A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 269 Little Qi, cheer up, don't embarrass yourself.

Chen Xianggu finally looked like he had gotten his revenge, glaring fiercely at Song Xuan.

Just now, Song Xuan said he was going to beat the Dengwen Drum, which directly blocked Han Qi's way of submitting the petition to Kaifeng Prefecture.

In this way, it is impossible to achieve the situation where someone in the courtroom sues this official.

The same thing that the Chen family did.

It can't be hidden anymore.

After all, it would be quite excessive if this got out!

Song Xuan didn't give him that way out at all, leaving Chen Xianggu with no choice but to hand over Han Qi.

Because Chen Xianggu knew that the Prefect of Kaifeng had the privilege of "handling minor cases at will and reporting major cases to the emperor" for cases in the capital region, and that even after a verdict was handed down, neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Censorate could overturn it!
If this matter is made into an ironclad case, Han Qi will have no chance to turn things around.

Chen Xianggu was thinking about how to explain things to his father.

Now that his father has come back to save the day, Chen Xianggu is naturally extremely happy.

"If I can't deal with you, can't my father?"

"Song Xuan! You wait for me!"

"Just wait!"

"You'll all suffer the consequences!"

Chen Yaozuo listened to the end.

He had just rushed back from the palace, wanting to continue persuading Han Qi to become his son-in-law.

Chen Yaozuo felt that he had praised Song Xuan in front of Empress Dowager Liu.

As a result, Song Twelve, you little brat, came to my house, not only to abduct my son-in-law, but also to throw a bucket of excrement on my head.

You've climbed up to Prime Minister Lü's high position, so you're stopping your classmates from doing the same?

Song Xuan.

You really have no shame!

"Song Huiyuan, we have no past grievances or recent enmities. This is also the first time I have met you. Why are you speaking to me like this?"

Chen Yaozuo's hands are behind his back:
"Such an arrogant student will probably not be favored by the Empress Dowager and the Emperor during the palace examination."

Song Xuan then stepped forward and bowed:

"So that Prefect Chen may know that we are all so angry because we are worried about Han Qi's life."

"You actually doubt that I, the Prefect of Kaifeng, would disregard human life?"

"The prefect is impartial in enforcing the law and will not take lives lightly, but that does not mean that the prefect's family members and servants will not abuse their power."

Song Xuan pointed to his son and said:

"Just now, Prefect Chen's servants and son all said that Han Qi was not here, but then they dragged him out like a pig being slaughtered. Why is that?"

“We want to discuss marriage with Han Qi. This is the rule of choosing a son-in-law after the list of successful candidates has been published. Didn’t you, Song Huiyuan, just go through that process yourself?”

Han Qi took the initiative to step forward at this moment:
“I had already told the prefect about the marriage agreement, but he refused to let me leave. He even prepared medicated wine, trying to force me into marriage.”

"I have never heard of such a thing as 'grabbing a son-in-law from a list of successful candidates and forcibly breaking off an engagement.'"

"If it weren't for my classmates, including my twelfth brother, coming to my rescue, I'm afraid I would have had to take my own life."

Song Xuan waited for the victim, Han Qi, to finish speaking before immediately adding:

“Prefect Chen, we all know that Han Qi is already engaged. The Chen family has detained him for more than three hours without cause. According to the laws of the Great Song Dynasty, anyone who detains another person without cause and knowingly breaks the law shall be exiled!”

Chen Yaozuo was even more annoyed as he watched Song Xuan and Han Qi working together in unison.

"I merely invited him to sit at my home so we could discuss the marriage in detail after I finished my official duties. How did that become detention?"

Chen Yaozuo realized that Han Qi really didn't want to be his son-in-law, otherwise he wouldn't have revealed it so openly.

Furthermore, it's truly laughable that Song Xuan would even bring up the laws of the Song Dynasty.

If it weren't for Prime Minister Lü's sake, would you even dare to bark and howl in front of this establishment?
I would have kicked you out long ago.

Han Qi's chest heaved with anger as he said fiercely:

"Old thief!"

"You've gone too far!"

Song Xuan raised an eyebrow. This was pushing an honest man to the limit; he was now thinking, "I'd rather die with you."

One word: "Old thief."

This truly astonished Wang Tai and Lü Lejian, leaving them at a loss for what to do.

After all, Han Qi has always been taciturn and rarely expresses his opinions.

The fact that he was forced to say such things today must mean that he suffered a lot of injustice during the three hours he was detained!

Wang Tai then realized that this matter could not be resolved peacefully, and he quickly gave Lü Lejian a look.

If you're not going to take advantage of this opportunity, what are you waiting for?

