Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 543: Imperial Examination Fraud, Inevitably a River of Bloodshed (Part )
Qinrenfang is located in the southwest corner of Chang'an East Market. To the north, across Yiyangfang is Pingkangfang, and to the west of Pingkangfang is Wubenfang.

Wubenfang is the location of the Imperial College.

Scholars could occasionally sneak out of the Imperial College from the west side of Qinrenfang.

With a "creak", Lu Zhaolin, dressed in a gray robe, walked out of a small courtyard and closed the gate.

The yard is not big and is located in the southeast corner of Qinrenfang.

From here you can see the East Market and Pingkangfang. On the west side of the street, you can see the Imperial College.

The location is good enough, but quiet enough.

Most of the people living here are local people from Chang'an, as well as some merchants who come to the East Market to do business, and students from the Imperial College who have some family wealth.

……

Lu Zhaolin looked up at the sky. It was already the end of the You hour, the sky was already dark, and there were still two quarters of an hour before curfew.

Lu Zhaolin walked quickly towards a restaurant at the end of the street, looking a little hurried.

He lived alone in Qinrenfang, which was a happy life for him, but he had no family to take care of him and he couldn't cook, so he was in a difficult situation.

But there was no way. Only when he was alone could Lu Zhaolin's heart calm down.

He missed out on two Tang Dynasty princesses in succession. Although people didn't say much because of his family background, they could already see people talking about him the moment they looked up.

Lu Zhaolin looked bitter. The emperor was obviously optimistic about him, but he hesitated and ruined his future. Otherwise...

Lu Zhaolin shook his head and walked to the outside of the restaurant.

Most of the people sitting inside were candidates from other places.

Although Lu Zhaolin is quite famous, to be honest, not many people have seen him in person.

As long as he didn't go to the banquets of princes and nobles and meet the children of princes and nobles, the chances of being recognized were not great.

Even if someone occasionally recognized his familiar face, they would never believe that the famous Lu Zhaolin had fallen into such a state.

Lu Zhaolin huddled in a corner, with a bowl of porridge, a bag, a plate of side dishes, and a pot of wine.

With a full beard, he has already gotten used to his current life.

The reason why he stayed in Chang'an was for the imperial examination next month.

Over the past year, he has devoted himself to studying for the purpose of taking the imperial examination.

Although he had an affair with the princess, Lu Zhaolin was from the Lu family of Fanyang. As long as he passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, no one could depose him.

At this moment, the voices of two drunken scholars drinking inferior wine on the table next to him reached Lu Zhaolin's ears.

"Brother Qi, what's wrong with you? You're from a wealthy family in Jinyang, why are you coming to a place like this?"

"What else can I do? My money is almost gone."

"Spend it all? Did you redeem some courtesan and spend all the money your family gave you?"

"There's no such thing as an Oiran, but I did meet a prominent figure and spent five hundred strings of cash. Now I'm famous for the imperial examination."

Lu Zhaolin calmly passed by the two of them. This kind of thing where people are deceived and end up losing everything happens every year in the imperial examinations.

Just as Lu Zhaolin walked past, the voice came again.

"What big shot? Five hundred strings of cash. Did you get cheated?"

"No, it's Duke Ande!"

Lu Zhaolin suddenly stopped in his tracks, his face full of disbelief.

"You know Duke Ande, are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

"No, my uncle attended the wedding of Prince Jin that year. I was by his side at that time, so I saw Duke Ande from afar." The man suddenly turned sideways and glanced at Lu Zhaolin. At this time, Lu Zhaolin had already strode out.

"Come on, drink and drink!"

"drink wine!"

……

When he walked out of the store, Lu Zhaolin felt cold all over without realizing it.

He is determined to win the imperial examination this year.

With his level, it is not difficult for him to pass the imperial examination.

The problem is that because of the princess's matter, his ranking will not be too high, and he may even be a few places at the bottom.

However, if there is cheating in the imperial examination...

Yes, cheating in the imperial examinations.

Lu Zhaolin really couldn't imagine that if there was cheating in the imperial examination, some people would squeeze ahead of him.

Then he, Lu Zhaolin, would definitely be squeezed out by these people.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhaolin felt a chill down his spine.

The imperial examination is his only way out in this life. If this road is blocked this year, what about next year?

He was not favored by the emperor, and his career was bumpy. If he delayed for a few more years, his life would be ruined. But...

This matter is too serious.

Because he was involved with the Minister of Personnel Yang Shidao.

Although Lu Zhaolin had only heard a few words, when the man said the name of Duke Ande, he knew that all this was true.

The last time Duke Ande was dismissed from the position of Minister of Personnel was because he was too easily influenced and listened to his family, which led to problems in the administration of the court.

Now, it's his family's business again.

Lu Zhaolin raised his head.

The sound of evening drums stopped in my ears, and the gates in the distance were closed.

He needs to figure out what to do next?
……

"Duke Ande, is cheating in the imperial examination?" Censor Lu Chen stood in his study, looking at Lu Zhaolin in astonishment. "Jiulang, are you sure?"

"I spent five hundred strings of cash to meet the Duke of Ande." Lu Zhaolin nodded and said, "Brother, with the current imperial examination system, this is enough to guarantee success."

"This is troublesome." Lu Chen couldn't help but stand up and pace back and forth in the room. "The late emperor passed away last year, and this year the world is undergoing reform. The imperial examination is of great significance to Your Majesty. If something goes wrong, people will die."

Lu Zhaolin nodded slightly.

