novelraw Chapter 2079 - 2081: Home
Chapter 2079 - 2081: Home
"Alright, I’ll talk to Dad."
Following Yang Chuxia into the house, they ate a few pieces of pastry before heading to the study.
They stayed until dinner time before coming out.
"Mom, why isn’t Dad back yet?" The table was missing just Ye Zi’an.
"Your father sent word back that he went outside the city today. He might return very late, so we don’t have to wait for him."
Yang Chuxia then called Yang Qingrui and his brother, "You two sit down, we’ll eat first, no need to wait for your brother-in-law."
Upon hearing Yang Chuxia say this, the brothers Yang Qingrui also sat down.
After the meal, the siblings went to check on Yang Xiayun and then returned to their rooms.
The night passed without incident!
When Ye Zi’an returned, it was already noon the next day.
"Why did you go outside the city?" Yang Chuxia casually asked while handing him clothes.
"I went to investigate the matters concerning the recent Imperial Exam."
Yang Chuxia froze upon hearing this, pondering his trip outside the city and she felt a stirring in her heart, "Could the Grand Emperor be behind this incident again?"
That Grand Emperor is too persistent—it’s been a while since Baili Yan took the throne. The court officials have accepted him, things are progressing well, so why is he stirring trouble now?
"So far, the evidence doesn’t point to the Grand Emperor." Ye Zi’an shook his head, the imperial family indeed all have ambitions to seize the throne.
"Then who is it?"
"The Seventh Prince."
Baili Yan’s seventh brother, who previously, at Baili Yan’s ascension banquet, aided the Grand Emperor, was sent to the royal temple.
Originally, when Baili Yan ascended the throne, there was supposed to be a promotion of titles for the palace concubines and the younger princes of the Grand Emperor. However, due to the disobedience of the Seventh and Eighth Princes, Baili Yan didn’t grant them promotions, so they’re still merely princes up to now.
"Him? He can interfere with the Imperial Exam even from the royal temple?" Yang Chuxia was surprised, "Who assisted him?"
"One of the four proctors, Lord Shen, the supervisor of academics in the Capital City." Ye Zi’an thought for a moment and said, "But this isn’t solely his doing; there must be others involved."
He recalled that when interrogating the exam official with the surname Shen yesterday, the official admitted receiving a secret letter instructing him to be stricter during the proctoring, ideally checking on candidates every quarter or half-hour.
As for anything else, he fiercely denied, claiming that when he received the secret letter, he thought it was an imperial order from the Emperor, feeling quite pleased with himself, also considering that this being the Emperor’s first Imperial Exam selection since ascending, it was important to be thorough. Thus, stricter checking didn’t seem odd to him.
This Lord Shen, as the person overseeing academics in the Capital City, is also meticulous and retained the secret letter.
Upon comparison, the handwriting matched that of the Seventh Prince’s former companion.
During the investigation, it pointed to the Seventh Prince.
The Seventh Prince, bold and direct, upon Ye Zi’an’s visit, seized the chance to mock Ye Zi’an.
Only when Ye Zi’an presented the letter from his companion did the Seventh Prince relent in his denial; he merely regretted that the scheming Lord Shen didn’t destroy the letter as instructed but kept it.
However, the Seventh Prince only admitted to directing the secret letter, with a simple objective: he aimed to create panic among the examinees through frequent checks, causing poor results all around.
He simply wanted to annoy the Emperor, blaming the Emperor for overlooking brotherly sentiments. Everyone else got promoted, yet he and the Eighth remained mere princes not elevated at all.