Cai He hailed from the Jinling region. His family was neither wealthy nor well-connected. He had relied entirely on his own merit to pass the imperial examinations, eventually catching the eye of Mr. Xu of Guanxian Academy. Through Mr. Xu’s recommendation, he became a teaching assistant at the Imperial College, climbing the ladder one step at a time to reach his current position.
His household originally included three concubines, but not long ago, one of them was driven out of the manor for some unknown offense. His sources of income were quite varied: some were bribes from students seeking his favor, others were payouts from officials whose children had found themselves in trouble, and some even came from merchants currying his favor.
Lin Jingyue read through the file, her gaze landing immediately on the section Wu Yong had highlighted in red ink—Cai He’s Achilles' heel: his covert manipulation of the appointment process for teaching assistants. He would only appoint those who paid; those who didn’t stood no chance unless their academic performance was truly exceptional. Even among those who paid, he would still select the top performers.
Chapter 165