Chapter 407: One of Our Own

Hearing Cui Chengxiu say this, Ruan Dacheng's expression immediately turned sour.

This matter was clearly beyond Ruan Dacheng's expectations — he hadn't thought Cui Chengxiu would fail to persuade Your Majesty.

Now that things had escalated to this point, persuading Your Majesty again would likely be even harder.

Ruan Dacheng asked with some concern: "Lord Cui, what do we do next?"

"What can we do?" Cui Chengxiu said irritably: "Before I came out, Your Majesty specifically instructed me not to act rashly. At this moment, whatever we do will displease Your Majesty. The only option is to wait and see."

After saying this, Cui Chengxiu stared at Ruan Dacheng with a grim face and said very seriously: "Ruan Dacheng, you keep a close watch on this place for me. Under no circumstances can anything go wrong, or you'll come to no good end."

Hearing the threat in Cui Chengxiu's tone, Ruan Dacheng groaned bitterly inside.

But he also understood that this was no time to bargain with Cui Chengxiu. Even if he had grievances, there was no way to voice them — he could only grit his teeth and swallow them down.

Ruan Dacheng nodded and said through clenched teeth: "Rest assured, Lord Cui, this Ruan will do his utmost."

At this point, not just for Cui Chengxiu's sake but also for his own, Ruan Dacheng had no choice but to give his all.

"Then go on, quickly." Cui Chengxiu nodded, his tone relaxing slightly.

He also knew this matter couldn't be entirely blamed on Ruan Dacheng; his harsh attitude just now was nothing more than scaring Ruan Dacheng a bit.

Venting in anger was fine, but pushing Ruan Dacheng too hard might backfire.

Ruan Dacheng nodded and turned to walk back.

When he returned to the crowd, Ruan Dacheng found that Zhong Yuzheng still hadn't finished speaking — he was still holding forth endlessly.

The atmosphere on site, however, was no longer as heated as before. Quite a few students had begun to droop their heads in dejection, and some were even dozing off.

Clearly Zhong Yuzheng's speech was far too long, and most of it was things the students had long since heard. Their not showing outright annoyance was already doing Zhong Yuzheng a great favor.

This instead let Ruan Dacheng breathe a sigh of relief — nothing could be better than this.

Zhong Yuzheng, by now parched from speaking, said with lingering enthusiasm: "And so, let us work together with one heart and one mind, do this matter well, and set an example for all the scholars of the realm!"

"Good!" A loud chorus of approval suddenly erupted from the surroundings.

After that cry of approval, all the students seemed to snap back to attention and hurriedly joined in with their own cheers. Only then did the atmosphere heat up once more.

A scholar stepped out from the crowd — it was that Wang Linsheng.

Ruan Dacheng's gaze fell on Wang Linsheng's face, and his brows instantly knitted together.

He stared hard at this Wang Linsheng, wishing he could stride up and slap the man across the mouth, then seize him.

From the very beginning when these people arrived at Shoushan Academy, this Wang Linsheng had been jumping around. He was darting up and down, and Ruan Dacheng saw it very clearly. This indicated one thing: this Wang Linsheng had ulterior motives.

Ruan Dacheng had a very thorough read on the minds of certain people.

At a time like this, people who darted about like that were usually harboring hidden agendas.

Wang Linsheng stood before the crowd and declared loudly: "Wen Tianxiang once said — what is the purpose of studying the words of the sages? Confucius said to achieve benevolence, Mencius said to achieve righteousness. Today is the very day for us scholars to achieve benevolence and righteousness!"

"Your Majesty's establishment of the Imperial Academy and gathering of scholars from across the realm is a blessing for us men of learning. This is a golden age unprecedented in a thousand years!"

"Your Majesty's devotion to promoting culture and education and spreading the way of the sages truly makes Your Majesty a model among emperors through the ages, and a blessing for us scholars! To be born under the rule of such a sage sovereign is our fortune as men of learning!"

"Yet at this very moment, there are those who would exploit Your Majesty's benevolent heart to carry out their own private schemes — truly a crime of the gravest magnitude! How can we scholars stand by and do nothing?"

"Loyalty to the sovereign and service to the state — the time is now! Fellow students, today is the day for us to be loyal to our sovereign and serve our country! Follow us, raise your voices here, and let everyone know what we think!"

Hearing Wang Linsheng's words, the crowd erupted.

Countless people shouted loudly, clearly endorsing Wang Linsheng's statement.

Hearing Wang Linsheng say this, Ruan Dacheng breathed a sigh of relief.

Clearly this Wang Linsheng hadn't gone mad — he was singing Your Majesty's praises, and if word of this spread, it would actually earn him a good reputation.

This made Ruan Dacheng realize one thing: this Wang Linsheng thought the same way he did.

In that case, things would actually be easier to handle.

The real fear was running into a reckless hothead who feared nothing — that would make things difficult.

So Ruan Dacheng stood in the crowd without stepping forward and without speaking.

At this moment, the best course was to let things settle down; saying anything at all would be inappropriate.

News of the students gathering naturally couldn't be kept secret in the capital — soon, word reached the ears of officials at every level.

It was then reported up through the ranks, and quickly reached the Grand Secretariat.

