Chapter 318: Red and Black

In the following few days, the provincial exam’s third round also smoothly ended. The people that walked out of the exam site, a great majority, all felt it was very easy. In reality, it was merely because of the easiest getting placed at the end. The exam questions that a bunch of old officials of the imperial court came up with should have been much harder, but with the difficult ones placed in front, in comparison, the end naturally was just simpler.

Because there were already people that came out during the first round, that’s why, the people outside all knew that the exam sequence had undergone adjustment. Since no one would have expected, there will inevitably be influences. For the people taking the exam for the first time, it was still a little better, but for the people that took the order for granted, the higher the number of times they’ve participated in the exam, the greater the influence towards them will be.

The people waiting won’t necessarily be able to be more relaxed than the people participating in the exam.

Without a doubt, there were those grinning from ear to ear and also those loudly bawling, and naturally there was also no lack of those with a calm expression. However, regardless of what, being in the exam site for that long, more than ninety-nine percent all showed both mental and physical fatigue, needing to properly rest up to get back into shape.

Setting these people aside for now, the rear of the Gong Courtyard has already busily started grading the exam papers. Every exam paper will go through at least three people’s hands. With the living Enma overseeing, no one dared to be careless in the slightest.

The time limit was just three days before they have to publish a list of successful exam candidates. This similarly was a great undertaking.

Li Hong Yuan flung his hands and left, turning to head to the Chuanzhou Fu treasury. Seeing the inside of the treasury piled with a good amount of silver and gold, Li Hong Yuan randomly picked up a few silver ingots and gold bricks for a look before causally tossing back. He didn’t control his strength, and the pyramid stack of silver ingots collapsed, scattering onto the ground, “Have all the gold and silver loaded into chests and moved onto the boat, transporting back to the capital.”

In Chongzhou Fu, because it still wasn’t time for the tax money to enter the state treasury, rather, didn’t think of directly having it sent back to the capital, thus came up with a relatively childish move, but now, having set a precedence, without even needing to think, just directly send back to the capital. As such, who else would still dare to have ideas.

As for the origins of these gold and silver, Li Hong Yuan didn’t want to know in the slightest. In any case, it was a hundred percent certain that it wasn’t originally from the treasury.

Li Hong Yuan had stayed in Chongzhou Fu for that long. If these still haven’t been prepared by now, then can only say, it was they themselves that had their necks stretched under the butcher’s knife. To be given an opportunity yet not want it, then can only say that the brain had holes, with water entering it. Fortunately, before one’s life and money, these people still took their chances, just don’t know how much they each fished out from their own pockets.

The officials of Chuanzhou Fu learned of Li Hong Yuan’s decision, seemingly long within expectations, all silent without a word. As for what they thought on the inside, that was just unknown.

After inspecting the treasury, next was naturally just the account books. If you thought it’s going to be the same as in Chongzhou Fu, then you’ll be gravely mistaken. The good play has merely just started.

Of course, there were still similar areas, such as the various officials gathering together, each making a bed on the floor in the courtyard on their own. Aside from this, the meals, they also needed to take care of on their own. Don’t assume that letting one’s own family deliver the meals over, one can just eat very comfortably. The premise of being comfortable was not getting nitpicked by Jin Qinwang. In front of this person a line of ‘this meal even has two more dishes than this prince’, or in front of that person a line of ‘so and so, you’re even quite enjoying yourself’, otherwise it was just ‘wangfei advocates frugality’, making the various officials’ meals less and less meal after meal, and more pitiful by the meal. However, after two days, for each and every one, it was just a tiny bit better than eating pickled vegetables and gnawing on steamed bun. The people back at home tried every means possible to ‘make little moves’ on that bit of food. When tasting a certain familiar flavor, the ones that in the past would usually just take one bite and never take a second bite, at this time, practically streamed with tears, inwardly vowing, in the future, no matter what, still need to cherish a little.

Their little movements, how can it possibly escape from the eyes of the black clad guards, as well as Li Hong Yuan’s bodyguards, especially the ‘secret communications’. However, all acted according to Jin Qinwang’s command, watching indifferently from the side, pretending to not see. Speaking of which, if they don’t do a bit of something, then how can one catch even more things to use against them? Sometimes, doing more just signifies making more mistakes. Right now, it clearly just belonged to this kind of situation, especially playing little tricks under the living Enma’s eyelid, purely just disdaining that one wasn’t dying fast enough.

The most direct outcome was just Jin Wangfei becoming more and more greedy, and more and more corrupt. Clearly they’d sent gifts again and again, yet they were still unable to see their own family’s master returning home.

Speaking of which, although it was guessing that Jin Wangfei was avaricious, but this many things, they also didn’t really hide, so the possibility of Jin Qinwang not knowing approached zero, right? Such unbridled greed, could it be that there was also Jin Qinwang’s tacit approval, or even incitement? That’s why, for every day they don’t know the exact answer, this imagination just won’t stop.

