Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Unlike the typical path of most top scholars’ promotions, you were not assigned to a local post.

Going to the provinces to build experience before returning to the capital for promotion is the road to becoming a marquis and prime minister.

Since you were to be Li Mu’s blade, you naturally wouldn’t be the jade he would bother polishing.

Li Mu placed you in the Bureau of Evaluations, Ministry of Justice – a yamen specifically for auditing accounts.

It couldn’t be more perfect for purging political enemies.

Whether it’s a poor, unprofitable office or a lucrative post with abundant perks, who can withstand scrutiny?

In bureaucracy, there are always loopholes that rules can’t cover; with face or silver involved, too many things are just let slide with a wink and a nod.

Starting as an Assistant Section Chief of the eighth rank, junior grade, you investigated the Noble Consort’s cronies and then your immediate superior, striking with steady, ruthless precision. Five years later, you were the Director of the Bureau of Evaluations, sixth rank, senior grade, wielding full authority over the bureau.

Others’ assessment of you had shifted from “a clueless greenhorn who doesn’t understand the patronage culture, bound to ruin herself sooner or later” to “the Jade-faced Yama, ruthless and adept at framing others.”

A woman’s features are always more delicate than a man’s; besides, power nourishes a person, and brimming with confidence, you were indeed rather handsome.

Colleagues had originally cursed you as a “pale-faced boy.” After you learned of that, you flashed a grin full of white teeth, so sinister it was terrifying. So that insult turned tail and gave another insult a gilded edge instead.

At your age, Director of the sixth rank had already reached the ceiling. No further promotion was possible; only lateral transfer remained.

It so happened that the Crown Prince’s hand also wanted to reach into the civil examination halls, so a transfer order was issued, moving you to the Bureau of Imperial Examinations, Ministry of Rites as its Director.

That truly stirred up a hornet’s nest.

Pedantic scholars loathed you for playing politics and losing a scholar’s integrity. Those in office impeached you; those out of office wrote articles reviling you.

Even though you were an open member of the Crown Prince’s faction, you couldn’t directly suppress these matters.

Hard tactics wouldn’t work, so only soft ones remained. With a forced smile, you paid a visit to the home of Mei Wangchen, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy.

The Chancellor of the Imperial Academy had a multitude of disciples and, thanks to his status as the “Patriarch of Letters,” held profound influence over the literati.

To put it bluntly, for the Crown Prince to safely inherit the throne, he still needed these scholars to speak well of him.

To that end, every time you had done the Crown Prince’s dirty work, you had to enter the palace once and put on a show of heart-wrenching remorse with the Crown Prince, proving to the world that it wasn’t the Crown Prince failing to restrain you, but that you were incorrigible and obstinate. Meanwhile, the Crown Prince cherished talent and was a wise lord worth following.

Seeing you come, Mei Wangchen wore a cold face, not showing any civility.

You knew why he was giving you a hard time.

Two years ago, you had handled a case that implicated his prized disciple, Wen Yushan.

Truth be told, this fellow Wen was truly wronged; he’d run into a superior with unclean hands.

Wen Yushan had merely followed regulations, but his superior pulled a switch, replacing three-tenths of the salt in the salt warehouse under his charge with sand.

It wasn’t specifically targeted at him; fat-post officials always skimmed money this way.

Besides, they had some tricks: salt lined the exterior, sand filled the center, and once the seals were affixed, as long as no one was determined to investigate thoroughly, it was far too easy to hide.

Only it ran into you.

What’s easy to hide is also the easiest to uncover.

Tear off the seal, send husky laborers to dig into the center, and the truth comes to light, all clear as day!

Many things in the world are like this: it’s only a matter of whether, not a matter of can.

Mei Wangchen had staked his own reputation to vouch for Wen Yushan, but the procurement stamps all bore Wen Yushan’s name; he couldn’t avoid responsibility and was still demoted to Lingnan.

Naturally, Mei Wangchen cherished Wen Yushan, but you understood that why this great Confucian pillar of the state was targeting you was because you hadn’t given him any face back then.

You hadn’t given him face before, and now seeking his leniency, you’d inevitably have to pay some price.

After some haggling, you promised to grant special exceptions to a few young whelps of the main and collateral branches of the Mei Clan, appointing them to offices without examination.

Mei Wangchen, having gained the advantage, still put on airs: “Lord Xiao, that’s laughable. My Mei Clan is a scholarly family; our Mei Clan’s sons are exceptional. Could they possibly fail the exam on their own merits?”

The old fox wanted both benefit and reputation; if his family’s sons were capable, would he need to trouble you?

You flattered him some more and managed to smooth things over. Just as you walked out the gate of the Mei residence, however, you saw an unexpected person.

Your elder brother.