Prime Minister.

Chapter 67, Chapter 066: A Complete Mess

The change in the situation was somewhat unexpected for Xue Huai.

These past few days he has been thinking about how to smoothly be transferred to a post outside the capital at the beginning of the year. Since the emperor may not want him to leave the capital, he can only make the emperor feel troubled and annoyed while maintaining his own integrity.

He has now confirmed one thing: as the emperor grows older, he dislikes chaos that is out of control. So even though he knows about the corrupt officials in the Ministry of Works, he turns a blind eye in order to maintain the superficial stability of the court, until Shen Wang exposes everything in front of the entire court.

So when Qin Zhang led his men in and stormed in today, Xue Huai remembered Shen Wang's advice.

As he had predicted, Qin Zhang, being ignorant, crude, and stupid, was easily provoked by his sarcastic remarks.

As he pushed hard, Xue Huai had already planned every step of the way. He wanted to bring this matter to the emperor's attention and have the emperor resolve the conflict between the civil and military officials.

So he deliberately fell towards the table, accidentally breaking his forehead. It looked a bit scary, but it was just a minor, insignificant injury.

Xue Huai didn't expect the emperor to take real action against the Qin family because of this matter, but at least he could make the emperor less inclined to see him for the time being, which would greatly increase his chances of being transferred to a post outside the capital.

But despite all his calculations, Xue Huai never anticipated that a group of passionate young people were hiding around him.

In fact, if he thought about it carefully, he should know that it was not uncommon for civil and military officials to fight each other in the more than 100-year history of the Great Yan Dynasty. For example, more than 30 years ago, a cabinet scholar and a nobleman had a full-blown fight in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The older cabinet scholar carried the golden mace of the palace warrior and chased the nobleman for a long time.

All those present today were Jinshi graduates of the Gengchen year, in their early twenties, still full of youthful vigor. In addition, they had drunk quite a bit of wine earlier. Now, witnessing Xue Huai being forcefully pushed to the ground by Qin Zhang, resulting in a bloody wound on his forehead, how could they possibly hold back their anger and resentment?
At that moment, Qin Zhang and the others were trapped in the middle, surrounded by more than twenty young civil officials who were desperately waving their fists at them.

Qin Zhang and his men were caught off guard, and soon some of them were injured.

In a one-on-one fight, these young civil officials are no match for the sons of military families. However, the current situation is chaotic and there is no strategy to speak of. It is like a haphazard punch that kills a master. The advantage that the sons of military families have in practicing martial arts and honing their physical skills cannot be brought into play.

Qin Zhang and the others did not deliberately hold back, but they were all huddled together, surrounded by people in front and behind them, so they could not move freely and could only parry and try their best to counterattack.

Fueled by anger and alcohol, the group of young civil officials seemed oblivious to pain, determined to fight these arrogant and powerful sons of nobles to the death.

In the distance, Qu Zhaoyun and the managers and staff of Zhanxue Pavilion stared blankly at the scene. She was worried about Xue Huai's injuries and also afraid that the current situation would get out of control. If someone was seriously injured, Zhanxue Pavilion might have to close down.

Xue Huai was also a little stunned. He raised his hand to cover his forehead and looked around. Only Gao Tingbi was left beside him, and he couldn't see Chen Guanyue.

Looking ahead, the figure roaring and waving his fist is Chen Guanyue, and not far to his right is Wu Jing, who is passionately and fearlessly fighting.

Xue Huai knew that Wu Jing was outgoing and cheerful, and although he was a civil official, he had a chivalrous spirit. He was not surprised that Wu Jing would be the first to rush forward. But what about Chen Guanyue?

Whether from past interactions or his impressions at today's gathering, Chen Guanyue's image in Xue Huai's mind was that of an unyielding mountain, possessing a composure and restraint far beyond his years, making him seem like a completely different person from the one leading the charge before him.

Gao Tingbi seemed to only then come to his senses, and looked at Xue Huai in a panic, asking, "Brother Jingche, what should we do? Should we—"

"Brother Kuangshi, separate them first!"

Xue Huai interrupted him and yelled at the managers and staff of Zhanxue Pavilion on the outside, "What are you standing there for? Come and help break up the fight!"

Ignoring the injury on his forehead, he rushed forward, grabbing Chen Guanyue's arm tightly and shouting with all his might, "Brother Ziyuan, stop! If this continues, something terrible will happen!"

He did indeed intend to take advantage of Qin Zhang, a spoiled brat, so he deliberately provoked him and staged a staged accident at the end—Qin Zhang didn't push him with all his might, so he didn't push him several steps away and fall to the ground.

For Xue Huai, the situation had developed to the perfect point. Qin Zhang was in the wrong first and then physically assaulted someone, so he would definitely pay the price for it.

However, Xue Huai could not involve his classmates in this conflict. Whether the hot-blooded civil officials injured Qin Zhang and the others, or Qin Zhang and the others became violent and hurt them, these were outcomes that Xue Huai did not want to see.

Fortunately, Chen Guanyue calmed down. He stopped what he was doing, glanced at Xue Huai to make sure he was alright, and then joined in persuading the others to stop.

Gao Tingbi and the people from Zhanxue Pavilion also rushed over to break up the fight.

Xue Huai continued forward, repeatedly saying, "Stop! Everyone, stop fighting! Someone will die!"

Just then, someone's fist came flying at them.

"boom!"

Xue Huai instinctively dodged, but was punched in the forehead, which aggravated his wound and made him wince in pain.

