Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

The Crown Grandson thought that exposing the scandal of examination fraud would shock everyone. However…

Xu Yanmiao was panicking, flipping through the emperor’s romantic history in his mind, worried he’d stumble upon scandalous stories about the emperor and other men. The ministers were half-awestruck, half-terrified, fearing they might not live through the night. The emperor, meanwhile, was in pain, desperate for a way to silence the voice in his head.

The Crown Grandson? What did he say again?

The Crown Grandson himself: What is wrong with all of you! This is about examination fraud! Can’t you show some respect for the gravity of such a crime? Throughout history, cases of examination fraud have always led to numerous deaths, with even chief examiners being imprisoned!

“Grandfather!” The Crown Grandson raised his voice. “Your Majesty! Your Majesty!!!”

The emperor barely managed to return to his senses. “Huh? What’s the matter?”

Flushing with frustration, the Crown Grandson shouted even louder, “Xu Yanmiao! Examination fraud!”

Xu Yanmiao’s internal voice suddenly came to a screeching halt. He had just been digging into records from Tian Tong Year 12…

The ministers, some of whom were secretly enjoying the gossip, exchanged subtle glances. The Crown Prince, for instance, was oddly disappointed, as though something interesting had been interrupted.

The emperor regained his composure and ordered the chief eunuch to fetch a cup of tea to calm his nerves. “Gao Qisheng, if you’re going to slander someone, at least make it believable. How could Xu Yanmiao…” He paused to sip his tea. “…possibly commit examination fraud?”

At that moment, the emperor suddenly heard: [“Ah, has it been discovered?”]

“Pfft—”

The emperor spat his tea everywhere, coughing uncontrollably while the chief eunuch rushed forward with a handkerchief. The emperor’s mind reeled with shock. Wait… did you really commit examination fraud? Xu Yanmiao, you were capable of something like this?

Simultaneously, the Crown Grandson triumphantly pulled a scroll from his sleeve and held it aloft. “Your Majesty! Here is the evidence!”

A young eunuch scurried over, carefully took the scroll, and hurriedly presented it to the emperor. The emperor stared at the scroll, pondering whether he could “accidentally” spill tea on it to blur the ink.

Meanwhile, the ministers exchanged odd, knowing looks. Theoretically, examination fraud was a capital offense. However… But… was always the key word. Given Xiao Baize’s importance, a little examination fraud was nothing!

Still, they couldn’t let the issue slide too blatantly—it would undermine the state’s credibility. Quietly, the ministers began brainstorming ways to absolve Xu Yanmiao.

The Crown Grandson, oblivious to their scheming, added, “Your Majesty, I found this scroll outside the former Left Censor-in-Chief’s residence. Upon investigation, I discovered it was written by Xu Yanmiao of the Ministry of Personnel. However, the handwriting is vastly different from his usual documents!”

Before he could finish, a minister couldn’t help but interject, “Your Highness, that argument is flawed. Officials often delegate their writing to subordinates. It’s quite common.”

This was true—emperors had Hanlin scholars draft edicts, and officials had clerks write their documents. It was an unwritten rule of officialdom.

The Crown Grandson retorted confidently, “I’m aware of that.” He lifted his chin proudly. “But what if his handwriting on the examination papers is entirely different from his usual style?”

He emphasized, “From the imperial examination through the local, provincial, and metropolitan levels, his handwriting remained consistent. Why would it suddenly change after the exams?”

Normally, the final steps after the metropolitan examination were the palace examination and selection of imperial scholars. However, in that particular year, the process was unusual due to imperial decree. Even those who failed the metropolitan exam could enter the Imperial Academy. At only seventeen, Xu Yanmiao (or his predecessor) wasn’t a prodigy, and failing the metropolitan exam was normal. He merely rode the wave into the Hanlin Academy without needing the palace examination or further evaluation.

Thus, the argument “his handwriting matched during the palace examination” couldn’t be used to refute the fraud claim.

Another minister jumped in, “It’s common for candidates to alter their handwriting during exams to impress the examiners. That’s hardly suspicious.”

Then, yet another minister chimed in, “What if Xu Yanmiao can write with his left hand?”

The Crown Grandson had anticipated resistance. After all, no one would willingly admit to examination fraud. He lacked irrefutable evidence and was relying on the emperor’s disposition and circumstantial reasoning to ruin Xu Yanmiao.

In modern terms, it was like trying to convict someone without video evidence, DNA, or fingerprints—relying instead on a chain of circumstantial evidence.

The Crown Grandson’s plan was to first provoke the emperor’s disgust by insinuating Xu Yanmiao had caused chaos in the inner court. Then, he would bring up the examination fraud to reinforce the emperor’s negative perception of Xu Yanmiao. Even with weak evidence, this bias would make it difficult for Xu Yanmiao to escape unscathed.

But!!!

The Crown Grandson hadn’t expected so much resistance!

Xu Yanmiao was just a lowly ninth-rank official! Why were officials stepping up one after another to defend him?

Xu Yanmiao himself hadn’t even responded yet!

[“Ah, this is…”]

Xu Yanmiao felt a headache coming on.

He had ended up in the original host’s body because of a deal with a system—which, according to the system, was a legitimate company that didn’t engage in coercion.

The original host had first been recommended for the scholar degree, then failed the provincial exam but benefited from policy changes that allowed him to enter the Imperial Academy. From there, he had incredible luck, landing a vacancy in the Ministry of Personnel as a junior official in the capital.

Staying in the capital was much better than the typical fates of failed candidates, who often ended up as assistants, county magistrates, or schoolteachers.

All this happened within six months, each stroke of luck more exciting than the last—so much so that the original host literally died of overexcitement.

Overwhelmed by resentment, he had attracted the system, which then struck a deal: “I worked hard for years to pass the imperial exams and finally got a central government post. Then I died?! It’s not fair!!!”

Though reviving him wasn’t an option, the original host had begged Xu Yanmiao to at least keep the position for a while—otherwise, his death would feel meaningless.

[“How should I explain this? Say I was previously in a dazed state, acting unconsciously, but suddenly had a moment of clarity that changed my handwriting, habits, and even speech patterns? Would anyone even believe such an absurd story?”]

The ministers of Da Xia: “!!!”

We’d believe it! Please, just say it! Give us a chance to believe you! We’re already prepared to believe it!

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