It would be a lie to say they didn't have any doubts. Everyone turned their attention to Eunuch Hai's face, then to the indifferent Wang Yan and the woman who suddenly appeared behind him!

The concubines and empress dowager who rushed to the scene were all weeping uncontrollably, as if to prove their feelings!

Until a concubine stood pitifully in front of Wang Yan, crying and begging him to bring this person to justice!

Qin Qing, standing behind Wang Yan, could see clearly that the concubine's shy and lovely face was so alluring to Wang Yan, so blatantly seducing her. If she couldn't see it, she would truly be blind!

Wang Yan remained silent, showing absolutely no reaction whatsoever that a normal man should have!

The next second, someone suddenly stood up, glared at Qin Qing, and shouted.

"It's her! It must be her! The last person His Majesty wanted to see was her, and that's why those assassins appeared. They must have been the assassins that this woman brought in!"

In an instant, everyone's eyes were on Qin Qing, especially the woman who spoke, who was none other than Princess Rongyang, Qing Ning, who had long been living in the cold palace and had been forgotten and abandoned by the old emperor!

At this moment, she was glaring at Qin Qing with hatred, her eyes filled with unmistakable resentment and murderous intent... Perhaps thinking she had caught Qin Qing red-handed, she started shouting wildly.

"I saw her go to Father's bedchamber with my own eyes. She must have killed Father!"

Upon hearing this, before Qin Qing could speak, Wang Yan spoke first…

“She came to the palace to see me, Eunuch Hai can testify that His Majesty asked her to leave halfway. Moreover, if she hadn’t caused a commotion, the guards would never have discovered that an assassin had entered His Majesty’s palace. All the guards can testify that His Majesty was still unharmed when they rushed in! The imperial physician can also testify that His Majesty did not die from external injuries or poisoning, but from shock!”

"Therefore, the real culprits are those masked men who suddenly barged in!"

As for the masked man's identity and how he got in, even if he knew, he wouldn't say!

Under Wang Yan's detailed corrections, all of Qin Qing's crimes were overturned, and Princess Qing Ning was furious!

As for the Empress Dowager, who held the highest position present, she had long since withdrawn from worldly affairs, and besides, the current emperor was not her biological son, so she entrusted all matters to Wang Yan.

This action naturally drew objections from some people, such as several princes who rushed over, including the sixth prince, Long Tianyu, who was once the old emperor's most favored candidate for crown prince!

"Wait a minute, even if General Wang has immense power, he should understand one thing: the ruler of Tianlong Kingdom is surnamed Long, not Wang! Father Emperor has just passed away, and the most important thing now is to move him to the imperial mausoleum! The whole country is in mourning! Such matters should naturally be prepared by us princes... so there's no need for you to trouble yourself, General!"

They were implying, both openly and covertly, that Wang Yan was not qualified to handle the matter fully, while also revealing their own attitude and ambition!

Wang Yan merely glanced coldly at the Sixth Prince, his inexplicable aura causing the prince to tremble. However, for his own benefit, the prince still glared back at Wang Yan...

Of all the princes under the old emperor, only the sixth prince was favored. Even when the emperor was alive, obstacles were cleared for him, and the other princes were sent to other fiefdoms as much as possible. Now that the old emperor has just died, only the sixth prince is here!

"Since the Sixth Prince has spoken in this way, this general will naturally not interfere! This humble subject takes his leave!"

That's what he said, but he showed no respect whatsoever, turning around and pulling Qin Qing away...

Deputy General Zhang and Huang Zhong followed closely behind!

On the way, Qin Qing couldn't help but look at Wang Yan.

"Are you really not going to care? The old emperor is dead, and the Zhou Kingdom might have other ideas. Besides, the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven is coming soon. The sixth prince's position is illegitimate. Even if he becomes emperor, he will be useless. Aren't you afraid something will happen if you just ignore it like this?"

Hearing the sound, Wang Yan turned his head and looked at the worried Qin Qing. His cold expression instantly disappeared, replaced by a smile as he sat in the car.

"Does Madam mean that I should go back to take charge of the overall situation, find a puppet emperor, and then become the regent? Am I supposed to just watch those women in the harem throw themselves at me, or let myself be bogged down in state affairs and neglect you? What if you get bored and run away again sometime later, leaving me to go through all the trouble of looking for you, only to be heartbroken in the end?"

Qin Qing was taken aback; she really hadn't thought that far ahead…

The thought of Wang Yan getting involved, and how many women would seduce him, made her jealous. She might even end up running away from home in anger, only for Wang Yan to drop everything and go find her…

Just thinking about it is...awkward!

Seeing her disgusted and embarrassed expression, Wang Yan smiled and shook his head, his eyes filled with even more tenderness.

"Don't worry, how could I bear to leave my wife alone in the empty room? If it's true that women are like wolves at thirty and tigers at forty, if I don't satisfy my wife properly, I'm afraid..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qin Qing covered his mouth tightly, her beautiful eyes glaring at him with wide, angry eyes!

Qin Qing turned her head and glanced awkwardly at Deputy General Zhang and Huang Zhong behind her, her face instantly turning bright red!

Those two must have heard it at such close range! How incredibly embarrassing!!

Seeing this, Wang Yan laughed even louder, picked up Qin Qing, mounted his horse, and rode straight out of the palace. The guards at the gate didn't even dare to stop him.

The next day, the emperor died, and the whole country mourned!

When Mu Yang learned that there were inside stories about the imperial examination, he froze. Then he listened as Wang Yan calmly recounted the events, including the old prime minister's grudges against them, and the various cheating schemes...

"So, I'm the top scorer? I really became the top scorer in the imperial examination??"

Wang Yan nodded.

"He should have been the third-ranked scholar, but Qin Qing said that the title of 'top scholar' would have sounded better!"

The current dynasty's rules stipulate that only the top three are considered, regardless of their individual rankings. However, the third-place winner must be the most handsome of the three. Wang Yan originally wanted to award the third-place title to Mu Yang, but Qin Qing refused...

After all, as modern people, the top scorer is definitely more down-to-earth!

Everyone who received the news was overjoyed! Qin Qing was even happier, but because the old emperor had suddenly passed away, the top scholar's wedding procession had not yet arrived! So not many people knew the news yet.

It wasn't until seven days later that the joyous sounds of gongs and drums reached their doorstep!

Even though she was prepared, Qin Qing was still deeply moved. Watching the tall and handsome young man awkwardly mount the horse, the joy and excitement in his eyes were so clear!

On this day, the Tianlong Kingdom produced its first example of a young man achieving the highest rank in the imperial examination, and Mu Yang's name quickly spread throughout the Zhou Kingdom!

In the month following the old emperor's death, Wang Yan never asked Qin Qing what they had discussed that day, and Qin Qing remained silent about it...

Another half month passed, and the platform for ascending to heaven used in the sacrificial ceremony was finally completed...