HLnovel Chapter 240 A Female-Dominated World (12)
Chapter 240 A Female-Dominated World (12)
When they arrived at the third hideout, a man stood out, and Wen Shangshu's expression changed when he saw him.
"Minister Wen, I'm going to check on other places. You handle things here!" Wangyou said and quickly made her escape.
Following the underground passage, Wangyou sneaked up to look at every place she could, and unsurprisingly ended up in the homes of some ministers. These ancient wealthy families were really all the same; they liked to put things in their studies when they did bad things, and the underground passage was no exception. Wangyou even dug out an account book.
The document contains detailed information about the people who have been sold over the years, where they were sent, and information about bribery.
After wandering around for a while, Wangyou figured that Wen Shangshu's matter should be almost settled, so she took the account book and went to find him.
"Hey, Wenrou, Liu Xiang, what are you two doing here?"
The two of them simultaneously shrugged at Wangyou and silently pointed inside. Wangyou looked curiously and saw a man silently shedding tears.
“Wangyou, this is the Ninth Prince, the youngest son of the Empress. He is notoriously spoiled and difficult to deal with,” Wenrou whispered in Wangyou’s ear.
"I want her to carry me out!" Wangyou had barely peeked out when the Ninth Prince pointed at her arrogantly and said this.
"Wangyou, what do you think..." Minister Wen was also in a dilemma. As the legitimate son of the Ninth Prince, and the most beloved youngest son of the Empress and Queen, she didn't know what to do. She had said everything she could, but the Ninth Prince wouldn't leave and just kept crying. When he saw Wangyou, his eyes almost lit up.
"I don't care, go if you want." Wangyou glanced coldly at the Ninth Prince, then slapped the account book in her hand into Minister Wen's arms. "This is the account book I just found. It involves quite a few people. Minister, you can decide for yourself after you've read it. I've been working on this all night and I'm tired, so I'll head back now."
After Wangyou finished speaking, she didn't even look at the Ninth Prince before jumping out of the secret passage without turning her head. After telling Xie Sanniang, Wangyou went straight home.
When Minister Wen saw the account book, he couldn't sit still. After instructing Wen Rou and Liu Xiang to bring the Ninth Prince out, he climbed up and began to study the account book.
Upon seeing the names on the ledger, Minister Wen broke out in a cold sweat. If this list were submitted, the court would have to undergo a major purge, with at least half of the officials falling from grace. Moreover, it also involved the Second Princess and the Empress. This was a serious matter.
After reading all this, Minister Wen dared not go home. He immediately mounted his horse and headed for the capital. The Empress had just gotten up when she received a message from a eunuch that Minister Wen was secretly requesting an audience.
The Empress wondered why she couldn't discuss this matter in the morning court session. Despite her doubts, she still met with Minister Wen first.
"My dear minister, what urgent matter brings you to see me so early in the morning?"
“Your Majesty, last night, Scholar Xie Wangyou and my daughter Wenrou found the abducted child, including the Ninth Prince. This is the account book that Xie Wangyou found, which details the officials involved and the amounts involved. This is a matter of great importance, and I have no choice but to come to the palace immediately to report to Your Majesty.”
"Bring it here!" Upon hearing that the Ninth Prince had been abducted, the Empress's face turned ashen. Her son had been kidnapped, and she hadn't even known.
The Empress looked at the account book presented by the eunuch, and her face darkened with anger. If all the people on the list were punished, the entire court would be thrown into turmoil, but if they were not punished, it would be difficult to win over the people.
"Who else besides you has seen this ledger?"
"Xie Wangyou found the ledger; she probably saw it, and she has a photographic memory," Minister Wen subtly reminded him.
"How dare you!" The Empress angrily knocked the memorial in her hand to the ground, and Minister Wen hurriedly knelt down to beg for forgiveness.
After an unknown amount of time, the Empress calmed her anger and said, "Let's begin court!"
The Empress had clearly made her decision. She picked up the account book and left, with Minister Wen hurriedly following behind. At the same time, the Empress's shadow guards also sprang into action.
After returning home, Wangyou naturally didn't go to sleep immediately. Instead, she made several copies of the ledger, ensuring that they were indistinguishable from the originals in terms of quality.
Afterwards, Wangyou rested. If everything was calm when she woke up, then she shouldn't be blamed for causing trouble. For this reason, Wangyou also transferred a lot of people over.
However, this Empress was clearly to Wangyou's liking, because although there was no news from the common people, according to reliable sources, none of the ministers who went to court that morning had come out yet, and many ministers' homes and the princess's residence had been taken over by the Phoenix Feather Guard.
The Empress in the palace was furious. All the ministers knelt on the ground, and the Empress and several concubines in the harem were placed under house arrest. The atmosphere in the court was so tense that ink could drip.
As the messages from the shadow guards continued to arrive, the Empress's face grew increasingly dark. What good ministers and princesses she had! They were all hoping for her early death. She was in the prime of her life, and these ministers were already taking sides.
However, the Empress also knew that it would be of no benefit to the country to leave these people unpunished. Mercy towards the wicked would be irresponsible to the country. So the Empress summoned several close officials into the inner palace and began to prepare replacement officials.
Because the imperial court needed a major reshuffle, the imperial examinations were moved up.
Two weeks later, those who should be imprisoned were imprisoned, those who should be exiled were exiled, and those whose crimes were heinous and too numerous to count were executed.
The imperial examinations began in early spring, when the smell of blood had not yet dissipated.
"Mother, I know what I want to do. I want to be a good official." Looking at the disgust on the faces of the people for the corrupt official and their tears when the truth came out, Wangyou was suddenly moved.
"Mother believes my daughter will definitely be a good official," Xie Sanniang said, expressing her support.
The spring imperial examinations last for nine days, but the number of questions is twice that of the autumn examinations. It seems His Majesty is also anxious.
The temperature in this small cubicle is too low. It's fine for those who are carefree and practicing martial arts, but those really weak scholars might fall seriously ill after the exam.
However, the imperial examinations tested not only academic qualifications, but also endurance and physical strength. You can see people being carried out every day.
After the spring imperial examinations ended, the examiners worked overtime to grade the papers, and Wangyou naturally became the top scholar without any surprise.
Some examiners, seeing that Wangyou was young, wanted to lower her ranking, but after reviewing Wangyou's exam paper again, they decided to accept her.
When the results came out, some were happy and some were sad, but the students who made the list began another round of intense competition, because the final examination was in seven days.
"Wangyou, I see everyone else is reading, how come you're still fishing?" Wenrou and Liu Xiang came to bring Wangyou food, thinking that she was also studying hard, but they didn't expect her to be leisurely fishing.
"What delicious food did you bring me?" Wangyou asked with a smile, putting down her fishing rod.
"Aren't you worried at all?" Liu Xiang asked helplessly.
"Don't worry, I've already figured out my path. After the palace examination, I'll apply to take up a post in the southwest region."
"You don't have a fever, do you?" Wenrou reached out and touched Wangyou's forehead.
"No."
"Do you know how harsh the environment is in the southwest? People run away from it like the plague, and you still want to go? Don't you know it's a paradise for poisonous insects and snakes?"
"I know, and that's why I'm going." Wangyou's eyes were full of determination.