Top Scholar

Chapter 314 Distribution
In Luzhou, the Zhu family had exhausted all their resources; all that was left was to leave it to fate.

In August, the latest news finally arrived—Liu Jin publicly announced the names of his treacherous associates in the imperial court, making it known to the world!

Among the fifty-three traitors announced, Wang Shouren, a sixth-rank official, ranked eighth. Ahead of him, besides the Grand Secretary and Minister, there was only Li Mengyang, who drafted the impeachment memorial.

Zhu Liu was also on the list, and not a low one at that, ranking thirty-second! He was above the twenty-first censor, probably because he violated the rule that junior officials were not allowed to speak out about state affairs...

The list of traitors was published, and the results of the punishment for the two men were also announced—Wang Shouren was exiled to Longchang Post Station in Guizhou as a postmaster, and Zhu Liu was exiled to Lingao County in Qiongzhou as a postmaster.

Upon receiving the news, everyone wept with joy. First, Zhu Liu had finally survived the beating in court. Second, the money they had spent had not been wasted; he had not been exiled to Liaodong in the northwest, but instead to the place chosen by the Zhu family—Lingao County!

No matter how closely Liu Jin kept an eye on things, his subordinates still had ways to make money safely—by exiling Zhu Liu to Hainan Island, Liu Jin would only feel that his subordinates had done a good job and that he was truly satisfied, without realizing that there was more to the story than met the eye…

Before Zhu Lin and Zhu Zigong, the fifth master of the Zhu family, went to the capital, Su Lu left Luzhou with them on the same boat. When the boat arrived at Hejiang, Su Lu asked the two to wait a moment while he hurried to find Instructor Hai Hanhai.

It was already dark when Su Lu went straight to Hai Han's house.

Hai Han was having dinner with his wife Xie Dajiao when Su Lu arrived. He quickly stood up to greet him, "Mr. Su is here? Haven't eaten yet? Wife, please bring us another pair of chopsticks."

"No need, no need." Su Lu waved his hand and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Madam Xie, saying, "Excuse me, sister-in-law, I need to speak with my husband for a few minutes."

"I'll go make some tea for Mr. Su." Madam Xie then got up and left her seat.

"What's the matter that's so urgent?" Haihan asked hurriedly.

"I'd like to ask if your family has any connections in Lingao..." Su Lu then briefly explained Zhu Liu's situation to Hai Han.

At this time, Haihan also heard about Liu Jin's announcement of the treacherous faction, listing Liu Jian and Xie Qian as the leaders of the faction.

Upon hearing that Zhu Chuanlu had become the thirty-second hero on the list, he was incredibly envious.

"Professor Zhu is so honored! I wish I could take his place..."

"Forget about it, just wait for your son." Su Lu asked, "How about it, could your family help look after the headmaster?"

"Yes, absolutely!" Hai Han readily agreed. "Don't worry, Mr. Su. Qiongzhou has always been a place of exile throughout history. Those officials who are avoided by everyone in the mainland will be treated like treasures when they come to us."

He chuckled and said, "Your ancestor, Mr. Su Dongpo, is a perfect example."

"It's better to have someone protecting you than to feel at ease," Su Lu said. "It's better to be safe than sorry."

“My family can protect him.” Hai Han said boldly, “Our Hai family is a prominent family in Qiongzhou. My ancestor served as the commander of Guangzhou Guard at the beginning of the founding of the country. My uncle passed the imperial examination and served as the magistrate of Songxi County, Fujian. There are five brothers in my generation. My eldest brother was a Jinshi in the eleventh year of Chenghua. He was also the second Jinshi in the entire Qiongzhou Prefecture in this dynasty.”

He paused, then said with shame, "I have three younger brothers, all of whom passed the imperial examinations. Only I never passed, which is a disgrace to my family..."

"Good heavens..." Su Lu couldn't help but gasp, never expecting the Hai family to be so powerful. Not only were their ancestors wealthy, but they also had one Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) and three Juren (successful candidates in the provincial imperial examination). In Qiongzhou, they would definitely be one of the top families.

