Chapter 1532: Emperor Liu's Test Comes Again

Because they had only recently returned to the Eastern Capital, not all of the Eastern Palace's servants and attendants had yet moved east, and with insufficient staff, the entire Eastern Palace seemed somewhat desolate. The moonlight was bright, scattering down from the nine heavens, spilling across the palace gardens. The night was deep and very still, with only a few palace lanterns illuminating the paths beneath the dark sky.

It was already summer; the trees in the palace gardens grew thick and lush, and as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but dense greenery. Untended and unpruned, the tangled vegetation showed signs of wild, unchecked growth.

In the past, when he was in the Eastern Capital, Liu Yang had often paced through the flower gardens. Walking there again now, though it felt fresh and new, it was ultimately familiar.

Two palace maids carrying lanterns led the way in front, while four guards followed behind. The chirping of insects pressed against his heart, and the dim lamplight fell across Liu Yang's face, revealing a trace of deep contemplation.

Clearly, that contemplation was still over the Drum of Appeal case, still worrying over Li Fang, who was caught in the vortex!

No matter what, he was determined to speak for Li Fang. A teacher-student bond had in fact bound them together long ago—of this there was no doubt, and no need to hide it.

Moreover, Liu Yang also trusted this teacher's character and integrity. Combined with the meeting just now, Li Fang's series of performances would have been very difficult to fake.

Liu Yang had studied the art of reading people for so many years now that he had long honed a pair of sharp eyes, and he was confident in his own judgment.

Liu Yang believed in Li Fang's innocence. And as long as Li Fang was innocent, no one could bring him down. But still—three men make a tiger. Without even needing to send anyone out to investigate, he could imagine that in the Eastern Capital's court and society right now, rumors were spreading everywhere and criticism was endless.

Liu Yang's stance was firm, and he had long since made up his mind, but how to help Li Fang resolve this trouble was not so simple. He still had to mind his methods and approach. Using his own reputation as Crown Prince to vouch for Li Fang would be one way, but it was too blunt and crude—too simple and heavy-handed.

The key lay in what Emperor Liu's attitude was. Judging from what had happened today, public opinion was developing in a direction unfavorable to Li Fang.

And from Emperor Liu's various edicts, no specific inclination could be discerned. Not even allowing a meeting, ordering him back to his residence—this could be seen as harboring dissatisfaction, or it could be understood as a form of protection. Everything still depended on the results of a detailed investigation.

Standing on the side of believing Li Fang, what exactly had gone wrong to lead to this situation? Was it caused by accident? Or was someone deliberately framing him? If so, who could have such audacity and such capability to engineer slander against Li Fang?

Prolonged thinking made Liu Yang's expression grow ever more somber. The key to breaking the deadlock had been grasped by him: one was Wu Jichuan, the other Xu Shilian.

That Wu Jichuan—if judged by Li Fang's standards, his learning ought to have been decent. Why then did he perform so poorly before Emperor Liu? Could it be that he had been dragged into this without cause and couldn't bear the pressure? But he was also a scholar—why could Xu Shilian remain composed and measured?

And then there was that Xu Shilian—a penniless, insignificant failed examinee. Why was he so arrogant about his talents, and where did he get the nerve to cry out his grievances through the Drum of Appeal? That alone would be bad enough, but he even dared to point directly at the chief examiner, attacking Li Fang for unfairness in selecting scholars?

Thinking of all this, even Liu Yang's mood involuntarily sank. Was someone supporting and instigating from behind? If so, who could it be? Several figures began to surface in Liu Yang's mind, but he quickly shook his head, as if he could cast those thoughts aside.

"The bright moon shines so clear, yet how the storms arise!" Perhaps tired from walking, Liu Yang stopped in his tracks, looked up at the crescent moon in the night sky, and sighed softly: "Let's go back!"

"Yes!"

In fact, while considering how to help Li Fang, Liu Yang also unavoidably touched upon a question he was reluctant to face: if Li Fang truly had indulged personal feelings and been unfair in selecting scholars, then what choice should he make?

On this point, even he himself didn't have a precise answer—or rather, he had an answer in his heart, just buried deep within. The current Crown Prince of the Great Han, though still young in years, had through so many years of tempering and Emperor Liu's constant pushing toward maturity, already become a mature political figure.

The matter of Li Fang's nighttime visit to the Eastern Palace reached Emperor Liu's ears that very night. To this, Emperor Liu gave no excessive reaction, only saying flatly: "If his heart holds no guilt, why can he not rest easy?"

