Chapter 305: Swift Like Thunder Continued
Listening to this, the people in the surrounding were all dumbstruck, especially those students that were wholeheartedly shielding him. That normally upright and honest, elegant and graceful, modest and friendly person was actually all fake, a sham, the insides filthy and dirty, despicable and shameless. They didn’t dare to believe, but the truth was just placed before their eyes. It was him that said it on his own, not beaten out of him, merely just gotten threatened by a few words, that’s all. Just a moment ago he was still resoundingly lofty and unyielding, yet in a blink of an eye, just became this cowardly. To want to deceive oneself and not believe was all impossible.
How high of a hope was once given, in this moment, was just how much they resented, their eyes burning with rage, truly hating that they can’t pounce forward, and drink his blood, eat his flesh. However, because unable to move, and the people in the surrounding also had gotten blocked, they could only watch such a shameless and lowly person beg for forgiveness between snot and tears. Suddenly, a piece of rock was thrown in from the surrounding, grazing over the side of the head. If the person had actually gotten smashed, blood will certainly spill on the spot. Perhaps because that person took the lead, letting others find a means to vent, random things were thrown in.
“Stop, in front of wangye, cease from acting rudely.” With a shout, the people in the surrounding also quieted down.
Li Hong Yuan, however, didn’t give him a single glance, “Take him into custody and lock him up. Li Su Yan, for anyone he mentions, including all the people already on your list, from the students below, up to Chongzhou Fu’s education minister, all taken into custody, leaving it to you to dispatch people, and have full authority over this matter. Interrogate and investigate through the night. Tomorrow, this prince wants to know all the actual truths of the Chongzhou Fu courtyard exam fraud case. Additionally, immediately dispatch people to the four prefecture’s prefectural capital, and have the four Prefectural Minister of Education[1] all detained in their homes, not allowed to get in touch with any outsiders, and wait for this prince to personally interrogate.”
To not move was just that, but once moved, it was roaring thunder of ten thousand catties.
“Yes.” Li Su Yan responded, and just dispatched forty people on the spot. Then, he had a hundred black clad guards sent out, arresting people within Chongzhou Fu.
In reality, the people for detaining the four prefecture’s Prefectural Minister of Education had already set out a day ago. Saying it out now was just for the sake of ‘beating the grass to scare the snake’. Once they hear the news and start having movements, they will have already all been targeted. The five hundred black clad guards are all in Chongzhou Fu? Who told you there were only five hundred black clad guards? Not just the Prefectural Minister of Education, but also each fu’s education minister, and even each county’s government academician, all got eyed. The ones sent out now were nothing more than putting on an act.
And Chongzhou Fu’s education minister was precisely among the various officials. When he heard that student’s words, he was already shaking all over, and at this moment, his legs directly went limp, passing out.
The other officials in the surrounding hurriedly moved away like avoiding the plague. Never mind lending an arm to support, at this time, it was fearing to have the slightest relation with him.
Two black clad guards went forward, unhesitantly having the person lifted up and directly dragged away. Even as such, no one dared to say a single word.
And the other related personnels present also got taken away entirely.
After swiftly handling this matter, Li Hong Yuan looked towards the people limp on the ground again, “For you all to start a fight and cause trouble today, what for?”
In these students eyes, Li Hong Yuan was just someone coming down to go through the motions, so towards him, they can be said to bitterly detest. However, that was before. In this very moment, this impression can be said to have greatly turned one hundred and eighty degrees. It was very obvious, this Jin Qinwang wasn’t not taking action, but rather having already carried things out in the dark, holding quite a few evidence in hand, just waiting to make a move. And they, having gotten misled, did insensible things. Thinking to here, quite a few people suddenly changed color, finally coming to realization now that they’d gotten taken advantage of, exploiting their anger, their ‘ignorance’.
Another probably relatively well-known student among them made an effort to stand up, deeply bowing towards Li Hong Yuan, expressing regret. Afterwards, he clearly explained the whole story, then thinking again, the reason why they were this worked up wasn’t it precisely having once again gotten incited. The instigator, and also these people before them that had gotten dragged out, “……………….Thinking of it now, this student feels extremely ashamed inside. To study is to first understand reason. This time, not only was one devoid of sense, but even naively believed the rumors, deeply misunderstanding wangye, asking wangye to please forgive.”
