On the Sky Canopy, Liu Sanqi continued to introduce the matter of Yin Yi and Qi Wenyuan:
"After Yin Yi voluntarily became the blade in Qi Wenyuan's hand aimed at Emperor Jingwu, he began to follow Qi Wenyuan's instructions and oppose Emperor Jingwu on many matters in court. Meanwhile, Qi Wenyuan mobilized his forces to carefully craft Yin Yi's image as a virtuous prince among the people. Overnight, Yin Yi's reputation for benevolence and wisdom spread throughout the Great Jing."
"In the year after Emperor Jingwu's ascension, which was also the first imperial examination held under her reign, a fierce dispute broke out in court over the selection of the chief examiner for the spring examination. Yin Yi vehemently argued with Emperor Jingwu, and in the end, Emperor Jingwu gained the upper hand."
"However, in reality, this victory for Emperor Jingwu was a deadly trap carefully set by Yin Yi and Qi Wenyuan."
"Of course, even if Emperor Jingwu had known at the time that Yin Yi and Qi Wenyuan had malicious intentions, she still had no choice but to step into that trap."
"Because this spring examination was extremely important to Emperor Jingwu."
"'How can the canal be so clear? Because the source has fresh water flowing in.' At that time, the Great Jing court was rife with factions, and more than half of the civil and military officials had intricate connections with Qi Wenyuan."
"If Emperor Jingwu wanted to seize power from Qi Wenyuan, she had to accelerate the construction of her own governing team, leveraging these untainted fresh forces to increase her influence in court."
"Therefore, Emperor Jingwu was determined to succeed in this spring examination and could not afford any mistakes!"
"To guard against sabotage by Qi Wenyuan and his allies, Emperor Jingwu was extremely cautious throughout the entire examination process. But once the list of successful candidates for the metropolitan examination was announced, a storm meticulously orchestrated by Qi Wenyuan and his faction finally broke!"
"Rumors that the chief examiner had accepted bribes spread like wildfire. Even street vendors and porters were privately discussing that most of the successful candidates in this spring examination came from official or merchant families."
"The TV series 'The Flourishing Reign of Emperor Jingwu' also filmed this segment, so let's watch the drama directly now. I think the production team did a good job with this part, fully displaying the foolish faces of those scholars who were being used."
As Liu Sanqi clicked her mouse, the video from 'The Flourishing Reign of Emperor Jingwu' appeared in the center of the Sky Canopy.
In a tavern, several young men dressed as scholars were sitting in a private room facing the street.
"Who said the imperial examination gathers the talents of the world? I say it's gathering the wealth of the world!" said a man in a blue gown, his face full of anger.
After he spoke, another man sitting across from him let out a long sigh:
"It's infuriating that we, with our sincere hearts, hold a patriotic spirit in vain, but we look around in confusion, unable to fulfill our ambitions!"
"This Li Zeyuan is utterly detestable!" a scholar wearing a square soft cap also said through gritted teeth. "He himself came from a poor family, but once he gained power, he chased after profit, his mind only on money, with no integrity whatsoever!"
Below the Sky Canopy, Li Zeyuan, who had been secretly enjoying the taste of fine wine in his cup, suddenly heard his name mentioned on the Sky Canopy. Noticing his colleagues nearby all looking at him, he silently put down his cup, straightened his back, and sat up with a stern expression.
"I heard that Li Zeyuan has always been very fond of wine. It's only natural that a man of such indulgence would accept bribes from examinees!"
In the palace, hearing this speculation from the Sky Canopy, many officials' expressions became complicated. Some couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Everyone in the court who knew Li Zeyuan was aware of his love for wine. But calling him a womanizer was pure nonsense.
After all, Li Zeyuan had been an official for over twenty years. Although he had the nickname 'Iron Bone' in the Censorate, equally famous was his reputation as a henpecked husband.
Li Zeyuan indeed came from a poor family. After passing the imperial examination, on the very day the results were announced, he was caught as a son-in-law by the wealthy merchant Sheng family in the capital and became the husband of Sheng Jiahua, the only daughter of the Sheng family.
