Chapter 55

Spring rain is as precious as oil. After the Beginning of Spring solar term,

Rain began to appear more frequently in the sky.

The light rain at the end of the second month continued for five or six days, enveloping Jinling city in a curtain of rain, with the air permeated by the fresh scent of soil.

On the fifth day of the third month, it was the Awakening of Insects.

Spring thunder suddenly rumbled, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and heavy rain poured down.

The sky was gray and gloomy. On the streets, only a few female vendors wearing raincoats were braving the rain, carrying their goods on shoulder poles and calling out to sell.

At a quarter past the Xu hour (7-9 pm), the sky was dark and gloomy. The usually bustling palace gate was already empty.

Suddenly, a black lacquered flat-topped carriage drove up and stopped at the palace gate. The carriage driver took out a token from her bosom and handed it to the armed guard watching the palace gate.

The guard’s sleepy expression immediately became alert. She bowed to the master inside the carriage, opened the palace gate, stepped back, and bowed while watching the carriage drive into the palace.

After the carriage had gone far, the young new guard stepped forward and hesitantly asked the middle-aged guard who had opened the gate: “Sister Li, tonight… this should be the second carriage to enter the palace. You… won’t you get in trouble for letting them pass?”

The new guard had an honest face, her eyes now filled with worry.

In the vast night of the Zijing City, the silence made her uneasy.

According to palace rules, the gates were locked at the You hour (5-7 pm), and entry was not easily permitted.

But tonight, she and Sister Li had already allowed over a dozen court officials to enter the palace, and even more so, two carriages had driven straight in.

She had never seen precedent for outside carriages being able to drive into the imperial palace!

If they were questioned by the emperor for such disregard of palace rules, what should they do?

Encountering such a situation on her first day guarding the palace gate, the new female guard looked helplessly at Sister Li beside her.

The middle-aged woman tapped her on the head with the hilt of her sword, and nodded towards the receding carriage, saying: “San’er, do you know whose carriage that is?”

The young guard shook her head.

“That’s the carriage of the Auxiliary State Empress Consort. With the pass token in hand, one can freely enter and exit the palace gates! You’re young and on duty for the first time, so it’s understandable to be nervous when encountering tonight’s sudden situation… Something big is happening in the palace! But those are matters for those above. We guards only need to guard the palace gates well. Remember, when on duty in the imperial palace, it’s better to be muddled than to dig too deep!”

The young guard felt uneasy in her heart, but gratefully said: “Thank you for your guidance, Sister Li!”

――

When Pei Yuanshao arrived at the Qianqing Palace, the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers, the Four Grand Secretaries, and the Marquis of Zhennan were already lined up in the lower seats.

Palace rules stipulated that the gates were locked at the You hour, and neither those inside nor outside the palace could be allowed passage.

But tonight, this group of powerful court officials had been summoned to gather in the Qianqing Palace, clearly indicating that something major had occurred.

Pei Yuanshao narrowed his eyes, surveying the expressions of everyone present one by one, before leisurely stepping over the threshold.

The Empress sat high on the throne, with two red wooden armchairs inlaid with mother-of-pearl placed on her left and right.

Marquis of Zhennan Jing Huan sat on the right side. Pei Yuanshao walked past the two rows of standing officials, bowed to the Empress, then turned and walked to the red wooden chair on the left, leaning against the backrest.

He caressed the armrest, raising his eyes to meet the Empress Mingxing’s gaze, and saw her lift her chin slightly towards Grand Secretary Yang of the Wenyuan Cabinet, who was standing at the forefront of the group of high officials not far away.

Pei Yuanshao understood, and following the Empress’s line of sight, he saw that Grand Secretary Yang, who usually didn’t talk much and was known for being rigid, now had her aged eyelids lifted, with a piercing cold light in her cloudy eyes.

The Empress was telling him that tonight’s matter was related to Grand Secretary Yang.

Pei Yuanshao understood in his heart, but showed no sign of it on his face. He imperceptibly nodded to the Empress on the throne, then lowered his eyes and calmly leaned back in the chair, quietly waiting for what was to come.

Empress Mingxing let out a long breath, seriously glancing at the officials in the hall, and frowned gravely as she said: “The reason for summoning you all into the palace tonight is that a matter has occurred, concerning favoritism and fraud in the metropolitan examination, and the framing of fellow examinees. It is a matter of great importance. For the sake of fairness and justice, and to avoid affecting the results of the triennial metropolitan examination and the reputation of the candidates, we have summoned you all into the palace tonight to open the sealed examination papers and investigate the names of the framed candidates.”

As soon as the Empress’s words were spoken, the hearts of the court officials present sank.

The imperial examination had always been fair and just. If there were any flaws, the power of the poor scholars across the empire was not to be underestimated. Since the only path to becoming an official was through the imperial examination, if even the examination could not be fair and became a tool for aristocratic families to select officials, it would cut off the only chance for common people to change their fate. Unrest would surely arise!

The fall of the previous dynasty was caused by rampant corruption in the imperial examinations, with poor scholars’ resentment growing deeper. Pei’s founding emperor had used this as a pretext to raise an army and overthrow the corrupt court of the previous dynasty.

Learning from past lessons, the empresses of the Jin Feng Dynasty had always paid great attention to the imperial examinations. Once favoritism and fraud were discovered, even princes and ministers would be severely punished.

Under such strict laws, almost no one had the courage to manipulate things under the emperor’s nose.

The gazes of the officials present all focused on the faces of Jing Huan and Pei Yuanshao. Those with such courage to interfere with the imperial examination, and with high position and power unafraid of the law, could only be these two.

Jing Huan raised her eyes, coldly sweeping her gaze over everyone, then landing on Pei Yuanshao sitting opposite.

She raised an eyebrow and asked meaningfully: “Does Your Highness know the inside story?”