The 'Involution King' Second Female Lead Quits [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Taiping Year Three

The case of the imperial examination cheating seemed to have ended with the beheading of five juren, but in places where ordinary people and scholars couldn’t see, another contest was in progress.

Li Jianwei wanted to use this method of decisive killing to confuse the person behind the scenes and buy time for the Censorial Guard to investigate. The mastermind was indeed hesitant because of Li Jianwei’s decisiveness. He couldn’t guess if she would stop here or continue the investigation. If she were to stop here, and he were to kill the witnesses now, he would be actively revealing a handle, which would be a huge loss. But if she weren’t, then even at the risk of being exposed, he had to kill all the knowledgeable people.

The mastermind only hesitated for a day before making a decision. He instructed a group of bandits to kill all the family members of the five juren. To make the purpose of killing the witnesses less obvious, several surrounding families also suffered. Most of the men in their homes were killed, and their property was looted. Afterward, to avoid being exposed, he deliberately left some clues about the remnants of the former dynasty. If the investigation followed the clues, it would most likely lead to the bandits colluding with the former rebel army.

“This is using their own trick against them, and they’re following the script I gave them,” Li Jianwei said, holding the intelligence report sent by express horse from the Censorial Guard. She let out a slow breath. “Their movements are a little faster than I expected. Thirty Censorial Guards can’t stop a hundred well-trained assassins. The Jiangnan area is still understaffed.”

Shu Heng: “Your Majesty, should we send more people to protect Princess Li Wan? If they get desperate…”

“They don’t have the guts. If they dare to touch Li Wan, I will flatten Jiangnan. I will even dig up the ashes of their ancestors and scatter them,” Li Jianwei said, a ruthless look flashing in her eyes. “Shu Heng, I want to select a governor to go to the Jiangnan area to shake things up for those aristocratic families. Do you have a suitable candidate? Age doesn’t matter, but they must be bold, meticulous, and hate evil as if it were their enemy.”

Shu Heng quickly searched her mind. As the Minister of Personnel, she remembered the resumes of many officials. “Your Majesty, we can have the Deputy Minister of the Court of State Ceremonials serve as the governor,” Shu Heng quickly gave an answer.

Li Jianwei raised an eyebrow. “The Court of State Ceremonials? Don’t they manage court meetings and receive guests? How can they deal with the Jiangnan aristocratic families?”

“Your Majesty, the Deputy Minister of the Court of State Ceremonials once served as the Minister of the Ministry of Justice during the former dynasty. Because he was inflexible, he offended the then King of Zhou, so he was transferred to the Court of State Ceremonials,” Shu Heng explained. “This person can be a Deputy Minister in the Court of State Ceremonials and a Minister in the Ministry of Justice. His place of origin is in Shaanxi Province, and he disliked the excellent officials from the south during the former dynasty.”

“Your subject cannot guarantee that he will be very sympathetic to the people, but his character is upright, and he will never allow wrongful cases to happen. If this person serves as the governor of Jiangnan, he will definitely not disappoint Your Majesty.”

Li Jianwei slowly tapped the table with her thumb. He served as the Minister of the Ministry of Justice and had a grudge against the southern officials. He’s indeed a good candidate. “Talk to him. After the spring exam is over, I will officially appoint him. If he does a good job, I will reward him handsomely.”

…

The metropolitan exam did not mark the end of the spring exam. The final palace exam in March would determine the final rankings. Usually, as long as a successful candidate on the metropolitan exam list did not make a big mistake in the palace exam, they would at least be a jinshi of the third rank. After passing the court exam, they could become a member of the Hanlin Academy, the six ministries, or be sent to a local area to serve as a county magistrate, officially entering officialdom.

There was no possibility of cheating in the palace exam because only Li Jianwei, the Emperor, knew the exam questions. Li Jianwei officially finalized the questions fifteen minutes before the exam and then had Shu Heng announce them in the hall.

“I rose in the Northern Frontier, holding a ten-foot spear to punish the wicked and eliminate the evil. I take the people of the world as my responsibility and have purged the long-standing malpractices of the former dynasty. Today, there are still powerful families who monopolize profits and encroach on the people’s land… I want to break this century-old disease, so that the land belongs to the farmers and the taxes are fair. All scholars, please present your strategies to help me forever secure the Li Dynasty.”

