The two of them walked as Baker recounted the entire story from beginning to end.

Back then, not long after the Crown Princess entered the Eastern Palace, she became pregnant. The Crown Prince was overjoyed and ordered that she be well cared for. At that time, there were few people in the Eastern Palace, so things were not complicated, and the Crown Princess’s pregnancy progressed smoothly up to the fifth month.

It happened to coincide with the Mid-Autumn Festival, and a banquet was held in the palace. The Crown Princess’s pregnancy was stable by then, so she attended the banquet with the Crown Prince. Unexpectedly, trouble arose during this event.

One of Emperor Chengjing’s concubines tampered with the food at the banquet, intending to cause another favored and pregnant concubine to miscarry. However, since the Crown Princess was also pregnant, the Empress had the imperial kitchen prepare the same dishes for both pregnant women. The person who poisoned the food, in their confusion, ended up drugging the Crown Princess’s portion as well.

As a result, not only did Emperor Chengjing lose his own child, but his niece-in-law, the Crown Princess, also suffered a miscarriage.

Because the pregnancy was already advanced, the miscarriage caused significant harm to the Crown Princess’s health, leaving her with gynecological issues.

It was from that time on that the Crown Princess’s health was damaged, her vitality depleted, and now she is very frail.

However, because of this incident, when Grace Carter later became pregnant, she received even more attention, and thus safely gave birth to Eldest Prince.

These were things Henry Faulkner truly hadn’t known. After hearing the story, he frowned and spoke in a low voice.

“How could there be such a coincidence? Two birds with one stone—the one who benefited most must have been Her Majesty the Empress.”

“Of course I know you’re clever, but you must never say such things carelessly!”

Baker quickly admonished, and Henry Faulkner immediately fell silent.

But both of them knew in their hearts that the loss of the Crown Princess’s child was most likely the Empress’s doing.

Why would she harm her niece-in-law? Wasn’t it because Brian Parker, her nephew, had taken the Crown Prince’s position that the Empress wanted for her own son?

All these years, the Empress and Eldest Prince have been eyeing the throne like tigers, even joining forces with Emperor Chengjing. The whole family has long forgotten how the throne was won from the late emperor, and all they think about is how to drive Brian Parker from the position of Crown Prince.

Thinking of this, Henry Faulkner couldn’t help but sigh—Brian Parker’s days were not easy either.

At this moment, Brian Parker, whose days were far from easy, was in the imperial study, locked in a battle of wits with Emperor Chengjing.

Chapter Thirteen: The Ministry of Personnel Scandal

Imperial Study.

Emperor Chengjing, plump and appearing kindly with his fair and round face, sat behind his desk, brows tightly furrowed, as if faced with a thorny problem.

Standing below, at the forefront, was Brian Parker, followed by Emperor Chengjing’s two other sons: the eldest prince born of Empress Li, Steven Parker, and the second prince, Philip Parker, born of Noble Consort Chen.

Further back stood the Empress’s father, the Left Prime Minister Matthew Lee, the Crown Princess’s father, the Right Prime Minister Samuel Reed, as well as Henry Faulkner’s father Charles Faulkner, and several other officials.

“The imperial examination is a matter of national importance. Now that such a scandal has broken out in Jiangnan and even reached the capital, if it is not handled properly, this year’s autumn examination will leave the people anxious and undermine the selection of talent. Your Majesty must deal with this prudently!”

Matthew Lee cupped his hands, his expression solemn.

He was a veteran minister who had served two reigns and was a pillar of the state, so Emperor Chengjing naturally responded.

“I will certainly handle this matter properly, Minister Lee, you may rest assured. It’s just that there are so many tangled threads now, I don’t know where to begin. I ask all my beloved ministers to think carefully—does anyone have a good solution?”

Brian Parker, seated below, lowered his gaze. He had already learned of the Jiangnan scandal they were discussing a month ago.

It concerned a case where a candidate’s identity was stolen after passing the exam.

A poor scholar from Zhongzhou, Jiangnan, named Benjamin Hughes, came to the capital to take the exam five years ago and ranked 127th among the top scorers—a great achievement. But the wealthy young master William King from Zhongzhou, who had traveled and stayed at the same inn with him, failed the exam.

The two had been classmates and close friends in Zhongzhou, knowing each other’s backgrounds well. After failing, William King, out of jealousy, conceived a vicious plan.

He killed Benjamin Hughes and assumed his identity.

Because Benjamin Hughes’s ranking was not high and he came from a poor family with no connections in the capital, no one paid attention. After passing the exam, he was casually assigned a local official post and sent away.

Thus, William King took Benjamin Hughes’s place and went to serve as an official elsewhere.

But what he didn’t expect was that when his servant attacked Benjamin Hughes that year, he didn’t check carefully—Benjamin Hughes was only barely breathing, nearly in shock, but not dead. After being thrown into the deep mountains, he was rescued by a farmer who had gone into the mountains to gather herbs.

Because of a severe head injury, Benjamin Hughes survived but was left blind, and his hearing was almost completely lost.

Although he repeatedly reported the case to the authorities for help, he had no evidence, and if the matter were truly investigated, it would offend the Ministry of Personnel. So, naturally, the local offices ignored him.

For years, Benjamin Hughes found no help and, disheartened, decided to return to his hometown in Zhongzhou.

Upon returning, he discovered his family had long since passed away. After inquiring, he learned from others that his home had been consumed by a fire in the middle of the night, and no one survived except him.

Moreover, from the neighbors, he heard that the person who was appointed as an official after passing the exam was William King, not him. They also said that when the congratulatory message from the capital arrived, the county magistrate personally went to the Wang family to offer congratulations, and so on.

After hearing all this, Benjamin Hughes could easily guess that the Wang family had bribed the county office, intercepted his congratulatory message, and caused the deaths of him and his family, all to allow William King to take his place.