Prince Yun sneered, gritting out two words from between his teeth.
“Then I’ll go back and find people to write memorials right away!”
“It wouldn’t hurt to find a few more. Since my Imperial Brother has given me such a good opportunity, I, as his younger brother, certainly cannot waste it!”
“Your Highness can rest assured. Since His Highness the Crown Prince has given us an opportunity, then naturally we must give His Highness the Crown Prince a surprise. I guarantee that by tomorrow morning, the memorials impeaching His Highness the Crown Prince will be about as tall as His Highness the Crown Prince!”
Cai You’s lips also curved into a cold smile.
Though he appeared refined and cultured, when he set his mind to something, there was always a touch of frenzied determination to see it through.
Either don’t do it at all, or do it to the extreme!
These simple eight characters were a testament to his life so far.
From the moment he entered officialdom, anyone he plotted against, if they dared to give him even the slightest opening, he would strike a fatal blow.
It was precisely because of this that his father had invested heavily in cultivating him. His original intention was for Cai You to inherit his influence, but he had not expected Cai You to be so ambitious.
He was unwilling even to wait for the day his father passed on his authority. After secretly plotting against his father several times, he was eventually kicked out of his father’s inner circle by an enraged Cai Jing.
However, even so, Cai You did not abandon his ambition to seize power. Relying on his outstanding talents and the influence he had secretly accumulated over the years, he was still thriving in court.
It could be said that Prince Yun’s current momentum was inseparable from Cai You.
Of course, as Prince Yun’s influence gradually expanded, Cai You himself was also rising with the tide.
Although the officials under his command were not many high-ranking ones, in terms of sheer numbers, they held an overwhelming advantage.
“Excellent! Then I will entrust this matter to you, Brother Jū’ān!”
After Cai You left, Zhao Kai hurriedly summoned several of his trusted confidants.
After secretly giving them some instructions, he returned to his study to await news.
At this very moment, in the Imperial Academy, the students’ examinations were finally drawing to a close.
Qin Hui, who had been putting on an act for over two hours, finally delivered his prepared statement.
“Holding a grudge due to personal animosity? Scholar-Official Qin, this conclusion of yours is indeed rather surprising!”
Zhao Huan said meaningfully.
“If Your Highness does not believe me, you can send him to Kaifeng Prefecture…”
Qin Hui said somewhat guiltily.
He knew himself that this excuse was hard to believe, but it was the best excuse he could think of. Furthermore, he had taken the opportunity just now to explain the pros and cons to his confidant.
At this point, all he could do was hope to gloss over the matter.
“There’s no need to discuss handing him over to Kaifeng Prefecture. Even if he is guilty, it should be determined by the proper authorities after a three-trial process. But if someone intends to pin charges on him that do not belong to him, it probably won’t be that simple!”
Zhao Kai had been gone for so long, and Zhao Huan naturally knew what he was up to.
The reason he had come here today was to seek a solution from Han Mo.
But he hadn’t expected Zhao Kai to follow him. After all this back and forth, he still hadn’t found an opportunity to be alone with Han Mo.
The sky was already nearing noon, and Zhao Huan was beginning to feel anxious.
No one understood his third brother’s temperament better than he did.
Once he set his mind on something, he would act without any hesitation.
He wouldn’t make a move unless he was sure, and when he did, it would be like thunder and lightning.
At the latest, they would make their move by tomorrow morning. If he didn’t prepare in advance, even the best plans would be too late to implement.
The thought that he had been held up for so long because of such a trivial official made Zhao Huan hate Qin Hui to the core.
It was likely that Qin Hui himself never imagined that the reason for his subsequent years of unsuccessful official career would stem from such a minor incident today.
“Your Highness, it’s nearly noon. Might I suggest…”
Even at this point, Zhao Huan still showed no intention of leaving.
This made Liu Li’s heart pound. After all, the Cai family might not take this Crown Prince seriously.
But he, a mere Junior Scholar of the Imperial Academy, did not have that kind of standing.
“No need! This Prince has other matters to attend to. Go about your own business!”
With the situation having escalated to this point, Zhao Huan understood that if he were to continue speaking with Han Mo now, it would indeed arouse suspicion.
After all, Han Mo was different from other scholars; he was someone the Emperor favored. If he were to get too close to Han Mo at this moment, it would harm Han Mo and himself.
Seeing the worried look in Zhao Huan’s eyes as he left, Han Mo understood that Zhao Huan was concerned about what would happen next.
However, with so many people present, all he could do was give Zhao Huan a reassuring glance.
Regardless, today’s matter had finally reached a conclusion.
Qin Hui’s attempt to steal a chicken had backfired and cost him dearly. This time, he had certainly learned his lesson.
Originally, according to Han Mo’s plan, he wanted to use this opportunity to expel this fellow from Bianliang city.
But seeing Zhao Kai’s departure midway and Zhao Huan’s worried demeanor, he no longer had the inclination to deal with Qin Hui.
After all, there was still a long time before this fellow would rise to prominence, and he had plenty of time to deal with him slowly.
“Brother Han, it seems you will need to be cautious in the future. The difficulty of today’s examination questions is truly rather peculiar!”
After the crowd dispersed, Zhong Yanchong quietly approached Han Mo and said in a low voice.
“The difficulty is rather peculiar?”
Han Mo was taken aback. He hadn’t noticed anything of the sort.
“Didn’t you realize? The difficulty of these questions is hardly what we students of the Imperial Academy should be expected to do. Even those who specialize in mathematics might not be able to answer them all at this time!”
After hearing Zhong Yanchong’s words, Han Mo was completely stunned. Were these questions difficult?
If it weren’t for this fellow insisting on falsely accusing him of cheating, he might have even thought that Qin Hui had been bribed by someone and intentionally made things easy for him.
“Are these not difficult?”
After Zhong Yanchong finished speaking, he suddenly remembered that Han Mo had finished all these dozen or so questions in the time it took for a single stick of incense to burn.
If that were the case, these questions didn’t seem difficult for him at all. However, the depth of this young man’s knowledge in mathematics was truly making Zhong Yanchong suspect if he had been playing the innocent bystander all along.