Huangming

Chapter 123 The Burning of the Ink Market, the Peril of the Academy

As dusk deepened, the lights of the Imperial College shone even brighter.

Zhao Mingyuan, Chen Ziyu, and Zheng Shixiang gathered the students of the Imperial Academy and the candidates who were stranded in the capital together. The secret room was crowded with scholars in blue robes and turbans. The flickering candlelight illuminated faces that were either indignant, passionate, or anxious.

Zhao Mingyuan stood before the table, lightly tapping his fingertips on it, and said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, what we are doing today is not for our own selfish reasons, but for the sake of the scholars of the world and for the righteous path of the sages!"

He unfolded a roll of plain paper, the ink still wet, which contained the memorial he had drafted overnight.

Chen Ziyu picked up the conversation, his gaze sweeping over the crowd: "Kneeling at Chengtian Gate to remonstrate is too risky. The Embroidered Uniform Guard is watching us closely, and the slightest mistake could ruin everything. But submitting a joint petition is perfectly legitimate—His Majesty can't just silence the voices of the people!"

Zheng Shixiang sneered, pulled out a stack of pre-prepared names from his sleeve, and slammed it heavily on the table: "I have already prepared the list of names. All you need to do is sign in order and press your fingerprints. Tomorrow morning, this memorial will be sent to the Ministry of Justice and presented directly to the Emperor!"

From the crowd, a thin scholar pushed forward and asked in a trembling voice, "If His Majesty is furious and decides to investigate..."

"What are you afraid of!" Zhao Mingyuan interrupted sharply, his eyes blazing with anger.

"The law does not punish the masses! Besides, we are in a position of righteousness. If Your Majesty dares to punish us, scholars throughout the land will surely rise up against us!"

He suddenly unfolded the memorial and read aloud: "The Imperial Daily has misled Your Majesty, corrupted morals, and even caused the postponement of the imperial examination. Poor scholars are suffering and humbly beg Your Majesty to investigate and abolish this false report, so as to restore order to the scholarly community!"

Before he could finish speaking, one of the students shouted, "Brother Zhao is absolutely right! Our joint signature is a mighty force!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Chen Ziyu pushed the vermilion inkpad to the front of the table, took the lead in signing his name, and then pressed his fingerprint heavily.

The bright red marks were as glaring as bloodstains. He looked up and surveyed the scene, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Gentlemen, today is the day to make your mark on history!"

The crowd suddenly became commotion.

The hungry and cold candidates crowded forward, vying to sign their names; the students of the Imperial Academy pretended to be reserved, but still wrote their names with great force, each stroke penetrating the paper.

The memorials on the desk grew thicker and thicker, dozens of pages of plain paper densely covered with names and fingerprints, intertwined like a red spider web, a shocking sight.

Zheng Shixiang bent down to count the people, then suddenly burst into laughter: "Three hundred and sixty-seven people! When this memorial is submitted to the Office of Transmission tomorrow, it will surely cause a thunderous uproar!"

The night watchman's drum sounded deep outside the window, and the east was already showing the first light of dawn. Zhao Mingyuan rolled up the memorial, tied it tightly with a yellow silk ribbon, and said in a low voice, "It's almost dawn... Gentlemen, please go back and prepare. We will all gather at the Office of Transmission at Chenshi (7-9 AM)!"

The crowd responded with a resounding roar, and the figures in blue robes dispersed like a tide, leaving only the flickering candle on the table, its tears reflecting the heavy stack of joint memorials—like an unsheathed sword, its cold gleam concealed.

The next day.

It was just dawn.

In front of the Office of the Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs, Zhao Mingyuan, Chen Ziyu, and Zheng Shixiang stood side by side, surrounded by hundreds of students from the Imperial Academy and other candidates who had been stranded in the capital.

The crowd stood solemnly, their eyes burning with intensity, holding the heavy scroll of the joint memorial in their hands. As they turned the dozens of pages, the densely packed signatures and bright red fingerprints were a shocking sight, like a silent, burning fire.

Upon hearing the news, Cao Yubian, the wandering knight-errant and Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs, hurriedly came out to greet them. Seeing this scene, he frowned deeply.

He had only been back at the Office of Transmission for a few days when he encountered this situation again.

Cao Yubian felt like he wanted to die.