"Prefect Chen, I am Lü Lejian, and my elder brother is Lü Yijian."

Lü Lejian quickly revealed his identity and took a step forward:
"Since my classmate Han Qi is indeed already married, I hope Prefect Chen will not make things difficult for us students!"

Hearing the old thief's curses, even Chen Yaozuo, who considered himself to be extremely well-mannered, was so angry that his chest heaved.

How arrogant!

Since I became an official, no one has ever dared to speak to me like this!

Chen Xianggu and his many nephews who were watching looked at each other in bewilderment. After all, Chen Yaozuo was the "patriarch" of the family, and he was extremely authoritative.

Today, he was actually called an old thief by his chosen son-in-law?

As for what Lü Lejian said, Chen Yaozuo pretended not to hear it.

Even if Prime Minister Lü were here, he wouldn't put up with this kind of humiliation!

Chen Yaozuo, instead of being angry, laughed:
"Han Qi, I admire your talent and wish to take you as my son-in-law. Do not be ungrateful!"

Han Qi had been holding back his anger for a long time.

With Song Xuan by his side, he was even less afraid and glared angrily:

"Chen Yaozuo, I'm going to beat you up, you bastard, you're so shameless!"

"As the Prefect of Kaifeng, you should be enforcing the law strictly, yet you have committed such a despicable act!"

"To forcibly detain a respectable young man like me and attempt to force a daughter into marriage, how are you any different from a local bully?"

This made even Song Xuan look at him with a sidelong glance.

Even...astonishment!

I don't think I said anything just now:
Xiao Qizi, cheer up! We all came from the imperial examination system, so don't embarrass yourselves with those three troublemaking tactics!

Han Qi was so angry that she even blurted out her hometown dialect.

Although accents can vary from place to place, everyone can understand.

Han Qi used really foul language!

Even Lü Lejian took a step back.

It's over.

Even if he revealed that his cousin was the prime minister, Lü Lejian still felt that there was absolutely no chance of this matter being resolved peacefully!

Wang Tai, the son of the prime minister whose father was honored with a place in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, had a very interesting expression on his face.

He never expected that Han Qi, who was always taciturn, would suddenly unleash such "energy"!

Wang Tai thought Han Qi had a pretty good temper, while Song Xuan had the worst temper.

However, in Wang Tai's eyes, Song Xuan was like a greenhorn in front of Han Qi at this moment.

Zhang Fangping quickly stepped forward and pulled Han Qi back, signaling him not to act impulsively.

After all, Twelfth Brother is known for his impulsiveness and tendency to curse whenever he feels like it, but it turns out that Han Qi is the same kind of person.

Chen Yaozuo's face flushed instantly. He stretched out his hand, trembling slightly, and pointed at Han Qi:

"How dare you! I have been so kind to you, yet you dare to insult an official of the imperial court?"

"Elevate?"

Han Qi stepped forward and pointed at Chen Yaozuo, also shouting insults:
"You, Chen Yaozuo, are nothing but a hypocrite who bullies us poor folks by relying on your power."

"Although I, Han Qi, am now a commoner, I still know that a scholar can be killed but not humiliated!"

"Even if you kill me today, I will never sign this annulment document!"

Han Qi took out the annulment document that Chen Yaozuo had written for him from his pocket. All he had to do was sign and put his fingerprint on it.

When Chen Yaozu saw that Han Qi had even kept the annulment document as evidence, his face turned ashen, and he gritted his teeth in anger.
"it is good!"

"What a fine example of 'a scholar can be killed but not humiliated'!"

"I'd like to see just how tough you are!"

"Guards, arrest them all!"

Chen Yaozuo wanted to take the opportunity to seize the annulment certificate and also wanted to control these defenseless scholars.

In this way, he, as the Prefect of Kaifeng, had the final say on how things were molded.

No sooner had Chen Yaozuo finished speaking than Song Xuan shouted:
"You, surnamed Chen, are you trying to force us, the scholars of the Great Song Dynasty, to commit suicide in broad daylight?"

In the Song Dynasty, anyone who passed the provincial examination was considered a tribute student.

With judicial immunity, serious crimes required the emperor's personal judgment, and in practice, local officials were less likely to detain tribute students.

"We'll fight you to the death!"

"Brothers, follow me!"

Before anyone could react, Song Xuan punched the still-stunned Chen Xianggu, sending him flying, and then reached out and grabbed the neck of the over-sixty-year-old Chen Yaozuo with one arm.
"If you dare take another step forward, I won't be so polite!"

Chen Xianggu lay on the ground, covering his eyes and wailing.

