Chapter 218 - 100: A Complete Falling Out
Feng Yi sat high on the Dragon Throne as the civil and military ministers filed into the great hall in two columns.
"Kneel!"
Following the loud cry, the assembled officials paid their respects to the Emperor.
"Rise!"
The officials rose and stood in solemn silence.
The hall fell quiet. Feng Yi stared down at the officials without a word. After a brief silence, a tense atmosphere began to spread.
Meng Jiuchang announced in a loud voice, "Present your memorials if you have business. If not, the court is dismissed."
After the call to present memorials was made, an Assistant Minister stepped out from the ranks of the civil servants and declared, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial! I wish to impeach Prince Zhenbei for improper conduct, acting with impunity, colluding with other officials, and harboring treacherous intentions. I implore Your Majesty to investigate!"
As soon as he spoke, all eyes fell on Prince Zhenbei. The Prince glared at the Assistant Minister, then stepped forward and boomed, "Your Majesty, I have something to say! This old subject has always served the nation with utmost devotion. I have fought in numerous campaigns, never once broken the law, nor have I colluded with other officials. Since Mr. Zhang has impeached me, then he should present his evidence! Does he really think he can say whatever he pleases just by flapping his gums?"
"Prince Zhenbei, why feign ignorance? Word is that the Prince Zhenbei Mansion has arranged a marriage with the Left Minister’s eldest son. Is that not evidence enough?"
Civil servants and military generals have always looked down on one another, making marriage alliances between them exceedingly rare. With both Prince Zhenbei and the Left Minister being influential figures in court, an alliance between their two families was naturally a matter of great significance.
The matter of the marriage alliance sent the court into an uproar. The Left and Right Assistant Prime Ministers successively entered the fray. The long-standing animosity between civil servants and military generals was reignited by this issue, their eyes burning red with fury, their reason consumed. They were just short of rolling up their sleeves for a three-hundred-bout brawl right there in the court. The scene was quite the spectacle.
By the time Song Yunzhao heard the news, the morning court session had long been dismissed, but she was still so shocked she couldn’t speak for a long while.
She never expected the marriage alliance between the Prince Zhenbei Mansion and the Left Minister’s Mansion would cause such a huge commotion.
’The disdain between civil and military officials... I was aware of the concept, but I never realized the conflict ran so deep until today.’
’Impeaching Prince Zhenbei over a marriage alliance with the Left Minister’s Mansion?’
’It seemed like a joke no matter how you looked at it. But digging deeper, it was clear that, at its root, the Right Minister could not tolerate the Left Minister gaining a powerful ally like the Prince Zhenbei Mansion.’
’He must have tried to stop the marriage before and failed, which is why he resorted to a direct impeachment in court.’
’The Left and Right Ministers... it seems they’re ready to drop all pretenses.’
’So what should I do?’
’This is too good an opportunity to miss.’
She tried hard to recall the plot of the book, but unfortunately, the court struggles were only ever mentioned in passing. The story mainly focused on the female lead’s rise through the ranks of the harem.
She vaguely remembered that after Qin Xiyue fell out with Consort Lu, the Right Minister had impeached the Grand Tutor, which made life in the palace very difficult for Qin Xiyue for a time.
Later, the female lead fought back and found some leverage against the Right Minister. ’What was that leverage again?’
The more anxious Song Yunzhao became, the harder it was to remember. ’This is infuriating!’
Xiangxue and the other attendants saw their mistress was in a bad mood, so none of them dared to speak, afraid of disturbing her thoughts.
’That’s it!’
Song Yunzhao remembered. ’This year’s Autumn Examination! The Right Minister is serving as the chief examiner, and he leaks the questions for a huge profit. The whole affair was kept very secret and wasn’t exposed by the female lead until several years later.’
’This year’s Autumn Examination...’
’My family has two scholars taking the exam. If the questions are leaked to the Right Minister’s faction, won’t all the other scholars be out of luck?’
’But the Autumn Examination hasn’t happened yet. Even though I know about it, I can’t expose it. It hasn’t even occurred.’
Song Yunzhao’s mood was now a complicated mix of frustration and excitement. But now that she remembered, she could start making plans in advance.
Her cousin and her cousin’s husband were both participating in the exam. ’If they want to make a good impression at the imperial court and stand out from the other scholars, this major crisis is also a golden opportunity to rise to the top!’
Song Yunzhao’s mind raced. ’Waiting to climb the ranks step-by-step would take forever. Now that such a perfect opportunity has landed in my lap, of course I have to seize it.’
Song Yunzhao’s heart began to pound with excitement.
’This matter has to be planned carefully. My eldest uncle and my father won’t be enough on their own. I’ll need to find allies.’
The Autumn Examination would be held after the Mid-Autumn Festival. She didn’t have much time left.
Scholars from all over the country had already arrived in the capital to await the exam, which meant the scheme with the exam questions was likely already in motion.
The matter was too important to risk writing a letter. If it fell into the wrong hands, it would be disastrous for her. But she had just met with her eldest aunt a few days ago, so she couldn’t ask her to enter the palace again.