Chapter 109: Fang Jifan, Loyal and Righteous

“Confession under torture…”

This… it became a ridiculous joke.

Mou Bin, the Regional Military Commander, was known to be quite law-abiding, never involved in any rule-breaking. Yet, despite this, and regardless of how tame the Brocade Guard seemed during the Hongzhi Reign, it couldn’t completely shake off old habits.

At this moment, Li Dongyang spoke again: “As for the matter of Xu Jing paying three hundred taels of sycee silver to request a preface, Your Majesty, this practice has become common since the reign of Emperor Wen. Although the payment for such is an undesirable custom, using it as evidence that Xu Jing colluded with Cheng Minzheng is far-fetched. Your minister has also examined Xu Jing’s essays; they contained many flaws. However, he is, after all, a talented scholar from Jiangnan with a solid foundation, which is why he passed. If he had obtained the exam questions beforehand, judging by his previous performances in the Provincial Examinations and the Academy Examinations, he would certainly not merely rank twenty-seventh in the Metropolitan Examination. This old minister guarantees that with Xu Jing’s talent, if he had known the questions in advance, he would undoubtedly be placed among the Top Three Candidates.”

Emperor Hongzhi took a deep breath before replying, “Are you saying that Hua Chang, the Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue’s Office of Scrutiny, made a false accusation, and the Brocade Guard extracted a false confession through torture, thus falsely convicting Cheng Minzheng and Xu Jing of the crime of selling examination questions?”

Li Dongyang responded, “Your minister has also discovered… that Hua Chang and Cheng Minzheng, the Right Vice Minister of Rites, have long held grievances against each other…”

False accusation… an unjust case!

Emperor Hongzhi’s expression changed drastically.

This case had captured the attention of the entire world, as it involved cheating in the Imperial Examination – the very rite of selecting talents. Yet, who could have anticipated that after the case was repeatedly confirmed, with relevant parties imprisoned or dismissed from their posts, it turned out in the end to be a mistake?

Emperor Hongzhi paced anxiously within the Warm Pavilion, his brow deeply furrowed. On one hand, he felt relieved knowing that Cheng Minzheng had not sold the questions, easing his mind. On the other hand, how was he to explain this to the people? Could he possibly tell the world that this entire affair was due to His Majesty’s incompetence, his inability to recognize good men? That the imperial thugs, the Brocade Guard, had extracted a false confession through torture?

If so, how would the people view the imperial court? How would they view him?

After a long silence, Emperor Hongzhi took a deep breath, closed his eyes, a pained expression on his face, and said, “Issue an edict. Deliver it to the Brocade Guard. Order them to release the prisoners from the Imperial Prison immediately. Cheng Minzheng, the Right Vice Minister of Rites, is dismissed from his post and sent home. Xu Jing, the Tribute Scholar, shall be stripped of his scholar status and serve as a minor clerk in a county government office. He is barred from the Imperial Examinations for life.”

Li Dongyang’s face was impassive, his gaze still calm. It seemed His Majesty’s decision was within his expectations.

Li Dongyang knew well that acknowledging this as a grave injustice would deal a tremendous blow to the prestige of the Emperor and the imperial court.

Other Sons of Heaven would have, nine times out of ten, turned a blind eye and persisted in the mistake, executing Cheng Minzheng and Xu Jing outright under the charge of examination fraud.

However, the habitually lenient Emperor Hongzhi obviously could not bring himself to do this.

Since he could not admit fault, nor could he simply persist in the error, Emperor Hongzhi chose a middle path: he wouldn’t admit the mistake openly, but he would show leniency towards the two individuals involved.

This fraud case would never be overturned. Yet, simultaneously, it would demonstrate the imperial court’s magnanimity in sparing their lives.

It was the best possible outcome…

Of course, for the two men involved, Cheng Minzheng and Xu Jing, it was far from ideal. One was a Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue with a promising future; the other was a scholar who had endured ten years of diligent study, finally passing the imperial examination. Now, both had their futures destroyed.

Li Dongyang nodded lightly. “It truly is the best possible outcome.” After saying this, he sighed.

Emperor Hongzhi looked conflicted, but shook his head and said, “Go then…”

He couldn’t help but feel some remorse in his heart, but at this juncture, it seemed this was all that could be done.