"It's so disrespectful."

"That's all their money, what does it have to do with me?" Hai Han said listlessly, then laughed and said, "It's quite a coincidence, your sister-in-law's family is a prominent family in Lingao. I'll write a letter to my family and my in-laws, and they'll definitely be able to take good care of Zhu Shanzhang."

"Thank you so much, sir and sister-in-law!" Su Lu was overjoyed upon hearing this and bowed deeply to Hai Han and Madam Xie, who had brought out the tea. "Then I shall take my leave."

"Have some water before you go," Xie said to him.

"No, the Zhu family is still waiting for news on the ship. I'll come back another day to thank them in person!" Su Lu said, and then hurriedly left.

~~
Beijing.

In September, Wang Hua was promoted in name only but demoted in reality, and transferred to Nanjing to serve as Minister of Personnel.

Nanjing was the secondary capital of the Ming Dynasty, with the same six ministries as Beijing. However, the power was basically in the hands of the six ministries in Beijing, so it was basically a place to retire. Even the officials in the court were known as the Minister of Flower Planting and the Vice Minister of Bird Walking.

Wang Hua, however, did not take it to heart at all. When he took his leave of the emperor, he asked for permission to travel with his son, who had been demoted to the post of postmaster, for a while so that he could take care of his injuries from the beating.

Emperor Zhengde naturally granted permission for such a trivial matter.

After Wang Hua thanked the emperor and left the palace, he immediately went to the imperial prison and, based on the emperor's decree, took away Wang Shouren and Zhu Liu.

In fact, Wang Hua didn't mention Zhu Liu when he pleaded with Zhengde. But Zhu Liu was a minor figure who didn't matter at all, and since the Zhu family had bribed them, the Imperial Guards in charge of the imperial prison handed him over to Wang Hua as well…

Seeing his son, who had been tortured beyond recognition, Wang Hua couldn't help but burst into tears. He tightly grasped Wang Shouren's withered and thin hand and choked out, "Bo'an, you have suffered so much."

For the first time in his life, Wang Shouren apologized to Wang Hua: "I acted impulsively and lost my chance at success. I am ashamed before my father."

“No, you did the right thing.” Wang Hua shook his head firmly.

Wang Shouren looked up in surprise upon hearing this; this was the first time in his life that his father had praised him…

Wang Zhuangyuan was a model of integrity and a meticulous, traditional gentleman. Yet, he was also unconventional and unorthodox, a man who never played by the rules.

For the past thirty years, Wang Zhuangyuan has always gone his own way, telling him to go east or west, to study or practice martial arts, to get married or meditate... He's practically a nemesis sent down by the heavens to oppose Wang Zhuangyuan.

The strict father and the rebellious son, who had been at odds for half their lives, finally reconciled at this moment.

“Father…” Wang Shouren’s eyes gradually reddened, and his grief and indignation were about to burst forth.

"This isn't the place to talk," Wang Hua said in a low voice. "We should leave the capital quickly, lest things get complicated."

"Yes." Wang Shouren immediately understood the situation... Although the emperor had agreed to let him and his father travel together, Liu Jin could easily have the Imperial Guards imprison him again with just a word.

He quickly stopped crying, and with the help of his two younger brothers, he got into the carriage. Without even going home, he headed straight for Chaoyang Gate...

~~
Supervisor of Ceremonies.

Upon hearing the report, Liu Jin indeed flew into a rage, berating Luo Xiang and Gao Feng, the two tigers responsible for entertaining the emperor:

"Why did the Emperor meet with Scholar Wang? Wasn't it supposed to be your child showing the Emperor around?"

"It was the Grand Secretary who relayed the message on behalf of Scholar Wang," Luo Xiang hurriedly explained. "The Emperor had a good impression of Scholar Wang and suddenly decided to meet him. I dared not stop him."

"You son of a bitch! You thought Scholar Wang was an honest and simple man, but you actually launched a sneak attack when we weren't paying attention!" Liu Jin spat fiercely and said, "Bring Wang Shouren back to us! Tell them there are still cases that haven't been investigated!"

