Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court
Chapter 371 Bai Ze is a Lucky Star

The matter of setting score thresholds might seem simple on the surface, but in reality, determining which prefecture's cutoff should be higher, which lower, which regions should admit more candidates to maintain balance rather than disrupt it, and which areas are prone to manipulation by the powerful...

All these aspects had to be considered.

Just thinking about it gave the Crown Prince a headache.

This was definitely not in line with his dream of lying flat and doing nothing.

So, the Crown Prince wrote a memorial, intending to toss the issue to his father to handle.

And then... he received word that his father was critically ill.

The Crown Prince: "...Oh."

The Jinyiwei who delivered the message urged anxiously, "Your Highness! His Majesty says you must return immediately!"

Even Xu Yanmiao, who happened to pass by, didn't believe that line.

[Here we go again-this is already the third time. Wonder who the old emperor is targeting this round.]

The Crown Prince smiled cheerfully, "Got it. I'll head back in a bit."

And in his mind, he began calculating roughly how many days he could delay before his father got too impatient and just handled the exam thresholds himself.

He knew his father well-most likely, this was another scheme to drag him back into working, to help build up the emperor's legacy. Besides, this probably wasn't just about work-his father was likely fishing for something again.

Sure enough, after a few days, word came that former Prime Minister Dou, together with tax collectors, the Jinyiwei, and local militias, had begun purging the powerful local clans across the realm.

A deadline was set. If surpassed-

Those who didn't return the hidden population-executed!

Those who didn't return annexed land-executed!

Those guilty of heinous acts and didn't come forward-executed!

In no time, rivers of blood flowed, and wails filled the air. Entire extended families were thrown into prison, awaiting execution in the fall.

At first, the Crown Prince had been watching cheerfully-but now he couldn't sit still anymore: "Father, what is wrong with you?"

Didn't you say you weren't going to rush things and ruin the bigger picture?

Many powerful clans, upon learning that the Crown Prince was still in Changzhou, came to beg him to stop the emperor.

The Crown Prince had a vague sense that something wasn't quite right about his father's approach. But it also did seem like the sort of thing his father would do. After thinking it over, he decided to trust his instincts: "Alright, I will try to persuade His Majesty."

The clans needed to be dealt with, sure—but it didn't need to happen so fast!

However, the Crown Prince's return to the capital was obstructed. At every checkpoint, he was delayed for several days. And the worst part-everything was done strictly by the book, so he couldn't just force his way through.

He was just a crown prince, after all. The moment the emperor gave the word, he found himself unable to take a single step forward.

Ironically, these roadblocks only reinforced the powerful clans' belief that the crackdown had nothing to do with the Crown Prince-that it was entirely the emperor's initiative. After all, the emperor was going to such lengths to prevent the prince from returning to intervene!

As the emperor's purge gained momentum, initial resistance was strong. But soon, in every region Dou and his forces reached, the local aristocrats rushed to return hidden people and land.

Almost every day, the Crown Prince received reports from different prefectures about households and lands being handed back by local clans. Some reports listed a few dozen households, others several hundred. It might not seem like much at first glance, but the daily totals quickly piled up. And that was just one prefecture-across all regions, the numbers were massive.

By the time the Crown Prince finally returned to the capital, having been delayed every step of the way for a full month, the population reclaimed from concealment by powerful clans nearly matched the official registered population.

-In other words, every prefecture's population had suddenly doubled.

[Truly-cowards starve, but the bold are fed till they burst. And this is barely thirty-some years after the founding of the nation!]

When Xu Yanmiao's dry commentary rang in the ears of all court officials, many instinctively paused what they were doing. Thanks to years of being burned, gossiped about, and trapped in political death matches, their psychological resilience let them just barely keep their expressions under control.

The chaotic days... had returned at last!

The Crown Prince swaggered back into the palace, only to find his father seated there in perfect health.

"Father!" the Crown Prince couldn't help but complain. "You scared me half to death!"

Even though he'd guessed this was another political ploy, he couldn't stop worrying-what if he'd guessed wrong?

The old emperor grinned, "That policy of yours-separate local exams and quotas for northern and southern candidates—not bad at all.”

The Crown Prince blinked and replied, "It is a good policy, yes. Just a bit complicated to manage—so I'll have to trouble you with the heavy lifting, Father.”

The old emperor smiled but didn't respond directly. "Do you still remember the tale of 'dividing meat as a prime minister'?"

The Crown Prince replied, "In the Liang Dynasty, there was a prime minister who, when he was young, was in charge of distributing meat in the village. When others did it, the villagers would complain-thinking someone else got more and they got less. But whenever that prime minister did it, everyone was satisfied."

The old emperor nodded. "Dividing meat in a village is like that, being a prime minister is like that, and being an emperor is still like that. Either make everyone satisfied, or make it so no one can find fault. Remember this principle."

The Crown Prince remained calm and said, "Very well, I'll remember. I'll also pass these words on to Yao'er."

The old emperor smiled at him and continued, "Of course, I wasn't able to achieve that. But you your reputation is better than mine, and you are gentler and more tactful. You'll surely be able to do it."

