As for the families behind these men, Zhang Daji was not the least bit afraid.
Cao Shijiang was the first to lose his nerve. After all, he came from a Military General Family and had only scraped by, passing the exam to become a scholar through a stroke of luck. His family had spent years leveraging their resources to push him into his current position. When it came to literary knowledge and mathematics, he truly didn't have the courage to challenge anyone.
Seeing Cao Shijiang back down, the others also sensed their behavior was inappropriate and began to leave in twos and threes.
Only Liu Shijiang remained. "Your Excellencies," he said, "I believe it's rather inappropriate to send two people who are unfamiliar with the Six Ministries to handle these affairs. I volunteer to go and provide some oversight."
Wenheng looked up to observe the expressions of the two Grand Scholars. He knew this Liu Shijiang was rumored to be the nephew of the Old Prime Minister, Liu Donglai.
