Chapter 639: The Storm is Hard to Calm

Ningrong Street, Earl's Mansion, Jia Cong's Courtyard.

Half of May has passed, and the weather is gradually becoming hot. After the hour of the dragon every day, the sunlight is scattered, lacking the softness of spring and having more of the dazzling glare of early summer.

Jia Cong sat at the desk, reading several official documents, and writing and drawing on a piece of rice paper.

Since entering the palace to report the breech-loading gun affairs to Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao, Jia Cong had been compiling the manufacturing strategy after leaving the palace.

After the strategy was reviewed by Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao, the Emperor summoned the Ministers of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue to discuss the strategy formulated by Jia Cong, set a final deadline, and ordered each office to be responsible for preparation, recruiting more craftsmen, and purchasing manufacturing materials.

This day was a day off. Although Jia Cong lived leisurely at home, he went to the study early in the morning to calculate the number of craftsmen needed to be recruited for the workshop, the distribution of personnel in each manufacturing room, and other matters, and made notes one by one.

He also carefully scrutinized the account books for the breech-loading gun manufacture measured by Liu Shizhen several times, including the list of consumables such as refined iron, wood, and gunpowder, and marked the omissions and deficiencies.

After the hour of the dragon passed, the sun climbed higher, and large patches of mottled sunlight leaked in through the carved window lattice by the desk.

As time passed, the mottled and swaying light and shadow moved slowly on the sandalwood table, making Jia Cong's eyes dazzle.

Zhen Ying Lian, who was wiping the bookshelf in the study, put down the cotton cloth in her hand, hurried to the desk, and gently lowered the bamboo curtain by the window by half, blocking the light and shadow.

Entering early summer, the summer fire is gradually born. Jia Cong and the girls and maids around him have changed out of the soft and wind-blocking spring clothes and changed into thin, light, and soft summer clothes.

Zhen Ying Lian is wearing a moon-white round-neck gauze shirt today, with a blue green-calyx plum branch embroidery vest on the outside, and a single-colored unembroidered white silk skirt on the lower body. She is slender and clever, beautiful and delicate, and pleasing to the eye.

The summer wind is hot, the clothes are thin, the skin is moist and fragrant, the spring color on the tip of the bean sprout is shallow, trying on new gauze clothes, the sleeves are soft in the east wind...

The last ray of sunlight that the bamboo curtain has not yet blocked shines on Zhen Ying Lian's beautiful cheeks, and the rouge mole between her eyebrows is bright red and dazzling, moving people's hearts.

Jia Cong felt that the light on the desk became soft. He looked up and met Zhen Ying Lian's eyes, and the two couldn't help but look at each other and smile.

……

On the circle chair facing the sun in the main hall, Qingwen is threading a needle, her slender eyebrows are slightly frowned, and a pair of bright eyes are focused on the needlework in her hand.

She is sewing a pine-smoke green soft smoke gauze small garment, with a moon-white gauze lining inside. This is an inner garment for Jia Cong to wear in summer.

As the hour of the dragon is about to end, the sun is gradually rising, the summer fire is beginning to flourish, and the flowers and trees in the nursery in the courtyard are somewhat listless.

Jia Cong looked through the window and saw Lingguan push open the door. Her hair bun was black, her slender waist was swaying, her steps were light, and the spring orchid inlaid pearl filigree gold hairpin on her head was shining in the bright sun.

She carried the water pot in the corner, filled it with clean water in the Taiping vat, lifted the corner of her skirt, and carefully watered the green plants in the flower nursery.

Lingguan was born in poverty and knew more about farming than other girls. She knew that in the midsummer, flowers and trees needed to be watered before noon, otherwise they would be easily withered and withered by the sun.

By the time Lingguan hadn't watered the nursery, Hearing Zhi Shao led two little maids, hung leather ropes in the courtyard, hung out the spring clothes that everyone had washed, and then had to pack them in boxes, waiting for the coming year.

Jia Cong watched everyone busy in the courtyard, feeling warm and stable in his heart. He read the manuscript documents in his hand again, and after clearing up the details, he packed them up and put them back on the bookshelf.

Zhen Ying Lian asked while wiping the bookshelf: "Young Master is off today, why is he so busy, still busy with things in the office?"

Jia Cong smiled: "There have been many things in the office recently, which take a lot of thought. It's not because it's official business, I just feel it's necessary to do it well."

