Chapter 399

The dynasty had rules. Princes lived with their mothers in the harem when young. At six years old, they moved to the east and west chambers of the Emperor's bedroom hall, and were titled and moved out of the palace to establish their own mansions at fifteen.

The Crown Prince was seventeen now, and had established his mansion two years ago. Coming from outside the palace to inside required a relatively long journey.

The black-robed youth deliberately slowed his pace, leisurely arriving after two tea times.

The tranquil Taihe Hall was still majestic and grand. Compared to the noisy liveliness of the hundreds of examinees on the day of the palace exam, it was like a lonely, cold beast, crouching alone on the ground.

The head eunuch steward brought two apprentices to stand guard at the door. Seeing the prince arrive, he hurried over in tiny steps and bowed, "Greetings to Fifth Highness, may Your Highness have good fortune."

"Steward Wu, quickly rise." The youth extended a hand to help him up, only accepting half a bow, "You are older than my father. We princes all grew up under your watch. How could I accept such a grand bow?"

There were differences between lord and subject, the imperial clan being supreme.

Even if he was the head eunuch steward, he was still a servant who had to bow. But the Fifth Prince singled out seniority as a reason, and showed enough respect. Who wouldn't be delighted?

"You flatter me, Your Highness. Bowing to you is justified by heaven and earth." Steward Wu promptly got up, feeling warm inside. "Your Highness must be here to see His Majesty. The Crown Prince has already gone in ahead of you a while ago, and even brought snacks from outside the palace. His Majesty was very happy."

He was subtly conveying information - the father and son inside were chatting happily.

The black-robed youth smiled, nodded at Steward Wu in thanks, and headed inside.

A junior eunuch had already announced his arrival. The people inside stopped talking and all looked over.

Seeing the lone youth stride in, the Crown Prince smiled. "Father, as this son said, Fifth Brother must be thinking of Scholar Xu, and has come to plead for him."

The personal guards standing outside instantly felt uneasy, inexplicably thinking of four words: villains file charges first.

The head eunuch steward standing next to him timely added, "From the time the Crown Prince arrived until now, he's only mentioned bringing snacks for His Majesty, and never said a word about the palace exam."

The personal guard felt even more uneasy. Everyone thought the Crown Prince had rushed over to contend for the top scholar spot for the Fang family, that he had come to plead for the Fangs.

But he not only didn't bring it up, he got there first and set up a trap for the Fifth Prince - insinuating that he was colluding with scholars and had ulterior motives to seize power.

So whether he went forward or retreated, his path was mired.

To speak meant admitting suspicion, to stay silent meant wasting a trip.

Just as everyone was worried for the youngest prince, he calmly lifted his head. "Greetings Father, greetings Eldest Imperial Brother. Eldest Brother guessed right, this younger brother is here to plead for Scholar Fang to grant him first rank. I beseech Father to approve giving him the first rank."

He opened his mouth. He opened his mouth!

Before the Crown Prince could even feel happy, his smile froze.

Scholar Fang? Scholar Xu?

He couldn't help but want to question the Fifth Prince, did he mispronounce the name? How did he switch to Fang Yuan?

Even the Emperor on the dragon throne knitted his brows in confusion.

"Please forgive this son for inquiring into last year's fraud case. I also know of the verbal promise of three ranks to Scholar Xu. Although Scholar Fang comes from a military family turned civil service, he is quite capable. Missing him would be the Dayu Dynasty's regret." The black-robed youth continued eloquently, "Not to mention anything else, just his initiative to collect wealth tax is an unparalleled plan for millennia. His willingness to voluntarily hand it over shows Scholar Fang has both a military man's heart and a civil servant's benevolence. If someone like this cannot obtain first rank, then who can?!"

He spoke earnestly and categorically, elevating his acclaim of Fang Yuan to an unmatched level.

For a moment the Crown Prince felt disoriented, suspecting that he was the one who supported Xu Mo.

The silent Emperor on the dragon throne also frowned in puzzlement.

"Furthermore, an emperor's words are golden rules. Since Father agreed to the Fang family last year, you should fulfill your promise now." The black-robed youth added with a smile.

Unnoticed by all, a flash of displeasure went through the Emperor's eyes before he quickly concealed it.

Since things had been said to this point, it would be inappropriate for first rank to not include Fang Yuan.

Whether it was top scholar, second scholar, or third scholar mattered little.

The Crown Prince heaved a sigh of relief. Joy bubbled up in his heart, along with strands of lingering doubts.

Before he could think it through, the black-robed youth cupped his hands again. "Father, the Fang family is extremely wealthy. I wonder how many taels of silver they can hand over this time, and if it would be enough to feed the frontier soldiers and arrange their winter cotton clothes?"

The silently pondering Emperor and the secretly delighted Crown Prince looked over in unison.

"What is it?" The black-robed youth looked completely innocent. "Father is willing to grant him first rank, but the Fang family wants to go back on their word and not hand over money?" "You..." The Crown Prince was shocked beyond belief, finally realizing.

The Fifth Prince's endless talk of money was to get the Emperor to tell everyone that the Fangs had bought a first rank.

If they further revoked the wealth tax accordingly, it would be equivalent to turning the Fangs into an arrow and shooting them at the powerful Fengjing families.

Yet both he and the Fangs couldn't refuse, because this was proposed by Fang Yuan himself as proof of the Fang family's loyalty in exchange for first rank.

But how could a first rank bought with money convince the public, and complete the Fangs' transition from military to civil service?

One must not make a disturbance in the imperial hall.

The Crown Prince swallowed his words and endured until the Emperor tiredly dismissed them before retreating with the Fifth Prince.

Once out of Taihe Hall, he finally couldn't stand it and questioned, "Just what are you trying to do, rushing over just to trick the Fangs out of money? What good does that do you?"

The black-robed youth looked back innocently. "Eldest Imperial Brother, what are you talking about? This younger brother doesn't understand. It's getting late, and the rankings will be announced tomorrow. Eldest Brother might as well discuss with the Fangs early on just how much money is worth the first rank."

Having said that, he departed leisurely.

Only after the two were some distance apart did the eavesdropping personal guard finally refrain from asking, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince was right. Since you weren't scheming for First Scholar Xu, why wade into these muddy waters and offend the Fangs for no reason?"

The black-robed youth smiled without answering. Instead he spoke of the current state of Fengjing. "Even the commoners of Fengjing are betting on Fang Yuan, which shows that the people's hearts are inclined towards the powerful families rather than His Majesty."

If he really favored them, how could he hesitate?

An Emperor, the imperial clan, a sovereign.

One who sat in that position would never like having his hands and feet bound. Helpless, the late emperor had given away too much power, enabling the influential families' power to reach unprecedented heights.

If the Emperor wanted to restrain the powerful families, he had to promote new talents - impoverished ones without family backing, courtiers who could only obey the Emperor.

Xu Mo was new talent, Fang Yuan was backed by a powerful family.

The former was needed by the Emperor, the latter was a verbal promise. Putting them side by side would be equal to sabotaging the fairness of the civil service exam system.

"So Your Highness provided the Emperor an opportunity to smoothly grant Scholar Fang first rank. Or rather, to smoothly put them side by side." The guard was alarmed then delighted. "As long as His Majesty wants to promote new talent, Xu Mo without any backing is the best candidate."

As for who was top scholar, it depended on whether the Emperor valued new talent or influential families more in his heart.

"Did you place the bet I told you to on them being side by side? What were the odds?" The black-robed youth walked further and further away. "Were they high?"

"High, very high, Your Highness can rest assured. We're going to strike it rich..."