The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

The situation inside Wanghu Tower has taken a dramatic turn.

What was originally a trap set by Lord Wang and the Lin family head to manipulate Su Shi has now become their own trial.

With a few words of instigation from Jiang Lin, the canal gang, the salt gang, and the Lin family instantly became the common enemy of all Hangzhou merchants.

Faced with dozens of red-eyed merchants, some even ready to fight to the death, even Lord Wang and the Lin family head, who were used to the storms of officialdom and the business world, felt an immense pressure, as if Mount Tai were pressing down on them.

This is no longer a simple power struggle within the bureaucracy; if not handled properly, it could incite a popular uprising!

Lord Wang's face turned deathly pale. He couldn't understand how his meticulous planning had led to this situation.

He looked at the head of the Lin family for help.

The Lin family head was also covered in sweat, but he was calmer than Lord Wang. He knew that tonight in Hangzhou, they couldn't defeat Su Shi and Jiang Lin.

The other side not only occupied the moral high ground, but also had real money, dozens of merchants who shared the same hatred, and even stood behind that vulgar maid who was like a war god and could smash a solid wood table to powder with one slap.

A head-on confrontation will only lead to certain death.

But the head of the Lin family did not believe that he had lost.

He still has his last and strongest trump card in the capital.

He calculated the time; the letter sent by express courier to Grand Tutor Cai's residence should be coming into effect soon.

Suddenly, a series of extremely rapid, orderly, and heavy footsteps came from the stairwell. It was the sound of military boots stepping on the wooden planks, accompanied by the crisp metallic clang of armor clashing.

"Imperial edict has arrived! Imperial edict has arrived!"

A high-pitched, delicate voice, like a drawn sword, instantly pierced the noisy hall.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then they all looked towards the stairwell.

A middle-aged eunuch dressed in blue official robes, holding a whisk and with a stern face, strode forward, escorted by a group of imperial guards.

He held a roll of yellow silk high in his hands, on which were clearly written the words "Imperial Decree".

Imperial Edict!

It really is an imperial edict from the capital!

The hall fell into a deathly silence; you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events.

Lord Wang and the Lin family head exchanged a glance, both seeing ecstasy in each other's eyes.

It's here! It's finally here!

They knew that this was definitely Grand Tutor Cai's doing!

Su Shi's heart sank suddenly.

His worst fears came true. He should have realized that no matter how well he did in Hangzhou and how many people he benefited, in the eyes of those powerful officials, it was no match for a single, casual remark from a big shot in the capital.

Zhao Lingjun's expression instantly turned serious, and she gripped the folding fan tightly in her hand.

Only Jiang Lin frowned the moment he saw the eunuch.

The ease and confident smugness on his face completely vanished for the first time since he arrived in Hangzhou.

He wasn't afraid of the imperial edict; rather, he sensed a familiar, chilling stench emanating from this incident.

Cai Jing...

This old fox, who had been outmaneuvered by himself and Su Shi in Bianjing, was ultimately unwilling to accept defeat and, from a distance of thousands of miles, extended his claws.

"Su Shi, the Vice Prefect of Hangzhou, why haven't you received the imperial decree yet!"

The middle-aged eunuch strode to the center of the hall, his gaze sweeping coldly across the room like a venomous snake, finally settling arrogantly on Su Shi.

Su Shi took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and prepared to kneel.

Upon seeing this, all the officials present, as well as the merchants who had just been filled with righteous indignation, knelt down in unison. Before imperial power, even the wealthiest merchants were nothing more than ants.

However, what is surprising is—

In the center of the hall, only Jiang Lin, Zhao Lingjun, Niu Aihua who was eating an apple, and Shen Kuo who was still calculating blueprints stood behind Su Shi, as straight as pine trees, without moving an inch.

The eunuch frowned, but said nothing. He simply unfurled the yellow silk and began to read in his characteristic, ambiguous tone:

"Your Excellency: Su Shi, the Vice Prefect of Hangzhou, has only been in office for a short time. Instead of understanding the people's plight and pacifying the local area, he is fond of grandiose projects and has arbitrarily initiated engineering projects. Under the guise of 'work relief,' he is actually 'competing with the people for profit'; under the pretext of 'dredging West Lake,' he is actually 'filling in the lake and selling land.' This has caused inconvenience to merchants and travelers, and the people are filled with resentment..."

This decree was not issued in the emperor's voice, but in the name of the Secretariat-Chancellery, also known as a "court edict".

But the charges it listed were utterly venomous!

All of Su Shi's achievements were distorted into sins.

"...Therefore, all construction projects at West Lake are to be immediately halted, pending investigation by the imperial court. All land sales are to be cancelled, and the proceeds to be sealed. Su Shi is hereby demoted one rank and fined one year's salary for dereliction of duty, as a warning to observe his future conduct. So be it!"

After reading the imperial decree, the eunuch looked coldly at Su Shi and rolled up a piece of yellow silk.

The entire hall was deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned by the severity of the decree.

Demoted one rank! Penalized with a year's salary!

What a heavy blow this must have been for a top scholar who had just achieved the highest honors in three consecutive imperial examinations and had a promising future!

This essentially ruined his career!

Even more fatally, the West Lake project came to a standstill, rendering all the sold land plots worthless!

Those merchants who had spent tens of thousands of strings of cash were struck dumb, their faces ashen.

All their money has gone down the drain!

Finished!

It's all over!

Lord Wang and the Lin family head knelt on the ground, their heads bowed low, but the corners of their mouths couldn't help but turn up wildly.

Won!

A complete and utter victory!

No matter how talented Su Shi was, or how eloquent his pageboy was, in the face of the imperial court's overwhelming power, you were nothing but a fart!

Master Cai is indeed incredibly influential!

Su Shi knelt there, his body stiff, his mind blank.

He felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight up to the top of his head.

All the efforts, all the plans, all the high spirits—all became a joke in the face of this cold, hard decree.

He slowly raised his head and looked at Jiang Lin behind him, his eyes filled with despair and resentment.

Jiang Lin's face was terribly gloomy.

He looked at Su Shi's dejected appearance, and then at the smug faces of Lord Wang and the Lin family head.

An unnamed anger suddenly welled up from the bottom of my heart.

"Cai Jing...you old bastard, didn't I teach you a lesson you didn't teach in Bianjing enough? You have to resort to underhanded tactics with me?"

Jiang Lin cursed inwardly.

"Fine, you want to play? I'll play with you to the very end!"

Seeing that Su Shi had not responded for a long time, the eunuch impatiently urged, "Prefect Su, why haven't you received the imperial decree yet?"

His voice was sharp and shrill.

Su Shi smiled bitterly, preparing to extend his trembling hands to receive the imperial decree that was enough to destroy everything he had.

Just then, a hand pressed down on his shoulder.

It's Jiang Lin.