……

At this time, footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate. Jia Cong heard Hearing Zhi Shao's crisp and pleasant voice: "Eldest Miss Shi and Miss Xing are here, Third Master is in the study."

Jia Cong saw figures moving at the entrance of the study. Shi Xiangyun entered with a bright smile, followed by Xing Xiuyan with a smile on her face.

Their maids Kui Guan and Zhuan'er, holding gifts of several colors, also followed into the study.

Shi Xiangyun is wearing a bright red bottom gold bamboo leaf pattern cross-collar long coat, with a white dark flower pleated skirt, red and beautiful, radiant.

She saw Jia Cong looking at her dress, but she was not shy at all. She even turned around in front of Jia Cong, the skirt blooming slightly, generously showing it to him.

She smiled: "Third Brother, is my new shirt beautiful? Do you feel a little familiar?"

Jia Cong smiled: "It does look familiar, I can't remember it for a while."

Xiangyun smiled: "Last year, Third Brother got the top-grade tribute satin rewarded by the palace. Knowing that I love to wear red, you sent me a piece of gold bamboo pattern red satin. It was made with this. You forgot it yourself."

Jia Cong was a little enlightened and smiled: "I thought of it as soon as you said it. It really happened. The fabric was sent to Sister Yun, and it was really sent to the right person. This dress is really beautiful on my sister."

Xiangyun was happy to hear Jia Cong's praise, her smile became more brilliant and beautiful, and she said: "I know Third Brother is off today, so I came here specifically to give a gift."

Saying that, she pointed to the gifts in the hands of Kui Guan and Zhuan'er, and said: "Aunt sent many boxes of gifts from Jinling, all of which are Jiangnan specialties.

They are all items such as Gusu silk, tea, porcelain, fans, sachets, bamboo woven mats, ointment, and incense."

"I've been running around since early this morning; I've already sent gifts to Grandmother, the Lady, Sister Feng, and all the sisters, and this one is for Third Brother."

Zhen Ying Lian came up to take the things, and Jia Cong played with them with great interest.

Shi Xiangyun smiled: "I know Third Brother often travels to Jiangnan, and these items are all familiar. I don't think they are too rare. It's just a courtesy.

This one was picked by Aunt in advance, specifically saying it was left for Third Brother. She didn't even treat me like this, which is strange..."

Jia Cong thought of Lady Bao Ling Marquis Shi Ding being transferred to Jinling to succeed Zhang Kangnian as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War in the auxiliary capital, and it was mostly smooth.

Otherwise, Lady Bao Ling Marquis Li Shi would not have such leisure to prepare various gifts and send them back to Shenjing to give to others.

He smiled: "Although I have been to Jiangnan several times, I have always been in a hurry, so I haven't seen many things. These items are naturally rare.

Sister Yun, is everything okay with Uncle going to Jinling to take office?"

Xiangyun suddenly smiled bitterly and said: "Aunt said in the letter that Second Uncle is very proud of being an official there. Everyone respects him as a noble from Shenjing, and his official business is much more convenient.

Aunt also said that Jinling is moist and gentle, unlike Shenjing, which is hard and cold. Everything is good. I heard that they are reluctant to return, and they will probably leave me in Shenjing and ignore me in the future..."

Jia Cong smiled: "It is a good thing that Uncle's official career is smooth. Even if they live in Jinling in the future and ignore my sister, it doesn't matter. I will raise my sister, and I promise not to let my sister be wronged."

Xiangyun laughed heartily and said: "I have remembered Third Brother's words. You are not allowed to deny it in the future. I know Third Brother has silver, so I will just eat your big family in the future."

Xing Xiuyan on the side suddenly asked: "Cousin, didn't you say that the palace examination results would be posted on the 15th? Why has it been so many days, and there is no movement?"

Xiangyun's eyes also brightened, and she shouted: "I have also been thinking about this. Everyone says Third Brother is the Huiyuan, and he will definitely pass the palace examination. I am waiting to see the rarity, why has it been many days, and there is no movement?"

……

Jia Cong heard the words of the two, and his face also condensed slightly. Since the day he left the palace, there have been many storms regarding the spring examination fraud case, and it has not yet subsided.

At sunset that day, a large number of people from the Court of Judicial Review went straight into the Investigation Office, took away all the suspects of the imperial examination fraud, and the news spread. The major fraud case was transferred to the Court of Judicial Review for trial.