Upon receiving this news, the Grand Secretariat was utterly astonished. Who could have imagined such a thing happening?

This was no small matter — if some kind of mass incident truly occurred, that would be disastrous.

Thus the three Grand Secretaries led by Han Kuang dared not delay and hastily sent word to the palace. Han Kuang and the others also awaited Your Majesty's summons, hoping to quickly devise a plan to resolve the matter.

In the Grand Secretariat's chamber, one man sat in place, his expression none too pleasant.

Huang Kezuan said: "Isn't this just nonsense? What the devil is Cui Chengxiu good for? Your Majesty entrusted him with such a major matter and had so many offices cooperate with him, and this is the result he produces?"

"This reform of the Imperial Academy is a grand scheme of the court, something Your Majesty put great thought into. The ministers at court are all watching with anticipation, and every scholar in the realm is watching. And this is what happens?"

"Cui Chengxiu is truly incompetent! Not only incompetent, but he's also ruined such an important matter — he truly deserves severe punishment without leniency!"

Xu Guangqi looked at Huang Kezuan, completely unmoved.

Only Han Kuang and the other three remained in the Grand Secretariat now. Huang Kezuan and Han Kuang had thrown in together, leaving Xu Guangqi somewhat isolated, so Xu Guangqi didn't speak recklessly.

This time the matter had erupted suddenly, and Xu Guangqi was caught off guard as well.

Originally Xu Guangqi hadn't wanted anything to go wrong during this period — what he wanted was to quickly secure his position as Grand Secretary and at least bring in his own people. For something to happen at this very moment was not good news for him.

In Xu Guangqi's heart, he naturally also looked down on Cui Chengxiu — they weren't cut from the same cloth. That man was nothing but a base villain who had attached himself to Wei Zhongxian of the Eastern Depot.

When a man like that made a fool of himself, Xu Guangqi ought to have been watching the show. But now that court affairs had been damaged, it was all the more infuriating, and Xu Guangqi had lost any interest in laughing at Cui Chengxiu's embarrassment — his mind was occupied with how to resolve this matter.

As for Huang Kezuan's words, Xu Guangqi also understood — this was an attempt to use this incident to trample Cui Chengxiu down, keep him from holding this office, and ideally strip away all his posts entirely.

That way, Cui Chengxiu would vanish from everyone's sight. At the same time, the matter of the Imperial Academy reform could be handed to someone else.

There were few people at court qualified to participate in the Imperial Academy reform. The reason Cui Chengxiu had been able to claim this authority was simply that he was the one who had proposed it.

The one who first advocated a matter could naturally be put in charge of it. But now that he'd botched it, naturally it was time for a change of hands.

The court had already come to this point—there was no turning back halfway. As for who would take over, there were only a few candidates.

Vice Minister of Rites Feng Congwu was a very suitable candidate, and also the one Han Kuang wanted to nominate. If Feng Congwu could handle this matter well, his power would inevitably grow greatly. By that time, Minister of Rites Shen Tingyun would probably be unable to suppress Feng Congwu.

Xu Guangqi naturally saw this clearly—how could he not know?

However, Shen Tingyun could also take charge of this matter, which was why Huang Kezuan dared to say such words. It was nothing more than wanting to ally with Xu Guangqi to first bring down Cui Chengxiu.

As for who would ultimately take over this matter, that would depend on each person's own ability.

But Xu Guangqi was still hesitating. He did not want to do this himself; he wanted Shen Tingyun to compete for the position of Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat.

This timing was critical. If Shen Tingyun went to manage the Academy matter, this affair would likely fall through.

Han Kuang could make Feng Congwu not compete, but Xu Guangqi could not do the same.

Using one Feng Congwu to offset Shen Tingyun?

They were certainly thinking wishfully.

Thus Xu Guangqi slowly said: "This matter should first be clarified as to what exactly happened. Moreover, since the affair has stirred up such a commotion, we should first think about how to resolve it."

"Punishing Cui Chengxiu is not urgent. If it is his fault, then naturally he need not be let off; but if there are other reasons, they must also be investigated. After all, getting the matter done properly is what matters most."

"If we do not first clarify the cause, saying anything now is premature. Let us first see how the situation develops."

Xu Guangqi's words were very courteous, but his attitude was also quite clear.

Upon hearing this, Huang Kezuan nodded and said with a smile: "What Grand Secretary Xu says is most excellent. I was not thorough in my consideration. Then let us proceed as Grand Secretary Xu suggests."

Han Kuang, however, showed no reaction, merely sitting there quietly.

Outside, the uproar was boiling over, yet within the palace, all remained peaceful as ever.

Zhu Youxiao sat in a rocking chair, gently swaying back and forth.

Noble Consort Tian was attending to him at his side, from time to time picking up a grape and placing it into Zhu Youxiao's mouth.

Chen Hong stood beside Zhu Youxiao and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, word has come back. The one leading this time is Wang Linsheng."

Zhu Youxiao nodded without opening his eyes, and asked directly: "Your man?"

Chen Hong nodded and said: "Not only is this Wang Linsheng one of ours, but several dozen among them are as well. With Wang Linsheng taking the lead and these men coordinating, it should be foolproof."