After hearing the topic, the candidates’ expressions varied. The topic was related to the metropolitan exam, but it was sharper. It not only required a discussion of land taxes but also considered the impact of land annexation and powerful families on each other. The smart candidates knew that His Majesty was targeting the aristocratic families in the Jiangnan area and that she might be about to re-demarcate the land and taxes. For them, this was both an opportunity and a challenge. If they performed well, they might be directly promoted and heavily used. If they performed poorly, they would either be ranked lower or even implicate their families.

The top scholar, Qi Changping, was the first to pick up her brush and write. Li Jianwei’s attention was naturally drawn to her. After fifteen minutes, she got up from her dragon throne and stood beside her to observe. After the cheating incident in the imperial examination, Li Jianwei had specifically learned about this top scholar. She was quite surprised to learn that her ancestral home was in Jianning and even had people look up her provincial exam paper. Qi Changping’s provincial exam paper was also well-written, but it didn’t seem to fit the chief examiner’s personal preferences, so she only got third place instead of first. However, Li Jianwei liked her style of answering questions. She could boldly propose new suggestions while being logical. She was clearly a good candidate for implementing the new policy. With her ability to have an eidetic memory, if she could memorize the resumes of all the officials in the country, her Little Minister Shu’s workload could definitely be reduced a lot.

Li Jianwei’s eyes became more and more satisfied with Qi Changping, but she didn’t stay on one person for too long. She walked around the candidates and almost looked at every person’s exam paper. After walking around, Li Jianwei’s gaze fell on Shu Heng. She gave her a look and then turned to leave. Shu Heng obediently bowed her head and then took Li Jianwei’s place to patrol the exam hall.

…

Li Jianwei’s fondness for Qi Changping was already very obvious, so no one dared to rank her in the second class when reviewing the papers. The ten excellent papers that were finally sent to Li Jianwei had a perfect one-to-one ratio of female to male, and there were no flaws to be found.

“Qi Changping is the top scholar,” Li Jianwei took out the corresponding paper and wrote on it directly. “Pei Qing is the second place, and Luo Hang is the third place,” Li Jianwei put down her brush. “The rankings for the second class will be decided by you.” “Your subjects obey the order,” the examiners, including Shu Heng, bowed.

And so, the list of the first class for the first special imperial examination of the Li Dynasty was released. The top scholar and the second place were taken by female candidates, and the third place was taken by a male candidate. The number of male candidates in the second and third classes was higher, which was reasonable since there were more male candidates who participated in the palace exam.

The person responsible for transcribing the rankings was from the Hanlin Academy. When the list was sent to Li Jianwei’s desk, it made her frown.

“Why does it say ‘female top scholar,’ ‘female second place,’ and ‘third place’?” The disgust in Li Jianwei’s eyes was very obvious. She directly threw the memorial on the ground. “Who transcribed this imperial list!”

“Your Majesty, please forgive me. It…it was your subject’s own idea. This makes it more convenient for the people to know that the top two in the first class are women,” the Hanlin Academy editor who tried to be clever knelt on the ground trembling.

“A top scholar is a top scholar. What’s the point of distinguishing between a woman and a man?” Li Jianwei’s gaze fell on the trembling editor. “Remove your current official position and make you a commoner. If you make such a mistake again, your official title will be removed directly.”

“Yes, your subject will reflect on this and never make the same mistake again.” The commoner kowtowed heavily to thank her for her grace, a trace of relief flashing in his heart. It’s a good thing His Majesty didn’t kick me out of the Hanlin Academy. Next time, I will definitely try my best to guess the imperial will and never make a mistake again!

According to the rules, the top scholar would be a Hanlin Academy compiler, and the second and third place would be editors. After a period of learning and accumulation in the Hanlin Academy, they would be assigned to positions in the six ministries. The other jinshi of the second and third class, after a new round of court exams, some would stay in the Hanlin Academy, and some would be sent to local areas to serve as county magistrates. Li Jianwei had specially controlled the number. Half of the female jinshi stayed in the Hanlin Academy and the other half were sent out as officials. They were all to be well-trained to serve the country in the future.

After the imperial examination came to an end, Li Jianwei announced the transfer of the former Deputy Minister of the Court of State Ceremonials to the position of Governor of Jiangnan, who would be in charge of inspecting the local officials on behalf of the Emperor. To show her seriousness as the monarch about this matter, Li Jianwei specifically assigned fifty Imperial Guards to accompany him, allowing him to inspect with the imperial procession.