Afterwards, there were rumors in the officialdom that Zhou Junxing of the Investigation Office, because of Wu Liang's death, entered the palace to plead guilty and knelt at the gate of Qianyang Palace for two hours, but the current Emperor did not meet him.

Finally, he asked Guo Lin to pass the word, telling him to be careful in his work, and if there was any mistake, he would be severely punished for all crimes, and then he was driven out of the palace gate.

After the news spread on the street, whether it was officials in the court or candidates staying in the capital, almost everyone cheered.

The wave of failed candidates leaving the capital, which had lasted for several days, also subsided.

……

However, one wave has subsided, and another has risen.

Just two days after Jia Cong left the palace, dozens of failed candidates gathered at the Ministry of Rites office, beat the drums at the entrance of the office, and submitted a joint petition. They reported that the spring examination officials of this year had improper behavior. Before the spring examination, they accepted the visits and welcomes of candidates, praised them with poetry, and gave hints on questions, which insulted the clarity of the imperial examination and led to fraud.

Seventy-three failed candidates of this year jointly reported, questioning the grading of this year's spring examination, and petitioned the imperial court to investigate, announce it to the scholars, and correct the reputation of the imperial examination.

The candidates' petition also attached a list of various privacy, that is, the improper behavior of dozens of spring examination officials. Before the spring examination, they visited and interacted with those candidates, and even had records of gold and silver bribery.

After the Ministry of Rites received the report from the candidates, they were shocked. Minister of Rites Guo Youchang entered the palace that day to report this matter to Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao, and the Emperor was furious because of this.

Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate Zhou Xianyang impeached the spring examination officials for improper behavior, leading to fraud in the spring examination.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao asked the Court of Judicial Review and the Investigation Office to strictly investigate this matter, but this belongs to the imperial court's self-examination and self-correction. The scale and depth of the involvement are all controlled by the Emperor and officials.

But now more than seventy candidates jointly reported, putting the improper behavior of the spring examination officials in the blue sky and white sun, under the eyes of everyone, and attracting the attention of the world.

With the situation evolving like this, the Emperor and officials suddenly lost the initiative. How can they control the scale of this matter? No wonder Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao was furious because of this.

……

The previous suicide of the main culprit of the fraud case, Wu Liang, had already put the imperial examination major case in an awkward situation.

!

Now seventy-three candidates jointly reported, coming aggressively. Even cruel officials like Zhou Junxing dared not act rashly.

And the matter did not stop there. After the first batch of seventy-three joint reports, it stirred up a huge ripple in Shenjing City.

Although after the wave of candidates leaving the capital in the past few days, most of the failed candidates had already left the capital, there were still many candidates staying in Shenjing for various reasons.

Moreover, there were not a few candidates in Yongzhou, and the two added together, there were nearly a thousand failed candidates in Shenjing City, and the momentum was quite considerable.

Many candidates knew about the actions of the same year, and had the idea of taking advantage of the chaos, following suit, inciting the trend, and later there were two more batches of candidates jointly reporting...

Originally, seventy-three people jointly reported, and the momentum was already quite astonishing. The Emperor and officials dared not ignore it, plus the unpredictable latecomers.

This matter has become a trend of not blaming the public. Offices such as the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Judicial Review know that the situation is severe, and they are increasingly cautious in handling it, not daring to have the slightest excessive action.

Originally, with Zhou Junxing's sinister intentions, the emergence of this reporting trend would mostly hit his heart, and he would definitely take the opportunity to expand the situation, collect crimes, and show the merit of the Investigation Office.

But Wu Liang accidentally committed suicide, he carried the crime, the Emperor severely reprimanded him, Zhou Junxing was not even able to restrain himself, let alone dare to provoke.

Facing this situation, he followed the pace of the Court of Judicial Review even more, not daring to have the slightest transgression.

……

The appendix of the joint petition of the seventy-three candidates, after verification by the Court of Judicial Review and the Investigation Office, listed the improper behavior of the spring examination officials, and none of them was not a fact.

This appendix of the petition was much more detailed than what the Court of Judicial Review and the Investigation Office found, and it was more weighty...

In fact, the emergence of such a situation, after careful thought, is reasonable.