…

On this day, an unusual visitor arrived at the Fang Family residence.

The gateman, startled by the shabbily dressed man at the door, hurried to report. Moments later, Tang Yin rushed out: “Brother Xu… Brother Xu…”

Tang Yin grabbed the arriving man’s arms, scrutinizing him carefully. The man’s hair was disheveled, his face almost unrecognizable under the grime. Though he wore relatively clean clothes, glimpses of bruised and broken skin were visible beneath.

Released from prison, Xu Jing had no relatives in the bustling Capital to turn to. He went to seek out Tang Yin at his inn, only to find that Tang Yin had moved to the Nanhe Bo Mansion. Limping his way here, he met Tang Yin’s gaze. Tears welled up in Tang Yin’s eyes. The handsome, free-spending talented scholar from Jiangnan was gone. Before him stood a man who looked like a beggar, reeking of festering wounds all over his body.

“Brother Xu… please come inside.”

Xu Jing’s eyes were vacant. He only shook his head, choking back sobs. “No, no… I came… only to borrow a few taels for travel expenses… to return to Yingtian Prefecture.”

Tang Yin frowned. “How were you released? Ah, I understand, I understand! It must be our Mentor. Mentor must have been the one to rescue you.”

Indeed. How could anyone be released so easily when embroiled in such a massive fraud case, especially without the imperial court clearing their names publicly?

Tang Yin continued excitedly, “Yes, it must be Mentor! It was definitely Mentor…” As he spoke, his tears soaked his robe.

The depth of his excitement was understandable. Although Mentor had personally promised to rescue Xu Jing, Tang Yin had harboured a subconscious belief that his Mentor was cold and unfeeling. Who would have thought that Mentor truly had intervened? The effort and risk involved must have been considerable.

Tang Yin excitedly recounted the sequence of events to Xu Jing. Hearing it, Xu Jing burst into open sobs: “If not for Young Master Fang, this student would surely be dead! No wonder… no wonder the Brocade Guard suddenly released me. Where is your Mentor? I must go and thank him immediately! This life-saving grace requires repayment, even as an ox or a horse, it could never be enough.”

…

The Champion Marquis saplings in the House of the Crown Prince were growing well, lifting Fang Jifan’s spirits considerably. Truth be told, he was a little worried about Zhu Houzhao’s mood; that fellow was infuriatingly stubborn.

After finishing his duties, Fang Jifan rode home in good spirits. The sky was already quite dim. Deng Jian walked ahead, lighting the way with a lantern. Nearing the mansion gate, two figures suddenly shot out from the gloom. Fang Jifan, on his horse, nearly fell off in fright.

‘Who dares to rob THIS young lord? They’ve got a death wish! I just need to shout, and hundreds of stout men will pour out.’

“Benefactor…” A heart-wrenching sob pierced the quiet night, sounding especially eerie.

“Mentor, Xu Jing has been released. He came to thank you personally.” Fang Jifan finally breathed easier when he heard Xiao Tang’s voice. ‘Damn it, you scared me half to death!’

Fang Jifan dismounted. Deng Jian moved his lantern forward, illuminating Xu Jing’s figure. Though he had washed up, his visage was still severely marked and mostly unrecognizable.

Xu Jing dropped to his knees directly before Fang Jifan, choking out, “Drops of kindness deserve a flowing spring in return. For the life-saving grace bestowed by you, Young Master, this student would gladly die ten thousand times, yet it wouldn’t repay one ten-thousandth of the debt.” Overcome by the bitterness of his situation, his words dissolved into tears and sobs.

Originally, in Fang Jifan’s plan—one known perhaps only to himself—he knew Xu Jing would be released. Tricking Tang Yin into believing he would rescue Xu Jing had merely been a ploy to make Xiao Tang paint diligently and wholeheartedly. Who could have foreseen that Tang Yin not only believed it sincerely, but that Xu Jing, bewildered by his own sudden release, also attributed his saved life to Fang Jifan’s secret maneuvering?

This… became somewhat awkward.

Although in others’ eyes, Fang Jifan was brain-damaged, a fierce and evil villain, the very scourge denounced by the righteous sects…

But…

Seeing Xu Jing weeping before him repeatedly expressing his gratitude, Fang Jifan’s face suddenly flushed bright red.

