Chapter 504
Chapter 504
Wailing at the Sage's Shrine had always been the ultimate weapon of scholars. It was the same in ancient China; if cheating was discovered in the imperial examinations, the candidates would immediately carry statues of the Sage and parade through the streets. Then, they would kneel before the Sage's Shrine and weep. The capital's original shrine had been burned down at the beginning of the year, so the one before them now had just been rebuilt. In the open space outside the shrine, a full two thousand examinees were kneeling, crying, and wailing.
"An injustice has occurred! O Sage, open your eyes and look upon this sullied world. This examination hall has been defiled. Shen Lang has cheated! O Sage, strike down that beast Shen Lang with a bolt of lightning!"
At first, only the failed candidates came to wail at the shrine, but soon, more and more people gathered, including scholars who hadn't even taken the exam. They were those who had failed in the past and, seeing no hope of ever passing, had not participated this time. Later, even those who had passed previous exams joined in. Eventually, even some who had passed this Special Examination rushed to the shrine and began to wail.
‘This is truly an event to make one’s blood boil. Tonight, all of us gathered here are no different from failures.’
"An injustice has occurred! May Shen Lang be struck down by heaven!"
***
The chief examiner of the Special Examination’s literary section, the Vice Minister of Rites, and the other five examiners were pale-faced, their bodies trembling. They had expected the announcement of the successful candidates to cause a stir, but they never imagined it would escalate to this extent.
"I knew this would happen! We should have ranked Zhu Hongbing first. But the important thing is that there was no cheating in this Special Examination. If you don't believe it, call the examinees here and let them inspect the papers."
The first assistant examiner from the Hanlin Academy sneered.
"Do you think they care about the truth? They just want to blow this up and force a re-examination. Even if there isn't one, they want to pressure His Majesty into revoking Madman Lan's first-place rank and nullifying the scores of the ten beggars who passed the martial exam."
"Are they truly mad? Do they not know His Majesty's temperament? A few days ago, when they surrounded the Ministry of Rites and the Bureau of Military Affairs, didn't His Majesty immediately have them driven away?"
The first assistant examiner replied.
"At that time, they backed down because the exam was the next day, and they assumed Madman Lan and the others wouldn't pass. But now that they've failed, they're acting out of desperation, using this opportunity to vent their anger at His Majesty and release their pent-up resentment toward Shen Lang by causing a huge disturbance."
"Won't we be sacrificed? If His Majesty, in an attempt to appease these thousands of examinees, actually declares this a cheating scandal, won't the six of us become scapegoats?"
"This is all Shen Lang's fault. Why did that scoundrel have to do this? If Madman Lan and the ten beggars passed, he should have just celebrated quietly at home. Why did he have to come out and stir up trouble, enraging so many people?"
The first assistant examiner said.
"It's useless. Shen Lang coming out to provoke them was like pouring oil on the fire, but if he had hidden at home and not shown his face, everyone would have assumed he had a guilty conscience and still caused a commotion."
"Then what should we do?"
The chief examiner, the Vice Minister of Rites, said.
"The key now is the Zhu Clan. If the Prime Minister supports those scholars, His Majesty might just take a step back and punish Shen Lang."
After all, Prime Minister Zhu Hongzhu was the pillar of the State of Yue's officialdom and a true master of the literary arts.
***
At the Zhu Clan estate.
Zhu Hongbing revealed his true nature before his grandfather.
"Grandfather, I cannot accept this. I have built my reputation for four long years, fully expecting to take first place in this Special Examination. I wanted to be a three-time top scholar. But now, to lose to some beggar… how can I possibly endure this? There must have been cheating involved. Grandfather, please investigate this thoroughly."
Prime Minister Zhu Hongzhu looked at his grandson with an incredibly gentle gaze.
"What is the situation outside?"
At the Prime Minister's question, the steward replied.
"Thousands have gone to the Central Military Commission to accuse Shen Lang of cheating in the examination. In addition, thousands are wailing before the Sage's Shrine, and the crowd is growing, making the situation even bigger."
"What is the palace's reaction?"
The Prime Minister asked, and the steward answered again.
"There has been no reaction. It is as if His Majesty is completely unaware of the matter."
Zhu Hongzhu nodded and said.
"I see."
The steward asked him.
"Master, what does His Majesty's inaction mean? Will he sacrifice Shen Lang and compromise with the thousands of scholars?"
Zhu Hongzhu shook his head.
"No. His Majesty is merely waiting for my reaction."
The current situation was crystal clear. Everyone was watching intently to see what Prime Minister Zhu Hongzhu would do. If there had been cheating in the examination, Zhu Hongbing was the biggest victim. Moreover, Prime Minister Zhu Hongzhu was the leader of the literati; if he sided with the failed candidates, he would naturally win the hearts of many. At that point, not even Shen Lang could stand against the old prime minister, and even Ning Yuanxian would have to yield to him.
"Master, many scholars are kneeling at the entrance to our estate. And more and more are arriving."
Prime Minister Zhu Hongzhu closed his eyes and pricked up his ears, and indeed, he could hear the voices from outside.
"Prime Minister Zhu, please stand up for the scholars of the world."
