EMHTC -Chapter 135 Princess Xiangyang – Instead of Reflecting on Yourself, Question Others!

A few days later, the verdict on Liang Youwu’s imperial examination fraud case was announced.

“Chief examiner Xu Yanmiao and deputy examiner Li Qian—due to negligence in supervision—are fined six months’ salary.”

“All other examiners are fined one year’s salary.”

“Curtain official Wu Songnian, for accepting bribes and engaging in favoritism, is stripped of his position as the Minister of the Imperial Academy! He is to be executed after the autumn. His parents, siblings, wife, and children are all exiled to Shangyang Fort in Liaoning!”

“Examinee Liang Youwu, for bribing officials, is stripped of his imperial examination qualifications and sentenced to execution after the autumn! His father, Liang Rui, is fined a year’s salary for failing to discipline his son. His brother, Liang Youwen, who took the same examination, is suspected of involvement in the fraud. He must retake the exam to prove his innocence.”

—As for the threats against officials and the ledger in question, those matters would be handled separately and kept from the public eye.

Upon receiving the verdict, Liang Rui knelt and bowed deeply toward the imperial palace, tears brimming in his eyes.

“The Emperor’s grace is boundless! Rui—”

“Thanks to His Majesty’s great mercy!”

Liang Youwen also bowed, but then, anxious and distressed, he asked, “Father! How could my younger brother cheat? He has always been so proud! Could this be a wrongful conviction?”

“It is not,” Liang Rui replied, the corners of his mouth pulling into a stiff, sorrowful expression. “How could it be… a wrongful conviction?”

After all, Baize himself testified. The Jinyiwei (Embroidered Uniform Guard) witnessed it firsthand. That ledger still lay open on the Emperor’s desk.

Liang Youwen nearly fainted on the spot. He pinched his own arm to steady himself and barely managed to stay upright. “Father, then… then what will happen to my brother? Does he really have to be… executed after the autumn?”

At that moment, he could no longer care about his own examination retake.

Then, he saw his father silently walking toward the door.

Liang Youwen called out, “Father! Are you going to visit my brother in prison?”

Liang Rui nodded silently.

“Wait for me! I’ll braise some pig liver for him! The prison food is awful, and my brother loves pig liver!”

When they saw Liang Youwu again, he was lying on the straw-covered ground of his cell, lost in thought. Only when he noticed his father and brother’s arrival did he struggle to sit up, using his upper body strength to drag himself forward.

“Father, Brother, you’re here.”

Liang Youwen rushed to the cell bars, nervous. “Your leg?”

“It’s fine. When the Jinyiwei arrested me, I strained my ankle. It should heal in a few days. But even if it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to die soon anyway—”

Liang Youwu looked at Liang Rui and grinned. “Father, you must be so disappointed in me, right?”

Liang Rui gazed at him calmly. “Yes.”

Liang Youwu froze, his expression stunned.

Liang Rui continued, “Since you didn’t want to hear the truth, why did you do it? Since you didn’t want to know the consequences, why did you ask?”

His words were as sharp as ever. But for the first time, Liang Youwu was experiencing that sharpness head-on, leaving him speechless.

Then his father’s voice suddenly turned harsh. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Do you realize that because of your selfishness, innocent examiners have been punished?”

“Do you know that your brother is now forced to retake the exam just to prove he didn’t cheat? The imperial examination is a matter of timing and fate—even if I took it again, I wouldn’t be guaranteed a passing grade, let alone your brother, who has already failed once before!”

“Do you even understand—”

Do you understand that the evidence in that ledger, those missing grains from the warehouse, carry the bitter sweat of farmers? That they are soaked in the cracked lips of starving people, in the white skin torn off by desperate teeth?

Do you understand that corrupt officials steal from the blood and sweat of the people?

Do you understand—

That by doing this, you have doomed yourself to death?

Liang Rui stared at his son’s face, searching for any hint of remorse.

—But there was none.

He knew everything.

“…Sigh.” Liang Rui closed his eyes, suppressing his tears, and whispered, “Come here.”

Liang Youwu hesitated, then slowly shuffled to the front of the cell. “…Father.”

Liang Rui crouched down, took a small bowl of braised pig liver from the food basket, and pulled out a pair of chopsticks. “I’ll feed you.”

Piece by piece, he fed Liang Youwu. His son ate with focus, even seeming a little happy.

“Eat…” Liang Rui’s eyes reddened. “Eat well. Once you’re done…”

Once you’re done—execution after the autumn.

The words hovered on his lips.

Just then, an all-too-familiar voice, completely out of place in the prison, suddenly rang out:

【What luck, just wandering around and I stumble upon this drama. Feels like a live execution preview.】

【Sigh…】

【Old Liang is so pitiful—white-haired parents sending off a black-haired child.】

Liang Rui, though crouched steadily like a mountain, suddenly wavered.

—Liang Youwu almost got stabbed in the throat with chopsticks.

For a moment, he thought his father was going to kill him in the name of justice—better to end it now than to spend months in fear, only to face execution after autumn.

But Liang Rui wasn’t even paying attention to his son anymore.

