An uproar ensued!

Could this person really be Prince Yuansheng's husband?!

Even the emperor began to frown, and the officials looked at each other with various expressions.

Xiao Zhixing sneered, "Again."

Eagle II then broke his other leg.

Qian Fen screamed, his legs covered in blood, "Your Highness, Your Highness, ahhh... How could you be so heartless?! Are you trying to kill me? Your Highness, I... I'm not reconciled! I love you so much, and you... you actually want to kill me? Heaven, please open your eyes—"

It was truly heartbreaking to hear and brought tears to the eyes of all who heard it; it was so desolate.

Xiao Zhixing took a breath; she knew she had met her match.

"Your Highness, are you trying to kill me to silence me?" The leading scholar couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward to stop Ying Er.

Xiao Zhixing waved for Ying Er to leave, then coldly sized up Qian Fen, "You've got some backbone."

She turned and bowed to Zhao Yunqi, saying, "Your Majesty, this matter is too suspicious. It is not they who demand justice, but I who demand justice."

She looked up, her gaze filled with a hint of suspicion as she stared at Zhao Yunqi.

Zhao Yunqi nodded solemnly, "I trust you, my dear minister. This matter must be thoroughly investigated. I will have the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice conduct the investigation on-site and give everyone the truth."

Zhang Rengui and Feng Liyan stepped forward.

Zhao Yunqi glanced at him and, not wanting to be unfair to Xiao Zhixing, added, "Grand Tutor Li and Minister Zhao should also join."

The four immediately began questioning, mainly targeting Qian Fen. However, even though he was in so much pain that he was about to faint, he insisted that he was indeed the son-in-law Xiao Zhixing had chosen, and that he had not mistaken him for someone else.

The matter reached a stalemate.

Xiao Yuanshan, who rushed over, couldn't utter a sound. The more he listened, the angrier he became, wishing he could kill Qian Fen on the spot.

Zhao Kun asked again, "You said you met with Prince Yuansheng multiple times. When and where did this happen? Are there any witnesses?"

“There are no other witnesses. Hiss...whoosh, the prince always comes to my house at night...or in the evening. I understand. Someone like her doesn't want to be seen. There are ways, but my mother has seen her. Can she...can she be a witness?”

"The neighbors must have seen it from afar, and they can attest to it..."

The onlookers whispered among themselves, beginning to side with Qian Fen, because his appearance at that moment was too convincing. Who could lie when they were half-dead?

Zhang Rengui spoke up, "Your Majesty, let's first give the scholar money for treatment, we can't let him really die."

Fu Lu immediately went to summon the imperial physician.

Feng Liyan asked Qian Fen, "You said that Prince Yuansheng gave you the examination questions, is that true? Do you have any evidence? When, where, and by whom did she give them to you?"

Everyone, listen up; this is the most crucial part.

Qian Fen, his face deathly pale, groaned and said intermittently, "It's...it's the truth. The night the sample questions came out, she sent one...one secret guard to deliver them. Around...around 15 PM, I...I still have the original manuscript in my room..."

The surrounding chatter grew louder, and the candidates glared angrily at Xiao Zhixing.

Xiao Zhixing smiled.

Duke Li and the elder looked at each other, their eyes slightly shifting.

Zhao Yunqi frowned slightly.

The Emperor System spun wildly, "How could this be? Impossible! How could the sample questions have been leaked? In such a short time!"

Yes, the sample questions were leaked as soon as they were released; we couldn't even wait for them.

The leading scholar, his face contorted with rage, demanded, "Prince Yuansheng, what other excuses do you have?"

Xiao Zhixing sneered, "It seems I'm quite foolish, leaking the sample questions before the actual exam papers were even printed."

There are so many more days to go before you can send it out, why send it out so early?

Qian Fen felt ashamed. "It's my fault. I'm too stupid. If I had gotten the test questions earlier, I would have had enough time to solve and polish them."

"Your Highness, can you confess your crimes now?" the scholar asked angrily.

Xiao Zhixing let out a cold laugh, "I am innocent! Why should I admit it?"

"you!!"

Suddenly, Zhang Shanhai arrived in a hurry with a group of people, including Qian Fen's parents and several neighbors.

"Ah, my son, my son—" Qian's mother, carrying a bundle on her back, screamed and rushed over when she saw her son's miserable state.

Mr. Qian was also horrified, his face turning ashen. "Fen'er, child, what happened to you? Who hit you? Huh?"

Seeing the family of three hugging each other and crying, even if Qian Fen was despicable, one couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Once the two elderly people had regained some of their senses, Zhang Rengui began to question them one by one.

First, the neighbors confirmed that a noble lady had indeed visited the Qian family a month or two before the imperial examination, and had given them many valuable gifts, which made them extremely envious.

Li Xiao frowned and questioned, "Didn't you see the person's face?"

One of them shook his head in alarm, “That person was high above us and rode past at great speed. How could we possibly see his face clearly? If we accidentally offend such an important person, we’ll be in deep trouble.”

"So you can't be sure that it was Prince Yuansheng?"

Another person said, "How would we know Prince Yuansheng? Didn't the Qian family reveal it themselves? Of course, they know it among their own family."

“We heard that Prince Yuansheng likes to ride a black horse and wear dark red clothes, that man is him.”

Several people glanced at Xiao Zhixing, clearly indicating that this was exactly what she looked like now.

Li Xiao emphasized, "But we cannot determine that it is Prince Yuansheng based on these external objects!"

"That's right, this is obviously someone impersonating Prince Yuansheng to frame him."

"What's with those sample questions? How can an ordinary person get their hands on them?!"

The onlookers started arguing, each with their own reasons and biases.

[Red comment: What went wrong? We can confirm that the person is fake, but we need evidence!]

[Yellow comment: Yes, we all know this is a setup, but there needs to be concrete evidence to prove the prince's innocence.]

[Green comment: The situation is not looking good.]

[Yellow comment: No rush, I just saw that the prince seems to have made up his mind.]

[Red comment: But this person surnamed Qian insists on the prince's involvement, yet we can't kill him, otherwise things will get even more complicated.]

[Green comment: Oh my god, I'm so anxious! Who is plotting this? This is too vicious. If it's confirmed, it will ruin both Xiao Zhixing's personal reputation and her professional and official reputation.]

[Red comments: Could it be the emperor? Or a northern barbarian? A member of the Feng family?]

[Yellow comment: The one with the Heavenly Rank in front seemed more like a Northern Barbarian; this one doesn't seem like the kind of scheming people other countries would have.]

[Red comment: Hmm, let me sort this out, I think I'm...]

At this moment, Qian's mother, who had been silent all along, crawled out on her knees, took off the bundle behind her, opened it, and tearfully and angrily declared, "Your Majesty, Your Excellencies, I have evidence. This is a gift from Prince Yuansheng to my family."

She trembled as she pulled out several exquisite handkerchiefs and several ornate hairpins. "Please examine them, gentlemen. These bear the insignia of the Prince of Zhenguo's Mansion, and these handkerchiefs also have her usual embroidery patterns!"

"We did not slander her. If this woman has uttered any falsehoods, may she be struck by lightning!"

The pile of things on the ground immediately became the focus of everyone's attention.

The situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable for Xiao Zhixing.

Public opinion also began to lean towards Qian Fen.

Everyone looked at Xiao Zhixing, whose face was grim, waiting for her reaction.