Chapter 103: Suspicious Points Everywhere!

  If this person has a problem, then his problem is: he is too clean, too honest! Too showy!

  Chu Yang has always liked to do things in a way that goes against the norm.

  There is a sentence he has always remembered: A thousand miles for an official position, only for wealth! If one does not take care of oneself, heaven and earth will be destroyed! In his previous life, he wandered the world, drifting from place to place in the lower three heavens, and wherever he went, he cursed the greed of officials.

  Even those officials with excellent reputations live in large houses and eat delicacies, the least of whom are much better off than ordinary wealthy families.

  No one can live a life of poverty. Even ordinary people are looking forward to having more rice in the fields, so that they can eat better as a family.

  To put it bluntly, the people Tang Xinseng helped were all better off than his own family!

  "There's something wrong with this person!" Chu Yang thought for a moment, one finger tapping heavily on Tang Xinsheng's file: "Investigate!"

  "Ah?" Wu Qianqian, although she had not been in Tiyun City for long, also knew "One belly of blue blood to support the country, two sleeves of clear wind only for the people" Tang Xinsan, Lord Tang!

  Tang Xin Sheng has indeed become a model for officials in Iron Cloud City! A paragon of virtue!

  Is this kind of person a traitor? Chu Yang wouldn't have gone crazy from being burned, would he?

  "No need to doubt, let Tianji Hall investigate immediately! I want to see the materials before this afternoon. If there is even a slight omission in Tang Xinseng's materials by this afternoon, Tianji Hall will be held accountable as a whole! Tell Chen Yutong my words verbatim!"

  Wu Qianqian wrinkled her nose, wrote a note, and walked out.

  Suddenly outside a commotion, people shouting and horses whinnying; everyone in the Tianji Hall rushed out almost at the speed of putting out a fire. Chu Yanwang's stick is not easy to bear.

  Chu Yang smiled and slowly said, "You must remember that in this world, everyone has weaknesses. A saint like him is impossible to exist!" He pointed at Tang Xin Sheng's name with his finger and let out a cold hum from his nose.

  "There is a sentence in Chu Yang's heart, which he remembers very clearly. 'Is there a sage in this world? Let's assume there is one. Does the sage need to eat and wear clothes? Do these needs require spending money? Does he need to find a wife? Does he need to indulge in carnal pleasures?... If so, then he is not a sage! Because he has desires! Therefore, it can be inferred that there are no sages in this world!"

  The person who said this is Mo Tianji! Chu Yang now hates Mo Tianji to the bone, but he can't help but admit that Mo Tianji's words still make some sense.

  Since the establishment of the three halls, Chu Yan Wang has been managing very strictly; but among them, the strictest is still Tianji Hall. The master of Tianji Hall was almost called in by Chu Yu every two or three days to scold him severely, and then came out with a dark face, grabbed his own men and practiced again with increased ferocity...

  Chu Yanwang scolded someone, naturally there is evidence, only those who did wrong would be scolded. The one being scolded, Chen Yutong, didn't have the slightest bit of temper: indeed it was a mistake, shouldn't he be scolded? Chu Yu Zuo took responsibility for it.

  So Chen Yutong could only vent his anger on his subordinates, and did not dare to shift his anger to Chu Yuetai. This also led to the strict style of Tianji Hall, which eventually made very few mistakes...

  If one word is written incorrectly, the head of the hall will be severely scolded. Then the whole hall will suffer together, not to mention what kind of principled mistake it is, who dares to make a mistake?

  Nature, Chen Yutong and others were unaware of this, they completely stole the spotlight from Mo Tianji; if they knew, these people would probably swallow Mo Tianji alive...

  Before noon, Tang Xinseng's materials were neatly placed on Chu Yang's desk. The various materials added up to half a foot thick. This efficiency made Wu Qianqian gasp in amazement...

  It's really fast.

  Chu Yang flipped through it, carefully read it once, and finally revealed a smile.

  These materials are also clean and tidy. But these clean and quiet materials, falling into Chu Yang's eyes, under his preconceived mindset, discovered too many unusual things.

  "This man, ten years ago started as an official. At that time, twenty-seven years old, poor youth, mountain farmer's son, at the age of ten his parents died, twelve years old, the village where he lived was raided by Zhao, no one survived, only he himself hid in a secret cellar."

  Chu Yang spoke in a slow and measured tone, while Wu Qianqian quickly jotted down his words with her brush: "Whether it's family members or villagers, they all died too cleanly. This is the first suspicious point. Moreover, since his household has an underground cellar, according to general rural customs, even if not every household has one, at least most should; yet only his household was missed? And while everyone else died, a child like him hid in the cellar and came out unscathed. This is the second suspicious point."

