Fangzhou Xier, starting with failing the art exam

"I'll handle it personally."

He didn't open it here, but turned to his personal guards and said, "Return to the manor."

……

Lin Mansion, Study.

Lin Yue dismissed all the servants and personally closed the doors and windows of his study.

He placed the black oilcloth wrapping on the desk and began to unwrap it layer by layer.

After the tarpaulin was untied, there was a thick layer of oil paper underneath, which was excellent at preventing moisture.

When the oil paper was peeled back, what was revealed made Lin Yue's pupils shrink sharply.

　-月*漪/意企溜@（一）san贰兒究That is a booklet.

A booklet with a cover made of the hide of an unknown wild animal, sturdy to the touch.

Next to the booklet was a stack of papers, tied with thin hemp rope.

Lin Yue picked up the stack of papers first.

Untying the hemp rope, he saw the original examination questions from previous years' provincial examinations, with marks of annotation in vermilion ink.

What alarmed him even more was that beneath these exam questions lay stacks of replaced test papers.

The writing style and policy arguments of these exam papers were sometimes even better than those of the final successful candidates.

Without exception, all of them received extremely low scores from the examiners, or were simply disqualified for being "off-topic".

While the examination papers of those who passed the imperial examinations appeared elaborate on the surface, a closer look revealed striking similarities in their thought processes and word choices to the original examination's standard answer key.

Lin Yue's hands trembled slightly.

This is what is known as an exorbitantly priced calligraphy masterpiece!

It wasn't a leaked exam question at all; it was a far worse case of a switch!

They weren't even bothered to let those incompetent students who paid money write their own answers. Instead, they prepared high-scoring answer sheets and secretly replaced them after collecting the papers!

This is absolutely outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!!

The imperial examination was the only upward mobility channel opened by the Great Yan Dynasty for scholars from poor families.

If even this path is blocked and tainted by money, then the hearts of scholars across the land will be scattered!

Lin Yue suppressed his anger and turned his gaze to the leather-bound booklet.

He had a premonition that what was in this booklet was more deadly than the replaced exam papers.

He slowly opened the booklet.

The first page has no text, only a picture.

The picture depicts a large, leafy tree with roots deeply embedded in the dark soil. Countless venomous snakes are coiled around its trunk, and each snake has a name carved on its body.

And atop the tree canopy, an official's hat is held aloft.

Lin Yue's heart sank.

He turned to the second page.

The densely packed, tiny characters of regular script came into view.

The book contains a list of names.

"The provincial examination in the thirty-seventh year of the reign of Emperor Qiyuan of the Great Yan Dynasty. Buyer: Qian Baiwan, a wealthy merchant in the west of the city, to purchase the degree of Juren for his son Qian Duoduo. Price: 100,000 taels of silver... The person in charge: Wang Teng; the guarantor: Wang Qinian."

"The provincial examination of the thirty-eighth year of the Qiyuan era of the Great Yan Dynasty. Buyer: Li Sihai, a salt merchant from Jiangnan, purchased the degree of Juren for his nephew Li Fugui. Price: 5,000 taels of gold... The person in charge: Wang Teng; the guarantor: Wang Qinian."

……

As he turned the pages, Lin Yue's hands grew colder and colder, and his heart sank deeper and deeper.

This record contains the names of officials who obtained official positions through exorbitantly priced calligraphy transactions, along with the prices, the people involved, and the guarantors!

From the successful candidates in the provincial examinations to the successful candidates in the metropolitan examinations, some even passed the selection process of the Ministry of Personnel and were appointed as county magistrates!

A vast network spanning several years and covering both the government and the public was laid bare before him.

Behind almost every transaction, one can see a familiar name – Wang Qinian.

The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites was one of the deputy chief examiners for this year's provincial examination.

Lin Yue turned to the last page.

There was only one line of text on it, but it made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

"In the 40th year of the Qiyuan era of the Great Yan Dynasty, the provincial examination was held by Liu Jing, the top candidate. The price was: none... This was used to silence public opinion; the mastermind was Qian Yunhe."

Qian Yunhe!

Minister of Rites!

Sure enough, Liu Jing, the poor scholar whom Wang Qinian had chosen as the head of the village despite all opposition, was just a decoy they had thrown out! A pawn to silence the world!

What a grand gesture! What a wicked intention!

Lin Yue closed the booklet, his chest heaving violently.

He finally understood.

Wang Qinian, and even Qian Yunhe, may just be branches on this big tree.

Behind them, there is an even larger and more terrifying entity manipulating all of this.

