Top Scholar

Chapter 520 Reunion
Su Lu picked up the last file of the 'Fake Medicine Case' and frowned as he read it, looking disgusted.

According to the records, Po Lin Monastery, taking advantage of the reputation of its "Child-Giving Hall" for its efficacy in granting children, launched "Child-Giving Pills" for sale, claiming that they could help women conceive after taking them, with each pill costing as much as ten taels of silver.

Despite its high price, it sold out immediately upon release.

"There are so many rich people in the capital," Su Lu couldn't help but exclaim.

"Mainly because the Fertility-Giving Hall was temporarily closed during that period, many worshippers who came from afar didn't want to leave empty-handed, so they had to settle for getting a fertility pill instead," Qian Ning explained.

"When they got back and took the pills, they didn't find them effective. Dozens of women experienced persistent abdominal pain after taking them, so their families filed a complaint with the county government. After examining the dregs, the government found that the pills contained only common herbs and a small amount of calming ingredients, which would not cause illness. Therefore, they concluded that the abdominal pain was due to the patient's own condition and had nothing to do with the pills."

"So if it doesn't make you sick, then it's fine?! The family is suing because it makes them unable to conceive!" Su Lu said speechlessly, "Ten taels of silver for a sugar pill, isn't that fraud?!"

"Later, the temple admitted that the medicine was ineffective, but they didn't expect this to happen. Previously, female devotees took this medicine at the fertility hall, and nine out of ten of them conceived. They didn't expect it to stop working after leaving the fertility hall; it seems the fasting and purification rituals before the Buddha cannot be skipped," Qian Ning said.
"So the abbot announced that all pilgrims who had already purchased the pills could go to the purification room to fast again until they conceived. This calmed the storm..."

"Pfft..." Su Lu almost spat out his tea onto the files. "What is this? Are they trying to make us look like idiots?!"

"Hey, who can argue with that? But the Ming Dynasty was never short of fools," Qian Ning laughed.

"So, the Fertility Center has reopened?" Su Lu asked.

“Hmm.” Qian Ning nodded. “I went there the other day, and you even need to make an appointment. It seems like it hasn’t been affected at all…”

Su Lu closed the case file and asked Qian Ning, "Do you think these four cases are connected?"

“Yes.” Qian Ning nodded: “They are all related to the Fertility Hall. If the Fertility Hall is hiding some unspeakable secret, then the four cases will be connected immediately. In the first case, Zhang Gui was silenced after discovering the secret. In the second case, Li was also silenced. Her husband went to Baolian Temple to become a monk in order to find out where his wife was, but he gave himself away and was also silenced.”

He paused for a moment and said, "Then the monks of Baolian Temple, perhaps feeling that they had killed too many people and were afraid that they would be exposed if they continued, closed the fertility hall and used fertility pills to appease the worshippers who were seeking children. As a result, it backfired and they were sued. In order to quell public anger, they had no choice but to go back to their old ways..."

After saying that, he couldn't help but ask for praise, "Godfather, isn't it reasonable to say that?"

“Yes, that makes sense.” Su Lu nodded. “Just one point: I think Huineng, or rather Yuanjian, was very likely not silenced at the time, but escaped from Baolian Temple. Otherwise, given the lawlessness of those monks, they would most likely have kept it a secret, preferring to avoid trouble.”

“Yes.” Qian Ning nodded and said, “What Godfather said is absolutely right. There are thousands of monks in Baolian Temple. If one or two are missing, no one will notice. It is very likely that in order to prevent Huineng from reporting them, the villains have filed a false accusation first.”

"So many monks?" Su Lu was surprised.

“Originally there weren’t that many, but last year Eunuch Liu issued 40,000 ordination certificates in one go, including 30,000 monk certificates and 10,000 Taoist certificates, which led to a significant increase in the number of monks in the temples of the capital,” Qian Ning explained.

"How much?" Su Lu was startled. Their Hejiang County had less than 40,000 people. His second thought was, "How much money did they make?"

“One ordination certificate costs twenty taels, and the court nets eight hundred thousand taels.” Qian Ning said in a low voice, “But this is for the court. Eunuch Liu and his men have made at least a million taels more.”

He chuckled sheepishly and said, "My son wasn't in the capital at the time, so he received a thousand taels of silver."

"This is like selling one's father's land without a care in the world!" Su Lu said angrily. "How many people can get tax exemptions just by using this ordination certificate? In the end, it's the court and the emperor who suffer!"

He was mainly angry because he feared that the crackdown on unlicensed monks would be much less effective.

"Those who are in charge of the government? They're all things that will only last for a day, not for a day." Qian Ning sneered, "If His Majesty continues to let Liu Jin be the chief steward, he'll sell everything off in three to five years."

"Let's not get off topic, let's get back to the case." Su Lu coughed lightly and said, "Do you think Huineng is dead or alive now?"

“It’s very likely he’s still dead.” Qian Ning pondered, “Baolian Temple has resumed its old business, although it was out of desperation. But judging from their attitude, they probably don’t intend to stop anymore, so they may have already found Huineng and silenced him.”

"Hmm..." Su Lu nodded slowly, agreeing with his opinion. Since Huineng didn't report it immediately after escaping, it was likely because he heard the Fertility Center had closed down, so reporting it would be useless.

Once he learns that the Fertility Center has reopened, he will most likely report it to the authorities. Baolian Temple was initially wary, but later became less so; this change in attitude likely means they have eliminated this potential threat.

