Chapter 767: The Building Is About to Fall

Translator: Atlas Studios    Editor: Atlas Studios

Lin Ruoru took a deep breath. From the beginning, the County Head of Shaoyi was not someone she could deal with.

Yu Youyao was playing a high-end chess game. It was no longer just an exchange of chess moves, but there was also a psychological strategy. Compared to her, she was a small fry.

What would happen if a small fry was being asked to join a high-end game?!

If he was asked, he would do it!

This was a very good opportunity for Lin Ruoru. As long as she worked with Yu Youyao, at least half of the Lin family’s business would be in her hands in the future. This was a conservative estimate.

If their cooperation could deepen further, the Lin family would be hers in the future.

With this noble lady from a noble family behind her, her status in the Lin family would also rise.

After figuring this out, Lin Ruoru was filled with motivation. “Eldest Miss Yu, don’t worry. I’m very interested in the cooperation you’ve proposed. I’ll definitely do my best to facilitate this cooperation.”

As soon as she finished speaking, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on her.

Lin Ruoru immediately calmed down. All of this was probably within Yu Youyao’s scheme, Yu Youyao clearly knew that with her current status in the Lin family, she definitely wouldn’t be able to make such a big decision. However, she didn’t look for the head of the Lin family directly. Instead, she took a detour and found her.

Most importantly, she could be used as a bridge to communicate with the Lin and Yan families and she would support her rise. Only then could the two sides cooperate better and the future cooperation would be smoother.

Yu Youyao had taken a fancy to the Lin family and the Yan family behind her. If she wanted to control the Lin family and the Yan family, she had to first create an opportunity for her to rise to power.

She also needed a chance to cooperate with Yu Youyao to consolidate her status in the Lin family. She needed the powerful backing of the County Head of Shaoyi even more.

Yu Youyao had calculated that she wouldn’t refuse.

In order to reach a cooperation with Yu Youyao, she did not hesitate to use the Yan Residence as a bargaining chip.

Only then did Lin Ruoru truly realize how shrewd this smiling girl in front of her was. Throughout the entire conversation, she had been completely led by the nose by the other partys huge benefits. She realized belatedly that from the beginning to the end, she had been in a trap.

“It’s a wise decision.” Yu Youyao picked up her wine glass. “This glass of wine is to give a toast to Miss Lin. I wish us a happy cooperation.”

She raised her head and drained her glass.

Lin Ruoru placed her hand on her wine glass and hesitated for a long time.

Then, she gritted her teeth, picked up her wine glass, and toasted Yu Youyao.

“Happy cooperation.”

She knew that the cooperation that Yu Youyao was talking about was not directed at the Lin and Yan families.

Instead, it was her and Yu Youyao.

Yu You would support her to rise up the ranks, and she was the bridge between the Lin and Yan families, bringing benefits to Yu Youyao.

Both sides had an unspoken mutual understanding and formed a rather stable and mutually beneficial alliance. Yu Youyao’s goal of meeting Lin Ruoru was perfectly achieved.

At the moment, when she expanded the incense business of the Jade Pavilion, a portion of the rouge, powder, makeup, and so on were all managed by the Jade Pavilion. The other portion of incense medicine with special effects, such as cold-repelling incense, Essence Nourishing Pills, and some medicinal oil to relax the tendons and meridians, were all shipped directly to the North as military supplies.

The medicinal herbs of the ten great Daoist lands were greatly available. Other than the Imperial Court, she would benefit as long as the Yue Fei’s Residence could obtain them.

Later on, she used the excuse of disaster relief to buy a large number of medicinal herbs. Some of them were indeed used for the refugees, but the other portion was bought for the You army.

Of course, even brothers had to settle accounts clearly.

These supplies were not for free. Even Yue Fei could not give them to the

North King.

After the business discussion, the two of them chatted.

Although the two of them had just met, their knowledge of the world was not weak. They chatted a lot, and the more they chatted, the more they clicked.

Lin Ruoru changed the topic and suddenly mentioned the imperial examination. “By the way, a few days ago, the Imperial Court reopened. This time, the person who passed the imperial examination is Prince Song of the Zhenguo Marquis Residence.” Her tone inevitably revealed a hint of surprise and praise. “True gold is not afraid of fire. Prince Song is indeed Mr. Xian

Yun’s disciple.”

Yu Youyao was stunned.

Ever since she came to Quanzhou, she had not paid attention to the

movements in the capital for a long time. As she was filial, she usually lived in seclusion and rarely went out.

Everyone around her knew that she had a deep relationship with her grandmother. They were worried that she would miss her grandmother and this was not beneficial to her health. As a result, people rarely even mentioned anything about the capital.

Yu Youyao couldn’t help but ask, “When did the Imperial Court reopen?”

Lin Ruoru was a little surprised that she did not know. “It opened in mid-October. At that time, you were still on the merchant ship heading to Quanzhou. Due to the last imperial examination, there was a huge case of fraud. Recently, the court has not been peaceful, and the drought in the north is inevitable. This examination is far less lively than before, and the commoners did not dare to discuss it wantonly. It was only when the Imperial Court released the rankings not long ago that it became lively for a few days.”

Yu Youyao sighed softly. Quanzhou was a place of trade. It valued business more than literature, and it was also when one was far away from the authority the powers that would not intervene. A grand event like the imperial examination would definitely cause a commotion in the capital for a while.

Even if people were sitting at home, the news would still reach their ears. However, after arriving in Quanzhou, everyone only discussed it for a while before stopping.

Lin Ruoru seemed to be very interested. “In this Imperial Examination, the examinees who were exempted from the second examination and obtained the title of tribute student will directly enter the palace to participate in the palace examination.”

Yu Youyao agreed deeply. “The Imperial Examination is a grand occasion for the Imperial Court to recruit talents. It can’t be delayed from April to now. The Imperial Court definitely wants to settle this matter as soon as possible. With the previous examination, the candidates who can continue to be referenced are all really talented and have character. There’s no harm in missing a second examination.”

Most of the candidates who were mainly referenced for this process were released from prison alive after the previous fraud case. Now that the Imperial Court was bold and unrestrained as it reorganized Zhejiang and the southeast coast, it was a troubled period. When they needed people and if nothing unexpected happened, this batch of candidates would be highly valued by the Imperial Court.

However!

The prosperity of official governance was in the investigation.

The future generation of leaders of the country were determiend by the imperial examination.

The Imperial Court was exclusively used to investigate and impeach hundreds of officials. It was a division of the emperor’s eyes and ears.

There were many evil ministers in the court who formed alliances and wreaked havoc.

Hundreds of officials were despicable, greedy, and corrupted.

They enabled academic injustice, change, and chaos to happen.

Together with officials from the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs that determined the promotion and demotion of officials, the case would be tried and judged fairly with the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review.

They were ordered to comfort the outside world and to patrol and supervise the various places to ensure they were following orders.

All of the above were the responsibilities of the Imperial Court. They investigated court matters and kept a strict rule over the higher-ups and the lower-ups. They would also govern the rise of the officials. They would be the eyes and ears of the emperor whom hundreds of officials bowed down to. Only then could the emperor manage the affairs of the people well and the court could prosper.

However, now, the eunuchs in the Imperial Court were stealing power and the cabinet still held power, causing chaos in the court.

It was already obvious that the Great Zhou Dynasty was dealing with corruption.

The fraud in the previous examination also indicated to a certain extent that the country was about to fall apart..