Chen Yaozuo was terrified, and even more so, he was breathless.

He truly never expected Song Xuan to be so audacious as to dare to take him hostage.

Han Qi was still unaware of the truth.

He had a meltdown today, but he's always been quite cultured, maintaining the good habit of using words rather than fists.

Unexpectedly, Brother Twelve didn't waste any words and took action immediately when threatened.

Before Lu Lejian and the others could even process Han Qi's outburst, they were also dumbfounded by how Song Xuan had taken control of the Chen family father and son in such a lightning-fast manner.

This is Tokyo.

That's the newly appointed governor of Tokyo!

We still have the hurdle of the imperial examination to overcome!
"Tenth, twelfth brother?"

Wang Tai was the first to realize what was happening and quickly spoke up:

"Don't be so impulsive, Prefect Chen is going to die."

Chen Yaozuo, an old man in his sixties, was being subdued by Song Xuan, a young and strong man, and naturally his face turned red with frustration.

"dying?"

Song Xuan then released Chen Yaozuo's neck and quickly gave Zhang Fangping a look, signaling them all to come over.

The other servants were completely bewildered and dared not move at all.

Li Junyou and Wang Yufeng, who were passing by outside the door, immediately stopped and watched the commotion inside.

After all, many officials live on the same street, next to each other.

Wang Yufeng stared in disbelief, pointing at the "Young Master Zhang" who had punched Chen Xianggu and nearly strangled the Prefect of Kaifeng, his outstretched arm trembling slightly.

Didn't they say that Zhang Shumi made him quite strict with his son?
How did his son end up at the home of the Prefect of Kaifeng?

"It's a standing Tai Sui!"

Li Junyou shouted.

"Should we report this to the authorities?"

Wang Yufeng asked cautiously.

"Report what? The Prefect of Kaifeng is right here."

Li Junyou then slapped Wang Yufeng:

"It's a battle of gods, let's not get involved!"

"Yeah."

Although the two of them were extremely arrogant in Tokyo, after seeing the "Zhang family" today, they realized that their arrogance was nothing at all.

People openly cursed the imperial clansmen for worthy of the surname Zhao, even on the street.

The two capitals dared to open the seal of the Prefect!
It was still at the home of the Prefect of Kaifeng.

How rampant!

Although all these positions have a prefix, the Prefect of Kaifeng is usually the official position of a prince or crown prince, but it is mostly a nominal position. The real people in charge are people like Chen Yaozuo.

Song Xuan glanced at the people behind him and saw that a large crowd had already gathered to watch.

He immediately released Chen Yaozuo and went outside, loudly proclaiming that Chen Yaozuo's practice of catching a son-in-law under the guise of a successful candidate in the imperial examinations was unfair, as he had immediately put a gold belt on him, even though Han Qi had said that his deceased father had already arranged a marriage for him.

However, Chen Yaozuo, relying on his position as the Prefect of Kaifeng, used his power to oppress people and insisted that Han Qi break off the engagement. Otherwise, he would keep Han Qi in the mansion, preventing him from participating in the palace examination. He even threatened to drug him!
"Ah, so that's how it is?"

Tokyo has never lacked onlookers, and the tide immediately turned.

After all, several people had threatened the life of the Prefect of Kaifeng, and it was the perfect time to do him a favor. However, Prefect Chen himself made a mistake.

Someone came to his door to rescue his classmate.

Han Qi saw Song Xuan give him a look, and immediately took out the marriage certificate:

"This is the evidence that Magistrate Chen knew I was already engaged, yet still forced me to annul the engagement!"

He said that if I agreed, he would let me become the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Han Qi showed no mercy whatsoever:

"Pah! This Song Dynasty was conquered by Emperor Taizu. How could Chen Yaozu manipulate the imperial examination? Does this mean the Song Dynasty belongs to the Chen family now?"

Li Junyou and Wang Yufeng exchanged a glance.

The people around him are all so fierce!
The most crucial point is that Chen Yaozuo's words are fine to say in private, but if Han Qi makes them public, then he can expect to be impeached.

It's quite normal for this group of privileged young men to be watching the spectacle.

In Tokyo, where land is incredibly valuable, high-ranking officials are often neighbors with other high-ranking officials, a situation even wealthy businessmen don't have.

Song Xuan stood at the entrance of the Chen residence and immediately shouted:
"Old Chen scoundrel, you've lived over sixty years in vain! I once heard that the Chen family was a family of scholars and officials, with three members becoming top scholars in the imperial examinations. But seeing the prefect's behavior today, I realize that your son's reputation for scholarship and officialdom is nothing but empty words!"

