Chapter 726: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 726: The Final Struggle (3)
In Da Chu, many former soldiers occupied positions similar to that of the prison guard. Although the court provided compensation and allowed injured soldiers to retire early, most chose to stay in the border areas or the capital, supporting each other through hard times.
Compared to many other injured soldiers, the prison guard’s situation was relatively good. Xiao Ruiyuan had arranged various positions for former soldiers, and while these positions were not as favorable, they were still highly sought after by the injured, who wanted to avoid being seen as a burden and to feel that their lives still had meaning.
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After returning from the Ministry of Justice’s prison, Mo Yan dealt with various matters at home and on the construction site while asking her shadow guards to keep an eye on the progress of the examination fraud case. If there were any uncontrollable changes, she wanted to be informed in time to find a way to rescue her father.
At this time, she had received word from Xiao Ruiyuan confirming that Chu Heng would strike back, but the timing wasn’t right yet, so she had to wait and watch.
The area outside the palace gates remained bustling, with failed candidates braving the harsh weather daily, submitting countless petitions with the same requests.
The court had yet to respond, and as time passed, the candidates grew increasingly agitated, their rhetoric becoming more radical.
Rumors spread that the mastermind behind the examination fraud was the newly appointed County Princess’s father. Since County Princess had made significant contributions by discovering high-yield rice, the court was hesitant to proceed with the trial or provide a reasonable explanation to the hundreds of candidates.
Candidates, focused solely on their own ambitions and glory, didn’t care about Qi Wangfei’s contributions. Since it didn’t bring them fame or benefits, they wouldn’t abandon their pursuit of justice for the fraud.
Learning that the County Princess was originally just an ordinary farmer who struck it lucky by discovering high-yield rice, the candidates felt even more that the world was unjust. Their bitterness and jealousy towards the fraud mastermind and their family were further stoked. Thus, in the subsequent petitions, they added a new demand: to revoke the County Princess’s title permanently.
While examination fraud had occurred in the past, this case was unprecedented in its scope and impact, making it the most severe since the establishment of Da Chu. Yet, even more severe developments were yet to come.
Mo Yan was furious with Prince Heng and the Lin family. Although she didn’t care much about the title, being forcibly stripped of it was another matter. It was clear that Prince Heng and the Lin family aimed to achieve two goals with one stone: not only to bring down Chu Heng but also to eliminate her entire family, demonstrating their malicious intent.
By creating public outrage, Prince Heng and his allies hoped to make the issue so severe that even if Emperor Huian were inclined to favor Chu Heng, he would be forced to heed public opinion and impose harsher punishments. Even if Chu Heng’s title as crown prince were not abolished, his public reputation would be thoroughly tarnished.
If Prince Heng were to later muster enough power to seize the throne, it wouldn’t be impossible to use this incident to label Chu Heng as incompetent and unfit for the role…
Mo Yan could already anticipate Prince Heng and his allies' next moves. As expected, on the fifth day, when calls for the revocation of the County Princess’s title reached their peak, another explosive revelation emerged: the real mastermind behind the examination fraud was Crown Prince Chu Heng himself!
(End of Chapter)
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