Lu Chen stopped and looked at Lu Zhaolin: "Jiulang, what do you think? If you only want to ensure your position as a Jinshi, I can go to the Duke of Ande to speak for you."

Lu Zhaolin was silent for a long time before he spoke: "The reason why Your Majesty was willing to let Jiulang be the princess's consort back then, even though Jiulang missed out, was ultimately due to the loyalty of my Lu family. If we were to resort to such despicable tactics now, would the reputation of loyalty of my Lu family still be there?"

"Alas!" Lu Chen sighed softly, then couldn't help but smile bitterly: "If that's the case, you shouldn't have come to me, your brother. You should have gone to your fifth uncle. He is now the Right Prime Minister. He should be the one to report this matter to His Majesty."

Lu Zhaolin looked at Lu Chen and said softly, "Brother, Jiulang only heard a few words from hearsay. Is it really appropriate to look for Uncle Wu?"

Lu Chen was Lu Chengqing's only son, but Lu Chengqing had seven younger brothers, among whom the fifth, Lu Chengye, was the Right Prime Minister.

Hearing what Lu Zhaolin said, Lu Chen fell silent.

After a moment, Lu Chen looked up at Lu Zhaolin and said, "Very good, you're not losing your mind. If I had brought this matter to my uncle, even if I had obtained solid evidence, he would have had no choice but to report it to His Majesty through proper channels. This would have ignited an all-out war between the Lu family of Fanyang and the Yang family of Hongnong."

Lu Zhaolin nodded and sighed, "Jiulang understands. If this matter were really publicized to the world, it would probably be detrimental to His Majesty."

Less than a year after the late emperor's death, the imperial examination presided over by the emperor ran into a big mess. Even the emperor himself would not look good.

"This matter needs to be handled with caution!" Lu Chen raised his head and said, "I am handling this matter for you. If I want His Majesty to know, I still need to inform the Chief Censor and the Chief Censor. As my duties require, I also need to report to His Majesty. This matter is no small matter."

Lu Chen was actually not worried about the issue of evidence.

Lu Zhaolin heard everything, which shows that this matter is not small and involves enough people. If you investigate, you can find out everything.

As for why Yang Shidao did this, the Fanyang Lu family is also a prominent family, and they know very well what the Hongnong Yang family is thinking.

The five hundred strings of cash were not actually money to buy a place, but just a token of allegiance.

Anyone who could appear at Li Zhi's wedding was definitely not an ordinary person.

Of course, Yang Shidao may not know about this kind of thing, and from such a family, only one or two people can obtain the title of hereditary title. Most people still have to rely on the imperial examination to enter the official career.

After all, from the previous emperor to the current emperor, the importance of imperial examinations has become increasingly higher.

"So, this matter needs to be concluded quietly." Lu Chen looked up at Lu Zhaolin and said, "So this matter needs to be reported to His Majesty through private channels."

Seeing the way Lu Chen was looking at him, Lu Zhaolin frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Jiulang, just go and knock on the palace gate." Seeing Lu Zhaolin's surprise, Lu Chen quickly explained, "Although you feel that His Majesty has no good feelings towards you, in fact, that is not the case. His Majesty still admires you. It is precisely because of His Majesty's tacit approval that you have the opportunity to participate in this imperial examination.

Therefore, Jiulang, you should directly kowtow to the palace to express your gratitude, and then inform His Majesty of this matter privately."

"Brother, if you weren't one of us, Jiulang would really think you were going to harm me." Lu Zhaolin glanced at Lu Chen and shook his head, "But Jiulang appreciates your kindness. His Majesty is just acquiescing now, so it's best for Jiulang not to get ahead of himself."

"Then how do you plan to deal with this matter?" Lu Qian became serious.

"Tell His Majesty so that he can handle everything quietly without the outside world knowing." Lu Zhaolin looked up and said, "Brother, this is what you just said."

"Alright!" Lu Chen pondered for a moment, then said, "There are only a few people in the entire court who want to tell His Majesty about this matter privately, but those who know about it cannot, due to their duties, submit a petition of impeachment and make the matter public."

"Who?" Lu Zhaolin asked curiously.

"Minister of Works Changsun Xiang, General of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard Li Anyan, General of the Right Thousand Oxen Guard Qiu Shenji, Imperial Censor Li Yifu, and Imperial Censor Xu Jingzong." Lu Chen shook his head and said, "Others like Dai Zhide, Dou Xuande, and Liu Rengui may also have easy access to Your Majesty, but since the imperial examination is involved, they will not remain silent."

"The Minister of Works is unavailable, as is the General of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard. Qiu Shenji has gone to Qianzhou, so that leaves Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong." Lu Zhaolin looked up and said, "Neither of these two has a good reputation!"

"Only those who don't care about their reputation will treat Your Majesty with all their heart, because Your Majesty is the only one they have." Lu Chen shook his head calmly and said, "Xu Jingzong was born in Hangzhou and has deep ties with the Jiangnan aristocracy, while Li Yifu was born in Yingzhou and is from Hebei. Let's go find Li Yifu."

"Okay." Lu Zhaolin nodded and said, "Your foolish brother, go by yourself. Last year, your foolish brother met with Li Yifu several times. He knows the emperor's thoughts best."

"Be careful." Lu Qian nodded.

"Goodbye, brother!"

……

Standing in front of the window, rain hits the banana leaves outside.

Lu Chen sighed softly: "Did Jiulang really stumble into this incident by accident? Who is behind this?"

(End of this chapter)