Chapter 225: The Annihilation - Rebirth of the Noble Daughter

 Chapter 225: The Annihilation

If this matter were to come to light, it would likely mean the end of Minister Wen and the so-called Wen family officials.

The brother and sister were filled with resentment but had no way to act on it, so they could only endure.

They kept this deadly weapon hidden, waiting for the right time when they could act without fear of the officials. Only then would it be the best strategy to deliver the blow personally.

Who could act without fear of the officials?

Prince Ding, Xiao Tingyi, was one. Elder Xu was another. Bai Xiang was also a candidate.

Unfortunately, Wen Xinglu had no contact with these individuals, so he planned to wait for an opportunity, perhaps at a grand banquet hosted by the Princess, where he might 'accidentally' spread the news.

He was still contemplating this when a spy delivered the news to the Xu family in advance.

Xiao Tingyi's decision to monitor the Wen family was entirely accidental.

Since he had confirmed his special interest in Feng Jinyao, he had been paying close attention to her affairs. For some reason, he felt that she harbored an inexplicable hostility toward the Wen family.

This evening, however, she acted unusually friendly towards the young master of the Wen family. Unsure if it was jealousy or some other intention, he sent someone to monitor Wen Mengsheng.

By chance, the spy overheard this major secret and hurried back to the Prince Ding’s residence to report.

Listening to the report, Elder Xu, who had come to play chess with Xiao Tingyi, was so enraged that his eyes turned red.

Having come from a humble background, he understood the difficulties faced by these people. It often took an entire family’s resources, or even a village’s support, to participate in the imperial exams. To find out that Wen Jingsong, the corrupt minister, had extinguished the hopes of an entire family was infuriating!

“Wen Jingsong, you pretended to be courteous to everyone, never showing any factional loyalty, and I thought you were an upright official. Who would have guessed you were a wolf in sheep’s clothing, trampling on my humble scholars? No wonder there are fewer officials from humble backgrounds in the court these years. The reason is here!”

He paced back and forth, fuming, and if it weren’t for the strict security at the Prince Ding’s residence, the news might have spread from his angry outburst.

Xiao Tingyi had not expected such an accidental revelation of such a significant issue. Reflecting on Feng Jinyao's sudden change in attitude today, he wondered if she had known something in advance.

It must be said that Xiao Tingyi’s mind worked in ways others could not understand. Even such unrelated matters could be linked together by him.

Poor Feng Jinyao, who was still unaware of anything, happily having dinner with her family, had no idea that her carefully laid plans were about to be discovered by Xiao Tingyi.

Elder Xu, upon hearing this news, immediately prepared to take action.

“No, I must go to the palace and report to His Majesty. The Wen family must not be allowed to continue their corruption during this year’s imperial exams. If this continues, there will be no place for humble scholars in the Great Jin Dynasty. We might as well let the world be ruled by the powerful and wealthy!”

“Elder, be cautious with your words.”

Though spoken in Prince Ding’s residence where such seditious remarks wouldn’t leak, getting used to such speech might lead to careless comments outside. Such mistakes could result in disgrace or even calamity for his entire family. Thus, Xiao Tingyi had to caution him.

Elder Xu realized he had spoken out of turn, and his raging anger was somewhat dampened by the reminder.

He looked at Xiao Tingyi and asked, “What do you plan to do?”

“Do nothing.”

“What? Are you going to let the Wen family continue their chaos? Do you plan to fill the court with powerful families before you act?”

“Elder, the imperial exams have not yet begun, and the exam papers are not filled out. If you expose this now without evidence, how can we tell His Majesty it was from our spies? His Majesty’s suspicion might render the Prince Ding’s residence powerless.”

Elder Xu grumbled, understanding the validity of the point.

“Then am I to watch them continue to oppress humble scholars? Just a few days ago, the Liang family went to Jinling. I thought you had prepared a hellish path for them. What about the Wen family now?”

“We will address everything after the imperial exams. By then, with the evidence in hand, will the Elder still worry about not being able to convict the Wen family?”

Elder Xu felt reassured after hearing this.

“The urgent matter now is to investigate how many people have entered the court relying on such connections. We need to expose them all. Those who should be punished will be punished, and those who need to be replaced will be replaced. We should leave this to His Majesty to decide.”

Elder Xu nodded. “I will go back and investigate which officials entered the service each year and see how many are undeserving.”

His enthusiasm for chess was gone, and he stormed out.

In his eyes, the Wen family was now even more detestable than the Liang family. The Liang family had ruined his granddaughter’s marriage—this was a personal grievance, but the Wen family’s swapping of exam papers had caused countless humble scholars to fail. This was a matter of national importance!

If he had to choose between the two families to destroy, the Wen family would be the first to face the sword!

After Elder Xu left, Xiao Tingyi said to his aide Yang Zhao, “Inform Su Cheng and Feng Jinlin about this matter. Also, keep a close watch on the Wen family and the scholar who entered the Feng residence.”

“Yes.”

Yang Zhao felt that the Prince’s actions were personal revenge against a rival, but Xiao Tingyi felt that the matter was related to both the scholar (Yin Canwen) and Feng Jinyao.

Ah Yao, your secrets are more numerous than even this Prince’s.

His interest and obsession with her grew deeper.

Meanwhile, the Feng family members being monitored were still unaware, watching Yunli recite ancient poems.

He recited 'Mín Nóng' smoothly and emotionally, completely different from his performance a few months ago under the care of Concubine Lin.

Now, under the guidance of the Wen family, he was much more polite and well-behaved, even recognizing a hundred characters.

“Spring sows a grain of millet; autumn harvests a thousand seeds. No idle fields across the four seas, yet farmers still starve.” At this point, his little face twitched as he spoke to everyone.

“Yunli will never waste a single grain of food in the future, ensuring that the rice grown by the farmers is not wasted.”

Hearing this, Feng Hai and Feng Jinxu exchanged glances. A four-year-old child understood such principles, while the aging officials in the court seemed ignorant.

Perhaps they knew but had forgotten their original intentions for power and wealth, falling into corruption as well.

It’s fine. Since the court is unclear, let them clean it up. Since the people are suffering, let them manage it. There should be hope for the court and the common people. It’s not right for them to live in misery and be oppressed without any end in sight.

What they needed to do was restore order and bring clarity to the world for the common people.