But on the very next day, Emperor Liu issued an edict, ordering the Crown Prince to take the lead in handling this matter. This edict was clearly out of the ordinary. After all, the entire court knew of the deep friendship between Liu Yang and Li Fang, and Li Fang's visit to the Eastern Palace could not be hidden from anyone. Considering this, the hidden meaning behind Emperor Liu's edict grew ever more profound and worthy of speculation.

Thus, many in the court who were watching this matter turned their gaze upon the Crown Prince, to see how His Highness would handle such a situation—whether he would bend the law to protect his teacher, or uphold justice by sacrificing a loved one and enforcing the law impartially.

Of course, those harboring similar thoughts had likely already concluded in their hearts that Li Fang's use of personal feelings in selecting scholars was indeed true. But no matter what, when Emperor Liu's edict was issued, it also meant Liu Yang had been drawn into the affair, with trouble landing on his doorstep. If he handled it improperly, it would affect the Crown Prince's prestige.

Regardless of how others speculated, as far as Liu Yang personally was concerned, he truly felt the pressure. Having been Crown Prince for so many years, while he couldn't claim to have Emperor Liu's mind fully figured out, he could at least guess a fair portion of it.

Clearly, this was yet another test for him—a test of how he would choose and resolve when facing the divide between public duty and private feeling. Over the years, Liu Yang had experienced far too much.

Likewise, Emperor Liu perhaps didn't even care so much about the final outcome, only about how he responded and chose. If Emperor Liu could know that after his edict was issued, the Crown Prince, who was always "slow," had in such a short time produced the above analysis and mental preparation, perhaps he would already be quite gratified.

And this edict also resolved one of Liu Yang's troubles. Just the night before, he had been pondering how to intervene in this matter. Emperor Liu had given him a formal, unimpeachable opportunity, and the initiative in investigating and handling the case was now in his grasp.

However, this was not simply giving Liu Yang a chance to help Li Fang clear his name and obtain justice—though Liu Yang did indeed harbor such a purpose.

In fact, this also had an impact on Liu Yang. If analyzed rationally, when facing such trouble, there was a comparatively easy choice to make.

That would be: not to concern himself with Li Fang, to define the case as it stood, "sacrificing" his teacher to prove his own righteousness, and handle it impartially. This way, he could both rid himself of the trouble and earn a fine reputation for "upholding justice by sacrificing a loved one." If his heart couldn't bear it, he could put on an Oscar-worthy performance, shed a few tears, and strike a pose of reluctance and grief.

In this way, at least he could convince the masses. And beyond that, even if he investigated thoroughly and presented clear evidence proving Li Fang's innocence, he would still inevitably invite criticism—even if the facts were exactly so, there would be no shortage of people harboring malice, speculating about private favoritism.

It could be said that concern breeds confusion. When Li Fang, in his desperation, had rushed to the Eastern Palace, he had already pointed the trouble at the Crown Prince. And when Li Fang learned of Emperor Liu's edict, he was filled with regret at his residence.

He had expressed to Liu Yang that for the sake of his own clean reputation, he would willingly die—this came from genuine feeling. But if his personal reputation were to affect the Crown Prince, then he would rather die bearing the stain.

Having Liu Yang handle this matter was likely a test of him from the perspective of public and private morality. This test could be said to be cruel and difficult, because there was simply no way to grasp Emperor Liu's standards of judgment.

If proceeding from self-interest, abandoning Li Fang and even using this to court fame would be a way to simplify the case, and also the clever choice of a ruthless hero. After all, emperors are always merciless—this is the basic quality required of one who bears the heavy burden of the realm, and one must accept all sorts of extraordinary trials.

But equally, could it not be said that this was Emperor Liu testing the Crown Prince from the aspect of character? If he could so readily abandon even his own teacher, then wouldn't such a Crown Prince be too terrifying?

Emperor Liu placed the Crown Prince in a dilemma, silently watching from behind, also anticipating—to see whether he would hesitate into sickness, or handle it with ease.

From the moment this edict was issued, the so-called "imperial examination scandal" was no longer the focus. Outsiders were still studying the direction of the case, still guessing how the Crown Prince would act and what fate awaited those involved, while those inside the situation had already begun analyzing what impact this storm would have on the court—involving the Crown Prince, involving the foundation of the state, how momentous!