At this moment, Xue Huai felt both amused and exasperated, but mostly he was at a loss for words.

Wouldn't this be considered shooting oneself in the foot...?

Through their tireless efforts, and given that the civil officials had little experience in fighting, their energy was quickly depleted after a flurry of punches. Once that energy dissipated, they gradually regained their senses.

The situation was finally brought under control, and the two groups were able to separate.

Among the civil officials, Xue Huai appeared to be the most seriously injured. The wound on his forehead was not large to begin with, but it was affected by the punch, and blood flowed down his eyebrow, making it look rather alarming.

Furthermore, Chen Guanyue, Wu Jing, Zheng Xuanming, Yang Sixiu, and other key members of the group fight had all sustained injuries to varying degrees. They were now panting heavily, yet looking at the six men opposite them with expressions of pride. Xue Huai looked up and saw that Qin Zhang's fine fur coat was tattered, his lips were swollen and bloodied, and his left eye had a dark bruise—the cause of which was unknown.

Cao Xuan and the others fared even worse. They clearly hadn't expected these civil officials, who usually only knew classical Chinese, to be so ruthless, specifically targeting their faces!
But they dared not shout now; the thought of the madness of those people just now made them feel a little scared.

The two sides immediately fell into a strange standoff.

Suddenly a commotion arose outside, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps. A group of officials filed in and surrounded the two groups of people, along with the managers and staff of Zhanxue Pavilion.

A middle-aged civil official dressed in a blue peacock-patterned robe strode over. He looked at the crowd, frowned, and said in a deep voice, "What are you all doing?"

This man was Xu Shaozong, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

This was clearly because the manager of Zhanxue Pavilion saw that the situation was not good and sent someone to report to the Shuntian Prefecture for help.

Seeing that no one answered, Xu Shaozong called out, "Gao Xiuzhuan, tell me what exactly happened!"

"Lord Xu."

Gao Tingbi bowed respectfully and then briefly explained the cause and effect of the matter.

Xu Shaozong felt a headache coming on after hearing this. He looked at Xue Huai with a complicated expression and saw that even with the simple bandage on his forehead, bloodstains could still be faintly seen. He couldn't help but sigh that although this third-ranked scholar was indeed very talented, he was really not an easy person to deal with.

He was able to maintain his position as the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, having witnessed countless strange and unusual events throughout the year. This fight was not complicated at all. Qin Zhang and the others were indeed at fault, but if it weren't for Xue Huai's fall and bump, things would never have escalated to this point.

"Xue Shidu, is your injury serious?"

No matter what he thought in his heart, Xu Shaozong would never show it on his face.

Xue Huai shook his head and said, "Reporting to the Prefect, there should be no major problems."

Xu Shaozong nodded slightly, then looked at the others and asked, "Has anyone here been seriously injured?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"In that case, you may come with me."

Xu Shaozong would not make a decision easily. Although the fight did not have serious consequences, it involved more than twenty young civil officials, who were the reserve force of the court and could not be treated casually.

On the other side are Qin Zhang and other sons of military families. These playboys themselves don't have much influence, but each of them has a noble family behind them, so they can't be taken lightly either.

How could Xu Shaozong make such a hot potato on his own? He would definitely hand it over to the emperor to deal with.

Led by the officials of Shuntian Prefecture, the group left Zhanxue Pavilion and headed towards the Meridian Gate of the Imperial City.

Just as Xu Shaozong sent someone to inform the Minister of Rites, the Hanlin Academician, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, and Qin Wanli and other nobles, Han Qian, the Commander of the Jing'an Division, hurriedly entered the palace.

At this moment, the Emperor of Great Yan was taking a nap in Consort Liu's palace.

When he changed his clothes and arrived at the imperial study, after listening to Han Qian's report, his relaxed brows quickly furrowed.

"Anyone hurt?"

"Your Majesty, Xue Huai, the tutor, and Qin Zhang, the son of the Marquis of Zhenyuan, suffered minor injuries. In addition, more than ten people were injured, but fortunately no one was seriously injured and they will recover in a few days."

Upon hearing this answer, the emperor's serious expression remained unchanged.

Today is the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, known as the Little New Year, marking the beginning of the Lunar New Year celebrations.

This year has been quite busy. The floods in the south alone have caused the emperor great concern. He had thought he could relax for a while around the New Year, but who knew that he would hear such absurd news right at the beginning.

More than twenty civil officials in the central government of the Great Yan Dynasty were fighting with a group of noble sons!
Where is the official's demeanor? Where is the court's dignity?
This is simply unreasonable!
"This Xue Huai... In the past, he only bothered me with memorials, but now he's become quite ambitious, actually leading a group of his classmates in a fight!"

The emperor slammed his hand heavily on the table, clearly furious.

Han Qian hesitated for a moment, then said tactfully, “Your Majesty, this matter has nothing to do with Xue Shidu. He and his classmates from the Gengchen examination were having a normal gathering. It was Qin Zhang who led his men to barge in and cause trouble. As far as I know, Qin Zhang was so angry that he pushed Xue Shidu, causing him to fall and get injured. The others present were so enraged that they started fighting.”

"Humph."

The emperor's gaze was somber. He continued, "In short, he's a troublesome fellow. Go to the Meridian Gate now and bring this group of people, along with the officials from the relevant departments, to the Wende Hall!"

"The minister obeys the order!"

Han Qian bowed and agreed.

(End of this chapter)