What these people were thinking, Jing Wan didn’t care. Right now, she was devoting her energy towards squeezing dry those officials, especially that portion of family wealth of theirs that didn’t belong to them. Li Hong Yuan naturally incomparably approved, but still persistently insist that his wife was too soft. Based on those officials’ degree of extravagance, that bit of official salary of theirs wasn’t even enough to feed the family. That’s why, the so called ‘that bit that belonged to them’ was actually long gone. If you ask him, squeezing them dry until they are completely broke, passing their days by tightening their waistband, that was all going easy on them.

Jiangnan was a wealthy place, and relatively speaking, the commodity prices were actually even higher than the capital’s. Just a single grand residence can easily reach over several million taels of silver, and in the capital, residences where the price can reach over a million taels really weren’t many. For a Jiangnan official, unless it’s not participating in social gatherings, not raising servants, just the whole family simply living in a small courtyard, then that bit of official salary can probably sustain them, but was that possible? No matter the place, all emphasized on having connection, emphasized on relations. To want to completely stand alone outside of the circle, that was impossible. In the capital, having the highest ruler as backing, you perhaps can still be a lone official, but in local regions, this was practically just a pipe dream.

For ordinary situations, it was just the family opening a few stores, buying some farmland, and managing some estates. Otherwise, it was just the family having someone proficient in gold and precious stones. Of course, it wasn’t just limited to these channels. For the unordinary means, naturally it was just gray income, and under normal circumstances, this was actually of the utmost importance.

Jing Wan figured, just cutting off this portion was enough. There was no need to make it where they are unable to continue living.

“What about those commoners that got milked dry? There’s one thing I seemingly forgot to tell Wan Wan. Previously, Li Su Yan had inadvertently learned about an incident. Three years ago, Minshan County had an earthquake. The twenty thousand surviving commoners were reported as fifty thousand to the imperial court. The money issued by the imperial court to settle down these fifty thousand people all got privately swallowed. Do you know what happened to those twenty thousand people?”

Jing Wan’s expression wasn’t too good, “Destitute and homeless? Passing one’s days in deprivation?”

Li Hong Yuan stroked Jing Wan’s face, “Speaking from this bit, Wan Wan sure enough is still a delicate and pampered young lady raised in the boudoir, a bit too naive. Those people, got pushed into the dead people pile and burned to death altogether.” Seeing Jing Wan’s face instantly turn somewhat deathly pale, he just knew, this matter, for her, was somewhat cruel. However, the cold smile on his face didn’t disappear, “Minshan County is precisely within the borders of Chuanzhou Fu. Wan Wan, say, this matter, at the top, Shannan Prefecture’s Governor-General, Inspector General, and the like, in the middle, Chuanzhou Fu’s magistrate and such, and at the bottom, Minshan County’s county magistrate, which one didn’t extend their hands, which one is innocent? Even if not wanting to participate, one would still be forced to participate, else one will just be the same as those people, becoming a pile of ashes.”

Jing Wan looked to him. She had to admit, this man really wasn’t a good person. Towards the people or matters that he doesn’t care about, he can be cold-blooded and cold-hearted, very calmly saying the cruelest words, even not minding to have others dragged into that cruel reality, “Why tell me?”

Love, under normal circumstances, wasn’t it wanting for her to maintain the most beautiful impression towards the outside world and outside affairs as much as possible?

“Of course it’s wanting for Wan Wan to completely and fully know and understand me as a person. Wan Wan naturally should stay together with the real me. A false reality isn’t what I seek.”

“Those near cinnabar are stained red, those near ink are stained black.” Jing Wan softly spoke as if muttering to herself.

“Whether Wan Wan is red or black, what does it have to do with anything? However, to be able to let you be stained with a bit of ink is already not bad. To want to have you completely dyed black like this prince truly won’t be easy.” In his past life, the hardships and misery Wan Wan experienced, was it few? But till her death, she was never once cynical nor bitter, continuously maintaining her original heart.

Jing Wan didn’t express an opinion and just smiled. However, it was obvious, her wielding the blade to slaughter, will inevitably become even more ruthless.

It’s no wonder Li Hong Yuan would be so ruthless towards Chuanzhou Fu. With the Minshan County incident sitting there, the people getting dragged down in Chuanzhou Fu will ultimately be the most.

Meanwhile, Min Yu Han returned to the Min clan main residence, stopping over for just one night before heading to the Pei clan main residence.

An old man that appeared kind and friendly, yet also scholarly and wise. A beautiful and gentle young girl that was graceful in temperament and composed in bearing.

One old, one young, exceptionally harmonious.

However, Min Yu Han endlessly hated, practically certain that this old thing was precisely cultivating his great granddaughter according to the same manner as cultivating a daughter.