20demayo Chapter 1078: The Dawn at the Bitch
Chapter 1078: The Dawn at the Bitch
The next day, Mao Shi.
A new notice posted outside the Suzaku Gate completely shattered the tranquility of the early morning in Shangjing.
There was a crowd in front of the notice, and the people were excited.
"Prince Cheng'an was stripped of his title? How is that possible! He's a prince! The Emperor's brother! How could he be stripped of his title just like that?"
"Prince Cheng'an is the emperor's younger brother, yes, but he's only his half-brother. Honestly, he's not really the emperor's biological brother... If the emperor is happy, he'll reward him with gold, silver, jewelry, and status. If he's unhappy... if he doesn't reduce his title, what's the point of keeping him around?"
"That being said, what exactly did Prince Cheng'an do wrong? Could it be that he wanted to create..."
"Pah, pah, pah! Don't say that! If he really did that, would the emperor still spare his life? He would have been beheaded long ago!"
"Hiss—this notice seems to mention Prince Cheng'an's crimes? Conspiring with Jiadebo to assassinate...assassinate an imperial official?! Why is there even a mention of Jiadebo?"
Among the people of Shangjing, Jiadebo was even more famous than King Cheng'an.
Because everyone knows that not only does Gadbert have beautiful handwriting, he can also write articles and poems. He is a literary figure admired by students in Beijing Middle School.
But this great literary figure actually did something like assassinating an imperial official?
For a moment, people were talking about it.
They whispered and wondered who the unlucky guy who was assassinated was.
"That unfortunate fellow must be highly regarded by the Emperor, otherwise how could Prince Cheng'an be stripped of his title?"
The people nodded in agreement.
You know, the prince's face is the face of the royal family, and the face of the royal family is the face of the emperor.
This time, Prince Cheng'an was stripped of his title, and the court announced it through a notice. This means that the emperor did not even care about his own face and insisted on severely punishing Prince Cheng'an. What does this indicate?
This shows that this time, Prince Cheng'an really touched someone who should not be touched, and made an irreparable and heinous mistake!
As everyone was sighing, another team of Yulin soldiers came over. The leader raised his hands and posted another notice.
"anything else?"
After the Yulin Army left, the people rushed forward.
Those who can read are surrounded by the stars.
"Lord Jiade... stripped of his title, demoted to a commoner, sentenced to lifelong labor service, confiscated his imperial rewards and residence... and confiscated places of intellectual gathering like 'Tingyuxuan'?"
Tingyuxuan is a property owned by Lord Jiade. It only receives ambitious people with achievements and honors. The cheapest tea in the pavilion costs two taels of silver per cup.
Many people clapped their thighs and cheered when they heard this.
"What's 'Tingyu Pavilion'? It should be called 'Tingqu Pavilion'! That place should have been raided long ago. Every time I pass by, I can hear the quniang singing. What kind of literati gathering is this? What kind of literati would spend their days outside listening to music instead of doing their work?"
"That lousy place... I was resting outside the pavilion before, and before I'd even had a cup of tea, the gatekeeper chased me away, saying I was polluting the nobleman's eyes by sitting there!"
Just as the people were applauding, a man suddenly pushed through the crowd and stumbled to the front of the notice.
He stared blankly at the notice, and as he was looking, the half-eaten wheat cake in his hand fell to the ground.
"Impossible..." He rubbed his eyes vigorously and staggered. "This is absolutely impossible... Who is the uncle? How could he do such a thing?"
That was the person he admired the most!
He doesn't believe it!
"Scholar, this is a freshly printed notice!" The common people sized him up and pointed at the seal on the notice. "It's still hot, what's impossible? Do you know Gadbert? Then you must have been tricked by him!"
"Yes!" someone echoed, "If you've been defrauded of your money, go to Jingzhao Prefecture and report it to the authorities. Who knows, the prefect might be able to recover some of it for you!"
Everyone gave him advice, but only he knew that what he had paid over the years was far more than just money.
His belief, the memorial archway called "Jadeber" that he worshipped in his heart, was collapsing bit by bit, breaking into unrecoverable fragments all over the ground.
The "high moral character" in his mind.
The "model of literati" in his mind.
His spiritual support was shattered overnight.
"You must have made it up. What right do you have to frame my uncle?"
With his emotions fluctuating greatly, he even wanted to reach out and tear off the notice.
"What are you doing!?"
The people were shocked and tried to stop him in a panic.
"Are you crazy? This is a notice from the imperial court! You've been possessed by an evil spirit, you're capable of anything!"
"What do you know!" He struggled, not caring about his sleeve being torn, and cried out in a tearful voice: "My uncle told me personally that he would revise every poem ten times and practice every calligraphy a hundred times! You people who don't understand poetry and literature have no idea of my uncle's character!"
You will never understand how high-spirited he was when his uncle praised him for his "elegant and unique writing style, and he will become a great man in the future" under the sycamore tree that winter day.
"Fake... all fake..."
His eyes wandered, and as he spoke, he actually started laughing.
The people were so frightened that they all took a step back.
"Zhao Song!" Suddenly, two people squeezed in, supporting him with complicated expressions, saying, "Let's go... We have some writing materials stored at Tingyuxuan. If we don't retrieve them today, they will be confiscated by the imperial court."
pen and ink?
Zhao Song laughed even louder.
What else does he need those words for?
......
In just half an hour, the content of the notice spread throughout the streets and alleys of Shangjing.
But what surprised the people even more was that it seemed that Gadber's crimes were more than just "assassinating an imperial official."
When the sky was completely bright, Tingyuxuan was surrounded by dozens of students.
They tied cloth bands around their heads, held banners in their hands, and shouted, "Gadeber is seeking fame and reputation, he has lost all conscience. Give me back my articles! Give me back my poems! Give me back my paintings!"
Just watching the show made the people dizzy.
"What do you mean? Not only did Gadbert cheat the scholars out of their money, he even took their writings?"
"I was wondering how this guy could write poetry so well! It turns out he stole everything! Scholar, scholar, please tell us more and we'll spread the word so more people don't get in the dark!"
The victimized students obediently lined up and told their stories one by one.
"Last year, after I wrote 'Autumn River Fu,' I asked Jia Debo to review it. He said it was excellent and could recommend me to the Hanlin Academy, but told me not to show it to anyone else. I listened to him and waited for him for three whole months! Three months later... this fu appeared at the poetry gathering at Tingyuxuan. I confronted him, but he had me kicked out and even threatened me with next year's imperial examination..."
"hiss--"
The common people sighed and asked the next person, "Scholar, what about you?"
The next student immediately raised the straw paper in his hand.
"The poem 'Morning Moon over the Green Ravine' describes the scenery of my maternal grandparents' home in the mountains, but he insisted it was his backyard and changed it to 'Morning Moon over the Green Pond'!"
The people clicked their tongues, "How shameless!"