This list is enough to shake the Great Yan court to its core!

But Lin Yue also knew that he dared not use it lightly.

Once this list is made public, the resulting upheaval in the imperial court will be devastating.

This involves too many officials, covering almost half of the New Party and a portion of the Old Party.

If all cases are investigated, the operation of the imperial court may be directly paralyzed.

What's even more frightening is that this will force those people to resort to desperate measures.

They will use all their strength to retaliate.

It's even possible that... another murder-to-silence scenario will unfold!

The deaths of Liang Yuan and the manager of Hanlin Pavilion serve as a warning!

Looking at the list of names and exam papers on the table, Lin Yue felt a sense of unease for the first time.

The evidence is conclusive and irrefutable.

However, he could not immediately bring the criminals to justice.

This feeling made him, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review who only recognized the laws of the Great Yan Dynasty, feel extremely frustrated.

No, we must report this to His Highness the King of Qin immediately!

Lin Yue made up his mind and immediately wrapped the booklet and some key test papers in oilcloth again and put them in his pocket.

He didn't even go through the main gate, but quietly slipped out through the side gate in the backyard without alerting anyone.

As night deepened, he rode alone towards the Qin Prince's mansion.

He had to hand this hot potato to the only person who could handle it before the other party could react.

……

Prince Qin's Mansion, study.

Lacey was still awake, analyzing the situation.

The sand table in front of him was densely covered with small flags of various colors.

Red represents the core members of the new party, blue represents centrists with wavering stances, orange represents the old party, and green represents the forces he can currently unite.

This is the general distribution of official power in Baizao.

When Lacey heard Yang Wei's report that Lin Yue had requested an audience late at night, she was not surprised.

He pushed the two small red flags representing Minister of Rites Qian Yunhe and Vice Minister Wang Qinian an inch closer to the banner representing Grand Tutor Xun Huiming.

"Let him in."

When Lin Yue entered the study, he immediately saw the sand table.

He felt a chill run down his spine, and his awe of this Prince Qin deepened even further.

Strategic planning leads to victory from afar.

This prince's ambitions extend far beyond simply bringing down one or two corrupt officials.

"Your Highness!"

Lin Yue bowed and took out the black oilcloth package from his bosom.

"Fortunately, I live up to my fate!"

Lacey's gaze fell on the package, and she asked, "What about the casualties?"

Lin Yue felt a warmth in his heart.

His Highness's first concern was not the evidence, but the safety of his men.

"Your Highness, there were no casualties on our side."

"The other side captured six people alive. The leader attempted to commit suicide by poisoning himself, but his jaw was dislocated. The manager of Hanlin Pavilion... had already died before the incident."

Lacey nodded.

"As expected, their style of doing things can be seen from that drowned scholar."

He then reached out and took the package.

In front of Lin Yue, Lacey unpacked the package and took out the leather-bound booklet and the yellowed exam papers.

He reads very quickly, yet very carefully.

Lin Yue stood to the side, not daring to breathe.

He saw that His Highness the King of Qin's expression remained calm and composed throughout.

But Lin Yue could sense a sense of impending doom, like the wind howling in the wind.

Finally, Lacey turned the last page.

He gently closed the booklet and placed it on the table.

"What a fine new aristocracy."

He spoke calmly, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger.

Lin Yue was taken aback: "A new aristocratic family?"

"Yes."

Lacey picked up an excellent exam paper that had been replaced, and then picked up a mediocre exam paper that she had bought with money.

“Look, those they dismissed were truly talented and principled scholars.”

"And what they promoted were these mediocre people who could only write flowery articles, and those opportunists who were willing to exchange money and dignity for fame and fortune."

"If this continues, who in the imperial court will rise to power based on genuine talent and learning?"

"Who else has the people's well-being at heart?"

"Once these people, whom they personally promoted, occupy key departments of the court, they will have essentially created a completely new bureaucratic system that is entirely loyal to them."

"A new aristocratic family bound together by money and interests."

Lin Yue's heart skipped a beat.

He only saw fraud and corruption, but His Highness the King of Qin had already seen a far deeper scheme behind it all.

Lacey stood up and walked to Lin Yue, personally supporting his shoulder.

"Young Master Lin, you have done a great service this time."

Lin Yue was flattered and quickly bowed, saying, "This is all thanks to Your Highness's strategic planning; I dare not take credit for it."

“Good deeds are good deeds, and bad deeds are bad deeds. I’ve always been fair in my rewards and punishments.” Lacey patted him on the shoulder.