Chapter 1540: The Voice of the Streets

"Enough, let's not bring this up again!" Liu Yang waved his hand listlessly, settling the matter. After a moment's pause, he changed the subject and asked, "How much do you know about Master Li's sons?"

Upon hearing the question, Murong Defeng immediately recalled the scene at their parting earlier and said softly, "Your Highness is pleased at discovering talent?"

Of course, more importantly, he cherished Li Fang in his heart and intended to offer some compensation. Li Fang's position was what it was, and his appointment to an outside post was already settled—no further moves could be made there. The only way to extend this favor was to look after his sons.

Liu Yang nodded: "I observed that Li Zongne has considerable bearing. However, I've never taken the trouble to learn about him before. Even if I wished to elevate him, I wouldn't know what post would suit him."

Murong Defeng understood and pondered for a moment before saying, "Lord Li is upright in character and strict in family discipline. Though he holds high office, he has never sought hereditary privilege for his sons—including his eldest son Li Zongne, who has already come of age yet still holds no official rank. Mind you, Li Zongne is a year older than I am.

I cannot claim to be well acquainted with the Li family's sons, but I have heard of Li Zongne's reputation. Though young in years, he excels at calligraphy—his regular script has already earned fame far and wide.

It is said that when he was in Luoyang, Lord Li once hosted a peach garden gathering at his residence, composing the poem 'Matching the Rhymes of Reflections on the Passing Spring.' Li Zongne transcribed it. Later, this piece of calligraphy circulated outside, and a merchant of Luoyang paid five hundred strings of cash to acquire it..."

Hearing such an anecdote, Liu Yang grew interested and laughed: "I suspect Lord Li's poetry accounts for eighty percent of that five hundred strings!"

Murong Defeng said nothing, merely returning a knowing smile. To the common folk, five hundred strings was no small sum—spending it on a single piece of calligraphy was clearly extravagant.

But it was hardly surprising. Li Fang had reputation, status, and learning. The poems he composed and the characters his son wrote were worth that price in some people's eyes. If one could truly forge a connection with him, that merchant would likely have paid double and been glad of it.

"Do you know whose pocket that five hundred strings ultimately ended up in?" Liu Yang pressed on.

"It is said that when Lord Li learned of it, he kept not a single coin. He added another five hundred strings from his own household, making a thousand in total, and donated it all to Raoyang to support poor scholars and the orphaned, widowed, and aged in his hometown!" Murong Defeng said.

At this, Liu Yang finally showed a trace of a smile. After mulling it over, he murmured to himself, as if answering his own question: "I wonder whether Wu Jichuan was among those aided?"

Hearing Liu Yang say this, Murong Defeng could not help but start slightly. He couldn't resist lifting his eyes, only to see the Crown Prince's expression perfectly composed, as if the words had been spoken casually without thought.

"Since he excels at calligraphy, let us arrange a proofreading post for him at court!" After a pause, Liu Yang said, "Let him go to the Palace Library and serve as a Secretary."

Upon hearing this, Murong Defeng took up brush and paper and recorded the decision. Though Murong Defeng currently bore the title of Supervising Secretary, in fact he still served as the Crown Prince's chief secretary.

"Will Your Highness return directly to the palace?" Outside the carriage, Ma Huaiyu, who still served as the Crown Prince's guard, asked for instructions.

Ma Huaiyu, now eighteen, looked increasingly robust and stalwart. His position had also been formally promoted from palace guard to General of the Left Guard of the Eastern Palace. And according to his own wishes, Liu Yang had obtained Emperor Liu's approval to send him to the frontier army for seasoning—only the specific posting remained to be decided.

Hearing his inquiry, Liu Yang pondered for a moment, then instructed: "Let's go take a look at the Flower-Plucking Tower!"

"Yes!"

Clearly, no matter how outwardly unconcerned he appeared, unwilling to probe deeply into the matter, Liu Yang still harbored lingering thoughts about the petition-drum incident.

The Flower-Plucking Tower could not match the fame of such renowned establishments of the Eastern Capital as the Taihe Tower or the Yujing Tower, but its threshold was lower and its prices more modest. Though the name was elegant, it was far more down-to-earth. It welcomed people of every stripe—peddlers and porters, even night-soil collectors—so long as they had money, all could enter.

With such a business philosophy, the Flower-Plucking Tower had always enjoyed high patronage. It never lacked for bustle, nor for those who came to watch the bustle. And its most distinctive feature was this: within this tavern, one could hear all manner of news from within and without the city—true and false, dazzling and bewildering.

With the arrival of summer, small stalls and vendors had sprouted up in the streets, selling chilled drinks and herbal teas suited to the season. Relying on the crowds that thronged the Flower-Plucking Tower, business was exceptionally good.

Standing outside the Flower-Plucking Tower, the clamor came surging forth—one could feel the noise and bustle without even stepping inside. At this, Ma Huaiyu, ever dutiful, frowned and reminded: "Your Highness, this place is too rowdy. Perhaps..."

It wasn't that he feared noise—clearly he felt the place was too chaotic, which would spoil the mood and also raised security concerns. Liu Yang had walked among the common folk before, but a place so mixed with all sorts of people, this was his first time.

Liu Yang raised a hand to stop Ma Huaiyu, instructing him to bring only two guards, making five in total including Liu Yang and Murong Defeng, master and servant, to enter the establishment. Before going in, Liu Yang also had the guards park the carriage by the side of the tavern to wait.