Before the spring examination, because of the guidance of that blue-covered booklet, the candidates taking the exam set off a trend of visiting the spring examination officials. This kind of thing could not be hidden from others.

Candidates also interacted with each other, or during drinking banquets, or in conversation, they would always talk about visiting which official, and what happened during the visit.

Therefore, those spring examination officials had improper behavior, and the most clear ones were the candidates of this year. It is not strange that this appendix of the confession is so detailed.

……

However, in addition to the usual visit records, the appendix also recorded several cases of official greed, all of which were spring examination officials who were thick-skinned and accepted the gifts of candidates.

After verification by the Court of Judicial Review and the Investigation Office, it was eventually true. The officials involved were not just improper behavior, but the crime of corruption and lack of integrity.

But the Court of Judicial Review questioned the relevant reporting candidates, and the corruption of the officials involved in the confession, which candidate provided the reason.

But no one could say clearly, because this confession was jointly written by more than seventy candidates.

After many times of retelling, supplementing, and copying, after the final draft, no one could say clearly which content in it was written by which candidate...

This confession, which seemed to be a muddled account, was difficult to investigate, but it was clear in logic, every sentence was true, and it was difficult to refute.

When Minister of the Court of Judicial Review Wei Guanyao presented the verification results of the candidates' confession appendix to Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao, the Emperor's face was gloomy, and he thought a lot, but he had already lost the opportunity.

This joint confession, the improper behavior of the officials on it, and the act of corruption, were like being under the eyes of everyone, and it was impossible to cover it up, so he could only face it directly...

After Wei Guanyao left the palace, the Court of Judicial Review issued many arrest documents that day, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrested the officials involved according to the law. The offices of the three judicial offices were almost all running at high speed at the same time.

……

Almost all the spring examination officials, their behavior and actions before the spring examination, were exposed to the world one by one.

Among the eighteen co-examiners of the spring examination, fourteen had accepted the visits of candidates, and had poetry singing, question hints, etc.

Among these fourteen people, five had accepted the gifts of candidates, which constituted the crime of corruption and bribery.

Dozens of paper-grading officials under the co-examiners, except for a very few who were clean and self-disciplined, most of the officials were involved in candidate visits, interaction hints, question circulation, etc.

Moreover, as long as they served as paper-grading officials, their official positions and reputation were much lower than those of the chief examiners and co-examiners.

The more such officials, the more eager they were for reputation. Being able to be selected as a spring examination official was a rare opportunity for them to accumulate reputation and raise their official career.

Therefore, most of the paper-grading officials were eager to visit candidates and give hints...

……

After the arrest documents of the Court of Judicial Review were issued, dozens of officials were escorted to the Court of Judicial Review by the Embroidered Uniform Guard to accept the inquiry of the three judicial offices.

Some officials involved in improper behavior, after the inquiry record, although they were temporarily released, their official career would mostly suffer setbacks after the Ministry of Personnel's performance assessment and accountability.

And those spring examination officials suspected of fraud and corruption, after entering the Court of Judicial Review, never came out again, and what awaited them would be a more unpredictable ending.

In just a few days, more than a dozen co-examiners, paper-grading officials, and executive officials involved in the case had been detained.

With the surging trend, the involvement of the people involved in the case, the number of officials trapped in prison will definitely continue to rise...

……

Xing Xiuyan saw that Jia Cong's expression was a bit solemn when she mentioned the topic of posting the list, and his eyelids were slightly lowered, not knowing what he was thinking.

She couldn't help but feel a little regret in her heart. Why did she talk about this topic, making her cousin worry in vain...

Shi Xiangyun saw Jia Cong's expression and asked crisply: "Third Brother, I heard from the old woman in the mansion that they went out to handle things these days and heard that there was a major imperial examination fraud case outside.

Last time Sister Lin also mentioned it, saying that the failure to post the list on the 15th was because of the major fraud case. Is this matter not peaceful yet?"

Jia Cong saw two pairs of bright eyes staring at him without blinking, and the concern was overflowing.

He smiled and said: "It's very chaotic outside these days, but it has nothing to do with us, and it's not something that can be rushed. When things subside, the imperial court will naturally post the list again."

Xing Xiuyan smiled sweetly at Jia Cong's words, beautiful and moving.

She said: "No matter when the list is posted, it doesn't matter. Cousin is the top Huiyuan, and he will definitely pass the exam no matter what. It's definitely right." (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 640 =====