In the first year of the Tiansheng reign, Great Sheng was struck by an unprecedented examination fraud case. The scholars implicated numbered more than twenty thousand, exposing at once both the systemic flaws in Great Sheng’s imperial examination system and the corruption among its officials.

The Emperor’s fury shook the court. She held the four examination associate officials accountable, searched their households, and confiscated over two hundred thousand taels in ill-gotten gains. More than three hundred other officials were successively demoted, sending the entire court into stunned shock.

Only then did Wang Qingfan belatedly realize the truth.

It had never been a case of Chen Baoxiang going soft-hearted and allowing the four families’ representatives to preside over the examination grounds. It had always been a trap set by the Emperor well in advance — a trap with room only for their four families.

Even the Zhang family had not been spared.

Zhang Xiulin was dismissed from his post pending investigation. Zhang Zhixu was also suspended pending inquiry on suspicion of accepting bribes. Those who had previously wanted to go and plead for leniency on his behalf all stepped back upon seeing the situation.

The Wang and Gu families fared even worse. Not only were both associate officials’ households searched and seized, but because enormous sums of ill-gotten gains were uncovered, the entire clans were subjected to a sweep by the imperial guards. Every official of the fifth rank and above within their families was implicated — some demoted, others banished.

The Xie family had initially managed to hold on somewhat due to their noble title, but right at the critical juncture when His Majesty was conducting her thorough investigation, Lu Qingrong once again struck the imperial complaint drum.

“This commoner woman wishes to bring charges against the Eastern Flourishing Marquis Household for privately manufacturing weapons — harboring treasonous intent!”

Her voice resounded throughout Shangjing.

Chen Baoxiang was on her way into the palace when she heard Zhao Huaizhu mention this matter mid-journey, and raised an eyebrow: “This is an enormous allegation — does she have evidence?”

Zhao Huaizhu nodded. “They say that for a period of time, Xie Lanting indulged her greatly — not only taking her to the Court of Judicial Review, but also secretly bringing her back to the ancestral estate.”

Xie Lanting had once used similar methods to obtain evidence from the Lu family — but now, going around full circle, Lu Qingrong had repaid him in kind.

The Xie family would not ordinarily harbor treasonous ambitions, but the Eastern Flourishing Marquis had built his name through martial prowess and held a fief in Yunzhou. If he was truly involved in privately manufacturing weapons, then it might also connect to the earlier matter of Cheng Huaili’s privately maintained cavalry.

Under ordinary circumstances, even this tenuous connection might be something His Majesty would overlook with one eye open and one eye shut. But at this particular moment in time, it could become the boulder that crushed the Xie family entirely.

Chen Baoxiang shook her head.

The great aristocratic estates that had once spread their buildings across Shangjing, calling the wind and commanding the rain — after a dense spring rain, they had suddenly all become desolate and empty. Only the swallows, indifferent to the affairs of the human world, continued to bustle back and forth before their gates, building their nests as always.

“We have already discussed the matter of institutional reform with the senior officials of the Three Departments.” Li Bingsheng sat high on the dragon throne, smiling faintly. “They have all agreed.”

Chen Baoxiang’s eyes lit up.

Institutional reform was something that required many people to work toward the same goal in unison — otherwise it would become an empty slogan that could never be put into practice, an official document shelved and forgotten.

She had thought it would take a very long time to persuade those people, and had not expected them to agree so quickly.

“It must be because Your Majesty’s wisdom and virtue moved them.” Chen Baoxiang clenched her fist.

Li Bingsheng held her composure for a moment, then still couldn’t keep it up, and reached up to touch the tip of her own nose.

Wise and virtuous or otherwise was a separate matter — she had been quite liberally cutting people down recently. The stubborn remnants of the Li Shu faction within the Three Departments and Six Ministries had been purged thoroughly. The remaining officials who had not taken sides were presumably frightened out of their wits, convinced she was a tyrant, and no longer dared to defy her.

At first Li Bingsheng had found the label of tyrant grating, but the more she cut, the more smoothly things progressed, and she suddenly felt that being a tyrant wasn’t too bad either. So long as Great Sheng could rid itself of the old and usher in the new, taking a little criticism was no great matter.

“You have been busy working on my behalf, and truly exhausted yourself.” She said. “Didn’t I grant you three days of rest? How is it that you’ve come to the palace again today?”

Chen Baoxiang looked at the ceiling, then looked down at the floor tiles, and after hemming and hawing for a good while still couldn’t quite articulate herself.

And so Li Bingsheng understood: “Worried sick and couldn’t stand it anymore?”