Both the palace exam questions and the unannounced tour to the south were sending the same signal. Someone in Jiangnan had made Li Jianwei, the Emperor, unhappy, so she was going to rectify Jiangnan and implement a new land and tax system.

Just as the officials were making the above guess, a shocking piece of news spread throughout the court and the public: Princess Li Wan was assassinated in Jiangnan!

“This is outrageous! Are they trying to provoke me!” Li Jianwei said angrily. “Do those people really think I’m a soft persimmon? Do they think that if more than ten aristocratic families unite, I won’t dare to touch them!” Even if this assassination was Li Wan deliberately trying to lure them out, they shouldn’t have taken the bait!

“Your Majesty, the Japanese pirates in the Ningbo Prefecture have not yet been pacified. It’s not a good time to transfer troops,” Shu Heng calmly analyzed. “Why don’t we first transfer two thousand cavalry from the three garrisons to escort the Princess back?”

“They used the remnants of the former dynasty to assassinate her. If Your Majesty directly sends troops, it will seem passive,” the Minister of War said. “Why not retaliate with a vengeance and have them also be killed by the remnants of the former dynasty? No one who is suspected should be left alive.”

Shu Heng frowned. “This method is feasible, but if it happens too many times, the people in the south will inevitably feel that the court is useless and has not been able to clear out the remnants of the former dynasty.”

The Minister of War stroked his beard. “Minister Shu has a point. This excuse should not be used too many times.”

“Then investigate. Didn’t the Governor of Jiangnan serve as the Minister of the Ministry of Justice? I’ll give him two months to find all the so-called remnants of the former dynasty for me, and then I’ll dispatch the surrounding armies to annihilate them,” Li Jianwei couldn’t help but grit her teeth. “Tell him that no matter who he investigates, he doesn’t have to be afraid. I’ll take care of him, and I will absolve him of any crime.”

After the words fell, Shu Heng and Minister Zhang, the two smart ones, immediately had a guess. It was just that the latter didn’t dare to say it directly, while the former planned to speak at a more suitable time.

Like now, Li Jianwei and Shu Heng were soaking in the same bath. The guards and palace maids were not nearby.

“Your Majesty, are you suspicious that the ones who want to assassinate Princess Li Wan are not just the aristocratic families in the Jiangnan area?” Shu Heng offered her guess.

Li Jianwei nodded. She never concealed much from Shu Heng. “I have already rejected the Ministry of Rites’ proposals for many imperial selections. Anyone with a brain can guess where I will choose my successor from.” “My importance to Wanwan is enough to make some people with too much ambition go crazy,” Li Jianwei let out a slow breath, her tone gradually becoming calm. “Wanwan’s children and other people’s children are, after all, different to me.” “But I didn’t expect them to be so impatient. They want to scheme for my position less than three years after the new dynasty was established.”

Shu Heng pursed her lips. After a moment, she gave a suggestion. “Your Majesty, you can actually…”

“I know,” Li Jianwei interrupted Shu Heng. “But I’m not willing. I’m not interested in men, and I don’t want to waste manpower and resources on a big imperial selection.” “If there are ignorant members of the imperial family, there will be sensible ones,” Li Jianwei said, getting up from the bath and picking up a dry towel to wipe the water from her body. “If they are all ignorant, I don’t have to pass the throne to a bl00d relative. I can follow the example of Yao and Shun and choose an excellent successor.”

Shu Heng followed her out of the bath, quickly dried herself, and prepared to serve her Majesty in getting dressed. It was just that Li Jianwei was faster than Shu Heng. She unfolded her inner clothes and walked towards her. Shu Heng couldn’t refuse and could only let her Majesty dress her like a doll.

“How long have the new jinshi been in the Hanlin Academy?” Li Jianwei suddenly asked.

Shu Heng: “It’s been more than a month.”

Li Jianwei slowly tied the clothes, deliberately using a knot that could be easily undone with a pull. “Have you had contact with Qi Changping? What do you think of her?”

Shu Heng’s breathing slowed for a second. “She is a practical person, and her relationship with her colleagues is also good.”

Li Jianwei: “Eidetic memory?”