"Moreover, you openly proclaimed in front of us candidates that you could manipulate the results of the Song Dynasty's imperial examination!"

"I think all you do is wag your tongue and abuse your power for personal gain; you're nothing but a spineless dog."

"I have never seen such a shameless person!"

Chen Yaozuo sat on the ground, gasping for breath.

Hearing Song Xuan's words, he became even more agitated and coughed up blood.

Chen Yaozuo immediately fainted.

"father."

Chen Xianggu shouted and pounced on it:

"Wake up."

Bao Zheng glanced at it, then looked up again.

Even though he was kind-hearted, he did not stop.

Today's events are entirely due to Chen Yaozuo's willful actions.

So Bao Zheng, who was always fair and just, didn't say a word and left with Song Xuan and the others.

After this "Standing Tai Sui" led his people away.

Only then did Li Junyou dare to step forward and look at Prefect Chen, who had vomited blood and fainted:

"The Earthly Tai Sui is too fierce."

"Oh dear, look at him, Prefect Chen has actually vomited blood."

Wang Yufeng looked at Chen Xianggu with lingering fear, his eyes immediately swelling up.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Brother Li was there that day, otherwise I would not have had a good ending.

He might have to stay in bed to recover from his injury, so how could he possibly be out watching the excitement?

This is truly a battle of gods!
In short.

There are so many melons outside the examination hall today.

Although he was not capable of taking the imperial examination, that didn't stop him from joining in the fun.

Otherwise, when these privileged young people get together and gossip about the latest happenings, you'll feel like you're completely out of the loop, knowing nothing about it.

Wang Yufeng was enjoying his meal immensely. Before he even got home, he was still able to witness such a sensational juicy story!
"Quickly, bring the doctor here."

The servant immediately shouted.

Chen Xianggu hugged his father and roared:
"Song Xuan, I will never let you get away with this!"

"Song Xuan?"

Wang Yufeng was somewhat bewildered, and then looked at Li Junyou with a look of surprise and doubt.

They were so tired of hearing that name today that they were sick of it.

Several powerful families vied to have him as their son-in-law.

As a result, because of Cao Shizhong's daughter, the young man agreed immediately without discussing any dowry.

He even refused the offer to marry Lu Yijian, the prime minister of the time.

Everyone was wondering just how beautiful Cao's daughter was, that she could have captivated Song Xuan to this extent.

As Cao Yong's relative by marriage, how could Li Junyou not know what his cousin looked like?

My cousin is tall, and has big breasts and a big butt.

How can I compare to a more popular, demure wife?
This is equivalent to Song Huiyuan visiting a brothel and keeping Wang Gang while kicking out all the other beauties!
Therefore, Li Junyou did not believe the claims circulating in the market.

He assumed that the Cao family had paid an enormous price to bring this to fruition.

"What do you see me doing?"

Li Junyou also found it strange.

"Was that Song Xuan, Song Huiyuan, who just publicly denounced your father as a shameless scoundrel?"

Wang Yufeng ignored Chen Xianggu's bloodshot eyes and asked the question directly.

"It's him!"

Chen Xianggu replied through gritted teeth:
"What, you still want to cheer him on?"

"Hey."

Although Wang Yufeng and Chen Xianggu didn't have a very good relationship on ordinary days.

But I never expected him to act like a mad dog.

Whoever you catch will be bitten.

Li Junyou received a definite answer, but his eyes were filled with confusion.

"how is this possible?"

"Isn't he a descendant of the Zhang family, the Privy Councilor?"

Chen Xianggu looked up and glanced at Wang Yufeng, who was talking to himself.

He will remember this grudge today.

When I have time, I will definitely get my revenge.

The privileged sons of wealthy families who mingle in the capital city of Tokyo rely solely on their social standing to maintain their status!
Wang Yufeng was spouting nonsense here, and even tried to make excuses for Song Xuan.

It’s really heartbreaking!
They are the enemies of my Chen family!

Li Junyou glanced at Chen Xianggu, who was glaring at him with murderous intent, and then said:

“Brother, let’s go, lest some people’s good intentions be wasted.” “If we can’t beat them, they’ll hold a grudge against us brothers who came to help.”

"Okay, brother."

The two spoiled young masters immediately led their servants out of the Chen residence.

However, there were still quite a few outsiders there watching the spectacle.

"Brother, could the information be wrong?"

Wang Yufeng was the first to ask a question.

Li Junyou was also very puzzled. There was absolutely no way that the person was staying at the Zhang residence.

However, Song Xuan was the top scholar in the Song Dynasty's imperial examinations and was very likely to achieve the "Triple Crown" (winning the top scholar title in all three levels of the imperial examinations).

