Chapter 343: Gong Xi Prince Deposed
The imperial court was in an uproar.
Cases of imperial examination fraud had occurred in every dynasty throughout history, with the last instance dating back about forty or fifty years ago, where all those involved were executed.
Because the entanglement was so extensive back then—everyone implicated in the case was either executed with their entire families or exiled—the day saw rivers of blood, casting a shadow over many. Hence, for so many years, no one had dared to meddle with the imperial examinations again.
The entire court was somewhat shocked.
Chu Mo knelt on the ground, his head bowed low.
Initially, he truly hadn’t dared to interfere with the imperial examinations, knowing that if discovered, his life would be ruined.
But the temptation was simply too great.
At first, all he needed to do was make some arrangements to change a candidate’s seat number, and he would effortlessly receive three thousand taels of silver.
Then, some people wanted him to leak exam questions. After painstakingly paving the way, he managed to do so, earning ten thousand taels per question.
Finally, he thought, why not use the imperial examinations to plant his own people in the court…
Step by step, it all went remarkably smoothly.
As the political situation in the court grew increasingly tense, he gradually began to withdraw. For instance, he did not participate in this year’s metropolitan examination.
All those who had known about his past actions were killed by him, disposed of cleanly.
As long as there were no witnesses, as long as he stubbornly refused to confess, his father, the Emperor, would not truly punish him.
“Your son is truly wronged!” Chu Mo prostrated on the ground. “Your son would never dare to covet the Crown Prince’s position. This is a deliberate frame-up, meant to sow discord between father and son, between brothers… I beg Your Majesty to see the truth!”
“Your Majesty, the evidence is all here!”
The Gongsun family presented a thick stack of letters. Gao Gonggong hurriedly took them and presented them to the Emperor.
The Emperor opened the letters. The first one contained imperial examination questions, signed by Ke Zhong.
The Emperor remembered this Ke Zhong—a third-grade scholar in the Hanlin Academy, involved in compiling examination questions over the years.
He coldly demanded, “Where is Ke Zhong now?”
The Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy and the Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, Minister Li, stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, Ke Zhong died half a year ago. He drank too much, fell into a river on his way home late at night, and drowned.”
The Emperor’s expression darkened. He picked up another letter, glanced directly at the signature, and coldly asked, “Where is Bi Checun?”
The Minister of Works stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, Minister Bi caught a severe cold half a year ago, took the wrong medicine, and died…”
The Emperor picked up several more letters.
Without exception, every person mentioned in these letters had died.
“Your Majesty, please see the truth!” Chu Mo raised his head. “All these people died around the same time, clearly not by accident but by someone’s deliberate design! If your son had truly been involved in examination fraud, why wouldn’t I have silenced them immediately after the incident? Why wait until half a year ago? This makes no logical sense! It is evident that someone killed these officials, fabricated these letters, and framed your son. Their intentions are utterly malicious!”
The Gongsun family widened their eyes in disbelief. “Your Majesty, these letters are absolutely genuine! If you doubt it, you can have someone compare the handwriting!”
Chu Mo’s maternal uncle, Minister Gui, sneered, “Since you are intent on framing him, you naturally hired skilled calligraphers to forge these letters. How could an ordinary person detect it?”
The Crown Prince glared angrily. “What do you mean by ‘you are intent on framing’? Are you implying, Minister Gui, that I deliberately set out to frame my second brother?”Chu Mo shook his head. "I do not know when I have offended the Crown Prince, that he would go so far as to kill so many court officials to frame me. If my existence poses a threat to the Crown Prince, then I am willing to voluntarily request to leave for my fiefdom. If that still cannot dispel the Eastern Palace's suspicions, then I beg Father to revoke my princely title. Will the Crown Prince be satisfied with this?"
The Crown Prince pointed at him. "Chu Mo, you—you're speaking nonsense!"
Chu Yi shook his head.
The Crown Prince was still too simple-minded. Provoked by Chu Mo's few words, he had allowed his anger to shift everyone's attention from the imperial examination matter to the conflict between brothers.
Stepping forward with a cupped-hand salute, Chu Yi said, "Father, I have something to report."
The Emperor waved his hand. "Granted!"
"While investigating a case at the Court of Judicial Review, I discovered a middle-aged man in a village. His limbs were broken, leaving him unable to care for himself. A kind-hearted old woman from the village had taken him in, providing him with food and clothing. Yet, he insisted daily on filing a lawsuit against the current Gong Xi Prince, begging the old woman to send him to the capital to appeal to the Emperor!" Chu Yi spoke slowly. "When I went to that village to investigate, I happened to witness the middle-aged man pleading with the old woman to send him to the capital. The old woman refused, and the scene became somewhat chaotic. I went over to inquire and recognized the man as Minister Bi Checun from the Ministry of Works."
Chu Mo froze abruptly.
Although Bi Checun was from the Ministry of Works, he had been involved in some imperial examination topics related to the ministry. Every time such questions appeared, they had come from Bi Checun.
Bi Checun was on his list of targets to eliminate—how could he have been saved? How could he have coincidentally been encountered by the third prince? Could such a coincidence truly exist in the world?
No, impossible!
"Summon Bi Checun to the court!"
At the Emperor's command, Gao Gonggong hurried to convey the order. Shortly after, Bi Checun was carried into the court by two guards.
Chu Mo's heart sank instantly.
If Bi Checun had been in the village, it would have taken at least two hours to bring him to the palace. Yet, he had arrived so quickly.
This indicated that everything today had been prepared in advance by the Crown Prince and Chu Yi.
Caught completely unprepared, how could he respond?
For the first time, he felt a profound sense of crisis enveloping him entirely.
Bi Checun rolled off the stretcher onto the floor, wailing loudly. "Your Majesty, I was foolish! I have committed grave errors and am unworthy of Your Majesty's grace. I do not deserve to live... But before I die, I must expose the crimes of Gong Xi Prince. Otherwise, who knows how many scholars will see their decade of arduous study ruined because of this..."
Tearfully and emotionally, he recounted in detail how he had been tempted by Gong Xi Prince to steal imperial examination questions, disclose them to the prince, and profit immensely from it.
"Your Majesty, the reason I ended up in this state is because Gong Xi Prince sought to silence me. Not only did he attempt to kill me, but he also used underhanded means to destroy my business, forcing my wife and children to return to our hometown and sell our residence. However, there is a hidden compartment in the study of that residence containing letters written to me by Gong Xi Prince, as well as the ill-gotten gains accumulated over the years..."
The Emperor's face turned frosty. "Someone, retrieve those letters!"
Chu Mo's body went limp, and he collapsed to the floor.
He suddenly realized that Chu Yi had been watching him from the moment he began eliminating witnesses. That was why Bi Checun had been saved.Chu Yi appeared to stay away from court struggles, but in reality, he had been lurking in the shadows, waiting to bite a chunk of flesh from his neck the moment he let his guard down.
He was too passive.
Due to lack of prior planning, he didn’t even know how to respond.
When all witnesses and evidence were gathered, and every clue pointed to Chu Mo, he prostrated himself on the ground, unable to offer any defense.
"This case involves far-reaching implications. The Court of Judicial Review shall continue its thorough investigation!" the Emperor declared, word by word. "Gong Xi Prince Chu Mo, having committed such heinous crimes, is hereby stripped of his title and fiefdom and confined to the Gongxi Royal Mansion, pending further trial! So it is decreed!"
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