Shu Heng nodded slightly. “With her joining, the process of compiling historical records has become much faster.”

“Hmm, she sounds like a very well-rounded talent,” Li Jianwei commented. “Has she brought her family to the capital?”

Shu Heng shook her head. “Your subject did not investigate that closely. I will ask her tomorrow.”

“Good. If there are no problems with her family background, she will also serve as a principal in the Ministry of Personnel and assist you,” Li Jianwei said. “Try to train her and see if she can seize the opportunity.”

Shu Heng chaotically memorized all of His Majesty’s words. The sense of urgency in her heart became stronger. “Yes, your subject will work hard to train Qi Changping.”

“You don’t need to deliberately train her. Just give her some pointers occasionally. Your most important task is to help me with state affairs,” Li Jianwei emphasized. She was transferring Qi Changping over to reduce her Little Minister Shu’s pressure, not to turn things upside down.

After hearing Li Jianwei’s words, Shu Heng’s expression changed slightly, and her flustered heart slowly calmed down. That’s right. I am an old minister who followed His Majesty to conquer the country, second only to one person and above ten thousand. Qi Changping won’t be able to catch up with me anytime soon. Besides, Qi Changping can grow, but can’t I? I’m only two years older! I’m still very young! I’m full of vitality!

…Actually, she wasn’t that full of vitality. One time was relatively easy, two times were barely okay, and after three times, she was clearly starting to lose stamina.

When I have a little more free time, I must, must strengthen my physical exercise. I absolutely cannot be held by His Majesty and have no power to fight back like this! Shu Heng silently swore in her heart, then leaned into Li Jianwei’s arms and slowly fell asleep.

…

The assassination of Princess Li Wan was not a small matter. Even though Li Wan was not injured, the Governor of Jiangnan still had to bear immense pressure and begin his investigation. Li Jianwei gave him two months. To not miss this great opportunity, the governor exerted 200% of his investigative ability. From the fragmented clues, the governor identified two aristocratic families that had existed for more than three hundred years. They had even existed longer than the former dynasty. However, the governor did not stop there. He continued to expand his search and found a third party.

The detailed case investigation was written into a memorial and sent to Li Jianwei. The relevant suspects were also on their way to the capital. The governor could command the local garrison when necessary. After finding the clues, he decisively surrounded the residences. Both the servants and the temporary workers were controlled at the first possible moment. After a simple interrogation, the governor sent the suspected masterminds to the capital for a joint trial by the three judicial offices to get more clues and evidence.

This time, Li Jianwei was not in a hurry to chop off their heads. She waited for the Censorial Guard’s investigation results. The Censorial Guard had already gathered a lot of evidence about the mastermind who had people assassinate the families of the juren. With the Governor of Jiangnan attracting attention, they also caught three very crucial people. But the clues that the Censorial Guard finally sent to Li Jianwei were a bit tricky. There was another force she hadn’t expected, and it also involved her mother’s family.

Unlike Li’s father, who came from a family of generals, Li’s mother was just the daughter of a Vice Prefect. After Li’s father was appointed as a great general, Li’s mother’s brother only slowly climbed to the position of a prefect with the help of family connections. After Li Jianwei ascended the throne, the status of her family also rose. They went from being a prefect to being the Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai, a position that was envied by everyone. From the Censorial Guard’s investigation results, they were not satisfied with this lucrative position and seemed to want to go further to become one of the Nine Ministers and enter the Inner Cabinet. Tsk, what a big appetite. How long has it been? If he really became one of the Nine Ministers, would the next step be to start figuring out how to get the throne?

After putting away the evidence from the Censorial Guard, Li Jianwei had Shu Heng stay in the Palace of Heavenly Purity and went to the Palace of Kindness to visit her mother by herself. The Empress Dowager’s complexion was obviously much better than in previous years, and her health had also improved under the care of the imperial physicians and female officials. This allowed Li Jianwei to save a lot of time and tell the truth as it was without too much preamble.

The Empress Dowager was in disbelief at first. The lid of her teacup even fell off because of this. “Did the Governor of Jiangnan find this out?”

“It was the Censorial Guard and Wanwan who found it together,” Li Jianwei said truthfully. “As long as the amount of silver embezzled in a year does not exceed ten thousand taels, I can turn a blind eye. But I didn’t expect their appetite to grow so big.”