Sheng Jiahua had long managed the family business and had a strong personality. Because she believed drinking harmed health, Li Zeyuan had to drink secretly behind her back.
Due to the high cost of housing in the capital, Li Zeyuan and Sheng Jiahua had always lived in the Sheng family residence after marriage. Some people in the capital even privately mocked him, calling him a 'live-in imperial scholar,' saying he had married into the Sheng family and become Sheng Jiahua's live-in son-in-law.
At the Sheng residence, Sheng Jiahua was sitting in the courtyard with her son and daughter.
Her daughter, Li Yuecai, looked at her mother worriedly and asked, "Mother, Father is involved in this examination case. Will he be alright?"
Her son, Li Shu'an, also looked anxiously at Sheng Jiahua, hoping to hear good news from his mother.
But Sheng Jiahua, facing the hopeful gazes of her children, could not give a definite answer.
Qi Wenyuan still had a large network of protégés and old connections in court. With nearly seven years of influence during Emperor Jingli's reign, it was extremely easy for him to deal with Li Zeyuan.
Sheng Jiahua believed that with Li Zeyuan's intelligence, he absolutely knew how dangerous it was to step forward as the chief examiner for the spring examination. Qi Wenyuan and his faction would use every means to put him to death.
If Emperor Jingwu ultimately could not withstand the offensive from Qi Wenyuan and his allies, the most reasonable course of action to avoid implicating herself would be to push Li Zeyuan out as a scapegoat, using his death to silence public opinion.
Sheng Jiahua knew that Emperor Jingwu was an extremely capable ruler. After all, how many kings and generals throughout history could truly see the lowly common people, whose lives were as insignificant as ants? But she also understood that Emperor Jingwu had a very cold and decisive side to her character.
Emperor Jingwu had not hesitated to stab Emperor Jingli, Yin Rui, to death with a knife in front of the entire court when the Najie Army deliberately released him.
Sheng Jiahua had previously admired this bold and decisive nature of Emperor Jingwu. But now that the person facing such cold treatment might be her husband, Li Zeyuan, she couldn't help but feel uneasy.
If she could kill her own brother without hesitation, could she really trust that Emperor Jingwu would be willing to protect Li Zeyuan to the end?
Thinking this, Sheng Jiahua took a deep breath. But noticing the anxious looks in her children's eyes, she still comforted them:
"Don't worry too much. Your father's temperament hasn't changed over the years. He's as stubborn as an ox. Even if he knows something will go wrong, he'll still charge in without looking back!"
Sheng Jiahua's tone sounded resigned. But when she saw the video playing on the Sky Canopy, she still clenched the silk handkerchief in her hand tightly, as if she could hold onto something.
On the Sky Canopy, the square-faced man who had been sitting silently in the main seat of the private room in the tavern suddenly spoke up:
"Gentlemen, in my opinion, we cannot sit here and wait for death! If we allow corrupt officials like Li Zeyuan to continue deceiving the court and the people, the common people of our Great Jing will forever remain in darkness, never seeing the light of day!"
"But we are just ordinary scholars. How can we contend with a high-ranking minister like Li Zeyuan?" someone asked worriedly.
With a slap on the table, the square-faced man stood up abruptly. Looking around at the people nearby, he said with determination:
"As the old saying goes, grains of sand pile up to form a pagoda, drops of water gather to form an ocean! If we scholars unite, I refuse to believe that Li Zeyuan can cover the sky with one hand!"
Under the continuous instigation of the square-faced man, the scholars in the room were gradually persuaded.
Then, the Sky Canopy showed scenes of them secretly contacting other unsuccessful examinees.
A large group gathered, demanding that the court hold the spring examination again and appoint Prince Chu, Yin Yi, as the chief examiner for this metropolitan examination. To demonstrate their determination, they took a statue of the God of Wealth from the Temple of Wealth and paraded it through the streets all the way to the palace gate.
The common people of the capital, seeing such a rare spectacle, couldn't help but follow behind them.
After arriving outside the palace gate, as planned, they bit their fingers and wrote their names on the statue of the God of Wealth with blood, to express their strong dissatisfaction and anger at what they called the 'money-oriented' spring examination.