“No.” Chen Baoxiang muttered. “This subject just feels he’s been having rather a hard time of it.”

The Zhang family had fallen into a slump, yet most of the Zhang family members were still alive and well, and they all knew that Zhang Zhixu had a close relationship with her — so they kept pressing him to find a way.

Zhang Yuanchu was particularly relentless. Whenever members of the clan came to hold him responsible, he would invoke family discipline on Zhang Zhixu — seemingly to demonstrate his own impartiality, he never once held back, not until the clan members were beaten so badly they felt too ashamed to press further.

What sort of father was that — his son’s life worth less than his own dignity.

Yesterday Chen Baoxiang had wanted to climb over the wall into the Zhang estate to check on him, but while perched atop the wall and not yet down on the other side, she had looked up to see Zhang Zhixu with his head tilted back, watching her, and gently shaking his head.

— Don’t come in. This is not a good place to be.

In the dim moonlight, a faint glow flickered in his eyes, and Chen Baoxiang suddenly felt that the timeline she and His Majesty had discussed — reinstating him several months from now — was far too long.

What about tomorrow? The day after tomorrow would work too.

Zhang Zhixu had lived through her pains and joys; she realized she had somehow never truly thought about his.

Li Bingsheng propped her chin on her hand and watched the person before her, whose face was all scrunched up with worry.

She said: “You could actually just bring him directly to your own residence.”

“This subject knows.” Chen Baoxiang scratched her head. “But this subject just keeps thinking — why? Why has he sacrificed for the Zhang family time and time again, and yet those people feel not a shred of gratitude toward him?”

If not for Zhang Zhixu’s meritorious contribution to the institutional reforms, some members of the Zhang family would have faced not mere demotion, but immediate execution like the Wang family.

And still they were not satisfied — still audaciously attempting to use Zhang Zhixu’s merits as leverage in negotiations with His Majesty.

The more Chen Baoxiang thought about it, the angrier she became, her cheeks puffing out.

Li Bingsheng’s brow moved slightly. After a moment’s consideration, she smiled: “We can help you with this small matter — but once it is done, you must handle two troublesome affairs on our behalf.”

“Two for one, Your Majesty?”

“Just say whether you’re willing or not.”

Was Chen Baoxiang the sort to suffer a loss? She was not.

But she nodded without hesitation on the spot: “Serving Your Majesty is this subject’s duty. Never mind two matters — this subject would not refuse even twenty.”

Li Bingsheng had initially found Chen Baoxiang’s fawning, sweet-talking manner quite distasteful, but having watched it long enough, she found it was actually growing on her.

Satisfied, she waved for Chen Baoxiang to sit, then transmitted orders to Hua Lingyin, sending her on a trip to the Zhang estate.

·

Every important official position in the Zhang family’s various branches had been stripped away. Not only had their gates grown cold and desolate, but more than half their shops had been sealed as well.

Zhang Yuanchu ran in every direction looking for connections and trying to plead for leniency, but just as a tree falls and the monkeys scatter, no one in Shangjing now dared to respond to him — everyone was too busy trying to protect themselves.

At the very height of his despair, a female official suddenly appeared at the door, smiling: “His Majesty requests your presence.”

Zhang Yuanchu was overwhelmed with gratitude.

He was already a man bearing criminal charges — yet His Majesty was still willing to see him in person. Did this mean there was still some hope for the Zhang family?

The other members of the Zhang family watched him with eyes full of anticipation, and Zhang Yuanchu tidied himself up properly and followed her into the palace.

However, the man who had entered smiling came back anxious and unsettled.

“Second Brother, what did they say?”

“What did His Majesty say?”

The entire family swarmed around him at once.

Zhang Yuanchu mustered a weak attempt at the corners of his mouth — but ultimately could not produce a smile: “His Majesty intends to banish all of us officials involved in the matter to Lingnan.”

“What? That godforsaken place — isn’t going there the same as a death sentence?”

“The Gu family is only being banished to Shu — why do we have to go to Lingnan?”

“Second Brother, did you properly plead with His Majesty?”

Zhang Yuanchu’s head throbbed unbearably.

How could he not have pleaded? He had all but thrown his old face on the floor and begged, but after all that pleading, His Majesty had only slowly let fall a single line: “What does the Marquis Chen think?”

Chen Baoxiang had been sitting to one side cracking melon seeds, and upon hearing this, didn’t even look up: “This subject has nothing to say on the matter.”

Zhang Yuanchu had spent so long navigating the official world that he could naturally read the situation — His Majesty had handed the decision to Chen Baoxiang.

As long as she was willing to protect them, there was still a path to survival.