Chapter 581 - 216: Factional Strife
Chapter 581: Chapter 216: Factional Strife
The Shopkeeper’s testimony was clear and organized. In just a few sentences, he had completely sealed Gong Yuanxiu’s fate.
Now, it wasn’t just Sheng Mingchuan and Xu Yanlin who were giving him strange looks. Even the many scholars seated below and all the officials present began to scowl.
Cheating in the examinations rarely involved just one or two people.
The Wei Dynasty was still young, and because its rulers had governed with an iron fist, they showed no tolerance for any cheating in the imperial examinations. As a result, while the few examinations held since the dynasty’s founding had their share of minor issues, they were all within an acceptable range.
But if you looked back at the previous dynasty...
During the previous dynasty, cheating in the examinations was rampant. Just how bad was it?
It was said that examiners would proactively pass answers to students during the exam. Even more brazenly, some would take completed exam papers from people outside and hand them directly to candidates inside the hall. Their audacity knew no bounds.
Under such circumstances, how many of the "talented men" who passed were actually talented?
They were mostly just useless gluttons.
The emperor of that time took ruthless action. He chose the province with the most severe cheating and, from top to bottom, spared no one—not the governor-general, the provincial governor, the education commissioner, or even the man responsible for collecting night soil from the examination halls.
In total, more than two thousand heads rolled. For a long time after, the public execution grounds were so drenched in blood there was nowhere to stand. Only then was this corrupt trend finally stamped out.
The current dynasty was strict about these matters, but there were still those who defied the rules. They were just better at hiding and hadn’t been caught.
Gong Yuanxiu’s methods were clumsy, and he had been found out. But why had no one exposed him?
It was all because they were like locusts on the same rope. If Gong Yuanxiu went down, they couldn’t escape either.
For this reason, they had turned a blind eye to his actions, pretending not to see as long as he didn’t go too far.
But this incident had nothing to do with the examination. It was about an examiner’s character, and it was about factions and loyalties at court.
Was Gong Yuanxiu merely attacking Sheng Mingchuan and Xu Yanlin?
No, he was attacking the Royalist Party. He was aiding the wicked!
Most of the officials serving in a remote place like Heyuan Province were not highly favored. The ones who were truly valued were all in prosperous, bustling regions.
And because the Empress Dowager clung tightly to power, all who supported her were promoted, while those who opposed her were demoted or transferred to distant posts on various pretexts.
These men here were either neutral or loyal to the fledgling Royalist Party.
Although Gong Yuanxiu had belonged to no faction before his arrival, judging by his current actions, he was a die-hard member of the Empress Dowager’s Faction.
A member of the Empress Dowager’s Faction had fallen into the midst of the Royalists. If they let him leave unscathed, who would ever take them seriously again?
The officials glared at Gong Yuanxiu, who felt the immense pressure and nearly wet his pants in fear.
He immediately started backing away, wanting to get out of the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office as quickly as possible.
"It wasn’t me! Fan Ju is framing me! You only have this witness, no physical evidence. You can’t just pin this crime of ’harming a colleague’ on me!"
"You want physical evidence, is that it? Fine. Just you wait. You’ll have it in two days."
"Then come look for trouble with me again when you have your evidence in two days."
Sheng Mingchuan nodded. "I only hope Mr. Gong doesn’t decide to flee in disgrace within these two days."
"Hmph. I’ll be waiting for you at the posthouse."
Gong Yuanxiu made an early exit, but the Lu Ming Banquet didn’t just break up because he left.
After he was gone, Fan Ju was also led away.
Only then did Mr. Zhou open his drowsy eyes and scan the hall. "Is it over? If it’s over, I’m heading back to rest. I’m getting old. I really can’t sit for this long."
"Always the joker, Sir," came the reply. "The main drama is over, but our Lu Ming Banquet for the new scholars has not. Will you be staying a while, or would you prefer to head back and rest?"
"I’m leaving, I’m leaving. From now on, I’ll have to trouble you to handle these things. And don’t just invite me to every little thing. I’m an old man, and my body isn’t what it used to be. You’re just deliberately trying to wear me out, aren’t you?"
"My apologies, Sir. It won’t happen again. Please, rest well."
As Mr. Zhou left, all the officials and scholars rose to see him off respectfully.
Once Mr. Zhou was a good distance away, the scholars finally broke their silence with sighs and curses.
"I can’t believe Mr. Gong is such a despicable person. We almost ended up with him as our mentor."
"If we were stuck with a mentor of such poor character, we’d be looked down upon everywhere we go just by association."
"We’re already implicated as it is. Fortunately, the situation is still under control. This incident proves to the world that Mr. Gong is the one with flawed character, which should be enough to clear our names."
In ancient times, examiners of the Provincial Examination were also considered the scholars’ mentors. They were sometimes called "teachers of recognition," referring to the mentors who had recognized their talent and would then sponsor their careers.