Chapter 115: Respect for the Wise
After listening to Prince Cheng's report, Kangxi turned his gaze to Rong Haibin. He was also very sensitive to this surname and immediately asked, "Do you have any brothers?"

Rong Haibin was not called up, so he could only kneel on the ground: "I am the only son in my family. Your Majesty, when you ask this, does it mean that you have seen someone who looks very similar to me?"

"People are just similar." Kangxi waved his hand, "When have you ever met the Eighth Lady?"

"It was during your last southern tour." Rong Haibin recalled, "Your Majesty may not remember it, but you summoned three students from Jiangnan last time. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to see you. Your teachings are engraved in my mind day and night, and I dare not forget them at all."

Kangxi squinted his eyes and recalled that when he was visiting the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan, he was indeed inspired to write poetry, and he called several local scholars to enjoy the scenery together.

"That's true." Kangxi softened his attitude.

"How do you know that is the Eighth Lady?"

"This, she claimed to be like this, wore the clothes of the prince's wife, and gave money to students. How could it be fake?" Rong Haibin looked puzzled.

Liang Jiugong frowned: "How dare you! This is the emperor's presence, watch your tone."

"Even if it is true, you are a scholar, and you don't think about how to pass the imperial examination and enter officialdom, but you are obsessed with unorthodox ways. This is not what a gentleman does. Besides, I have more than ten princes, and the eighth prince is neither the crown prince nor the eldest. Why are you willing to build momentum for him?" Perhaps it was because they had met before, Kangxi did not dislike this smooth-talking and eloquent student, and his attitude was quite gentle.

Rong Haibin said sincerely, "Because the Eighth Master is virtuous, although our county is small, there are many students. The Eighth Master paid for everyone to go to Beijing to take the exam, saying that all expenses will be paid by the Eighth Master's mansion. There are many people like this in our county. The Eighth Master deserves the students to do so."

"Besides, the Eighth Lady has given us benefits. Anyone who refuses to acknowledge her is a fool." Rong Haibin showed a smug smile.

"How much silver did you take from them?"

Rong Haibin counted on his fingers: "The first time I got one hundred taels, the second time I got one thousand taels. I am not a talented student but I have some fame. Finally I got ten thousand taels. I have spent very little in the capital these days."

Kangxi looked Rong Haibin up and down and said, "You are quite courageous. Aren't you afraid that I will order your head to be taken?"

Rong Haibin widened his eyes in disbelief, "Your Majesty is a wise ruler, and a wise ruler must abide by the law. I don't know which law I have violated that makes you want my head."

"Is it serious enough to be impolite in front of the emperor?" Kangxi smiled and mentioned a name.

"The student is guilty and is willing to accept punishment." Rong Haibin showed an expression that said "Your Majesty is being unreasonable" and kowtowed to plead guilty.

"Hmph, keep your head. If I find you to be a good-for-nothing mediocre person in the palace examination in two days, I will punish you for all your crimes."

"I thank the emperor for not killing me. It is said that a dragon gives birth to a dragon and a phoenix gives birth to a phoenix, and a mouse's son will dig holes. The eighth prince is respectful and humble, which is what you do. I will take my leave now."

Rong Haibin stood up and walked out very quickly, leaving the scene before Kangxi got angry.

Seeing this, Yinxiang moved slightly and hid himself behind Prince Cheng.

As expected, Kangxi turned his anger towards Prince Cheng: "Rong has been squandering in the capital for so many days, speaking well of Lao Ba everywhere, and you didn't notice anything wrong. You are really a good examiner!"

Prince Cheng shrank his neck and said, "Father, he spent his own money, didn't eat a free meal, and didn't listen to a free opera. I just thought he was interesting, and there was nothing wrong with him after all."

You should not be so obvious about your anger. Kangxi shook his head, laughed at himself, and pointed at Yinxiang behind Prince Cheng: "Why are you hiding? Come out!"

"A thorough investigation of the students who passed the examination will be conducted. The palace examination will be postponed. I want to see how many other people were recommended by others besides Rong Haibin. This is simply ridiculous!"

Kangxi made the final decision, and the most extensive and involved imperial examination fraud and buying and selling of official positions case in this dynasty officially began.

At the same time, a farce was taking place at the gate of the Eighth Master's mansion.

A man dressed in rags, carrying only a bag, with a black face and two holes in his shoes, knocked on the door of the Eighth Prince's residence.

When the doorman saw an old beggar, he felt disdainful in his heart but kept smiling on his face. The Eighth Master and the Eighth Lady had instructed that no matter who it was, they had to greet them with a smile, and those who failed to do so would never be seen in the mansion again.

"you are?"

The old beggar spoke in a very young voice: "I am a student who came to Beijing to take the imperial examination. I failed and returned home. On the way, I met robbers and all my money was robbed. In order to leave the few books with me, I was beaten severely. I heard that the eighth master is generous and generous. Can you give me some silver? I will definitely pay you back double someday."

These words are so sad to hear that they make anyone cry.

Of course, this is only limited to the first or second time. This is the umpteenth time, and the concierge is a little fed up with it.

He lost money gambling yesterday, and was feeling uncomfortable, so he vented his emotions on him: "You don't look like a scholar in your attire. I won't make it difficult for you. As long as you can memorize the Analects, I can give you twenty taels of silver. Even if you buy a bun, you have to break it open to see what's inside. This scholar, you can understand me, right?"

The down-and-out scholar was so ashamed that he covered his face with his sleeves. Unfortunately, there were several irregular holes on his sleeves, and his true appearance was still revealed.

The scholar began to recite the Analects in a voice as soft as a mosquito. He was so thirsty that he stopped halfway to drink some water.

The concierge talked a lot, but he was tired of listening and felt drowsy. The words of the sage were like the chanting of a mosquito.

He took out a purse with twenty taels of silver, thought about it, chuckled, took out five taels of silver and stuffed it into his own pocket.

The scholar thanked him gratefully and left happily.

This situation became unstoppable, and many students who were short of money and had to return home came to beg for alms. The doorman also opened the door to a new world, taking five taels from each student. At the end of the day, it was enough for him to fight another 300 rounds in the casino.

However, the students used to socialize with each other, and as they shared what they had, they found that before the exam, they could get twenty taels by going to the Eighth Master’s house, but now they can only get fifteen taels.

Those who got less are unhappy. I failed the exam in the first place, so I am born inferior to others, right?

Driven by a few glasses of wine, a group of drunken students plucked up the courage to come to the Eighth Prince's house to cause trouble.

The Eighth Prince was still on duty, and when the Eighth Lady heard about this in the mansion, her first reaction was to find it ridiculous.

"This is really a case of giving silver and then getting it wrong. These people are not good at studying, they drink and make trouble, one is worse than the other. Take the token from our mansion and go to the governor of Shuntian Prefecture and ask him to arrest these people and let them sober up in the cell."