"Isn't that inappropriate, brother? We can't embarrass the Emperor."

"Yes, boss, the emperor has already promised Scholar Wang. If we bring him back, what if it gets to the emperor's ears?" Ji Hu hurriedly advised.

"Hmm..." Liu Jin thought about it and agreed. Wang Yue's lesson was still fresh in his mind. He couldn't let the emperor think he was disloyal.

But he couldn't swallow his anger and said bitterly, "Our family has already spread the word that we want Wang Shouren dead, so we can't let him make it to Guizhou alive!"

"Isn't that simple?" The factory manager, Qiu Ju, volunteered.
“Scholar Wang can’t possibly escort his son all the way to Guizhou; at most, he can accompany him to Nanjing. I’ll send someone to secretly follow them, and as soon as they separate, we’ll make our move, so Scholar Wang will experience the pain of losing his son, and he won’t be able to find us.”

They've done this many times before; Liu Jin's predecessors, such as Wang Yue, were killed on the way by assassins from the Eastern Depot...

"Alright, then it's up to you." Liu Jin nodded and said, "Like I said before, we can't let Wang Shouren make it to Guizhou alive!"

"Don't worry, brother. The entire Imperial Guard is now under our control. Killing a lowly official is no different than crushing an ant!" Qiu Ju said confidently.

"Well, if you can't even do this simple thing right, you might as well just find a block of tofu and smash your head against it and die." Liu Jin didn't think there would be any problems, and in his mind, he already considered Wang Yangming as a dead man.

~~
After Wang Hua and his son, along with Zhu Liu, left the capital, they boarded the official boat waiting on the Tonghui River, finally putting their minds at ease.

The fact that Liu Jin hasn't sent anyone to pursue him yet shows that he hasn't gone so far as to openly defy the emperor's orders...

On board was a renowned doctor whom Wang Hua had invited. He immediately gave Wang Shouren and Zhu Liu a thorough examination and prescribed them calming medicine so they could get a good night's sleep and calm their nerves.

After the two took their medicine, Wang Hua and the doctor left the cabin and went to the deck.

"Doctor Jin, how are they?" Wang Hua asked softly.

"Reporting to the Minister, although Lord Zhu's injuries are quite severe, they are all to the skin, flesh, and bones, and do not involve the internal organs. With careful treatment and rest for several months, he should recover completely. On the other hand, Lord Wang's external symptoms are mild, but his internal damage is quite severe, especially his lung meridian," Physician Jin replied in a low voice.

“He had a chronic lung disease since he was young,” Wang Hua sighed.

"I see. This time, the external injury aggravated the condition, and the damp and cold environment of the prison caused Lord Wang's old illness to relapse and become more severe. He needs to be carefully treated with methods that warm and nourish the lungs and internal organs and strengthen the body's foundation. He must not overexert himself and deplete his energy." Imperial Physician Jin instructed.

"Can it be completely eradicated?" Wang Hua pressed.

"The lungs are a delicate organ, and once damaged, they are difficult to repair." Physician Jin sighed softly. "In short, I will do my best to minimize the impact on his future life."

"Thank you so much, Physician Jin." Wang Hua bowed deeply.

Imperial Physician Jin stepped aside to let him pass, and said solemnly, "Minister Wang, what are you saying? Lord Wang is ranked eighth on the so-called list of traitors, which shows that you are a very loyal minister! I am unable to eliminate traitors for the country, but I am honored to be able to do my best for a loyal minister!"

"Thank you so much." Wang Hua sighed deeply, moved. "Indeed, right and wrong will be judged by history. Liu Jin's attempt to silence public opinion with a list of treacherous officials is nothing but wishful thinking!"

"Yes!" Physician Jin nodded emphatically. "The common people regard that list as a list of heroes, and it is a disgrace for officials not to be on it!"

“…” Wang Hua’s lips twitched, but he didn’t respond.

P.S. There's still half of the next chapter... You can read it tomorrow morning.

(End of this chapter)