It was… genuinely embarrassing. He truly hadn’t done anything.

“Enough! Enough with the thanks! Go quickly! Return to your Yingtian Prefecture. Never come back to the Capital again!”

Xu Jing, recalling the loss of his Imperial Examination Degree and his future confined to being a minor clerk, felt his heart was completely burned out. He cried out, “This student… will leave now. Heading to Yingtian Prefecture, never to set foot in the Capital again… I fear I shall never have the chance to see you again in this lifetime, Benefactor. In my next life, I pledge to serve you faithfully, whether as an ox or a horse, to repay this kindness!”

He then kowtowed to Fang Jifan three times with solemn sincerity, banging his head audibly against the ground each time. He got up, ready to depart.

‘People in ancient times… truly valued loyalty and righteousness,’ Fang Jifan sighed inwardly. These bookish types, though some might be arrogant, some conceited, knew at least a little about repaying kindness.

The truth was, Fang Jifan had played absolutely no role whatsoever in this whole affair.

Xu Jing stood, bowed respectfully towards Fang Jifan once more, then turned tear-filled eyes to Tang Yin, clasping his hands together in salute. “Bohu, farewell. May our paths cross again.”

Hearing that Xu Jing was truly leaving, Tang Yin found himself overwhelmed with sadness. Sentimental scholars like them were always wounded by separations. In these times, once separated, given the transportation, such partings often meant forever. Mountains and rivers would lie between them; a reunion would be incredibly difficult. Likely, they would meet only in dreams this lifetime.

Tang Yin returned the salute, hands clasped together. They looked at each other, words failing, their tears flowing unrestrainedly once more, their sobs breaking the silence.

Fang Jifan truly couldn’t stand such sentimental scenes.

‘Damn it!’

Fang Jifan felt something blowing into his eyes. He rubbed them. ‘The desertification of ancient Beijing City must be terrible; there’s even sand in the wind here.’

“Fare… farewell, Brother Xu. Until we meet again,” Tang Yin managed through tears.

Xu Jing nodded solemnly, turned resolutely, and began to walk away.

Suddenly, Fang Jifan shouted sharply, “Xu Jing!”

Xu Jing froze, turning back to look at Fang Jifan.

In that split second, Fang Jifan delivered a swift kick—hard—directly to his backside.

It happened too suddenly. While Fang Jifan’s kick wasn’t immensely powerful, Xu Jing stumbled badly, nearly falling face-first into the mud.

Fang Jifan yelled sternly, “You bastard! Let me ask you this: did you actually cheat on that damned exam or not?!”

Such vulgar language! Hearing that in the past, Xu Jing would have immediately severed ties. But facing Fang Jifan, ignoring the rudeness, Xu Jing hastily replied, “N-No! This student comes from an honest family! How could I possibly be so brazen?”

Fang Jifan declared, “Since you didn’t cheat, the court stripping you of your scholar status is ridiculous! Making you a clerk in Yingtian Prefecture is absurd! Your young lord here has a straightforward disposition—if the Son of Heav—”

As soon as he heard the “young lord” beginning to speak recklessly again, Deng Jian was so terrified that he dropped his lantern with a clatter. He rushed forward and covered Fang Jifan’s mouth. “Young Lord! Young Lord! Watch your words! Watch your words!”

After finally shaking Deng Jian off, Fang Jifan declared, “Watch what words?! What your young lord is saying is that His Majesty the Emperor must have been deceived! I, Fang Jifan, have received so many kindnesses from this dynasty over generations! I will speak out against this injustice! Damn it! Tonight, Xu Jing stays here! Tomorrow, I shall seek an audience with His Majesty!”

Tang Yin’s face turned ashen with fright.

Xu Jing was also dumbfounded. He anxiously said, “No! Absolutely not! To escape with my life, this student is already deeply grateful! This case is far too serious! Benefactor, you absolutely must not put yourself at risk… absolutely not!”

Fang Jifan clasped his hands behind his back and raised his head. At that moment, he felt himself ascending to a higher level again.

‘Have I transcended vulgar interests?’

Well, why not try it. He decided he would attempt it, regardless of the risk.