Liu Yang had not traveled with his ceremonial entourage on this outing, but even an ordinary carriage became extraordinary with the Crown Prince's presence. To ordinary folk, one might only discern the costly decoration of the vehicle, but to those with discerning eyes, the special identity was apparent at a glance. And the carriage parked in full public view seemed to declare one thing: the Crown Prince himself had come to the Flower-Plucking Tower.

As expected, the atmosphere inside was lively. Even having taken a private room, they could not shut out the various noises drifting up from the main hall. Ordering neither food nor drink, the five of them, master and servants, sat in silence, quietly listening to the discussions in the hall.

If there was anything in recent days that could stir widespread discussion among the common folk of the Eastern Capital, enduring without cease, it was unquestionably the petition-drum case that the court had already adjudicated and settled.

And at this moment in the Flower-Plucking Tower, a group of people were still discussing the aftermath of the affair, drawing a crowd of onlookers buzzing with attention.

"Of all the past examinations, none has been livelier than this year's!" In the main hall, a middle-aged man with a goatee and a gaunt face held a teacup as he held forth: "After all this commotion these past days, the one who truly profited was Song Zhun! Xu Shilian beat the petition drum and became known throughout court and country, yet ended up exiled to Fengzhou.

They say Wu Jichuan was originally the top choice for zhuangyuan, yet in the end he didn't even make the first tier—wasn't even assigned to observe governance, but merely sent to proofread texts in the Three Institutes."

"Then Song Zhun was truly fortunate—he did nothing at all, and the zhuangyuan position fell into his lap!" someone said.

At this, the middle-aged man shook his head: "That's the wrong way to look at it. This year's zhuangyuan didn't rely on luck alone. It's said the man is learned and erudite, elegant in bearing and handsome in appearance. At the Qionglin Banquet, His Majesty took a liking to him at first sight.

Moreover, he comes from an official family—his father Song Peng served as a Secretary in his early years. And before sitting for the examination, Song Zhun already had over ten years of clerical experience in the localities, and was on the verge of promotion to Senior Officer of a superior prefecture.

In my humble opinion, having won the zhuangyuan, he likely won't even need to observe governance in the ministries—he can be directly appointed as a high official in a prefecture!"

"Then Xu Shilian's efforts were all in vain—he risked death to beat the petition drum, and not only failed to rank among the top three, but was instead banished to that bitter, cold place of Fengzhou. Who knows if he'll ever have a chance to return to the Central Plains?"

"He has no one to blame but himself—who told him to be so arrogant!" the middle-aged man said dismissively: "Without evidence, slandering the chief examiner—that's taboo. Moreover, it's said the reason he wasn't admitted was that in his policy essay, he criticized court policy and even subtly disparaged the reigning emperor. How could the court tolerate that?

On that account alone, the court's failure to throw him in prison and interrogate him was already lenient. How laughable that this Xu Shilian still felt wronged, believed himself a victim of fraud, and went to beat the petition drum!"

"Well said!" another person chimed in: "I've heard of this Xu Shilian too—he truly is a man who flaunts his talent and looks down on others. As for Wu Jichuan, though ugly in appearance, his essays should be quite good. He suffered a calamity he didn't deserve! The zhuangyuan is gone, and his future prospects are murky indeed!"

"That's not necessarily so!" the middle-aged man said with an inscrutable air: "It's said that before the examination, Wu Jichuan carried gifts to call on Academician Li. However, according to his own account, because of his ugly appearance, he was overcome with shame and dared not knock on the door. In the end, he consumed the gifts himself, and to avoid ridicule, returned to his lodgings and falsely claimed he had made the visit. Does that explanation not strike you all as rather absurd?"

"Could Academician Li have actually shown favoritism?" someone caught the implication.

At this, the middle-aged man's expression immediately turned stern, and he shook his head repeatedly: "I never said that! The court has long since made a public announcement on this matter! However, I've also heard that just yesterday, the court issued an edict appointing Academician Li as Administration Commissioner of the Jinghu North Circuit, with his seat at Jiangling. What complications lie behind this is beyond our ability to speculate..."

At these words, some looked puzzled, some seemed to understand, and others sighed.

"As for the lucky ones, they'd be the nine new jinshi admitted after the second review of the examination papers. Originally they didn't qualify, but as a result of this affair, the court simply admitted all thirty-nine jinshi from the two rounds of grading!" the middle-aged man exclaimed with a click of his tongue, seemingly envious of those scholars' fortune: "Some are already saying that Xu Shilian is like a candle—burning himself, yet casting his light upon those nine failed scholars!"

At these words, the hall erupted in laughter.

The middle-aged man continued: "The same goes for the failed scholars—but those hundred-odd men who clamored before the imperial city crying injustice are the truly unlucky ones. Their reputations and careers are utterly destroyed! Over a hundred men—the court was resolute indeed, showing not a shred of mercy. Those men must be regretting this beyond measure by now..."

The prohibition ordered by Emperor Liu was not merely a ban on those scholars sitting for future examinations—it meant they had virtually no path of advancement left. Barring some miracle, they essentially had no future at all.

Among them, some may have been serving as clerks in the localities. With such a black mark against them, whether they could even keep their previous clerical posts was uncertain—and quite likely they could not. Local officials would not go against the court's wishes, especially when the emperor's will was involved.

Even if they managed to keep their posts, future promotions and transfers would likely never be considered for them. Most of them would spend the rest of their lives in obscurity.

The imperial examination was but one avenue for scholars to seek official advancement—not the only one—but with the court's prohibition in place, even a thousand paths of official promotion were closed to those hundred-odd scholars.

This explanation drew sighs of regret from many present...