My Beloved Concubine Only Wants to Eat Melons

The system replied, "It's indeed true. This Liu Zhengxin, in his youth, passed the imperial examinations and became a very minor official in a county in Huainan. He was actually quite greedy, and seeing that there wasn't much money to be made as a small official, he became quite disinterested."

"However, taking advantage of his position in the government office, he discovered that being a litigation master was quite profitable. So he simply resigned from his official post and became a litigation master, only working for rich people. He would charge these people high litigation fees, then use some of that money to bribe county officials through his connections. Wouldn't that ensure winning the lawsuits? After doing this successfully several times, he unexpectedly became famous. Gradually, wealthy people would seek him out for their lawsuits."

Yanshu frowned, "But what if those rich people weren't in the right?"

The system sighed, "He didn't care whether the rich were right or wrong, he only cared about the money. Anyway, afterwards the victims would only curse the county officials for being greedy and not distinguishing right from wrong, rarely did the blame fall on him."

Yanshu immediately looked disdainful, "Tch, so he's just another heartless scoundrel! What a waste of his classical education! Then later, how did he end up opening an academy?"

The system continued, "Later, after several changes in the county officials, a righteous and good official finally came. Liu Zhengxin heard about this and knew he couldn't continue his business, so he changed careers. At first, he opened a private school, and later, using his skills of deception, he managed to expand and even opened an academy."

Yanshu asked in confusion, "But you can't just open an academy on a whim, can you? To become famous, you need good teachers, and the students you produce need to perform well too, right?"

The system explained, "That's why they say this man knows how to operate. After fighting so many unscrupulous lawsuits, he had saved quite a bit of money. He then used this money to hire famous scholars and recruit good students from various places. Isn't that how he gradually built up his reputation?"

Yanshu clicked her tongue, "...Tch, no wonder this man would compete with Ge Yuanhua for students, so that's how it was."

With this, things seemed to be clear for now. Yanshu curiously asked, "Who wrote this exposé letter this time?"

The system replied, "It was Ji Yuanzhuo, the great scholar from Jinling."

Yanshu's eyes widened, "Why would this esteemed teacher write an exposé letter out of the blue?"

The system explained, "Well, Jinling isn't far from Huai'an. Liu Zhengxin has been poaching students from everywhere with hefty sums, and over the years, he's taken several students from other families. Seeing their good disciples lured away by money, how could the teachers not be angry? Confronting him directly would make them seem petty, so seeing that you've exposed Ge Yuanhua's past, they hope to use you to expose this man's true nature."

Alright, Yanshu understood now.

Someone like Liu Zhengxin certainly shouldn't be the headmaster of Songhe Academy. However, just exposing him in her stories wasn't quite enough!

After all, Liu Zhengxin's bribery and lawsuit manipulation were old news from many years ago, far from the capital, and there were no victims nearby. Even if she wrote about it, others might not guess who it was about.

However, bribery was indeed a violation of the law. Perhaps it would be more efficient to have the emperor deal with it directly.

So she handed the letter to Rendong, saying, "Take this to Qianming Palace for His Majesty. Tell him I've confirmed that everything stated here is true."

Rendong agreed and took the letter to Qianming Palace.

Not long after, in Qianming Palace...

The emperor saw the exposé letter sent by his beloved consort.

"..."

How did another one of these pop up?

How did these scoundrels manage to reach their current positions?

And they even brazenly entered his Wenyuan Pavilion, lecturing him righteously about morality and virtue???

In his anger, Yuwen Lan immediately summoned people from the Imperial Censorate and handed them the letter to investigate.

Whether it was ten or twenty years ago, he would never let off someone who had once treated the law as a joke.

Fortunately, this Liu Zhengxin had always been mediocre and was not on his list of candidates for the headmaster position.

However...

What was with this one exposé letter after another?

Were they treating the Carefree Young Master as his Imperial Censorate and Imperial Guard?

Little did he know... that was indeed the case.

A few days later, the emperor received another exposé letter forwarded by his beloved consort—

The famous scholar Lü Gaozhi from Mount Song had once used his status as a government student to deceive and extort money in the countryside. Later, he was angrily reported to the authorities by the villagers, and an upright county magistrate publicly rebuked him in court. Feeling humiliated, he bribed the magistrate's superior and falsely accused the magistrate, causing him to lose his position unjustly.