Just as the Crown Prince was about to speak, the old emperor cut him off. "No need for modesty. Just listen."

The old emperor spoke at length, "You're better than I am. You won't wield sole power like I did. You won't be obsessed with wealth like I was. And you won't be suspicious of your officials like I was."

"If you find the Jinyiwei useful, use them. If not, abolish them."

"As for your brothers-if you trust them, keep them. If not, strip them of their titles. I trust you'll at least spare their lives."

"As for those aristocratic families—the execution of their nine clans will be left until after autumn. That way, you can appear merciful."

"Father!" The Crown Prince's face turned visibly pale. "Why are you suddenly saying all this?"

The old emperor looked him up and down and said calmly, "You didn't really think I summoned you back just to make a fuss, did you?"

"Imperial physician!" The Crown Prince suddenly stood up. "Where is the imperial physician? Someone, fetch the imperial physician!"

"Why the panic? A man doesn't fight heaven or fate. I'm just old. And when people get old, they die." The old emperor, instead, tried to comfort the Crown Prince. "Besides, I always worried about sending my black-haired son off with white hair. Now I don't have to worry anymore. That's a good thing."

The Crown Prince's eyes reddened more and more.

But the old emperor smiled. "Before I die, I've already taken care of those old gentry clans for you. The new ones will take some time to form. You can boldly go forth and make your mark. But don't overwork yourself—you can't handle it. The crown grandson is still young. Have a few of your close attendants help you out but don't give them too much power."

"The prime minister position must be abolished, but don't rush it. Power is currently split in two, so for the next three to five years, they won't be able to challenge the emperor."

"The regional cutoff score policy is a good idea. It will prevent the south from becoming too dominant. But I don't have the energy to implement it anymore. You'll have to put effort into that."

"Why are you crying? I'm not dead yet! When I am, don't be too sad. Otherwise, if the Great Xia loses both emperor and crown prince in quick succession, your son-only ten years old-won't be able to hold the court together."

The Crown Prince pressed his lips together. "I understand."

"And also..."

The old emperor looked at him, paused, then said, "Never mind."

He continued, "Anyway, I'm still alive. No need to look like you're mourning. Just go do what needs to be done."

When he left the old emperor, the Crown Prince paused in silence, then turned toward the Wuying Hall.

The palace servants cleaning inside and the guards stationed at the door were all shocked-some even panicked-to see the Crown Prince coming to handle official business of his own accord.

They looked up at the sky-

Did the sun rise in the west today?

The old emperor didn't die that quickly after all.

After such a thorough purge of the aristocrats, it required considerable effort to stabilize things afterward.

The old emperor forced himself to see it through, ensuring the people seemed calm and without resentment.

In reality, it was all just suppressed.

Luckily, with crops like potatoes and sweet potatoes, even with a growing population, people could at least get enough to eat. This ensured they wouldn't starve before the first harvest.

If not for the potatoes and sweet potatoes, he really wouldn't have dared to act so soon.

"Xu Yanmiao..."

The old emperor gently knocked the table.

"He really is a lucky star."

Then he laughed.

What was he even saying how could Bai Ze not be a lucky star?

But even a lucky star can't make an old man live forever.

The Emperor of the Unified Heavens, in the end, still had to die.

When Xu Yanmiao received the news, he was attending Gao He's wedding with Lian Hang.

At the wedding, the groom was beaming, being plied with cup after cup of wine.

The colleagues were all clever and cunning, merciless with their toasts. One said, "On your big day, you must drink!" Another said, "In two or three months,

Brother Gao will finish the palace and get promoted-you must drink!”

Luckily, Gao He could hold his liquor, and hadn't yet passed out.

Still, Gao He was very happy.

Xu Yanmiao and Lian Hang were also in high spirits. They exchanged glances, then flanked the groom on both sides.

"Come on, Brother Add-Money, have a drink!"

"Wishing you boundless wealth and a long, happy marriage!"

"Yes, yes, drink! Drink!"

Gao He was swaying, crawling on the table, waving his hands: "I want a promotion!"

Xu Yanmiao shouted, "Promotion!"

Gao He: "I want to get rich!"

Lian Hang tossed copper coins. "Wealth! Wealth!"

Gao He laughed drunkenly, pointing to the door. "I want to set up a big, big men and merit columns outside!"

-Families of officials would often erect two pillars at their doors: the one on the left called men (), the one on the right merit (), commemorating the

family's achievements. Collectively, such families were known as men-and-merit households ().

Xu Yanmiao clapped loudly-clap clap clap and outside the door came the rapid sound of footsteps-clap clap clap.

"Master Xu!!!"

The commander of the Jinyiwei rushed in and grabbed him to run.

Xu Yanmiao followed in confusion. "What's going on? What is it?"

They were about to sound the mourning bell anyway-there was no need to keep it a secret.

The Jinyiwei commander was panting heavily and spoke quickly: "His Majesty! His Majesty is about to pass! He wants to see you!"

"What?!"

Though it was inappropriate, Xu Yanmiao suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, his mind going blank in an instant.