In fact, in the officialdom and among the court officials, no one can claim to be completely clean and consistent in words and deeds in private. Keeping a mistress is not a major issue!
However, the problem lies in the fact that this person is a teacher at the Imperial Academy.
Since the emperor ascended the throne and the Zhou family and the old Marquis of Dingguo passed away, the Wang family has seemingly taken the lead in the literary world, and Teacher Wang is an image deliberately created by the Wang family.
Now that this lofty and upright image has suddenly collapsed, it's only natural for them to face the backlash.
After the court session, in the imperial study!
Several senior ministers of the Grand Secretariat and some officials from the Censorate were all here.
The crown prince, the second prince, Qin Junxing, and Sun Jiming were as usual in attendance.
The emperor rubbed his forehead, flipped through the memorials accusing Teacher Wang that had been submitted, and asked, "What's your take on this matter?"
Prime Minister Zhang looked around and was the first to speak. "Your Majesty, in my opinion, this matter is neither very serious nor negligible. It's nothing more than Teacher Wang's lack of moral integrity in his private life. However, since he is the leading teacher at the Imperial Academy, it can't be considered a small matter either. I think if we don't punish him, it will affect the Imperial Academy's image in the eyes of the common people."
The emperor nodded. What Prime Minister Zhang said was exactly his concern.
The Imperial Academy was the most sacred place in the Great Yue. If there were hidden evils in this place, how would the common people view it in the future?
"Your Majesty, I think Prime Minister Zhang is right. Teacher Wang is the leading teacher at the Imperial Academy, and he must be severely punished to serve as a warning to others. However, Teacher Wang is highly knowledgeable and has trained countless talents for the Great Yue over the years. I think we should give him a light punishment and a heavy warning in consideration of his contributions!"
"I second that!"
"I second that!"
"Lord Lin's words are not right. Does it mean that without Teacher Wang, there will be no one to train talents?"
"True as it may be, Teacher Wang has indeed made contributions."
...
Before the emperor could say anything, the people below split into two groups and started arguing noisily.
The four of them, including the crown prince, watched all this coldly. The second prince stood beside the crown prince. Sensing that the aura beside him was getting colder and colder, he slowly curled the corner of his mouth into a smile.
Even he didn't expect Teacher Wang to keep a mistress. This was definitely a stain on the Wang family.
However, the fact that such a well - hidden matter could be discovered by Qin Junxing. What other tricks was he still hiding?
A strong sense of fear rose in the second prince's heart. He secretly warned himself to avoid conflicting with Qin Junxing as much as possible!
"Bang!" The emperor was annoyed by the noise. He slammed the table, scanned the crowd, and said coldly, "I summoned you here to offer suggestions, not to quarrel!"
"You can't even stop arguing over just one Teacher Wang. Crown prince, you speak!"
"Your Majesty, I think Teacher Wang should be severely punished." The crown prince stepped forward. Instead of pleading for Teacher Wang as the second prince had hoped, he said, "Our Great Yue has countless talents. It's because Your Majesty treats the talented well, values and cherishes them that so many people come to pledge their allegiance, not because of Teacher Wang."
"There are many talented teachers at the Imperial Academy. Without Teacher Wang, there are still other teachers like Teacher Zhou and Teacher Li. Your Majesty need not worry!"
The emperor looked at the crown prince. A flash of approval crossed his eyes. He nodded and said, "Since the crown prince has spoken, then Teacher Wang shall be dealt with according to..."
"Your Majesty!"
Before he could finish, the door of the imperial study was pushed open. The chief eunuch rushed in and whispered something in the emperor's ear.
The emperor looked a bit displeased. After thinking for a while, he nodded and said, "Let him in."
The chief eunuch quickly walked out. After a short while, the magistrate of the Capital Prefecture came in. After kneeling down to pay his respects, he presented a memorial and said, "Your Majesty, Teacher Wang's mistress, Yue Niang, voluntarily confessed in prison that Teacher Wang had accepted bribes. This matter is of great importance. I didn't dare to make my own decision, so I've brought the confession. Please give your instructions, Your Majesty."
"Oh~ There's actually such a thing?"
The emperor took the memorial from the eunuch and started to read it.
The crown prince beside him closed his eyes and sighed silently.
It was over!
Those idiots were still trying to excuse Teacher Wang. Now, it seemed that the entire Wang family would be dragged into this mess!
Although the crown prince had not intervened in the affairs of the Wang family over the years, he knew a thing or two about them.
Out of consideration for his mother, he had only given them a warning and had not torn off this fig leaf.
He never thought that after Teacher Wang's matter came to light, instead of trying to cut their losses in time, these people were still trying to get out unscathed.
It was simply a joke!
Sure enough, the more the emperor read, the more serious his expression became. Finally, he put down the memorial and said, "I didn't know when the Imperial Academy became a place where Teacher Wang had the final say and when it became a place for the Wang family to win people over!"
The memorial not only showed Teacher Wang's acts of accepting bribes and getting people into the Imperial Academy, but also revealed that the Wang family had placed their own people in the Imperial Academy. After these people graduated from the Imperial Academy, they became the Wang family's confidants.
It was precisely because of the Wang family's way of winning people over that they had become more and more powerful.
"What on earth does the Wang family want to do?"
The chief censor of the Censorate was a direct descendant of the Wang family. He immediately knelt down hurriedly and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive us. The Wang family has absolutely no intention of going against Your Majesty!"
But his words were too shallow. The emperor didn't even look at him. Instead, he turned to look deeply at the crown prince and directly ordered, "Arrest Teacher Wang and send him to the Heavenly Prison. The Three Departments shall conduct a joint trial to thoroughly investigate all his crimes. Also, find out if other members of the Wang family are involved."
After saying that, after thinking for a while, he scanned the four people beside him and pointed at the second prince. "This matter shall be handled by the second prince. Sun Jiming will go with the second prince to handle it!"
"Your servant obeys the order." "Your servant obeys the order."
"Alright, everyone disperse! You stay!"
The emperor pointed at the magistrate. The others dispersed.
After walking out of the gate of the imperial study, the crown prince's face darkened. He glanced at Sun Jiming and then turned back to the harem.
The second prince, however, stepped forward to Sun Jiming and said, "Mr. Sun, do you have any suggestions on where we should start the investigation?"
Sun Jiming took a step back, bowed his hands, and said, "Your Majesty has asked me to assist Your Highness. I'll follow Your Highness's lead in everything!"
The second prince curled the corner of his mouth, looked in the direction where the crown prince had left, and slowly said, "In that case, let's start the investigation from the most important places."
"Please enlighten me, Your Highness the second prince!"
"Of course, it's Teacher Wang's study at the Imperial Academy and the one in his mansion. To prevent the Wang family from getting the news and tidying up in advance, Mr. Sun, you go to the study at the Imperial Academy, and I'll go to the Wang family's mansion!"
Sun Jiming frowned. After thinking for a while, he said, "Your servant obeys the order."
The emperor had appointed the second prince to conduct the investigation because he was afraid that others would be bribed by the Wang family and the investigation results would be unreliable.
But he was also afraid that the second prince would deliberately frame them, which was why he had sent Sun Jiming to keep an eye on him.
Both the second prince and Sun Jiming were well aware of this. However, "Mr. Sun, rest assured. We'll meet at the Capital Prefecture Yamen after it's all over!"
"Okay!"
The two went their separate ways. Immediately, only Qin Junxing was left at the door of the imperial study.
He looked in the direction of the crown prince. After thinking for a while, he sent someone to borrow people from the Fourth Princess's palace.