Yuwen Lan: "..."

He was so angry he slammed the table!

Of course, after his anger subsided, he immediately ordered an investigation. Fortunately, the place where this man had committed his crimes was not far from the capital, so it was verified within a few days.

He immediately ordered the Imperial Censorate to take action, investigating and punishing both this man and the officials who had accepted bribes at the time.

In addition, he scolded the officials from the Ministry of Rites who were responsible for sending invitations to these great scholars and famous figures, asking them to look at who they had invited to the capital this time.

That night, Yuwen Lan came to Ganlu Palace.

Yanshu, who had been enjoying the gossip for several days, knew that the emperor had been quite angry these past few days, so she quickly offered him some cooling tea.

"The weather is hot, Your Majesty. Please drink some cool tea to reduce your inner heat."

Yuwen Lan made a sound of acknowledgment and drained the cup in one go.

Yanshu: "..."

She saw that his expression was still somewhat cold.

Yanshu helplessly assisted him in removing his robes. After they got onto the bed, she gently advised, "There have always been two-faced people throughout history. It's better to discover them now than to let them continue harming the people's livelihood. Your Majesty really shouldn't be too angry. After all, you can't prevent bad people from existing in the world, can you?"

Yuwen Lan sighed.

Although the reasoning was sound, as the emperor, he still couldn't help but feel angry.

Seeing this situation, Yanshu thought he was still worried about the selection of the headmaster for Songhe Academy, so she comforted him again, "It's alright. Even if four unreliable candidates have been eliminated, there are still several left. We'll surely be able to choose a suitable person to be the headmaster."

Ahem, of course, no matter how many were left, she still felt that only Grand Scholar Qi was most suitable to be the headmaster.

After all, he had real talent and learning, and there were no issues with his moral character. Most importantly, he had a past connection with the Empress Dowager.

If he could stay in the capital, even if they couldn't be together, at least they could occasionally hear news of each other and sometimes meet. That would be better than being separated by great distances.

Oh, just thinking about this couple made her heart ache and want to cry.

Yuwen Lan, who had been listening silently: "..."

This girl, writing so many stories every day and indulging in so much gossip, still had the energy to worry and cry for others...

Couldn't she spend her free time thinking about him?

Just as he was about to speak, he heard her say, "Actually, I've confirmed that the safest choices this time are the four most famous scholars, such as Master Ji from Jinling, Master Gu from Lanling, Master Yu from Nanyang, and Master Qi from Langya..."

She deliberately coughed and continued, "I think Master Qi is really excellent. He speaks steadily, has a graceful demeanor, and clearly has depth. I've heard he was once a Grand Scholar of Zhongji Hall. Wouldn't that mean he has a better understanding of important court matters? It seems he would be very suitable as a candidate."

She looked at him with expectant eyes, "What does Your Majesty think?"

Yuwen Lan remained noncommittal and only said, "I heard he himself has no interest in this matter and still intends to return to his hometown."

Yanshu replied, "But others want to go back too, and they have families. Master Qi is alone, wouldn't it be more suitable for him to stay?"

Yuwen Lan still didn't say anything.

In his heart, he wondered if Qi Shuguang had remained unmarried all these years because he still had feelings for the Empress Dowager.

Could a man really wait so long for a woman who was impossible to be with?

He tried to imagine himself in that situation.

If Yanshu wasn't his woman...

No, that's impossible!

How could such an adorable girl fall into someone else's hands?

He immediately stopped thinking about it and pulled her into his arms, kissing her.

Hmph, never mind those scoundrels. How could he waste this spring night?

Caught off guard by the sudden kiss, Yanshu felt a bit dizzy.

But she quickly immersed herself in it...

Ahem, she had been so focused on gossip these past few days, she almost forgot that flesh was quite delicious too.

Hehe.

After a night of passionate lovemaking, Yanshu slept in until late the next morning, feeling thoroughly satisfied.

After getting up, washing, and leisurely eating breakfast, she was just pondering what amusements to seek out for the day when she saw Fu Hai bringing her more letters.

Tsk, probably due to the recent stream of new books, readers' enthusiasm had surged, and the number of letters had more than doubled compared to last month.

Of course, there were likely still some letters reporting on her as well.

