Chapter 46

Chapter 45

The arrival of the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, gave the chief examiner of the imperial examination, Luo Wenzhong, a significant headache.

How could he not see that this Eighth Prince was clearly targeting him?

At first, he even suspected the emperor's intention in appointing him as the chief examiner. After all, he had just taken up this position, and the Eighth Prince, who had a grudge against him, was then appointed as the accompanying supervisor. This was too coincidental.

‘Could it be that His Majesty already knows about my plot to frame the Eighth Prince?’

This thought made Luo Wenzhong somewhat uneasy. After all, he had the audacity to scheme against Zhao Hongrun because, as far as he knew, the Eighth Prince was not favored by the emperor. Otherwise, how could he have dared to do such a thing?

That day, Luo Wenzhong secretly summoned a family servant and instructed him to bribe a eunuch from the Procurement Office, hoping to obtain some information from him.

Although the eunuch from the Procurement Office was considered a low-ranking eunuch in the palace and had no access to any confidential matters, for Luo Wenzhong, this was the only way to get information from the palace.

In the evening, his family servant brought back the news, and Luo Wenzhong was suddenly enlightened: it turned out that the position of accompanying supervisor was determined by drawing lots, and this did not indicate that the emperor was favoring the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun. According to the eunuch, the emperor even exposed the Eighth Prince's cheating twice during the lot-drawing process.

The fact that it was not the emperor's intention to favor the Eighth Prince relieved Luo Wenzhong. After all, how could he dare to challenge the current emperor?

To put it bluntly, if the emperor wanted to kill him, it would only take a word.

‘But this Eighth Prince... is quite a problem.’

Although he had spent a considerable amount of money, Luo Wenzhong felt it was worth it to get some fragmented information from the eunuch. After all, the eunuch clearly told his family servant that the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, was not as neglected by the emperor as rumored. In the past month, the emperor had shown an unusually tolerant attitude toward him, even when the prince had a bonfire in the imperial garden and cooked a golden-scaled red-tailed fish, the emperor did not punish him.

This well-known story in the palace was like a bolt of lightning to Luo Wenzhong.

What did this mean? It meant that the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, was not as neglected by the emperor as rumored or as he had imagined. On the contrary, the prince was greatly favored by the emperor.

If the prince was not favored by the emperor, Luo Wenzhong would not have cared about offending him to protect his family. The problem was that if the prince he offended was actually highly favored by the emperor, it would be quite troublesome.

Worse still, the Eighth Prince was not only favored by the emperor but also possessed a sharp mind and cunning. In front of Luo Wenzhong, he openly humiliated Luo Wenzhong's son, Luo Rong, and with his silver tongue, left Luo Wenzhong speechless, despite the burning anger in his chest.

‘What should I do?’

Luo Wenzhong sighed as he sat in the room.

“Knock, knock, knock—”

At this moment, a knocking sound came from outside the room, surprising Luo Wenzhong.

After all, he was only temporarily resting in a side room at the Confucian Temple. Who would come to see him?

With doubt, Luo Wenzhong got up and opened the door.

“Eh? Lord Fan?”

Luo Wenzhong was somewhat surprised. The visitor was none other than Fan Su, his colleague from the Ministry of Personnel and a co-examiner for the imperial examination.

Although they were both Langzhong (a mid-level official), there was a slight difference.

The Ministry of Personnel was divided into four departments: Selection, Evaluation, Sealing, and Merit. Each department had four Langzhong, of equal rank, but one of them was the head, known as the "Department Head."

The visitor, Lord Fan Su, was the Department Head of the Evaluation Department.

Luo Wenzhong was a Langzhong in the Selection Department, and Fan Su was the Department Head of the Evaluation Department. Although they belonged to the same ministry, they did not have much interaction in their daily work.

“Is Lord Fan also here to rest?”

Luo Wenzhong greeted him politely. After all, although he was the chief examiner for this imperial examination, in terms of rank, Fan Su was half a level higher. It was always better to be polite.

“Ha ha.” Fan Su closed the door and looked at Luo Wenzhong, smiling softly. “I came specifically to see you, Lord Luo.”

“Me?” Luo Wenzhong was somewhat taken aback.

Fan Su waved his hand, inviting Luo Wenzhong to sit on a chair inside and asked in a low voice, “From what I saw today, it seems that Lord Luo has a grudge with the Eighth Prince. May I ask what the reason is?”

“...” Luo Wenzhong remained silent.

Actually, even if he did not say it, the other sixteen co-examiners present could tell.

But even so, Luo Wenzhong did not want to reveal it. After all, plotting to frame a prince was no small matter. If someone found out and used it against him, it would be very troublesome.

Seeing that Luo Wenzhong was unwilling to speak, Fan Su did not press the issue. Instead, he feigned concern and said, “After all, he is a prince. Offending him will bring you a lot of trouble.”

Luo Wenzhong frowned, looked up at Fan Su, and said in a low voice, “Lord Fan, you must have come for more than just a chat. ... What advice do you have for me?”

Fan Su smiled slightly and said in a low voice, “I am just showing you a clear path. ... You are a smart man, and you should know that relying on yourself alone, you may not be able to handle the Eighth Prince. Why not seek protection?”

‘Seek protection?’

Luo Wenzhong's pupils constricted slightly.

Given that he had offended the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, and Fan Su still said this, it meant that the protection Fan Su was referring to was likely from another prince.

‘Is Fan Su... already involved in the struggle for the throne?’

Luo Wenzhong took a deep breath and remained silent.