His mind flashed back to the whispered rumors among his colleagues about the Baize Survival Guide, Yisi Edition—which now seemed to be evolving into a Bingwu Edition.

“If Xiao Baize appears near you, especially in places where he shouldn’t be, you need to be on guard. There’s a high chance he’s about to reveal something you’d rather not know—and definitely wouldn’t want others to hear!”

Liang Rui: “……”

Would Xu Yanmiao regularly visit the prison for fun?

…What if he did? What if he just had peculiar hobbies?

【Too bad he doesn’t know that his second son has always believed he favored the eldest, and has held a deep grudge against his brother for years.】

Liang Rui’s gaze froze.

His hand, which had been picking up a piece of pig liver, paused midair.

Liang Youwu felt his father’s stare but remained outwardly calm. Inside, though, he was on high alert, trying to figure out what had gone wrong.

—But no matter how sharp he was, he could never imagine that something like a gossip system existed in this world. Nor could he fathom the possibility of someone hearing his inner thoughts.

And Liang Rui was still listening intently.

【Sigh…】

【If Lord Liang had realized this sooner, maybe they could have talked it out. But now… what a shame.】

Liang Rui glanced at his second son. Even after hearing Baize’s words, he still held onto a shred of hope. He handed the bowl and chopsticks to Liang Youwen. “You feed your brother.”

Liang Youwen quickly took them and picked up a piece of pig liver, feeding it to Liang Youwu.

“Thanks, Brother,” Liang Youwu said with a smile, accepting the food naturally. On the surface, it looked like a harmonious scene of brotherly love. But as Liang Rui watched, he couldn’t shake a strange feeling. Maybe he was just overthinking it…

Then Xu Yanmiao’s voice chimed in again:

【No wonder Little Liang is so dark-skinned. Turns out he’s been running all over the place with Old Liang since he was five.】

【When Old Liang went to the capital for the provincial exam, he took Little Liang with him. After passing the palace examination, he served three years as a junior compiler in the Hanlin Academy—and Little Liang stayed in the capital with him for all three years. Then, when Old Liang was assigned as magistrate of Tianmen County, Little Liang, at age seven, had to go along.】

【Seven years in Tianmen County, then a transfer to Wen’an County.】

【Seven years in Wen’an County, then back to the Imperial Academy as a registrar.】

【A year after becoming a registrar, his wife passed away, so he returned home to observe three years of mourning. After that, he was reassigned as magistrate of Qingpu County.】

【Basically, he always had his eldest son by his side.】

【And the younger son?】

【Oh! The younger son was born the year before the move to Tianmen County. He was naturally intelligent, so at age seven, Lord Liang arranged for a great scholar to tutor him and sent him to study in Heyang! Then he took his eldest son with him to Wen’an County for his new post.】

【Since the younger son wasn’t constantly traveling under the sun, that’s why he’s so fair-skinned!】

Liang Rui remained crouched on the ground, watching as his eldest son carefully fed the braised pig liver to his younger brother through the gaps in the wooden bars.

In his ears, Xu Yanmiao’s voice continued recounting the past of his own family.

He had always felt guilty toward his wife and children.

His eldest son had no choice but to follow him from place to place, never settling down for long before having to move again. His youngest son was sent to Heyang for school at just seven years old, with his wife accompanying him. She was cared for by her family, but their time together as a family was scarce.

【Oh ho! So that’s why Liang Youwu thinks his father favors his brother—because he always took his brother with him but never him.】

Liang Rui’s eyes widened in shock.

Beside him, Xu Yanmiao’s puzzled voice continued.

【Wait a minute. Then why doesn’t he think his mother favored him? Doesn’t this balance things out—one child for each parent?】

【Oh, oh! Liang Xiao’er sees his mother taking care of him and his father favoring his brother as two completely separate matters. He believes his jealousy toward his brother is justified. And if his brother wanted to, he could be jealous of him too.】

【But what about the policy? He should also know that back then, the late emperor’s policy encouraged county magistrates to bring their families along to help them empathize with the people. Later, the rule changed—officials bringing their families were seen as prioritizing personal matters over official duties, so they were only allowed to bring one family member.】

【Only one person could come. Old Liang had no choice! He couldn’t exactly bring a seven-year-old child with him.】

【Ah… So that’s how he sees it. If he hadn’t made a habit of talking to his grandfather’s grave, I probably wouldn’t have figured it out either.】

【Wait… But what’s the point of me knowing? It’s not like I can run off and tell Old Liang!】

【What am I supposed to do? Say, “Oh, I just happen to hang around your father-in-law’s grave all the time and overheard this”?】

【That wouldn’t work either—Liang Rui’s father-in-law is buried in his hometown.】

Liang Rui was so frustrated he nearly lost his mind: You could just say it came to you in a dream!!!

Now he understood why his colleagues always said, As long as Xu Lang is willing to speak, no matter how absurd the reason, people will believe it.

At this moment, he was willing to believe it too!

Not only was he willing to believe, but he was even prepared to find a reasonable excuse for it—but you have to say something first! Just tell me what my son is thinking!