Who would dare to make an announcement today and immediately start impersonating someone else?

Especially in Tokyo!

Hearing Wang Yufeng's question, Li Junyou was also extremely uneasy:

"That shouldn't be the case. I've never heard of Privy Councilor Zhang renting out his room!"

"really."

Wang Yufeng also thought it was unlikely, and then lowered his voice: "Could it be Zhang Shumishi's illegitimate son?"

"hiss."

Li Junyou gasped; this guess was not without reason.

Furthermore, given that his brother-in-law Cao Liyong has a good relationship with Zhang Qi, it is indeed possible.

“Brother, aren’t you Cao’s brother-in-law? Why don’t you go to his house and ask him?”

Wang Yufeng's eyes immediately turned serious:
"Isn't it much better for the two of us to just make wild guesses?"

Even if it wasn't Zhang, the Grand Councilor, Cao, the Grand Councilor, was someone you couldn't afford to offend.

"Ah."

Li Junyou nodded repeatedly. If he were not Zhang Jiazi but Song Xuan, and had become his brother-in-law's good son-in-law, they would probably really be relatives in the future.

What about before?
Li Junyou shook his head, "I have no grudge against Song Xuan!"
Seeing Song Xuan's behavior, he felt that this local tyrant would definitely have a fiery temper after becoming an official, so it was best to avoid him!
After Song Xuan and the others had walked a short distance, Lü Lejian finally spoke:

"Han Liulang, you've really gotten yourself into big trouble."

Han Qi turned around and looked at him, then heard Lü Lejian say:
"The Chen family produced three top scholars in the imperial examinations. Even though the eldest son has passed away, the third son, Chen Yaozi, has been promoted, and Chen Yaozuo has also been promoted to Prefect of Kaifeng. This is the preliminary preparation for becoming prime minister."

"Even though you and your twelfth brother did extremely well in the palace examination, they have served as officials in the court for decades and inevitably have old friends and acquaintances who might try to suppress you."

"Although today may bring momentary pleasure, it will ultimately lead to future troubles."

Lu Lejian's words made a lot of sense, and Wang Tai agreed.

After all, the Chen family is quite powerful these days. If everyone had just talked about their family relationships and asked Chen Yaozuo to give them face, the matter would have been over without any problems.

"Are we supposed to just swallow our anger when we encounter injustice?"

Zhang Fangping immediately retorted, recalling that when Chen Yaozuo was an official, he was implicated because his brother Chen Yaosou reported and exposed others.

Now that Chen Yaozuo has become a high-ranking official, he has started to bully others by abusing his power.

Han Qi had long harbored a nameless anger within him, and if he didn't let it out, he would inevitably develop inner demons.

"A scholar can be killed but not humiliated. Even if he retaliates against me in the future, I will not be afraid."

Han Qi, still furious, said:

"If he dares to abuse his power like this, could it be that the Song Dynasty is truly ruled by the Chen family?"

"But things shouldn't be done this way, especially when you're still weak."

Lü Lejian felt that Han Qi, coming from an official family, must have received this kind of education.

How can I be like Song Xuan, a commoner, who always seems to be stirring up trouble?

Mutual struggle and mutual attacks are common practices in officialdom.

However, if you want to succeed in officialdom, you must learn to compromise with others!

No official can have a smooth life, getting whatever they want.

Song Xuan stopped and thought for a moment:

"Han Liulang, does your father-in-law hold a position in the capital?"

Han Qi nodded. He had visited them, but he hadn't told them yet.

“My future father-in-law is now Cui Li, a senior official in the Ministry of Justice.”

A fifth-rank official position.

Lu Lejian was taken aback; he had heard of this person before.

He was a famously incorruptible person in the Song Dynasty!

If you have this connection, you should have revealed it sooner rather than later, so you wouldn't have worried for nothing.

"Good, since he's an official in Tokyo, that's good." Song Xuan looked at Han Qi and said:
“We will go to the Ministry of Justice immediately and find someone to bring your father-in-law out. He will handle this matter.”

"We must take the initiative and file a complaint against them to make a big fuss about this, otherwise they will be the ones to start fabricating and slandering us."

Wang Tai stopped in his tracks.

He felt that Song Xuan's words, spoken in public, had angered Chen Yaozuo to the point of vomiting blood, and that things had escalated significantly.

In Brother Twelve's eyes, this situation doesn't even count as making a big deal out of things?

"Going right now?"

Lü Lejian was somewhat puzzled as to why Song Xuan was in such a hurry.

"Don't you know that the Prefect of Kaifeng wields considerable power?"

