiftly.
"He has."