Chapter 2: The guy who cracked the imperial examination cheating scandal!
Chapter 2
No, your leg is broken, and you still insist on going to the exam hall? Ye Changming, do you have a grudge against the Ye family?!
Ye Xiren's vision went black, and she almost lost her balance.
The maid Xuechan quickly reached out to catch her, and the old woman hurriedly asked people to fetch hot water and bring chairs. Everyone was in a panic, and the front yard was in chaos.
Madam Liao gently stroked her daughter's back, helped her sit down, and softly comforted her, "Don't worry, your brother is tough and will be fine. I've sent people to guard outside the examination hall, so don't worry..."
Ye Xiren: ...
Liao: "Really, Dalang, couldn't you have come back first after getting injured?"
Ye Xiren: ...
Ms. Liao: "I don't know who did it, or how badly they were injured?"
Ye Xiren: ...
Ye Changming was indeed thick-skinned and tough; even in that state, he still went to the Imperial Examination Hall to die.
Ye Xiren gritted her teeth, opened her mouth but couldn't make a sound, her head was buzzing, and she could already see her whole family being staggered and forced to the execution ground, the raised cleavers gleaming coldly, a sharp pain in her neck, and blood staining the ground...
She shuddered, instinctively gripping Liao's wrist, and finally spoke up: "It's hopeless, utterly hopeless!"
"What?" Liao was taken aback.
With her blood rushing to her head, Ye Xiren suddenly stood up: "Since we're all going to die anyway, I can't let myself starve to death this time. Someone, bring up all my favorite foods, or go out and buy some."
"Xuechan, quickly prepare paper and pen for me. I've disliked that girl Yongning for a long time. I'm going to write her a letter and give her a good scolding. And that ridiculously expensive jewelry I had my eye on before, go and buy it back for me right now."
"And what about my dowry? Quickly gather the money to buy food and send it to the refugees. I need to accumulate merit to ensure we can get through the next disaster smoothly and prevent a tragedy..."
She was carefully making arrangements for her "final affairs".
A cold smile hung on his lips, his face radiating a faint sense of death.
Upon hearing this, Liao screamed and cried out, "My son!"
-
The Ye family was in chaos that day.
The eldest son entered the examination hall "while ill," and the usually gentle and refined second daughter became "crazy" and did some extremely outrageous things.
Mrs. Liao looked at her daughter, who was eating heartily, with a worried expression.
Ye Xiren had a deathly madness about her. The table was laden with a variety of delicious dishes, and she had even drunk two glasses of wine. After eating and drinking her fill, her cheeks slightly flushed, she put down her chopsticks and calmly spoke:
"Mom, you're not eating enough. Eat more."
Liao couldn't eat anything and kept staring at Ye Xiren with worry. Hearing this, she said with concern, "My dear Xixi, what's wrong with you? Shouldn't we call a doctor to take a look?"
I looked for it "yesterday".
It's not that you're sick, it's just that you've really encountered a ghost wall, dying and coming back to life repeatedly on this day.
Ye Xiren glanced at the sky, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, twirled the bracelets on her wrist, and, still not satisfied, walked up to Liao Shi, her head adorned with jewels, and adorned her with all the gold hairpins lying nearby, instructing her:
"Take these with you. Mother, remember that as long as you share some benefits with those people later, they won't suffer too much."
Liao: "?"
She's gone mad, her daughter is truly insane.
Before she could speak, Ye Xiren looked towards the door and said, "They're here."
The gate was kicked open, and a group of guards rushed into the Ye family compound, their long swords gleaming coldly. The Ye family members were terrified.
"Within the Ye family, all, from top to bottom, await judgment!"
"The investigation reveals that Ye Changming, son of Ye Pei, Minister of Revenue, has been found guilty of misreading Confucian classics, cheating in the examinations, and deceiving the emperor. The evidence is conclusive. According to the Law of Daliang, the entire Ye family has been implicated and will be executed!"
The entire Ye residence fell silent instantly.
"Impossible!" Liao exclaimed in shock.
She stood up abruptly, instinctively shielding her daughter behind her, but Ye Xiren's skirt swayed slightly, and she stepped forward first.