  "General Zhao's soldiers have slaughtered the village, so they can't avoid looting. After looting, setting fire to it is the most secure and routine practice, no matter which country's army, after looting and slaughtering a village, this fire is unavoidable. If he was really in the cellar, even if he wasn't discovered, this fire would still suffocate him or smoke him to death! He couldn't have survived, yet he did. This is suspicious point three."

  "Escaped from the mountain village, went to Jin Guan City. Jin Guan City is not far from that mountain village, fifty miles away. This distance is not considered close for a twelve-year-old child... Never mind, this doubt is a bit forced, let's not discuss it for now. Hmm, in Jin Guan City, he then became a disciple under the famous Confucian scholar Kong Guangren. Ah, a mountain village child, who could have introduced him? Without anyone introducing him, Kong Guangren took in such a beggar as his disciple? Is he that kind of saint?"

  "Hmm... Tang Xin became a Xiucai at 16, got married, passed the imperial examination at 19, and became a Jinshi at 26. He was on probation for half a year before being appointed as an official at 27. Even if he were a top scholar, he would still need to take time off to learn about governance and politics, but he only waited for half a year before being assigned to a practical post. This is suspicious point five."

  "This experience is crystal clear, with witnesses to prove it. But the name was not famous, generally, being selected as a jinshi (a successful candidate in the imperial examination) is a big deal! Wherever you are, it's always a delightful thing to talk about. But Tang Xinsan smoothly passed the keju (imperial examination) and became a jinshi, which would normally make him a child prodigy, a heaven-gifted talent. However, he has always been very low-key, with no fame before this. This doesn't conform to people's psychology."

  "Psychology?" Wu Qianqian's hand holding the pen paused, and she asked in doubt.

  "Such a person, regardless of the region, is a legendary figure. Also a model, urging their own children to work hard and make progress as a good example. Apparently, this Tang Xinsan did not live up to this example, his low-key manner is frightening. Achieving success at a young age but without fame, this is a suspicious point six."

  Chu Yang said, "If we follow this reasoning, his low-key personality should mean that he wouldn't publicize anything he does. But since he became an official, no matter what good deeds he's done, they've all been spread far and wide in a very short period of time. Moreover, it's not just limited to the place where he's serving as an official; even if there are few people, it wouldn't be possible without someone deliberately creating momentum for him."

  "When he arrived in Iron Cloud Capital, it was even more loudly proclaimed that almost everyone knew that this Lord Tang was a very honest and upright official! This, having been an official for only ten years, without any prominent position, yet with such a reputation, is truly unusual. Moreover, it does not match his personality, this suspicious point seven."

  "Too strict with oneself and lenient with others; moreover, having been an official for ten years, he doesn't have a single enemy! Everyone gets along harmoniously with him...... This is suspicious point eight!"

  Chu Yang smiled lightly: "Everyone praises him for being a good person, but in the officialdom, it's like being in the rivers and lakes, where one is not free to act. One must take sides, standing on this side will offend that side. This is a fixed number! The court is like this, advancing forward while maintaining balance in the struggle between the two factions."

  "Exceptional ability, yet never seeking credit; when it's his achievement, he's never shortchanged." Chu Yang chuckled and said: "This world has never been so fair, but on him it appears. He has no money, no power, no background, how did he get such fairness? This is suspicious to the ninth degree!"

  "More than a decade ago, it was just when the Fifth Gentleman had just begun to gain momentum, and the Iron Cloud's plan to implement the Desert Plan was about to begin; what a coincidence. This doubt has been lingering for ten years."

  "Although the achievements are not small and the political performance is remarkable, within ten years from a ninth-grade official to a fourth-grade official... almost one promotion per year, this promotion speed is too fast, this doubt point eleven."

  "Although the son is talented, he does not enter officialdom. He claims to be avoiding suspicion, but in fact, he has no experience as an official under Iron Cloud. What suspicion is he trying to avoid? Moreover, his son has limited contact with the outside world while being taken care of by him, making it difficult for him to develop a strong sense of loyalty towards Iron Cloud; this inexplicable behavior seems to have multiple layers of meaning. His son continues to farm and study poetry and books, if he doesn't want to be an official, what is the point of learning these things? Who is he preparing for?" Chu Yang's smile slowly turned cold: "This is doubt number twelve!"

  "With these twelve doubts, even if you are a real immortal, I will still kill you!" A sharp and fierce glint appeared in the eyes of Chu Yan Wang.