“Little Trickster!” Dean Cole shouted angrily. That boy, upon seeing his uncle, was neither afraid nor respectful. He called out to the servants around him, “The enemy is too many! Retreat with me!!” With that, he dashed off, leaving Dean Cole both amused and exasperated. Helpless, he sent someone to inform Scott Cole. A servant entered to report, and soon after led Dean Cole into the study. Upon entering, he saw Scott Cole reading a book.

“Elder brother…”

“Zhongde, you’re here. Sit, sit.”

The two knelt and saluted, exchanged a few pleasantries, and only then did Dean Cole slowly recount the matter. After finishing, he waited for his elder brother’s advice. Scott Cole was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, “If you don’t report this, I’m afraid the position of Minister of the Secretariat will soon go to someone else.”

“Brother, what do you mean?” Dean Cole was startled and quickly stood up to ask.

“This matter is nothing more than a household servant teasing a young master—what crime is there in that? That Simon Young did this on purpose; his real target isn’t the Marquis of Jiedu Pavilion, but…” As Scott Cole spoke, he pointed to the sky. Dean Cole was shocked, immediately stood up, and bent forward in a listening posture. Scott Cole waved his hand and said, “There’s no need for such formality between us. The Pavilion Marquis is a close relative of the Emperor. Wade Young is making a mountain out of a molehill this time—he must have ulterior motives.”

“Think about it, what is the matter of a household servant? Even if there’s blame, it’s just a fine. But this time, Simon Young provoked the Pavilion Marquis, causing him to lash out. I’m afraid the real intent is to bring this matter before the Emperor. How would the Emperor punish the Pavilion Marquis? That’s his only close relative! If the Emperor refuses, ha, then they’ll say the Emperor is biased and favors eunuchs and such. Who knows, the Grand General might once again lead all the students of the capital through the streets.”

“And then, what would the Emperor do?”

“He could only compromise, and as for what he could compromise on…” Scott Cole thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “This year, Charles Green and James Clark were imprisoned—perhaps it was all to save those two criminals, and this whole thing is just a show! I just didn’t expect Wade Young to be so ruthless, sacrificing his own right leg for the plan to succeed. This man is not to be underestimated…”

After hearing Scott Cole finish, Dean Cole was already dumbfounded.

“Then, brother, what should I do about this?”

“Heh, this matter has nothing to do with us. At the next court meeting, just submit the memorial directly to the Emperor. If you keep it to yourself, they’ll only be happier. Then they’ll say the eunuchs hold all the power and the Son of Heaven is ignorant of the people’s affairs—how could that be allowed?”

“Thank you, brother, for clearing my doubts!”

Chapter 0011: The Disaster of the Partisan Prohibitions

In the Southern and Northern Palaces, the Son of Heaven listened to Lawrence Lord’s report, his expression shifting between gloom and brightness.

“Ha! How could my nephew have such ability, daring to stab the Prime Minister of a nation? Utterly absurd!”

“Earlier, they accused the Five Marquises of disordering the government, completely forgetting how the Five Marquises eliminated the traitors and returned power to me. In the past, when traitors held sway over the court, these were the pillars of the state—was there even one who dared to act as a strong minister? Now, why are there suddenly so many? Lawrence Lord, is my authority less than that of the traitors?”

Lawrence Lord lowered his head in silence. He understood well that the “traitors” referred to the Grand General Eric Lane. The Liang clan, as imperial in-laws, held sway over the court and brought chaos to the government. It was the Five Marquises—five great eunuchs—who eliminated the Grand General, and the people all celebrated. But now, the officials completely disregard the Emperor, ignore imperial edicts, act arbitrarily, and even use opposition to the Emperor as a way to gain fame!

Some renowned scholars refuse appointments and recruitment, taking pride in it. Some officials make mountains out of molehills, arbitrarily executing powerful nobles. This, in itself, was not a big deal—the Son of Heaven also disliked the powerful nobles—but the mistake was that after the Emperor declared the powerful innocent, they still insisted on executing them, and were even praised by the world. Wasn’t this saying the Emperor was blind and could not distinguish good from evil?

“The state—what Wade Young and the others are accusing is not the matter of the young Marquis stabbing the governor. No matter how you put it, Wade Young insulted the Marquis’s mother, and killing him would not be a crime. But the memorial accuses him of great disrespect. Though the Marquis is a royal nephew, he is only the Pavilion Marquis—noble, but without official rank. According to Han law, nobles must not interfere in politics or bully officials…”

“Interfere in politics and bully officials?? My nephew is only eight or nine years old!!” Richard Clark was furious. In appearance, Richard Clark resembled Henry Clark somewhat—slightly plump, fair-skinned, with little facial hair. But compared to him, the chubby one still lacked some presence.

“Your Majesty, please calm your anger!” Lawrence Lord bowed low and said softly, “Your Majesty knows the age of the Pavilion Marquis, and so do the servants, and the people of Hejian Kingdom surely know as well. But outside, they won’t say it was a nine-year-old Pavilion Marquis disrespecting the governor. They’ll say the imperial grandson, the Pavilion Marquis, is arrogant and unruly, disrespecting the governor!” In these times, when information is blocked and public opinion is controlled by the great clans, whatever the clans say becomes the truth.

The common people are illiterate, all textbooks and teaching materials are in the hands of the great clans, and all the students are sons of those clans!

Even those from humble backgrounds must study under the great Confucian scholars of the clans to make a name for themselves.

Hugh Harris, son of Bruce Harris; Bruce Harris once served as the Minister Steward, one of the Nine Ministers. Mark Moore, from the Ma family of Fufeng, was the grandnephew of General Ma Yuan, the Conqueror of the South. As for the rest—the Eight Talents, the Eight Exemplars, models for the world—was even one of them from a humble background?