Yanshu was very eager and immediately started reading after receiving the letters.

She glanced through over a dozen letters, all from ordinary readers.

Just as she was about to go out and stretch her legs, she opened one last letter that gave her a start.

This was indeed a report letter.

However, the one being reported wasn't anyone else, but her idol, the great scholar Qi Shuguang!

The letter said that two years ago, Scholar Qi had bought a concubine from a rich merchant in Fengqiu.

Yanshu was bewildered. "???"

That can't be right, Scholar Qi was clearly single! How could he have bought a concubine?

She immediately called out to the system, [System, what's the deal with this letter? Surely it's not falsely accusing my idol?]

The system replied, [It's not exactly a false accusation. Qi Shuguang did indeed buy a concubine from a rich merchant in Fengqiu two years ago. However, that concubine was the daughter of an old friend, and he didn't buy her out of lust.]

Yanshu hurriedly asked, [What exactly happened? Tell me the details, don't keep me in suspense.]

The system then explained further, [In his early years, the great scholar Qi had a classmate named Bi Zimo. Back then, the two took the imperial exams together. Scholar Qi achieved the second-highest rank and entered the Hanlin Academy, while his classmate Bi also passed and was assigned as a minor official in Fengqiu. This Bi was a good man, but short-lived. He died in office after serving for over ten years, leaving behind a family of widows and orphans.]

[Because Bi Zimo was an honest official, he hadn't saved much money during his tenure. Afterward, his family became increasingly impoverished. His son wasn't very capable either, and as he grew up, he couldn't even afford to marry.]

[However, the Bi family's youngest daughter grew up to be... quite attractive. Just as she came of age, she caught the eye of a local rich merchant in Fengqiu. This merchant negotiated with Bi Zimo's son and offered five hundred taels of silver to buy the girl as a concubine.]

Hearing this, Yanshu could hardly contain her anger, [What kind of brother is this? Instead of trying to earn money himself to get married, he sold his sister?]

The system continued, [Indeed. Especially since that merchant was nearly forty, old enough to be her father. The Bi family's young sister was certainly unwilling, but she had no choice. After some time passed, Scholar Qi happened to be passing through Fengqiu on business. He had intended to visit the Bi family but was shocked to hear about this situation. He couldn't help but feel heartbroken for his old classmate.]

[As it happened, the Bi family's daughter heard about his arrival and found a way to beg him for help in escaping her situation. Scholar Qi went to negotiate with the merchant. He had hoped to persuade him with reason and emotion, but the merchant immediately demanded eight hundred taels of silver, saying he would release the girl if Qi could pay that amount.]

Yanshu was outraged upon hearing this, [Eight hundred taels? This merchant is a complete scoundrel! What a despicable person! Did Scholar Qi pay it?]

She was worried, as her idol didn't seem to be that wealthy...

The system confirmed, [Scholar Qi indeed didn't have that much money. However, he was determined to save her. So he scraped together funds from various sources and even sold two sets of precious paintings by famous artists that he had collected over the years. He finally managed to gather the eight hundred taels of silver and bought the Bi family's daughter out.]

[However, being a single man, he couldn't keep her with him after buying her freedom. So he entrusted her to a fellow countryman who had helped raise the money, asking the man's wife to adopt the Bi family's daughter as her goddaughter. Later, after some time, this countryman found a reliable man, and the girl was willing to remarry. So they married off their goddaughter to him. It's been two years now, and the couple is living harmoniously. They've had a son and are doing quite well.]

Yanshu finally breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but praise, [My idol's character is truly beyond reproach!]

In some ways, he even reminded her of her own father, that big fool.

But now she wondered, who wrote this letter?

Did this person know the full story? Or did they only know a fragment of it?

What was their intention in not telling the whole truth?

The system explained, [This letter was written by a professor from the White Horse Academy named An Hongsheng. He lives not far from Fengqiu and knew all the details of Scholar Qi raising money at the time. Writing to you like this now, he's clearly trying to tarnish Scholar Qi's reputation. After all, Scholar Qi currently seems to be the most suitable candidate for the position of headmaster.]

Hearing this, Yanshu flew into a rage, [He knows the whole story and not only doesn't help, but plans to selectively omit details to smear my idol???]

Hmph, this absolutely cannot be forgiven!!!