After taking three deep breaths, the Empress Dowager made a wise choice. “When your brother was murdered, they didn’t stand up. When you raised an army and pointed your sword at the capital, they didn’t show any support either.” “You have been benevolent enough to give them the lucrative position of Salt Commissioner. Since they are so insane as to lay a hand on Wanwan, you don’t need to show them too much mercy when you deal with them.”

The Empress Dowager paused for a moment. “Leave one or two innocent girls. You can deal with the rest as you see fit. Just follow the law.”

Li Jianwei spoke with caution. “If Mother can’t bear it, I can spare their lives.”

The Empress Dowager was a little tempted, but she still shook her head. “Just follow the laws of the Great Li Dynasty. I am a role model for the world and cannot take the lead in bending the law for personal gain.” “Compared to them, I hope that you and Wanwan will be well and support each other and continue to walk together,” the Empress Dowager said with a long sigh. “I’ll be fine after a few days. It’s okay.”

The Empress Dowager had stayed in the capital for a long time. She was very clear about how crazy the several princes of the former dynasty were for the throne. She had also witnessed the means by which the last Emperor of the former dynasty consolidated his imperial power, so the Empress Dowager was very sober. Li Jianwei was indeed her daughter, but she was also the ruler of the world. No one liked their possessions being coveted, let alone the throne.

“If they are truly stubborn, I will leave at least three female relatives,” Li Jianwei promised. “Mother, you don’t have to worry about the bloodline being a problem.”

The Empress Dowager nodded lightly. This was already a very good outcome. If it were the Emperor of the former dynasty, he would probably have killed them all at the first sign, instead of waiting for all the witnesses and evidence to be in place before taking action.

…

The officials had already prepared themselves for the Emperor to make a move against the southern aristocratic families. But when they heard that the people from the Emperor’s mother’s and father’s families had been arrested together, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of panic that things were out of their control. They didn’t dare to ask for news from the palace. They could only occasionally approach Shu Heng and try to get some useful information. Shu Heng did not have any special reaction to this. Her answers were very official, making some guilty officials unable to sleep at night.

In the eighth month of the third year of Taiping, a time that was supposed to be for enjoying the moon and family reunion, the southern gentry rose up in rebellion, claiming to have thirty thousand elite soldiers. In the ninth month of the third year of Taiping, Li Wan led the local garrison to quickly quell the rebellion with the help of the Governor of Jiangnan. Two thousand rebels were executed on the spot, and a total of eight hundred masterminds and accomplices were captured. They found that the so-called thirty thousand elite soldiers were just a ragtag bunch. The majority of them were commoners who were forced into rebellion and surrendered on their knees before they even had a real fight. They had never seen Li Jianwei, the Emperor, but they knew that their Emperor had ascended the throne for the sake of the people!

The aristocratic families might not have taken Li Jianwei’s words that the ‘Li’ in ‘Great Li’ also meant the common people to heart, but the real common people had firmly engraved it in their hearts from the moment they heard it and were willing to give their lives for those words.

In the eleventh month of the same year, Li Wan supervised the execution of 362 rebel leaders. The rest of the accomplices were exiled three thousand li, and their descendants would never be allowed to be officials.

Just before the new year, Li Wan arrived in the capital with five seven- or eight-year-old children and a cart after cart of silver, making the Minister of Revenue grin from ear to ear. The Jiangnan aristocratic families were indeed rich. This confiscation exceeded the state treasury’s income for three years! From this, one could see the plight of the people in Jiangnan!

Afterward, the Minister of Revenue watched as tens of millions of taels flowed out like water, with half of it gone. The large sums were still spent on military pay and river management. The other half was for re-measuring the land and counting the population. Settling the displaced people and reclaiming barren land all cost money, especially after the fire loss was made public, the court’s expenses increased even more.

The training of the navy was especially expensive, especially the construction of large ships that could sail for long periods. The Minister of Revenue couldn’t help but cover his chest every time he thought about the cost and had to take three deep breaths to calm down. It’s okay, it’s okay. Minister Shu said that there are many silver mines in the Japanese pirates’ homeland. If we can successfully take them, the state treasury’s annual income can increase by at least five million taels! The Minister of Revenue could only comfort herself like this, looking forward to the day when the state treasury would be full, and she could give out money without any burden.