Meng Zhang refused to admit it and instead retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting? When did I poison you?"

"If you didn't poison him, why would you have run away in fear? And where is your servant? Isn't he guilty for doing something wrong?"

The impatient one is Wu Hang, the scholar who was forced to study because his family was wealthy. People from wealthy families speak with great confidence. When he saw that Meng Zhang did not admit it, he even wanted to go up and hit him.

Fortunately, someone nearby pulled him back.

Meng Zhang's eyes darted away as he continued, "He had some family matters to attend to, so he asked me for leave to go back home for a few days. He just left this morning. It was just a coincidence!"

If he hadn't shown such a guilty side, people might have believed him, but seeing his obviously exposed expression, everyone was very disappointed.

Lu Baichuan didn't want to argue with him, so he said directly, "Hold him down, take off the shoe on his left foot, and see if it looks similar to the powder left in the bottle."

"yes!"

The scholars present had never seen anyone take someone's shoes to investigate a case before, and they quickly covered their noses upon seeing this.

Kang Xiucai, on the other hand, didn't react much. He just watched Lu Baichuan and his team investigate the case without saying a word.

He was filled with sorrow, but at least to Meng Zhang, he still considered him a friend.

Because they were in the same class and almost always went to and from school together, Meng Zhang would sometimes have questions that he would personally explain to him, all in the hope that they would both pass the exam and have the opportunity to work together in the future.

Furthermore, after the exam, Meng Zhang felt that he had performed well and was very happy during this period. On the contrary, he was delayed by the cheating case, almost failed to finish the answer sheet, and did not perform well. He was worried about failing the exam and was depressed.

Besides the children, Meng Zhang was also the one who comforted him the most.

But he never expected that on the day he passed the imperial examination, Meng Zhang would poison them.

He was filled with sorrow and could not utter a single word.

While he was lost in thought, the people from the Fire Cloud Division had already extracted the powder from the shoe and compared it with the powder in the bottle. They then showed it to He Jiuniang, confirming that it was the same kind of powder. Now, no matter how Meng Zhang tried to argue, it would be useless.

"The evidence is irrefutable, what else do you have to say?"

Wu Hang snorted coldly, looking at this person, he really wanted to go up and slap him twice.

It's one thing to harm others, but why is someone who failed the exam also implicated? Just because he coveted Kang Xiucai's tea?

That tea was a gift from Lord Lu and his wife. You could smell the aroma of the tea even outside. Even if his family was rich, they wouldn't be willing to buy such good tea to drink. Now that they have the chance to taste it, he can drink a cup after saying a few words of congratulations. Only a fool wouldn't take advantage of it.

Is it wrong for him to just ask for a cup of tea?

But because of this, I got poisoned and almost lost my life. Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine.

And what about the Lu family's children? What a wonderful group of children. If they had all drunk the tea and it hadn't been discovered in time, what a tragedy it would have caused.

Thinking of all this, Wu Hang felt his blood boil and rushed forward without thinking, punching Meng Zhang in the face.

Meng Zhang was still thinking about how to exonerate himself when he didn't notice Wu Hang's fist coming at him. Because he was captured by the Huoyun Division, he had no way to dodge and took the punch head-on, which made his face look crooked.

He turned his head away, spat out a mouthful of blood, and suddenly stopped making excuses for himself, grinning and laughing out loud.

"Hahaha, that's right, I'm the one who poisoned you!"

"Why is it that I worked so hard but failed the exam, while Kang Chengzhi, who cheated, still made the list?"

"He clearly cheated, so why did he get away with it? It's because he knows so-called influential people like you."

“It must have been lost, but after you came back, he often went out, wasn’t he dealing with this matter?”

"On the surface, I seem very anxious every day, but in reality, these are all things that are set in stone. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Others can pass the exam by taking shortcuts, but I, who have studied hard for more than ten years, can't see any hope at all!"

"Why? Tell me why!"

Meng Zhang seemed to have gone mad, baring his teeth and roaring, spitting all over everyone.

Everyone stepped back with some disgust, afraid of being affected by him.

Kang Xiucai looked at him in disbelief and said righteously, "I did not cheat!"

"Is it meaningful for you to say all this now? You know someone important, a favorite of His Highness Prince Chen. Helping you would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it? Heh heh, you think you're so noble, always saying you're single-minded, but aren't you just being hypocritical by using the famous tea that he gave you to entertain guests!"

Meng Zhang has given up all hope and will say anything now.

Kang Xiucai was devastated and stood aside, pale-faced, unable to utter a word.

Wu Hang stepped forward and said, "You think you're right, huh? Brother Kang has some good tea, so he's offering it to his guests to show his generosity and politeness. Does he think he has to hide his good stuff for fear of being taken advantage of? Do you think everyone is as petty and narrow-minded as you?"

"If you didn't pass the exam, it's because you're not capable! Among the people in this little courtyard, apart from my family which has some wealth, everyone else comes from humble backgrounds. Today, it's not just Brother Kang who passed; Brother Li and Brother Liu also passed. Are you suggesting that they also found some influential connections?"

"Besides, Brother Kang's knowledge is far superior to yours. You're always holding up a notebook, asking him for knowledge, and when has he ever ignored you? You're just an ungrateful, heartless person who blames others for being better than you because you're incompetent! How unlucky I am to have lived with a lunatic like you for months! It's really bad luck!"

Although Wu Hang wasn't very academically accomplished, he had a strong sense of justice and a cheerful personality, so everyone liked to associate with him. Most importantly, he came from a good family but never put on airs, making him very comfortable to be around.

Kang Xiucai had initially doubted himself after hearing Meng Zhang's words, wondering if he had done something wrong, but after hearing Wu Hang's words, he felt much better.

Yes, he brought out the fine tea to entertain the guests, thinking that today was his big day and he wanted to share his joy with everyone. It was his heartfelt intention. How did it become hypocrisy in Meng Zhang's mouth?

"You! You must be saying all this because Kang Chengzhi has climbed up to a powerful figure! What, you think you can climb up to the same powerful figure he has? Don't dream! You... Ah!"