Song Xuan pointed behind him: "If we don't strike first, and Chen Yaozuo reacts, he will bring his constables and soldiers to arrest us all, and execute us first and punish us later. Does the Prefect of Kaifeng have that authority?"

Lu Lejian was stunned for a moment:
“Under the emperor’s nose, he wouldn’t dare to be so arrogant, and besides, our identities will definitely make him wary.”

"You'll be saying a different story once you're in jail."

“We’ve all been in Nanjing prisons before,” Lü Lejian said, feeling that Song Xuan was making a mountain out of a molehill.

"This is Tokyo, not my home!" Song Xuan chuckled.
"Whether you're the brother of the current prime minister or not, I'll give you a hundred lashes as a warning."

"Or do you want to gamble on whether Chen Yaozuo dares to take the risk?"

Lu Lejian immediately fell silent.

To be honest, he suddenly realized that he wasn't as much of a gambler as he used to be!

"We'll listen to Twelfth Brother," Wang Tai said first.
“If you don’t understand what Twelfth Brother is saying now, perhaps you will realize later that he is right.”

Han Qi nodded.

He had to tell his father-in-law about this no matter what.

Besides, it was an engagement arranged by the older generation.

Song Xuan had something else he didn't say: he wanted to cause trouble for Chen Yaozuo and get them into trouble.

To prevent them from having free time to find trouble for themselves!
So the group headed towards the Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry of Justice was located in the Ministry of Personnel, not within the imperial palace.

Upon arriving at the door, Han Qi gave his name and said he was looking for Doctor Cui.

The gatekeeper naturally had to register them and wait, so Song Xuan simply placed a few copper coins on the registration book:
"I came out in a hurry. Please have a cup of tea. Tell them there's an emergency at the Cui family's house and they need Doctor Cui to come out. We can't wait to go in."

The temporary gatekeeper glanced at Song Xuan and said, "To be honest, it's hard for me to do anything for you with this little money."

However, if he were to interfere upon hearing that something had happened to the Cui family, that would be extremely inappropriate.

They didn't charge any money and went straight in to look for the person.

While Cui Li was working today, he heard from a servant that Han Qi had passed the exam and even ranked fifth.

He was overjoyed, as the student's grades were even better than his own.

Twenty-seven years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Based on Han Qi's ranking, his chances of passing the imperial examination were extremely high.

Now that he has passed the imperial examination, the marriage between the two families can proceed.

Cui Li's three sons have all started their own families and are now officials in Tokyo. However, it is difficult for them to buy a house in the capital as a place to settle down.

Moreover, only if the eldest son passes the imperial examination will his future be better.

"Doctor Cui, there's a group of young people outside looking for you. They say something happened at your home."

Cui Li was taken aback. Could it be one of his sons who had arrived?

He immediately stood up and headed for the door.

When they arrived at the entrance of the government office, they found it was Han Qi.

Cui Li thought they had come to tell him good news, little did he know that he already knew, so he smiled.

"Has my son-in-law come to bring good news?"

Han Qi's face showed no joy: "So that my father-in-law may know, I have come to report some bad news."

Upon hearing this, Cui Li paused, and was quickly pulled aside by Han Qi, who began to recount what had happened, and took out the annulment letter written by Chen Yaozuo as evidence.

By the way, I told Cui Li that my classmates and I had offended Chen Yaozuo, the Prefect of Kaifeng, and that he was so angry that he vomited blood before he was able to escape.

The position of Acting Prefect of Kaifeng was held by an ordinary official, typically a fourth-rank official.

Cui Li was a fifth-rank official, and the difference in their promotions was like night and day.

The position of Prefect of Kaifeng was frequently rotated. Apart from Zhao Guangyi, who served for fifteen years, and Emperor Zhenzong, who served for three days, the average term for the other officials was about one year.

Such frequent changes of guards reflected the emperor's desire for control over the capital region.

They needed capable ministers to maintain stability, but they also feared powerful ministers becoming too influential.

The Prefect of Kaifeng became a workplace meat grinder; those who performed well were promoted to Prime Minister.

If you mess things up or fail to take the blame for the emperor, you'll be exiled to Lingnan!
Cui Li had no chance of becoming prime minister, but Chen Yaozuo had a very high chance.

"Since it has already happened, your classmate is right. It will be better for you to make a big fuss about it."

Cui Li said with a serious expression, "You are barefoot now, but Chen Yaozuo, who wants to become prime minister, is wearing shoes."

"My dear son-in-law, there's no need to worry too much about this," Cui Li said with a smile to Song Xuan.

"Song Huiyuan is indeed clever, striking first, and his words just now were excellent; they will surely spread throughout the capital city soon."