Throughout history, any minister involved in the struggle for the throne, unless they managed to help their supported prince ascend to the throne and thus achieve great success, would end up with a tragic fate.

Therefore, before the political situation was clear, a wise person would not easily choose a side. Once the wrong side was chosen, it would be a disaster with no good outcome.

Better to miss an opportunity than to take a risky step, which was Luo Wenzhong's view on the struggle for the throne, and also the view of most ministers in the court.

However, there were some who tried to climb the ranks by attaching themselves to the new emperor and becoming his loyal subjects.

Noticing the repulsion on Luo Wenzhong's face, Fan Su smiled and whispered, “What is Lord Luo worried about? ... Is there anything more urgent than dealing with the Eighth Prince's harassment?”

‘More urgent...’

Fan Su's words hit Luo Wenzhong's soft spot. Indeed, at the moment, what was more urgent than dealing with the harassment from the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun?

Thinking about this, Luo Wenzhong gritted his teeth and asked, “Which prince?”

As far as he knew, apart from the Crown Prince Hongli, the princes with the most support were Prince Yong, Hongyu, and Prince Xiang, Hongjing. These three were the most likely to become the next emperor. If Fan Su was loyal to one of these three, Luo Wenzhong felt that taking a bet would not be a big problem.

“Donggong!” Fan Su said a word that made Luo Wenzhong exceptionally delighted.

‘Donggong? I didn't expect it to be the Crown Prince!’

Luo Wenzhong's face immediately showed surprise. After all, although Prince Yong, Hongyu, and Prince Xiang, Hongjing, were also good choices, they were far inferior to the Crown Prince, Hongli. The Crown Prince was the current heir apparent, and in terms of virtue and ability, he was above average. If nothing unexpected happened, the Crown Prince had the highest chance of becoming the next emperor.

“Please introduce me.”

After making up his mind, Luo Wenzhong bowed respectfully to Fan Su.

Luo Wenzhong did not know that Fan Su's offer of the Crown Prince's protection was just a pretext. Originally, Fan Su had planned to ask the Crown Prince, Hongli, to intervene, as the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, was already investigating their accounts, which was not a friendly signal.

As for Luo Wenzhong, he was just an added bonus.

‘If I can win over Luo Wenzhong, I believe the Crown Prince will be pleased.’

Fan Su left satisfied.

That night, Fan Su secretly passed a message to the Crown Prince, Hongli, stating that the Eighth Prince, Zhao Hongrun, was arrogant and interfering with the internal affairs of the Ministry of Personnel, and even publicly humiliated the chief examiner's son, Luo Rong.

Indeed, when he learned that Fan Su had won over Luo Wenzhong, the Crown Prince was quite pleased.

After all, the Secretaries and Undersecretaries of the Six Ministries were all extremely cautious old foxes who would never easily take sides in the struggle for the throne.

Therefore, the Crown Prince could only try to win over the Langzhong (mid-level officials) of the departments. After all, the Langzhong were neither too high nor too low in the Six Ministries. Although they managed a hundred or so people, they still had the Secretaries and Undersecretaries above them. Without special circumstances, they would have to rely on favorable winds to advance. Could they wait for the Secretaries and Undersecretaries above them to grow old and die?

To be honest, as the Crown Prince, Hongli did not need to stoop so low to win over some Langzhong, but he had no choice. The threats from Prince Yong, Hongyu, and Prince Xiang, Hongjing, were growing, especially Prince Yong, Hongyu, who was his contemporary. According to the Crown Prince, he had already won over many officials in the court, making him the biggest obstacle to his path to the throne.

“Feng Shu.”

The Crown Prince, Hongli, called his bodyguard, Feng Shu, and instructed, “Go to the Confucian Temple and pass a message to the Eighth Prince. Tell him to stay within his bounds and not to overstep by interfering with the Ministry of Personnel. Oh, and subtly mention Luo Wenzhong. Tell the Eighth Prince not to go too far, as Luo Wenzhong is still a minister of our Great Wei.”

Feng Shu frowned and hesitated, saying, “Your Highness, the Eighth Prince is not an easy person to deal with. He even dared to contradict the emperor... According to my knowledge, the emperor currently favors the Eighth Prince. It might not be worth it to offend him over such a small matter.”

“Do you mean I should give up on the person I have just won over in the Ministry of Personnel?”

“No, my lord. My point is that the Ministry of Personnel is corrupt, and there are many who are guilty of embezzlement. Even if the Eighth Prince investigates, it may not lead to your people. However, if you protect Luo Wenzhong... knowing that the Eighth Prince intends to deal with him, it might not be worth it for you to intervene.”

“What do you understand?” The Crown Prince, Hongli, said unhappily. “Luo Wenzhong is a Langzhong in the Selection Department. The Department Head of the Selection Department, Cai Huan, has always been distant from me. I suspect he favors the Second Prince, Hongyu. If I can win over Luo Wenzhong, I can have him keep an eye on Cai Huan. If Cai Huan is indeed loyal to the Second Prince, I can find a way to remove him and have Luo Wenzhong take his place. Then, the Selection and Evaluation Departments, the two most important departments in the Ministry of Personnel, will be firmly in my hands. As long as I control these two departments, I will not fear the Second Prince's attempts to win over other officials in the Ministry of Personnel. Do you understand?”

“But...”

Feng Shu wanted to say more but was interrupted by the Crown Prince, Hongli.

“I have made up my mind. There is no need to say more. Just pass my message to the Eighth Prince.”

“...Yes.”

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