Originally thinking this was just a scheme targeting the Minister of Rites, but by the next day, the situation had spiraled out of control. Not only was the spring examination’s first-ranked candidate lacking in talent and learning, but even his provincial examination qualification had been bought with money…

These shocking rumors spread with seemingly credible details, making them impossible to disbelieve.

“Who ranked first in the metropolitan examination?” Shen Xihe hadn’t paid much attention yesterday.

“Surname He, from Wuzhou, said to be a distant relative of the Director of the Imperial Academy…” Zhenzhu informed Shen Xihe of the person’s basic information.

“To the Eastern Palace,” Shen Xihe’s expression turned grave after hearing this.

This wasn’t just a temporary move in Xiao Huayong’s game – this should be a long-planned grand strategy, involving officials from the capital to the provinces. One wrong step could lead to replacing half the court’s officials.

“Youyou came to seek me out – why didn’t you let me know earlier? I could have prepared more of what Youyou likes.” Xiao Huayong handed over a plate of cherries.

The first spring fruit, cherries were the most sought-after fruit in the capital. New examination graduates would hold “cherry banquets,” and the fruit was so precious and rare that each person would receive at most one small plate.

In a colorful crystal dish lay cherries that were tender and juicy, crystal clear, with a glossy red sheen, looking extremely delicious and tempting.

“Your Highness…” Shen Xihe was startled.

If she remembered correctly, Xiao Huayong had suffered twelve years of lingering poison because of a bowl of preserved cherries. Shen Xihe had thought he would hate or even avoid cherries, yet he offered them to her so openly.

Xiao Huayong saw through her thoughts at a glance: “Youyou think I avoid them?”

Xiao Huayong wiped his hands, picked up a cherry, carefully removed the stem, and very skillfully, without spilling a drop of juice, split it open, removed the pit, and placed it in another crystal dish which he pushed toward Shen Xihe.

“Before meeting you, I wouldn’t allow myself any weaknesses.” He had indeed once despised cherries deeply. When he decided to stand up, the first thing he did was eat cherries, eating them until he no longer had any aversion to them, which was how he developed such skillful handling.

Nothing and no one could make him fear or hesitate until he met Shen Xihe.

He thought everyone in the world should have one soft spot, and Shen Xihe was his long-lost, irresistible softness.

“Try them, these are cherries grown in the Eastern Palace’s rear garden,” Xiao Huayong had planted many fruit trees in the Eastern Palace, always two of each kind. Initially, he thought one tree wouldn’t look aesthetically pleasing, but now he felt that pairs of trees carried meaning, “In a while, there will be loquats as well.”

Shen Xihe felt admiration for how Xiao Huayong faced cherries so openly. She didn’t refuse, but picked up her chopsticks and tasted the cherries: “Sweet and mellow, soft and lingering.”

These were the finest of cherries. Shen Xihe had eaten them before in Linchuan, but the Northwest didn’t have them. Linchuan’s cherries weren’t as juicy and delicious as these which made one want to eat more.

“These two cherry trees have been planted in the Eastern Palace for seven years. At first, the fruit was sour and astringent. I sought advice from many elderly farmers who knew about growing cherries, and it took three or four years of effort to get them to bear sweet fruit.” Seeing Shen Xihe’s enjoyment, Xiao Huayong continued removing stems and pits for her, “Starting tomorrow, I’ll have Tianyuan send you a plate every day.”

Cherries were freshest when still on the tree, and one shouldn’t eat too many. Sending Shen Xihe one plate daily would be perfect.

“These are precious items, the Empress Dowager and His Majesty…”

“These are mine. Showing filial piety to Grandmother and His Majesty is enough – Grandmother can’t eat many, they cause bloating,” Xiao Huayong interrupted Shen Xihe, “I also know several dishes made with cherries as ingredients. Another day I’ll invite Youyou to share them.”

“I’ll certainly accept the invitation.” Shen Xihe thought about bringing some other foods then, and found it especially admirable that he had sought advice from elderly farmers. “Has Your Highness visited many rural areas?”

“Yes,” Xiao Huayong said, “Back then I asked my Imperial Tutor how to become a ruler. The Imperial Tutor said if I could understand the common people, understand merchants, understand the relationship between people and officials, understand poverty and wealth, then I could become a ruler.”

At that time, he had only wanted to become someone who commanded life and death. The Imperial Tutor saw the fear and resentment in his eyes, so he had him observe these things. Seeing more naturally opened his mind, and knowing more naturally made him someone who didn’t blame heaven or resent others.

“In this world, there is no one I cannot understand,” Xiao Huayong lowered his eyes, his hands not stopping their work. “I know Youyou came today about the examination fraud case. This is something I started planning three years ago.”

“Is Your Highness’s goal merely to replace a batch of court officials and cultivate your power base?” Shen Xihe had come to the Eastern Palace to ask him directly because she couldn’t understand the full meaning of his actions.

“That’s just a side benefit,” Xiao Huayong held nothing back from Shen Xihe. “Did you know I once took the imperial examinations under an assumed name? His Majesty, to suppress the aristocratic families, tasted the sweetness of supporting scholars from humble backgrounds. This move indeed greatly benefited the court and the nation, but haste makes waste.”

After purging the eunuchs that year, His Majesty held special examinations for two consecutive years, quickly cultivating a batch of scholars from humble backgrounds. Thereafter, he accepted large numbers of talented individuals each year, thus breaking down the power of the great families. However he didn’t realize that his emphasis on scholars from humble backgrounds led many such scholars to take desperate risks for a chance at success.

There were merchants’ sons paying others to take the exam for them, wealthy families bribing examination officials, and people bribing searchers to smuggle materials into the examination hall. But these weren’t the worst – the worst thing was what Xiao Huayong personally experienced: his examination paper was switched inside the examination hall.

“Switched!” Shen Xihe was shocked.

“Yes, switched – and it happened in Wuzhou.” That’s why he started his purge there. “The examination official brazenly replaced my paper with someone else’s name. When I went to the authorities for justice, I was thrown in jail as a troublemaker disrupting public order.”

At the time, Xiao Huayong held back his anger because he knew that while he could clean up practices here, he couldn’t intimidate other places.

To make these people understand how intolerable their actions were and never dare harbor such thoughts again, he needed to conduct a bloody purge. Only if people spoke of it with fear for at least ten years would truly talented individuals be able to emerge.

“I see.” Shen Xihe’s admiration for Xiao Huayong grew. Perhaps because of their different positions and experiences, Xiao Huayong was more clear-headed and thorough than His Majesty. What the Imperial Tutor had taught him reached heights that other princes could never achieve in their lifetime.

When he became ruler in the future, likely no one would be able to deceive him about anything.

As they talked, without realizing it, Xiao Huayong had finished preparing a plate of cherries and Shen Xihe had finished eating them. Xiao Huayong looked up to meet Shen Xihe’s admiring and praising gaze, and suddenly his smile took on an enigmatic quality: “If Youyou keeps looking at me like this, I might not be able to control myself…”