His gaze swept across the three faces, and he asked in a deep voice, "Fellow students, what is the meaning of this?"

Zhao Mingyuan stepped forward, raised the memorial above his head with both hands, and said loudly, "Cao Tongzheng, students of the Imperial Academy and all the candidates for the imperial examinations across the country jointly submit this memorial, earnestly requesting Your Majesty to abolish the 'Huangming Daily' to set the record straight!"

Cao Yubian took the memorial, and his heart trembled slightly when his fingertips touched the thick stack of pages.

He glanced through the list and saw that there were hundreds of signatories, including descendants of famous scholars from Jiangnan, top scholars from various regions, and even relatives and children of retired officials.

This was no longer an ordinary petition from scholars, but a surging public opinion carrying the weight of public opinion! He took a deep breath and looked at the three men with a complicated gaze: "This matter... I will report it to the authorities truthfully."

Chen Ziyu smiled slightly, his tone respectful yet subtly sharp: "Provincial Administrator Cao is wise, and scholars throughout the land are eagerly awaiting your arrival. I hope the Ministry of Justice will not delay."

Cao Yubian's face stiffened. He cursed inwardly at these young people for being so aggressive, but he dared not be negligent.

He knew that if he suppressed the matter, he would become the target of public criticism; but if he submitted it, the court would be turned upside down.

After a moment's deliberation, he finally gritted his teeth and bowed, saying, "Rest assured, everyone, I will submit this to the Cabinet immediately!"

Inside the cabinet office, Grand Secretary Fang Congzhe unfolded the memorial, and after just one glance, he felt his temples throbbing.

He slammed the memorial shut and said with a wry smile to Liu Yizhu, the second-ranking official beside him, "Lord Liu, the Donglin faction is trying to force the emperor to abdicate!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yijing trembled, took the memorial and examined it closely, his fingertip heavily marking the phrases "the eunuch faction of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs is harming the country" and "the postponement of the imperial examination has caused widespread public resentment."

"Your Excellency, this is absolutely not my intention! Someone is trying to take advantage of this situation to cause trouble!"

Seeing the suspicious looks from Fang Congzhe and the others, Liu Yizhu cursed those despicable people who were secretly instigating this matter, and said to clear his name, "This matter was absolutely not done by me, Liu Yizhu. I swear to God that I would never stoop to such behavior as using someone else to kill, using students as pawns, and then hiding behind to reap the benefits!"

Fang Congzhe sighed and got up to open the window.

The evening clouds hung low outside the window, and the eaves of the Forbidden City were faintly visible in the haze.

Liu Yijuan was not involved in this matter, he believes.

But there must be traces of the Donglin Party behind this, perhaps.
It's not certain that people from the Qi, Chu, and Zhe factions were also involved!
He murmured, "If this memorial is presented to the Emperor, in His Majesty's rage, he will either severely punish the scholars and chill the hearts of the people, or compromise and back down and embolden the traitors. Either way, it is a dead end."

Liu Yizhu suddenly slammed the memorial heavily on the table. This memorial was far too hot to handle; if he wasn't careful, he would get burned.

He immediately said, "In that case, why not send it directly to the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs? Let Eunuch Wei decide for himself!"

Fang Congzhe's pupils contracted.

This is like throwing a hot potato to the eunuch faction!
But right now, it seems there is no other choice.

He remained silent for a long time before finally picking up his brush and writing the five characters "urgently presented to the Directorate of Ceremonial" on the cover of the memorial, the ink dripping like blood.

This is a heavy burden, Eunuch Wei, you should take it for now.

The joint memorial was quickly sent to the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Inside the office of the Directorate of Ceremonial, Wei Chao clutched a corner of a memorial, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

He only glanced at these memorials before knowing what kind of trouble this edict would cause if presented to the emperor.

"These scholars' fingers are sharper than swords; they're trying to kill someone by destroying their spirit!"

The eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs beside him bowed and asked, "Your Majesty, should we first deal with the leaders?"

"You have the guts?"

Wei Chao's sinister gaze swept over the signatures at the end of the memorial, lingering for a moment on the three names "Zhao Mingyuan," "Chen Ziyu," and "Zheng Shixiang," his brows furrowing.

"Pass it to the palace. Now, only His Majesty can make a decision on this matter. I want to see whether His Majesty believes the words of these sour grapes or my heart."

(End of this chapter)