"Prime Minister Zhu, please do everything in your power to set things right. Please uncover the truth for the sake of the sacred examinations."
"Prime Minister Zhu, please defend the dignity of the Sage."
Not only were they wailing before the Sage's Shrine, but they had also come to the Prime Minister's residence to weep. Prime Minister Zhu Hongzhu waved his hand, dismissing everyone but his grandson, Zhu Hongbing. He spoke gently to the young man.
"My dear boy, you have immense pride in yourself. That is a good thing; a child of our Zhu Clan should possess such arrogance. However, I am actually quite pleased that you placed second this time."
Hearing this, Zhu Hongbing was taken aback.
"My dear boy, let your grandfather teach you a lesson today. One should not strive for excessive perfection in all things."
Zhu Hongbing said.
"You're talking about 'A dragon that has flown to the highest point will have regrets' or 'Fullness cannot be long-lasting,' aren't you? (Both are from the *I Ching*.) I've read those sayings over a hundred times!"
In front of others, Zhu Hongbing was refined and courteous, but before his grandfather, he did not hide his thoughts in the slightest and spoke his mind freely.
"Yes, and no."
"I could have originally placed first. Was I ranked second because of my status? If so, that is too disingenuous, and I refuse to accept it. If a person has to live so timidly, what joy is there in life?"
Prime Minister Zhu Hongzhu did not get angry. He simply smiled and handed a few sheets of paper to his grandson.
"Haha. My dear boy, take a look. What do you think of the policy essay and poetry on this examination paper? Compared to yours, that is."
Zhu Hongbing took the papers and read them. He first skimmed through them quickly, then read them carefully twice more. A moment later, his face turned red all the way to his ears, and he didn't know where to look out of shame. Seeing this, Zhu Hongzhu grew even more pleased.
"My boy, how does this policy essay and poetry compare to yours?"
Zhu Hongbing lowered his head and said.
"It is better written than mine."
"How much better?"
"Much, much better."
"Do you still think someone suppressed you because of your status?"
Zhu Hongbing shook his head.
"There are heavens beyond the heavens, and people beyond people. Our dear boy is remarkable, but a monstrous talent has appeared, and it would be difficult to compare yourself to him."
Zhu Hongbing felt a surge of anger rise within him again.
‘If I had just ten more years, I would be no less capable than this person.’
Prime Minister Zhu Hongzhu said.
"In truth, it cannot be said that there was no cheating at all in this examination. This policy essay and poetry were not originally written by that Madman Lan, but by Shen Lang."
Zhu Hongbing asked in a shocked voice.
"Shen Lang? Him?"
"Indeed! He is barely twenty this year, three years older than you. For this Special Examination, he wrote a great many policy essays and poems in advance and had Madman Lan memorize them. In the end, Madman Lan truly passed."
At this, Zhu Hongbing asked.
"Grandfather, how do you know this?"
"His Majesty told me, of course. He does not hide such things from me. My dear boy, do you still wish for me to go and right the wrongs done to you? It is true that Madman Lan did not earn first place on his own merit. His writing is certainly not better than yours."
Zhu Hongbing shook his head.
"Predicting questions for an examination is not forbidden. I was angry because I thought someone had given me second place to suppress me. Now, I concede defeat completely. Grandfather, I met Shen Lang not long ago. He was extremely frivolous and presumptuous, a troublemaker who did not seem at all like a man of talent."
"That man is a scoundrel who brings chaos to the world and harm to its people. Unless absolutely necessary, do not provoke him."
Then, Zhu Hongzhu's gaze shifted to a distant point as he said.
"However, you must not grow too close to him either. If you are not careful, you could bring disaster upon our family!"
***
Night had fallen, but the entire capital remained restless, seething like boiling water. Thousands knelt outside the Third Prince's Central Military Commission, continuously beating the grievance drum.
"Your Excellency, we have come to file a complaint."
"Your Excellency, Shen Lang committed murder on the streets; he must not be forgiven!"
Outside the Sage's Shrine, there were thousands of scholars, and with the addition of onlookers, the crowd swelled to a full ten thousand. Countless candles were lit, looking like a dense field of stars from afar. Numerous scholars were on a hunger strike, taking turns to wail. Their throats couldn't endure everyone crying out at once, so they wailed in shifts of a thousand at a time. They had even composed lyrics for their wailing, to give their cries more force. At first, they came up with several lines, but they later discovered that a single line was most effective. They just had to repeat it endlessly.
"The exam was unjust, an insult to the Sage! Shen Lang cheated; may he be struck down by heaven!"
For a whole day, the examinees had smashed the examination park and wailed at the Sage's Shrine. Despite such a huge commotion, there was still no response from the palace. The scholars took this as a hopeful sign.
‘His Majesty must be considering a compromise. Everyone, press harder, make this an even bigger issue. If more people join, Shen Lang will surely die, and even if there was no cheating in this Special Examination, it will be turned into a cheating scandal. Then, there will definitely be a re-examination.’
In truth, most of the candidates who had already passed did not want to get involved in this mess. But now, anyone who voiced opposition would become a public enemy of all scholars, considered to be in league with Shen Lang.
‘Shen Lang cheated, so did you cheat too? Otherwise, how could you have possibly passed?’