Chapter 474: Divide and Conquer

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“I dare! I, a commoner, dare to face you!”

Dong Haoran shouted as if grabbing a lifeline. He was just a doctor running a clinic, with different goals from those scholars.

While the three scholars and Dong Haoran were confronting each other, suddenly a commotion came from outside the government office. A clerk rushed in and said, “Your Highness, hundreds of scholars have gathered outside, making noise, demanding the release of Dong Haoran. They say he is innocent and ask why the government arrested him.”

“Scholars?” Xiao Ming and Pang Yukun exchanged glances.

Hearing this, Dong Haoran’s expression grew complicated. Trying to make amends, he carefully said, “Your Highness, these people are likely the scholars organized by Xie Ziyun. From my point of view, these scholars are only pretending to help me. What they really want is for Your Highness to allow them to take the exams. In my clinic, these scholars shamelessly claimed that the vacant official posts should belong to them.”

Under the threat to his life, Dong Haoran immediately turned against the scholars. He was smart — his alliance with the Confucians was only for his own benefit.

Now exposed and threatened by Xiao Ming, he dared not oppose him. Saving his life was his priority.

Xiao Ming snorted coldly. Dong Haoran was nothing but a greedy merchant, only after silver. He said, “Good timing. I want to meet this group of scholars and see what kind of trouble they can stir up.”

With that, he and Pang Yukun went outside.

As the clerk said, hundreds of young men dressed as scholars stood outside the government office, shouting loudly, acting as if fighting for the nation and the people.

When they saw Xiao Ming and Pang Yukun appear, the scholars’ voices slowly died down. Recognizing them, they clearly did not expect Xiao Ming to be here and were momentarily confused.

The leader of the scholars spoke loudly, “Your Highness, we come for Dong Haoran’s life. Dong Haoran is innocent. We do not understand why the government arrested him. Your Highness is usually open-minded, so why would you do something so unfair today?”

“How do you know Dong Haoran is innocent? And how do you know I want to harm him?” Xiao Ming asked sharply, suspecting this leader was Xie Ziyun, brainwashed by Cui Hao.

“Doctor Sun died, but the government arrested Dong Haoran. Isn’t this to cover up Doctor Sun’s suicide?” As Xiao Ming expected, the leader was indeed Xie Ziyun.

When Qingzhou’s exam reform excluded them, these so-called Confucian scholars exploded with anger. Those unhappy gathered, and Xie Ziyun, a student of Cui Hao, quickly became their leader. Together they plotted how to change this situation.

Doctor Sun’s death gave them the perfect opportunity. They tried to prove that they were the true followers of the right path and that the reform exam should include them.

“So you mean Doctor Sun’s death is all my fault?” Xiao Ming said calmly.

“I dare not say,” Xie Ziyun looked fearful.

“Dare not say?” Xiao Ming sneered at the scholars behind Xie Ziyun. “What else are you afraid of? Do you think the law won’t punish the crowd, so you can pressure me with these scholars?”

“I dare not,” Xie Ziyun kept a calm face.

Xiao Ming laughed then. He had to admit the Confucians had pros and cons, but some were truly stubborn. However, he didn’t believe Xie Ziyun was one of the tough ones.

Anyone driven by self-interest was not tough.

His eyes shifted. “Hmph, I’m not falling for your tricks. Since you want Dong Haoran, I’ll give him back to you.”

With that, Xiao Ming signaled. The clerk immediately brought Dong Haoran out of the government office and pushed him in front of the scholars.

Xie Ziyun’s expression changed. He had thought the government wouldn’t release him, so they could make trouble and have the Kong family pressure Prince Qi.

But what was Prince Qi really playing at?

“What are you waiting for? Didn’t you want Dong Haoran? I just gave him back to you. Why are you standing there? Disperse, disperse!” Xiao Ming said.

“Your Highness, even so, shouldn’t you say something about Doctor Sun’s death?” Xie Ziyun finally revealed his true intent.

Xiao Ming had been waiting for this. He said, “Step forward. I’ll explain to you.”

Xie Ziyun glanced back at the scholars, gathered courage, and stepped forward in front of Xiao Ming. Suddenly Xiao Ming’s mouth moved a few times, but no sound came out.

Before anyone could react, Xiao Ming said to the scholars, “I’ve said all I need to say. Ask him yourselves.” Then he entered the government office.

Hearing this, the scholars immediately clustered around Xie Ziyun, asking, “Xie Ziyun, what did His Highness say?”

“He didn’t say anything,” Xie Ziyun looked puzzled.

“That’s impossible. We clearly saw him open his mouth,” one scholar said.

“I saw it too, and he seemed very happy,” another added.

Xie Ziyun was very frustrated. He explained again, “I swear His Highness really said nothing.”

“Xie Ziyun, His Highness clearly moved his mouth. Why do you say he said nothing?” Dong Haoran asked sharply.

After that, many scholars grew even more angry. Several stormed off in rage. Xie Ziyun stood frozen, feeling very uneasy.

This feeling became reality the next day.

It was the day the reform exam list was published. Except for the Bowen Academy students, the only new name was Xie Ziyun.

“Well done, this Xie Ziyun tricked us all. He made us cause a scene at the government office, claiming the law wouldn’t punish a crowd. It was all for himself. Now his name is on the list. What else can we say?”

In front of the list, a scholar who had participated in the protest shouted loudly.

“Shameless villain! His Highness must have told him beforehand. He played dumb afterward. No wonder he stopped causing trouble. We were all fooled.”

“Scoundrel! Let’s beat him to death, that despicable villain!”

“Beat him to death!” The crowd of scholars grew enraged.

Nearby, Xiao Ming watched this group of scholars from a corner. Pang Yukun stood beside him and laughed, “Your Highness, what a clever divide-and-conquer. First you released Dong Haoran to take away their excuse for trouble, then pretended to say a few words to dismiss Xie Ziyun, and finally arranged for Xie Ziyun’s name to appear on the exam list. Now Xie Ziyun can’t even explain himself.”

Xiao Ming smiled, “This is only the beginning. Using this matter, I will show the people their true faces.”