Song Xuan politely cupped his hands in greeting:
"Han Liulang is a good friend of ours. How can we stand by and watch him be humiliated?"

"Alright, you can go back now. I'll write an impeachment memorial right away and send it to the palace immediately."

In the Song Dynasty, every civil official had the right to write memorials directly to the emperor, and no one else was allowed to obstruct them.

Xia Song wanted to transfer Fan Zhongyan to a military post in order to suppress him, and this was part of his plan.

Cut off his direct contact with the emperor!
Fan Zhongyan refused, and that was the reason.

In fact, the official system in the Song Dynasty was quite chaotic, with one person holding several ranks.

Therefore, rank is not important; the emperor's trust in you as his subject is the real currency!

Cui Li turned back, then stopped and gave him a final instruction:
"Since Song Huiyuan knows the trick, he should not go out for the next two days, so as not to give Chen Yaozuo the opportunity to arrest people and put them in jail. Just in case, we should inform Cao Shizhong."

"Ok."

Song Xuan smiled and said, "I've long heard that Doctor Cui is not a coward, and now you truly live up to your name."

"Hahaha."

Doctor Cui couldn't help but burst into laughter. He had been an official for nearly thirty years and had seen all sorts of people, but Song Xuan, who was so young and had such a strong sense of purpose, was truly a rare find.

Perhaps this is the difference between child prodigies and ordinary people!

Cui Li had spoken to Song Xuan through his son-in-law. Both father-in-law and son-in-law believed that the boy was a child prodigy who would surely make a name for himself in the future.

His achievement of becoming the top scholar among more than 7,000 candidates is clear proof of this.

"Keep the evidence safe. When I'm out there, there are many people watching, and it's inevitable that some people will try to cause trouble."

"it is good."

Cui Li gestured for them to leave, while he himself would immediately return to write a memorial to the emperor.

At this moment.

Chen Yaozi and Chen Yaozuo's sons all crowded around the sickbed.

Chen Yaozi had a fiery temper. He kicked all his nephews out, leaving only Chen Xianggu and his eldest son, Chen Shugu.

"Speak, tell me the whole story, word for word."

Chen Yaozi sat in a chair, listening to his nephew Chen Xianggu's conversation.

He raised an eyebrow and glanced at his second brother.

The Chen family was indeed in the wrong first; they had an engagement, yet they tried to force him to break it off!
Besides, it was the wish of someone's deceased father; how could we go against it?
Chen Yaozi didn't want to criticize his second brother too much, so he focused his criticism on his nephew, saying he couldn't even keep an eye on him properly.

He was tricked into revealing the whole story with just a few words, and now he's in this passive situation. They told him to get out, that he couldn't even protect his own father.

Chen Xianggu felt very wronged, and the corners of his eyes became increasingly swollen and bruised.

"Second brother, this matter cannot be left like this."

Chen Yaozuo leaned against the hospital bed, and opened his mouth:
Do you have any good ideas?

"We couldn't stop them from achieving good results in the palace examination."

Chen Yaozi said after careful consideration:
“We can approach this from two angles. The first is for you to issue arrest warrants directly and imprison them all in the Kaifeng Prefecture jail, thus affecting their desire to perform well in the palace examination.”

"The second thing is to tell the registration officer of the examination hall directly that these candidates should not be included in the reported list of candidates or the published list of examinees."

Chen Yaozuo thought for a moment, then sighed:

"I read Song Xuan's policy essay. The Empress Dowager made me read it, and I have to admit that his method for managing the Yellow River is truly feasible."

Chen Yaozi understood.

Song Xuan not only had Cao Liyi backing him up, but even the Empress Dowager knew about it.

If he did not participate in the palace examination, then the matter must still be investigated thoroughly.

The Chen family will be implicated, and the second brother's chance to become prime minister will be gone in an instant.

"Where are the others?"

"The son of the wise minister Wang Dan, and the cousin of Lü Yijian. I don't know about the others."

Chen Yaozuo lay on the bed, feeling extremely troubled. Who would have thought that something like this would happen?

The Lü family is about to arrange a marriage with Song Xuan, so he definitely won't interfere and will even advise me to let things go.

In short, the Chen family will have to suffer this loss in silence.

"Second brother."

Chen Yaozi was unwilling for his second brother, who had just become the Prefect of Kaifeng and was on his way to promotion, to suddenly encounter such a thing.

Wouldn't that mean all those years of planning would have come to nothing?
In addition, Chen Yaozi felt he should also mention Lü Yijian.

Because today's gossip was just something Chen Xianggu had sent people to gather out out of boredom.

The three people inside the house were busy and had no time to listen.

