Shen Yuanzhang raised his eyes, and with just one glance, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Among the guards of Xuanji was a veteran centurion, codenamed Yinzhe, who always liked to wear a veil.

With a slight tremor of his wrist, some of the tea in the cup spilled out, splashing onto the account book.

Shen Yuanzhang forcefully suppressed the fear that was about to burst from his chest. His throat was dry, but he still maintained the composure befitting a shopkeeper when he spoke:

What kind of book would the guest like?

Although he tried his best not to show it on his face, his internal energy was already running wildly, directly attacking his heart meridian!

At this point, there was not a single shred of hope left.

He knew perfectly well that he had lost.

In this contest with Xuanji Wei, they suffered a crushing defeat and lost everything.

He didn't even dare to think about the consequences of being captured alive; it would be a torment and humiliation far worse than death.

It's better to end it all yourself and die a clean death!

However, just before Shen Yuanzhang's resolute true energy was about to touch his heart meridian, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier and suddenly became completely still.

Yin Zhe glanced at him indifferently, and a telepathic message pierced his ear with pinpoint accuracy:

"What is Manager Shen doing? Don't you know the saying that it's better to live a wretched life than to die a good death?"

She walked step by step to the tall accounting cabinet, looking down at Shen Yuanzhang, whose face was ashen.

The eyes peeking out from behind the veil, with their corners slightly curved, revealed her joyful mood.

"We've been old friends for many years."

"Please, Manager Shen, come and have a cup of our Xuanji Guard's specially prepared tea, how about it?"

Shen Yuanzhang's face was ashen, and his last bit of strength had been drained away.

He closed his eyes in despair, ceasing his futile struggle.

At the same time, a large number of elite Xuanji Guards were mobilized throughout Fengjing City.

With lightning speed, they pounced on those targets that had been locked in for a long time but remained inactive.

Amid the uproar over the announcement of the provincial examination results, a silent crackdown and purge quickly swept across the city.

In this contest, Xuanji Wei ultimately emerged victorious.

With overwhelming force, they completely destroyed the intelligence network in Fengjing that the aristocratic families had built up over many years.

Everything seems to have settled down.

...

At the entrance of the examination hall, beneath the poster on the wall, the scholar Liu Wenxuan stood gazing intently.

He was in the back section, and there was nothing he could do. The area in front, especially the area with the top scholar, was already completely surrounded, and it was impossible to squeeze through.

However, the exam papers that followed didn't attract much attention, except for the successful candidates and their families who wanted to witness it firsthand, or a few unreliable candidates who clung to the last glimmer of hope and searched for their names.

With nothing else to do, Liu Wenxuan decided to make the best of it and see whatever he could find.

Having just looked at three exam papers, I wandered over to the paper of Chen Yu from Xianyun County, who ranked 143rd this time.

I skipped the sutra section and glanced at the final poems first.

Well, the wording is acceptable, but the artistic conception is mediocre.

Like most poems written for the imperial examinations, it is nothing special.

In truth, what Liu Wenxuan was most curious about was the poetry of Helian Chaolu, who was famous throughout Fengjing.

Unfortunately, they're ranked in the forties, still a long way from here.

Then, he turned his attention to the policy essays, which made up the largest proportion of the papers.

Before long, his brows furrowed tightly, and the more he looked at his face, the more surprised and uncertain he became.

"No...this isn't right!"

Liu Wenxuan suddenly raised his head and exclaimed in shock, his voice sharp and shrill due to extreme shock.

In front of the poster, a clerk stood solemnly with a water and fire stick in hand, precisely to prevent anyone from causing trouble due to their disappointment at failing the exam.

Every year when the results are released, there are always a few students who can't accept reality.

Some even went so far as to pounce on the list and tear it apart, so the government was naturally prepared.

Upon seeing someone dare to openly criticize the exam papers, the clerks on either side immediately became alert and sharply scanned Liu Wenxuan.

Liu Wenxuan pointed tremblingly at Chen Yu's article on the wall, his eyes wide open.

He seemed to have witnessed something extremely terrifying and absurd, and kept exclaiming in shock.

"No, that's not right at all!"

"There must be a mistake, there must be a mistake!"

Seeing his almost manic excitement, the leading clerk snorted and immediately led the two men forward.

"You scholar, this is the important place of the examination hall. Do not make loud noise and disturb the order!"

Liu Wenxuan seemed not to hear the warning, his pupils trembling violently with shock.

"Sirs, come quick! This exam paper is very strange, look at this part..."

As he spoke, he stepped forward to point at the exam paper.

Seeing this, the clerks didn't give him a chance to approach.

They grabbed his arms from both sides and tried to drag him away from the scene without saying a word.

"Hmph, another troublemaker."

"It's possible that a female member of the family took the exam but failed, and is just spouting nonsense here."

"How dare you question the fairness of the imperial examination? You're practically asking for death!"

"Drag him away, give him twenty lashes as a warning, and see if he'll behave himself!"

...

This move also served as a deterrent, so the clerks did not fall silent.

"Why are you arresting me? Let me go!"

Look at that article yourselves, it's really wrong!

Liu Wenxuan struggled desperately, his voice trembling with urgency and tears.

The commotion here has finally attracted more attention.

Viewers who were initially not very interested in the later parts of the exam were immediately intrigued.

They all crowded around, their eyes fixed on Chen Yu's exam paper.

At first, they looked at each other with suspicion, but then whispers began to circulate.

Soon, an eerie and shocking atmosphere spread rapidly among the crowd like a plague.

This is more than just wrong.

This is absolutely outrageous and utterly treasonous!

"Are you crazy? How can someone with this kind of writing pass the imperial examination?"

"How dare you openly defy His Majesty and curse the court..."

"Is the examiner blind? What's going on?!"

"Who knows? There might be some shocking secret hidden inside..."

Public skepticism boiled over instantly, like hot oil.

The voices of doubt, anger, and calls for a thorough investigation grew louder and louder, eventually escalating into a large-scale riot!

More and more people are pushing and shoving forward, eager to see the exam paper with their own eyes.

Everyone who saw the contents gasped in shock and looked on incredulously.

This... is insane!