“Misunderstood this prince? Rather not that serious. This prince, aside from a good face, has no good points, in the entire capital, who doesn’t know, who isn’t aware? The reason why his Majesty appointed this prince as the imperial envoy is because this prince isn’t involved with any sides, just an apathetic one, and whatever one wants to do, solely based on one’s preference. No one is able to control, and also not scared of offending anyone. Precisely because of this, thus feared by others. The matter this time is no small matter, the personnels involved numerous, so probably really didn’t have anyone more suitable than this prince to pick as the imperial envoy. Those people in the capital actually gave the various officials in Jiangnan quite a few information, and looks like, these people also shared quite a few with you all. Then, did they tell you all, this prince is even one that’s certain to take revenge over the smallest matter. Ending up in this prince’s hand, even if one doesn’t die, would still lose a layer of skin. You all getting injured and dying, for this prince, it’s nothing more than one’s reputation darkening a little more, but for you all, everything will all be gone. The others will also just settle down, and the people head-aching over this matter probably will also have no headaches left.”
Quite a few people changed face, but at this time, rather didn’t rashly act out of anger.
“This prince is indeed unreasonable, but it can’t be helped, who let this prince marry a reasonable wangfei. If this prince were to punish you all today, later, wangfei will start nagging this prince. ‘For every grievance there’s a culprit, for every debt there’s an owner’, so today will just let you all go.” Li Hong Yuan nonchalantly spoke.
The students that had picked a fight and caused trouble all sighed in relief. Facing a qinwang, regardless of what his true nature was, this pressure was still very big. And today, even if having gotten taken advantage of, it was still indeed their fault, so receiving punishment was also within reason. However, even if this qinwang really was not having one good point, as long as he can oversee the matter, able to let the people below obediently do their job, then he was a good one. No one holding a high position would personally handle everything themselves. “Many thanks wangye.”
They may have relaxed a breath, but those accompanying officials certainly tensed up. ‘For every grievance there’s a culprit, for every debt there’s an owner.’ They were precisely the ‘culprit’, the ‘owner’. What was pointed out in Jin Qinwang’s words couldn’t be more obvious. In merely just two three days’ time, they just felt they’ve lost ten pounds. To then get nitpicked again, they practically didn’t dare to imagine.
More importantly, they had the intention to use the students to scheme against Jin Qinwang, but looking at it now, clearly it was getting completely countered by him, getting schemed against by him instead. No one died, the matter getting suppressed in the quickest speed, and catching the ‘instigator’, not one wasn’t the most powerful evidence, and the outcome was also clear and easy to see. Taking someone relatively popular among the various students to test the blade, using the most unfiltered facts to tell them what was really the truth. Then next, regardless of who Jin Qinwang wants to arrest, even if someone once revered, there won’t be anyone standing out again, because even without anyone explaining, they will still subconsciously believe that person that they once admired perhaps was just the same as that person they once trusted, the inside not matching the outside.
As such, Jin Qinwang’s next move will all be much simpler.
Having the location set in front of the Confucius House wasn’t a stupid decision, but a link in the plan, deliberately arranging. It couldn’t be more brilliant!
Jin Qinwang was in Kaiming Fu for that long, idling away his time, so they really thought he…………..Clearly it was deliberately standing there as a target, attracting everyone’s attention, while the other matters were already being carried out in the dark, else the evidence he grasped in hand, where it come from? And it also made people can’t help but suspect, whether or nor he grasped even more evidence in hand.
Those accompanying officials, on the surface, said they were investigating, yet in the dark, said they were helping, but in reality, what exactly was going on? Real or fake, true or false, at this time, who else can be trusted? The person you trusted perhaps was precisely the person ruthlessly stabbing you in the back!
Regardless of whether or not someone was originally one’s own, once suspicion emerged, all alliances will fall into pieces!
However, even if knowing the other party’s intention, one still can’t help but get led by the nose. This wasn’t a secret conspiracy, but a true and honest open plot, with no way of unraveling.
Including Inspector General Su, all sunk into the trap. After all, compared to others, he had even more shameful secrets.
And towards Li Hong Yuan this person, he deeply feared!
Exactly was all this his arrangement, or had someone wise giving directions? Regardless of who, in a certain sense, all a threat.
[1] 提督学政 – So, it seems the author has it where ‘提督学政’ and ‘提学’ are two different positions, when in actual use they are the same position, like 提学 is just the shortened name for 提督学政, but whatever. For now I’ll translate 提督学政 as Prefectural Minister of Education, and 提学 as education minister, which seemingly given the context of this novel, is a position that’s responsible for the schools of each fu, whereas the other position encompasses the entire prefecture. I’m going to pray that I don’t have to come back and fix this again.
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