So, after all that back and forth, some important information was missing.

"This won't work, and that won't work either."

Chen Yaozi stood up, too angry to sit still:

"Could it be that Second Brother just swallowed this bitter pill?"

"Uncle, please don't get agitated."

Chen Shugu first tried to calm him down, then said:

“Song Xuan, relying on his status as the newly appointed top scholar, angered my father to the point of vomiting blood. This matter must not be left unresolved.”

"In this provincial examination, students from Yingtian Prefecture dominated the list, and many students must be resentful. If we could find evidence of their cheating in the examination, that would be a great help."

"There's no such thing as cheating in the imperial examinations."

Chen Yaozuo appeared listless at this moment:
"Song Xuan's method of managing the Yellow River is unique and no one knows it. If you want to cause trouble for him, just find any scholar and he can't write it down."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shugu immediately felt discouraged.

Why did the imperial court suddenly implement the civil service examination reform? If it hadn't been reformed, would it still be able to compete in poetry and prose?

That's it.

Given Song Xuan's renowned reputation throughout the three capitals, it is even more unrealistic to say that he plagiarized his poems.

It's better to plagiarize policy essays.

However, the methods for governing the Yellow River described in this policy essay are truly unprecedented.
"Second brother, are you telling the truth?"

Chen Yaozi also undertook water conservancy projects.

"Since they've come at this time, do I really want to boost their morale and diminish my own?"

Chen Yaozuo leaned back on the bed: "We can't find any trouble with them in a short time. Only by keeping them all in Tokyo can I, as the Prefect of Kaifeng, have a chance."

After passing the imperial examination, one was expected to become an official, and most of them were sent to remote areas.

If Song Xuan really passed the imperial examination with top honors, achieving the feat of winning all three top honors in a row, then he would, like the previous Song Xiang, perhaps have the opportunity to stay in the capital city of Tokyo and serve as an official.

A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years, but Chen Yaozuo believed that he could find Song Xuan's mistakes within a year.

Presumably, Lü Yijian also intended this.

But when he thought of Prime Minister Lü, who had promoted him, he truly became Song Xuan's father-in-law.

How can we retaliate against him then?

The only option left is to retaliate against Han Qi.

However, Song Xuan's insults were so vulgar that Chen Yaozuo couldn't swallow his anger.

“Father, but Song Twelve has become Prime Minister Lü’s son-in-law. Doesn’t our Chen family have to accept it with a heavy heart?”

Hearing his son's words, Chen Yaozuo let out a long sigh:
“The wronged have their culprits, and the debtors have their grievances. This matter was done by Han Qi alone, and has nothing to do with anyone else.”

"What do you mean, irrelevant?"

Chen Yaozi, however, could not swallow his anger.

Was Song Xuan's attack solely on Chen Yaozuo?

That meant the entire Chen family was cursed as well.

To accuse someone of having a corrupt family tradition is such a huge slander!
The tradition of passing down poetry and etiquette through generations has been distorted in an instant.

That is to say, their deceased father was a poor father who failed to raise his children properly.

They, as sons, have disgraced the family!

"Now that things have come to this, I know what I'm doing. There's no need to say anything more."

Chen Yaozuo harbored resentment, especially because he had forced Han Qi to sign the annulment document, which Han Qi still held onto.

Even if this matter were taken to the authorities, the Chen family would be at fault first.

With Song Xuan's inherent strength and his connection to the Lü family, how could he possibly retaliate?
"Father, Prime Minister Lü has arrived."

Both brothers were placed into the central government by Lü Yijian, who planned for them to serve as his assistants when he became prime minister.

Therefore, upon hearing that Chen Yaozuo had vomited blood from anger, he rushed over to visit him.

"No doubt about it, they're here to act as lobbyists." Chen Yaozi flicked his sleeve: "Hmph."

On the contrary, Chen Yaozuo felt that Lü Yijian's arrival was timely; if he hadn't come, he would have been truly heartbroken.

"Please invite Prime Minister Lü in and serve him tea."

"Yes."

Chen Xianggu angrily went to his room to lie down, especially since he had a black eye, which was quite unsightly.

Lu Yijian took his daughter to see a doctor, and it was indeed as Song Xuan had said.

If it weren't for Song Xuan's reminder, the physician from the Imperial Medical Bureau would have said that if the problem had been discovered too late, it might have ruined the daughter's life.

Therefore, although Lü Yijian felt that the marriage had not gone through, he still owed Song Xuan a favor.

As soon as Lü Yijian entered the room, he quickly took two steps:

"Brother Xiyuan, what's wrong with you?"

(End of this chapter)