Chapter 3: A car crashes into a taxi driver caught cheating in the imperial examinations!
Chapter 3
Ye Xiren has learned her lesson this time.
She not only instructed Ma Shan to be ruthless, but also personally supervised the other party's actions.
As Ye Changming leisurely approached, carrying his exam basket and humming a tune, accompanied by two servants, one fat and one thin, she blew out the lantern and stood in the darkness of the alley.
"Young Master, why aren't you nervous at all?" The servant Fatty Jin's voice came from afar.
Ye Changming raised an eyebrow: "What's there to be nervous about? Do you think I can fail the exam?"
“That’s true.” The thin man smiled sheepishly, his face full of admiration. “Young Master is exceptionally talented and will surely be the top scholar, making his name known throughout the Southern Capital.”
The three people talked, getting closer and closer.
Ma Shan and his group exchanged glances, covered their faces, and rushed forward. This man was quite skilled, and his men were equally quick and ruthless. Ye Changming, who was looking smug, only felt a blur before his eyes and was heavily pressed to the ground.
"Bang!"
A barrage of fists came flying at me.
"Young Master!" Fatty Jin and Skinny Silver's eyes widened, and they immediately rushed out to save the person, but the others held them back tightly, preventing them from getting close.
"What are you doing?" Ye Changming struggled desperately. He had always preferred reading to martial arts and was almost powerless to resist. "Who are you people?! How dare you be so insolent under the Emperor's nose!"
The newcomer ignored him and punched him until he was dizzy and disoriented. Then, he pulled out a stick from behind him, weighed it in his hand, and his eyes suddenly turned fierce as he slammed it down hard on the man's right hand.
Ye Changming roared.
Fat Gold and Thin Silver both knew kung fu and quickly broke free from the men who were entangled with them, kicking them away forcefully.
Fat Jin lunged at the eldest son, while Skinny Silver attacked Ma Shan, shouting, "You bastards, let go of my eldest son! Guards! There are refugees causing trouble!"
The shouts echoed through the darkness.
Ma Shan didn't bother to argue. Taking advantage of the thin silver man's kick to step back, he grabbed his stick, waved his hand, and led his men into the dark alley, disappearing from sight.
Ye Xiren watched his departing figure.
Ma Shan is a capable man. He is bold and decisive, has good martial arts skills, can control others, and makes people follow his orders. Most importantly, he does not linger in battle and leaves in time.
Fat Jin and Thin Yin are quite skilled in martial arts. If she had the time and ability to subdue them, she would not have wanted to harm her own brother.
The thought flashed through her mind, and Ye Xiren took a deep breath.
She pinched her thigh, her eyes instantly turning red and moist. She screamed and rushed out, "Ah, brother, brother... what's wrong with you?"
She squatted down beside her and checked her over.
Fat Jin and Thin Yin were in a panic. Although they were surprised by Ye Xiren's sudden appearance, they immediately felt reassured when they thought of the bond between the siblings. They said anxiously, "Second Miss, what should we do, Young Master..."
Ye Xiren commanded, "Quickly, take my brother back!"
Ye Changming's face was contorted in pain as he clutched his arms, but upon hearing this, he shook his head violently and said with difficulty, "No, I want to take the imperial examination, let me go to the spring examination..."
He didn't want to give up.
"Young Master!" Fat Jin and Thin Yin were completely bewildered.
Ye Xiren held his hand, her face full of worry, her tone extremely firm: "No, brother, your injuries are so serious, you must go home to treat them as soon as possible."
Ye Changming wanted to say something more.
Ye Xiren's expression remained unchanged. In her excitement, she "accidentally" exerted a little force on Ye Changming's injured arm, causing Ye Changming's face to change instantly, and he cried out in pain.
The clamor about going to the imperial examinations vanished instantly.
Ye Xiren stood up: "Take it back."
Fat Jin and Thin Yin immediately made a decision, picked up the person, and hurriedly returned to the Ye residence.
Ye Xiren stood there watching their backs, letting out a long sigh. Once they returned, her mother would never let him participate in the imperial examinations again.
Finally, the outcome was changed.
The carriage came from a distance and stopped next to Ye Xiren. The driver jumped down with an oil paper package in his hand. "Second Miss, this is breakfast from the Pan family shop."
Ye Xiren took the oil paper package, got into the carriage, and didn't eat it, casually putting it aside.
The coachman was puzzled. The young lady had just asked him to go buy breakfast from Pan's shop, so why wasn't she moving now?
“My brother just had his hand injured and has been sent back to the Ye family. I’m afraid he won’t be able to participate in the imperial examination today,” Ye Xiren said.
"Huh?" the driver exclaimed anxiously, "Shall we go back now?"
“No.” Ye Xiren shook her head and looked in another direction. “We’re going to the examination hall.”
She wanted to see... what secrets this year's imperial examination held, and why Ye Changming's cheating incident occurred.
The driver was puzzled.
But he was Ye Xiren's future dowry coachman, and since the contract of indenture was in Ye Xiren's hands, he was naturally loyal only to her. Without hesitation, he drove the carriage toward the examination hall.
Gongyuan
With the fall of Beidu, the imperial court hastily moved south, and the capital of the Great Liang Kingdom was moved from Beidu to the present-day Nandu. The young late emperor passed away not long after arriving in Nandu last year, and the new emperor hastily ascended the throne and launched a special imperial examination.
