pjbooks Chapter 413
Chapter 413
The Crown Prince waved his hand in refusal. How could a mere handkerchief soothe his nervous mood?If the Junior Preceptor truly entertained the thought of strolling around neighboring countries, his royal father and the assembly of officials would absolutely never agree.
However, even all of them combined might not be able to change the Junior Preceptor's mind. Since they were powerless to stop her... The Crown Prince's gaze shifted toward the east, a cold glint flashing briefly in his eyes.
According to the news brought back by the spies, the heavy rains in Dongyi had indeed stopped on the exact day the Junior Preceptor predicted.
More than half a month had passed, and the floodwaters in the Dongyi lands had yet to fully recede, while the number of people freezing and starving to death everywhere continued to rise.
Perhaps before the Spring Festival this year, the Junior Preceptor could go to Dongyi... no, to the Great Yan's Four Islands of the Eastern Sea for a stroll.
He had to find a way to leak this information to the Junior Preceptor to keep her calm and patient, ensuring she absolutely didn't get the idea to visit Beili or Xiqiang.
Traveling abroad was nowhere near as fun as staying in one's own country!
The cold glint only flashed briefly across the Crown Prince's face before he quickly put on a genial smile again. When the candidates in the examination cells saw him, their faces were filled with reverence.
They thought to themselves, "The rumors are indeed true. The Crown Prince truly looks like a lenient and benevolent heir apparent. In the future, he will surely be a wise and kind ruler."
Clang!
Just as Yue Fuguang was about to walk out of the "Yi" block of examination cells, the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground came from behind her.
She and the group of officials behind her turned their heads in succession, while the guards beside her had already drawn the sabers at their waists.
Entering the examination venue this time, Yue Fuguang had only brought Cuizhu, Shen Chunying, and Yu Huaixian. Although the commotion behind them was suspicious, Yue Fuguang did not think it was an assassination attempt.
Not to mention that her system hadn't sounded an alarm, carrying out an assassination in the examination venue was truly not a good choice.
Yue Fuguang took the lead and walked back. After taking only a few steps, she saw a student in one of the cells collapsed on the ground.
Yue Fuguang approached. A guard in the examination venue, seeing that the Junior Preceptor wanted to check on the student's condition, tried to help lift the person up.
"Don't move!" The words "it's poisonous" were swallowed back just in time as her gaze swept over the candidates in the surrounding cells, who looked tense yet couldn't hide their gossipy expressions. In her heart, she couldn't help but silently criticize them: at a time like this, a moment that determined their destinies, these few actually still had the mind to enjoy the drama.
Did they feel they had victory in the bag, or did they think their imperial exam prospects were hopeless and were just throwing caution to the wind?
Regardless, she could not cause a panic.
Thus, she beckoned Yu Huaixian over, whispered a few words in his ear, and then pulled a jade bottle from her sleeve, pressing it into his hand.
She then turned around and spoke in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, but just enough for the surrounding cells that had witnessed the situation to hear: "It is nothing serious. He likely didn't rest well and overworked his mind, causing him to faint."
She waved her hand at Yu Huaixian, who had already dismantled the examination desk to use as a makeshift stretcher, and the guard who had initially tried to help. "Carry him to the front and find the examination academy's physician for treatment."
Cuizhu thoughtfully placed the candidate's unfinished exam papers and answer sheets into his examination basket and took them along.
With her young lady's abilities, as long as this person wasn't dead right now, he definitely wouldn't die. He might even be able to return and continue the exam in a little while.
Yue Fuguang had the person carried away, completely unaware that she was falling right into someone else's trap.
"Chen Kang, what time is it?"
In a luxurious courtyard on the outskirts of the capital city of Shangjing, a wealthy-looking man in his fifties lay on a rocking chair with his eyes closed, humming a small tune as he asked the personal attendant serving beside him.
The young man in his twenties named Chen Kang looked up at the water clock placed in the corner of the study, bowed, and softly replied, "To answer Master, it is the end of the Shen hour!"
Chen Kang looked through the window at the sky outside and sighed in admiration once again. The current Junior Preceptor Yue truly lived up to her title as a divine maiden. These glass windows were not only bright, but looking outside from inside the room was also incredibly clear.
He had followed his master to the residences of some officials and noble families; the glass inlaid in the houses of those families was even larger than the ones in his master's room.
While Chen Kang was thinking about what a pity it was for the fine houses and the precious glass of those noble families whose homes had been confiscated, he softly asked the person on the rocking chair who seemed to have fallen sound asleep, "Master, it is getting late. Shall I have the meal served?"
Normally, this was their master's mealtime. For some unknown reason, not only had the master stayed in the study the entire day, but he had even refused to leave when his most favored eighth concubine came to invite him.
"No rush. Go and see if Chen Zhong has returned."
Chen Kang really wanted to say that he could see very clearly through the glass window that, apart from a few servants in the courtyard, there was no sign of Chen Zhong, who had been out all day and had yet to return.
Thinking was one thing, but his mouth didn't hesitate for a second as he replied, "Yes, this lowly one will go to the estate gates right away to welcome Steward Chen."
His words had barely landed, and before he could even take a single step forward, he looked up and saw the courtyard gates being pushed open from the outside by guards. Dressed in gray clothes and looking hurried, Chen Zhong was taking large strides into the courtyard, heading straight for the study.
"Master, Steward Chen is back!"
Upon hearing that the person had returned, the master quickly sat up from the rocking chair. After glancing outside through the glass window, he waved his hand at Chen Kang and said, "Go and invite Mr. Bai."
Walking two steps toward the desk with his hands behind his back, he added, "Take all the servants in the courtyard away with you. Apart from Mr. Bai, do not let anyone come within half a step of the study."
"Yes, Master." Chen Kang nodded and quickly left. This "anyone" naturally included himself.
By the time Chen Kang opened the door to leave, Chen Zhong had already reached the entrance of the study.
The two brushed past each other. In the moment the door closed, Chen Kang could still faintly hear a few words.
"Master, there is news!" Chen Zhong carefully opened the door again and glanced out into the courtyard. After confirming no one was there, he carefully closed the study door.
The master pointed to a chair below his desk and said, "Sit down and speak."
Chen Zhong expressed his thanks and sat down carefully. The exhaustion and tension on his face made him look significantly older. At just over forty years old, he looked about the same age as his master.
Without even taking the time to drink a sip of water, Chen Zhong said impatiently, "Master, the city has been under martial law these past two days. This lowly one made inquiries from various sources and found out that those few families have been raided and their properties confiscated!"
He stretched out three fingers, pointed toward the west, and finally, his fingers landed toward the east.
The layout of Shangjing City was such that the west belonged to the noble and the east to the wealthy. For a family with some background like theirs, even just trying to ask about affairs in the west required quite a bit of effort.
The master's hand, originally resting on the armrest, slowly tightened. His other hand pressed against the table as he asked with a stern face, "Did they not even spare the branch families?"
"Master, for those involved families, regardless of whether they were branch or main lineages, they have all been locked up in the Ministry of Justice's prison." Chen Zhong swallowed hard and continued, "Even the families on good terms with them, and... and families with relatives who participated in the hunting assassination, were all arrested. Their lands and properties were confiscated, and their entire households were thrown into prison."
Upon hearing about the hunting assassination, the master couldn't help but stand up abruptly. He paced back and forth in the study. "Didn't the main family say before the new year that they had shouldered all the blame and wouldn't implicate anyone else?"
Over the past two or three months, the branch families had remained unaffected. People like them had thought this disastrous calamity was about to pass.