Xu Yanmiao had no habit of immediately repeating things he had just learned. Instead, he kept mumbling to himself:

【So, because he always suspected Old Liang of favoring his brother, he’s determined to crush him in this year’s imperial exam? To make Old Liang witness firsthand that his favoritism was a mistake???】

【And, just in case his father secretly gives his brother special treatment, he decided to cheat?】

【And since he’s already cheating, he absolutely has to take first place?】

【Liang Xiao’er, you’re overthinking this. If you cheat and win first place without getting caught, Old Liang will just be more convinced that he was absolutely right to favor your brother.】

【If you really want to make him regret it, you should just give up and become a total slacker! That way, Old Liang might actually be devastated and realize his mistake!】

【Hmm… Reborn: I Just Want to Be a Slacker?】

Liang Rui’s pupils trembled.

【Or maybe After I Gave Up, My Father Regretted It Deeply?】

What a vicious thought! What a terrifying curse!

Liang Rui clutched his chest. His heartbeat sped up, and even his breathing became unbearably heavy.

His two sons immediately noticed his distress and grew anxious.

“Father!”

“Father, are you alright?”

Liang Rui took a few deep breaths before asking, “Suo’er, do you know what kind of place Wen’an County is?”

Suddenly hearing his childhood name, Liang Youwu was momentarily stunned. Without thinking too much, he answered the question, “Yes, I know. Wen’an County is in a low-lying area, surrounded by water on three sides, and with poorly maintained embankments. Every autumn, the Hutuo, Zhuozhang, and Yongding Rivers surge, flooding the farmlands and making cultivation impossible.”

Then, a slight smile appeared on his face. “But later, Father, when you became the magistrate of Wen’an County, you expanded the waterways and reinforced the embankments. Thanks to you, that marshland has gone twelve years without a flood.”

However, Liang Rui’s expression grew stern. “So, do you think it would have been good for you if I had taken you, a seven-year-old, with me to Wen’an County?”

Liang Youwu immediately realized what he was getting at. Under Liang Youwen’s puzzled gaze, he reacted as if triggered, his voice rising in agitation, “Then you could have just taken no one! Why did you—”

Liang Rui suddenly cut him off, both shocked and pained. “You were intelligent from a young age, so I sought out a great scholar to teach you. Your brother wasn’t academically inclined, so I kept him by my side, hoping he could learn practical matters and find another path in life. I wanted both of you to have good futures. If only one of you lived well while the other wasted away, I might as well have never had the other one!”

Liang Youwu’s eyes turned red. “So what if there were floods and marshlands?! You never even asked if I was afraid!”

Liang Rui said sharply, “You were only seven years old back then!”

Liang Youwu was agitated beyond reason. “So what if I was seven?! When my brother was five, after your imperial examination, didn’t you bring him and Mother to the capital? When he was seven, he got to follow you to Tianmen County—why couldn’t I follow you to Wen’an County when I was seven?!”

In that instant, Liang Rui realized—this was exactly what Xu Yanmiao had overheard when his youngest son talked to his grandfather’s grave.

Xu Yanmiao sensed that this was a private argument between father and son, and it was no longer appropriate for him to keep watching.

He had only come here to see what kind of fearless man would dare to blackmail an examiner with account books. And maybe, to take a break and clear his mind—

【My entire six months’ salary, QAQ…】

【I still have a chef to support at home!!!】

【And my cat!!!】

He hadn’t expected to stumble upon Liang Rui visiting the prison.

“Sigh… huh?!”

Xu Yanmiao lowered his head—several chunks of ice had been thrown near his feet.

Before he could even look up to see who was responsible, another piece of ice came flying at him, landing slightly closer than the previous ones.

【Ha! So this is how we’re playing it? I get it now! Gao Xiang!】

—Though the man’s actual name was Gao Shengxian, Xu Yanmiao had long been used to calling him Gao Xiang.

Another chunk of ice was thrown his way.

Xu Yanmiao still wasn’t fully engaged, but he lowered his head and followed the ice trail, turning a corner—only to be nearly deafened by an urgent, desperate wail—

“Xu Shentong! Save me!!!”

Xu Yanmiao froze for a moment. “What happened?”

Then, he saw Princess Xiangyang’s puffed-up, angry face. “Now that the palace examination is over, my father wants to start matchmaking for me! I finally got out of my last marriage—I don’t want to get married again so soon.”

Xu Yanmiao thought for a moment, trying to come up with an idea for his friend. “So, do you want to ruin your own reputation to make the matter go away?”

“How could I?!”

Princess Xiangyang declared righteously, “What could possibly be wrong with me? If there’s a problem, it’s definitely with them!”

She continued, “Besides, I am my father’s daughter. Just how badly would I have to ruin my reputation before they’d dare to reject me?”

“So, what’s your plan?”

“You live outside the palace, so it’s easier for you to gather information! My father wants to choose my consort from among the new jinshi, right?”

Her expression suddenly turned mischievous, as if she was eager to stir up trouble. “Xu Yaohai! Xu Shentong! Xu Lang! Can you help me dig up some dirt on these families so my father will drop the idea?”

Then, she took out a list, coughed lightly, and hinted, “These are the candidates my father has picked for me…”