With constant warfare, there had been no spring imperial examinations for four years, yet few people came to the examination hall.
Firstly, the war not only affected the imperial examinations in spring, but also prevented the provincial examinations in various places from being held as scheduled. Secondly, most of the land north of the Huai'an Canal was in the hands of the Northern Yan people, and the candidates had to travel thousands of miles to reach the imperial examinations, making it difficult to cross the war-torn lands.
"Finally, the imperial examinations can begin. Our young master will surely pass with flying colors."
"That's right. The court is in dire need of talent right now. Minister Jiang said long ago that those who pass the imperial examination this spring will be directly appointed to official positions."
"Thank goodness, the war has finally ended, and the world is at peace. Everything is good."
"That's hard to say. After all, the Northern Yan delegation has only just arrived in the capital. What if the peace talks fail?"
"Don't say such things. Since Northern Yan is willing to negotiate, how could it not be possible? We've only been at peace for a few days!"
...
Ye Xiren could never understand why cheating in the imperial examinations would occur.
After several attempts, Ye Changming didn't seem to be planning to cheat on the exam.
Were you framed?
His elder brother was exceptionally talented. Although his reputation was not yet prominent in the southern capital, he was already well-known in the northern capital before the provincial government moved south.
It's normal to be hated, but it's not easy to succeed in taking action. Besides, the literary culture in Jiangnan is flourishing, and there are many more famous and talented people in Nandu. Why are they only targeting Ye Changming?
Ye Xiren didn't believe it was a coincidence that the same result came three times.
Her brother usually offended only spoiled brats, so he wouldn't have the ability to set up a trap in the examination hall. Besides, she had reminded him at the entrance of the examination hall the day before, so even if her brother was angry, he would be careful and wouldn't be easily framed.
Those who have the power to influence the imperial examinations are busy receiving the Northern Yan delegation; why would they want to harm her brother, a mere candidate?
The cheating in the Liang imperial examinations was shameful, but it had nothing to do with important matters of state or the peace talks with Northern Yan.
Ye Xiren couldn't understand what had happened in the examination hall, but today she had "solved" the cheating problem at its root, and now she could see that the imperial examination would proceed without Ye Changming...
Will there be any more cases of cheating in the exam hall?
Rather than letting her brother participate in this year's imperial examination, she wanted to save her whole family's lives. There would be many more imperial examinations, but life is only once. She woke up three times that day. Who knows if there would be another chance?
Ye Xiren took a deep breath, lowered the curtain, and said, "Let's go back."
The coachman nodded, and the carriage swayed and wobbled away, heading west towards the Ye residence.
-
The coachman suddenly reined in the horse. The movement was too sudden, and the carriage swayed forward. Ye Xiren, who was lost in thought, swayed and bumped into the side of the carriage wall, letting out a muffled groan.
Before I could even sit up straight, I heard someone across from me yell in broken Daliang dialect, "How dare you! How do you drive?!"
"Smack!"
A whip lashed the carriage with a loud crack, startling Ye Xiren.
Just as the coachman was about to draw his knife to fight back, he heard the coachman opposite him raise his voice: "Still dare to argue? If you disturb His Highness, you and your master won't have enough heads to lose."
Upon hearing this, Ye Xiren instinctively felt a pain in her neck and felt somewhat annoyed.
But the words "Your Highness" at the beginning were even more alarming. Ye Xiren pushed open the carriage door and said in a gentle and polite voice, "It was my daughter who failed to manage the servants well. Please forgive her."
At the same time, inside the carriage opposite, two maids carefully lifted the curtain, and a clear male voice spoke calmly and unhurriedly: "Morle."
The coachman, Moller, who had been so arrogant just moments before, fell silent and bowed respectfully, "Your Highness."
Ye Xiren looked over.
Sure enough, the people opposite were not from Daliang. The coachman was dressed in Northern Yan military uniform, his hair was braided and hung down in a mess. A group of Northern Yan people followed beside the carriage, riding tall horses, with gleaming swords hanging at their waists, guarding the luxurious carriage in the middle.
Ye Xiren didn't look into the carriage. She simply got off, lowered her head, and gestured for the driver to move aside and make way.
The coachman moved the carriage aside.
At the same time, the sound of horses' hooves sounded behind them, and several voices with fawning smiles drifted over from afar, "Oh dear, Your Highness Chizhan, what's going on?"
"Nothing," the person inside the carriage said indifferently, his voice devoid of emotion. "Lord Liu, Lord Li, what brings you here?"
Liu Duoxi smiled and said, "His Majesty and Prime Minister Jiang have instructed us to keep His Highness company, so we must be ready to serve at any time."
He turned his head, frowned, and asked, "What's going on? Has someone been disrespectful to His Highness?" His voice turned serious, and he looked at Ye Xiren and the other person with unfriendly eyes.
Ye Xiren kept her head down, offering no explanation, but instead bowing and apologizing: "It was my daughter who was in a hurry to get home, and the carriage was moving too fast, causing her to bump into you, sir. Please forgive her."
Both carriages were standing nearby. It was clearly the carriage from Beiyan that suddenly turned out of the alley, startling the Ye family's carriage. The Beiyan coachman, fearing his master's wrath, deliberately blamed Ye Xiren and the others.
"Who do you think you are? Do you even know who you've offended?!"
A note from the author:
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