The first two times, she was terrified and lost her composure, just like everyone else. She offered almost no resistance and was handcuffed and taken away by the Imperial Guards, where she was beheaded in despair.
But this time was different from before. The moment Ye Changming entered the examination room, she was prepared to die. Although she was somewhat afraid, she was still able to barely keep herself clear-headed and rational.
On her "third" audience with the imperial decree, she finally spoke to Lu Qian:
“Lord Lu, my father is the Minister of Revenue, a second-rank official. Even if my brother committed a crime, he should have been detained and tried by the Court of Judicial Review and transferred to the Ministry of Justice. How could he have directly sentenced my entire Ye family to be executed?”
Her lips trembled as she spoke, her voice growing louder and louder, while the front yard remained silent.
Lu Qian slowly shifted his gaze to her, looking her up and down.
Ye Xiren was protected by Liao Shi and retreated. Her fingers trembled slightly under her sleeves, but she bit her lip and stubbornly looked back at the imperial envoy, refusing to bow her head.
"Ye Pei is quite capable. Not only did he teach his son to cheat on the exam, but he also taught his daughter to be so audacious." Lu Qian sneered, his face full of sarcasm. "Cheating on the exam is a serious crime punishable by the execution of the entire family. The evidence is conclusive, and His Majesty is furious. Why would the Court of Judicial Review need to intervene?"
He walked step by step toward Ye Xiren, the knife in his hand gleaming coldly, his scarlet uniform exuding extreme pressure, and his eyes staring at people as if they were being watched by a venomous snake.
The two retreated step by step until they were pressed against the table, with nowhere left to go.
"Now that the Northern Yan envoy has just arrived in the capital, your Ye family has already caused such a scandal. What about Ye Pei? He has already been captured by me and is now waiting to die in the imperial prison." His voice grew closer and closer.
The Minister of Revenue appears to be a second-rank official, but in reality, above him is Jiang You, the Chancellor and Privy Councilor, who oversees the Six Ministries, and below him is Yu Zhi, the Right Vice Minister of Revenue, who is highly regarded by Jiang. So what is Ye Pei?
Lu Qian, who was in charge of the Imperial City Guard and protected the capital, would not be afraid of the Minister of Revenue, who had nothing to do with him, in the midst of chaos.
Ye Xiren's heart sank.
The first two times he was beheaded, although he knew the imperial decree was for the "extermination of the entire family," he still held onto a sliver of hope since he didn't see Ye Pei and Ye Changming at the execution ground. But now it seems...
Neither of them survived.
Lu Qian gripped the knife, shoved Ye Xiren and Liao Shi back, and sneered, "The evidence is conclusive. Go tell the King of Hell what grievances you have!"
After saying that, Lu Qian turned and walked away.
The two were pushed to the ground. Ye Xiren quickly stood up and went to help Liao Shi up.
However, Lu Qian had already waved his hand, ordering his men to tie them up and take them away. He even ordered his men to retrieve the grandmother from the Longevity Hall behind them.
Several tall and burly guards stepped forward, carrying rough hemp ropes and a wad of cloth to gag her. Liao was protecting her daughter when they were roughly pulled away.
Ye Xiren gritted her teeth, pulled out the gold hairpin, and stuffed it into the hand of the patrolman holding the hemp rope. She forced a smile and said, "Sirs, please take this to buy wine. Please be merciful. My grandmother is old and has been a lady of three dynasties. Please take care of her."
The patrolman glanced at her, then at the rather heavy gold hairpin.
The group exchanged glances, and the ropes binding Ye Xiren and Liao Shi loosened. The burlap used to gag them disappeared, and the patrolmen who went to fetch the old lady of the Ye family did not bring any ropes.
"My lord, how could this happen so suddenly?" Ye Xiren asked in a low voice to the person holding her captive.
The patrolman frowned.
Ye Xiren took off a gold bracelet and quietly slipped it to him.
"Who knows? This morning they said someone cheated on the imperial examination. They dragged a candidate out of the examination hall. There was quite a commotion in the palace. Lord Lu ordered us to keep an eye on your family. Once we got the imperial decree, we came to arrest them. It's been a whole day of trouble." The patrolman flicked his sleeve and quickly took the gold bracelet.