“But Huineng has been on the run for so long, he certainly won’t have stayed put; he must have left some traces,” Su Lu said in a deep voice.

"Judging from how he took the opportunity to buy a Buddhist ordination certificate to sneak into Po Lin Monastery and cleverly changed his name, he must be a cunning person who knows some characters and should be making the worst-case scenario plan."

"Yes, Godfather is right!" Qian Ning nodded emphatically. This wasn't just flattery; it also contained an element of admiration… No wonder he was the top scholar; his thinking was indeed meticulous. He then respectfully asked, "Then shall we use Baolian Temple as our breakthrough point?"

"Tell me the reasons besides the case." Su Lu remained noncommittal.

"Yes!" Qian Ning replied hastily. "This Baolian Temple is extremely famous for its ability to grant children. People from Baoding and Hejian even come here because of its reputation... Over the decades, they have amassed countless riches. They not only own thousands of acres of fertile land, but also lend out 'merit loans' with a monthly interest rate of four percent. Just imagine how rich they must be, Godfather."

He paused for a moment, then chuckled sinisterly, "More importantly, their backer is the Pingjiang Marquis's Mansion."

"The Earl of Pingjiang?" Su Lu was slightly taken aback. He had a general idea of ​​the nobles in the capital, but he had never heard of this man's name.

"It's Chen Xiong, the Earl of Pingjiang. He's a descendant of Chen Xuan, a meritorious official of the Jingnan Campaign. Liu Jin had previously demanded bribes from him, but Chen Xiong refused, thus offending Liu Jin. Later, Liu Jin found a pretext to arrest Chen Xiong, imprison him, and demote him to the Hainan frontier, even stripping him of his hereditary title." Qian Ning quickly explained:
"What's even better is that Chen Xiong himself is no good either. He was greedy and insatiable during his tenure as the Grand Canal Transport Commander, causing harm to many people. So even though he was framed by Liu Jin, no one cares. So don't worry, Godfather, the son has picked an easy target for you, one that will definitely not cause you any trouble!"

"Good, very good." Su Lu nodded approvingly. This child is really sensible. This is his first move after taking office, so he naturally has to make it a success. He can't afford to have it end badly or cause any trouble.

"Then let's leave it at that for now. What are your specific plans?"

“Reporting to Godfather,” Qian Ning replied immediately, “There are three paths we can take right now: First, go to Hejian Prefecture to find Wang Shi and Zhang San; second, investigate Huineng’s clues and see if he left anything behind; third, kidnap a monk from the temple and see if we can get any information out of him.”

Su Lu pondered for a moment, then instructed, "Don't alert them yet. Start by investigating from the outside."

“Alright!” Qian Ning replied. “Then, son, first send someone to investigate Huineng’s whereabouts, and I will personally go to Hejian Prefecture to find Wang Shi and Zhang San. If necessary, we will secretly bring them back to the capital.”

"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Su Lu patted him on the shoulder.

Qian Ning is quite rare in this respect; he is extremely hardworking and resilient, making him a rare breed of ox-and-horse-type hawk-dog.

After all, I also came from Southwest China...

~~
A few days later, the Dragon Tiger Lecture Hall was closed for the day.

The entire Su family came out, and even Su Tai, who usually spent all his time at the military camp in the western suburbs, took a special leave. The group arrived at the Datong Bridge Wharf outside Chaoyangmen in a grand procession to welcome their family members who had come for a reunion.

Zhu Zhishan also joined in the fun.

After failing the imperial examination, he had already packed his bags and was planning to return south when he received a letter from Tang Bohu. He then gladly stayed and temporarily resided at the residence of his mentor, Wang Ao, where he could keep the elderly man company.

The Tonghui River leads directly to Tongzhou, and one can travel by boat from Nanjing all the way to the capital. However, when Su Lu and his companions were traveling to the capital for the imperial examinations, the river was frozen over in the dead of winter, forcing them to abandon their boats and take the land route halfway through their journey.

The Datongqiao Wharf is lined with masts, mostly carrying cargo ships, but also interspersed with various civilian and merchant vessels. Countless laborers carrying heavy loads haul rice and general merchandise from the ships ashore like ants, constantly supplying the city of a million people behind them with essential supplies.

"They're here!" Youxi, with her sharp eyes, was the first to shout.

Everyone saw an official ship slowly sailing into the dock, with Su Youpeng, Su Yang and others standing on the deck.

Upon seeing the top scholar and his entourage on the dock, the people on the boat quickly waved excitedly and went to invite the ladies in the cabin.

The cabin door opened, and the eldest aunt and three daughters-in-law quickly appeared on the deck. She Yunluo's belly was already quite noticeable, but she was still lively and energetic, needing no one's help. Su Youcai's eyelids twitched as he watched, fearing that something might happen to his eldest grandson...

Su Lu and Su Man only had eyes for Huang E and Zhu Yin. Half a year had passed since they last met, how could they not miss each other?
However, there were also forty or fifty members of the Su family who came with them. In front of so many clansmen, the young couple could only exchange glances and remain reserved in their words and actions.

They are the top three scholars and their wives, and every move they make must be in accordance with their status.

Besides the Su family, the ship also carried three Nanjing ministers: Hong Zhong, He Jian, and Sun Jiao, as well as Tang Bohu and Wen Zhengming...

This unusual scene made Su Lu's pupils shrink. Clearly, something had happened on the way, otherwise the three ministers wouldn't have been on the same boat as the Su family.

He quickly stepped forward to greet the three ministers, who were all invited by him to give lectures.

(End of this chapter)