"What are you doing?!" A junior leader turned around and shouted, his face fierce, and lashed out at them with his whip without any mercy.
These dying officials and their families meant nothing to them.
Ye Xiren trembled, and hurriedly took off the warm jade bracelet. She held it up with difficulty with her bound hands, and said very tactfully, "My lord, I just want to ask, and I want to die knowing the truth."
The minor leader hesitated for a moment, and it was hard not to be tempted.
So the whip paused in mid-air, then slowly retracted. The foreman silently took the bracelet, lowering his voice:
"You won't survive. Stop struggling. The Northern Yan delegation has entered the capital, and the entire court is busy dealing with them. However, your brother has been embroiled in a scandal involving cheating on the imperial examinations. The evidence is irrefutable, and the Northern Yan delegation overheard it and mocked the Great Liang for a long time. His Majesty and his ministers are furious and immediately drafted an edict to execute the entire family..."
Ye Xiren's heart sank.
There's no hope for them.
She took off the hairpin and bracelet one by one, thinking, "Since that's how it is... I might as well suffer less."
-
Imperial City Guard, Imperial Prison.
A figure sat on the thatched ground, his hands and feet bound by iron chains, his body covered in wounds, his clothes soaked with blood, and his disheveled hair covering most of his face. There wasn't even a window in the room; it was deathly silent.
But the shadowy figure remained seated, back straight, motionless, with only its eyes slightly moving, its gaze fixed on the dungeon entrance.
As the shadow appeared, the jailer came in and placed the lunchbox in front of the shadow, taking out the food one by one and pouring a bowl of water.
The dark figure slowly closed its eyes.
-
The executioner at Caishikou raised his hands, spat out a mouthful of strong liquor, and with a flash of cold light, his executioner's blade fell heavily. A sharp pain shot through him, and blood splattered...
Ye Xiren suddenly sat up, clutching her neck, her breathing rapid and her eyes filled with terror.
"Miss?" The maids filed in, the head maid looking anxious. She wiped the cold sweat from Ye Xiren's forehead while ordering, "Quickly bring some water!"
Familiar scene, familiar sound.
Ye Xiren swallowed hard and asked, "What's the date today, Xuechan?"
"The first day of the third month, today is the imperial examination..."
It's that day again!
Ye Xiren jumped out of bed, gritting her teeth: "Quick, get me dressed, and have a carriage prepared. I'm going to 'see' my brother off..."
As soon as Ye Changming entered the examination hall, there was a cheating scandal. The imperial court did not listen to any explanation and directly issued an edict to execute his entire family. The process was different three times, but the result was exactly the same.
To change the outcome, we must address the root cause!
In the darkness.
The black carriage sped along, kicking up dust, and came to a stop outside the alley of Wenlinfang.
Ye Xiren, carrying a lantern, hurriedly stepped into the dark alley. Having done it before, she was now quite adept at it, ignoring the wolf-like eyes around her. She took a deep breath and called out:
"Ma Shan, come out here!"
Ma Shan: "??"
He sat up blankly, rubbing his dizzy head. He walked out of the darkness, his tall, imposing figure exuding an air of intimidation, his face full of hostility: "Who are you?"
Strange. He sized up Ye Xiren. Although her face was obscured by a hood, he should never have recognized such a refined young lady.
"That's not important." Ye Xiren held up the lantern and smiled slightly. "What's important is that you do me a favor, and I'll give you twenty taels of silver."
"What is it?" Ma Shan's unfriendly expression vanished, and he immediately agreed.
Ye Xiren took a deep breath and gritted her teeth:
"Break his right hand. If he still wants to go to the exam hall, break his legs too. As long as it can be treated, don't be too harsh!"
She suffered because she was too soft-hearted last time; one really shouldn't be too "kind."
Ma Shan: "..."
A note from the author:
----------------------
Ye Changming: Who hit me!
Liao: Who hit my son!
Ye Xiren: ...You really didn't hit me hard enough!
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