Seeing Lu Cijian's furrowed brows, the others simply nodded and said nothing more.
After all, these acts of embezzlement and bribery are just their own ideas. If others find out about these things without evidence, they might be convicted of some crime. It's better to be cautious.
Liu'er hesitated and said, "Miss, are you sure you still want to go to the examination hall to deliver the examination papers? If we get involved in something, it might cause trouble."
The examination hall would be cut off from the outside world from the day of the autumn examination, so no one would know what really happened inside.
Yunniang was taken aback and asked in surprise, "Yimian, are you going to the examination hall? Or...?"
Well, it should be fine. Those things are just speculation among the people, and they may not be true.
You don't need to worry so much; just treat it as a casual visit to the examination hall.
She somewhat regretted saying too much in her haste. These speculations were originally just rumors circulating among the common people, and it was indeed inappropriate for her to bring them up in front of Lu Cijian and Jiang Yimian.
If it gets two people involved, it will only cause more trouble.
Especially now, with the two having recently been betrothed by His Majesty and being the talk of the town, their popularity is at its peak. Getting involved in this kind of affair is definitely not a good thing.
Jiang Yimian frowned but didn't say anything.
The imperial examinations were generally handled entirely by the Ministry of Rites, and the Censorate officials were merely going through the motions and were not even allowed to enter the examination hall.
If Lu Cijian wanted to investigate the affairs of the Imperial Examination Hall, it would be virtually impossible.
In the past, she would never have gotten involved in such a matter, but since it was related to the Ministry of Rites, who knows what role Xue Xingzhao might be playing in it.
This person appears to be loyal to the Great Jin Dynasty, but many of his actions cannot withstand scrutiny.
If they can crush their opponent during this autumn examination, it will be a good thing for them.
An unidentified enemy is even more terrifying.
They could also take this opportunity to see which faction the Marquis of Anding was aligned with.
Thinking it over, she looked at Lu Cijian and said seriously, "If there is anything unusual, I will find a way to send you a message."
Lu Cijian frowned but remained silent.
Although I know this is the best course of action right now, I still feel a little uneasy.
Xue Xingzhao was a smiling tiger; he appeared weak and incompetent, but in reality, he was quite cunning.
If Xie Jingxuan hadn't failed to find fault with the other party, he wouldn't have allowed them to remain in the Ministry of Rites and handle such important matters.
It's still unclear who the other party is; it's truly an unknown quantity.
If Mianmian didn't discover anything unusual at the examination hall, all would be well. But if she did, this person would definitely not let her go.
They might just deal with the person right there in the examination hall.
That way, three days later, you can just make up any excuse, and no one will know the truth.
After a long silence, he simply led Jiang Yimian to the study on the second floor of Baoxiangfang.
Once inside the house, he stared intently at the person in front of him and said, "Don't go. I'll arrange for someone else to go."
Although he couldn't bribe the people in the Ministry of Rites, he could bribe the imperial guards and cooks in the examination hall.
During the autumn imperial examinations, the food for the candidates was prepared by the examination hall, which gave him the opportunity to plant a few people inside.
Jiang Yimian just smiled and said, "You don't trust me that much? I should be more useful than others, right?"
Moreover, she was invited into the examination hall by Chen Changli. Although she was in the open and easily targeted, she was also someone who was easily overlooked.
It would be best if she were the one to investigate the matter of the Imperial Examination Hall.
Compared to this matter, whether Lu Cijian could get the gates of the examination hall opened on the day of the imperial examination was a more important thing.
Seeing that she was serious, Lu Cijian had no choice but to agree in the end.
He really should think carefully about how to get the people in the Ministry of Rites to open the gates of the examination hall on the day of the imperial examination.
If he cannot open the gates of the examination hall, the danger will only increase, and all his efforts will be in vain.
Seeing that he agreed, Jiang Yimian breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced out the window and saw a series of expensive carriages passing by on the street.
She simply raised an eyebrow and said, "Yan Yue Pavilion's business is indeed a bit too good; even my Beijing Times can't affect it at all."
Lu Cijian followed her gaze and saw only the carriage disappear around the corner.
At this moment, on the first basement floor of Yan Yue Pavilion.
In the dim candlelight, a middle-aged man sat at a table. The flickering light illuminated his face, making the few wrinkles on his face more obvious and giving him a somewhat eerie appearance.
Qiu Niang stopped a meter away from the table, lowered her head, and respectfully handed over the booklet in her hand.
The person standing in the shadows quickly stepped forward, took the booklet, and handed it to the man.
Seeing the man open the booklet, Qiu Niang said somewhat nervously, "My lord, these are the things that people have sent recently. I wonder if you are satisfied with them?"
After saying that, she carefully lowered her head and didn't dare to say another word.
Every time she saw this man, she couldn't help but feel intimidated.
The rumors outside say he is approachable, which is clearly nonsense and the rumors are not credible.
The middle-aged man glanced at the amount of silver recorded at the bottom of the booklet and scoffed, "Since when can three thousand taels buy a spot on the list?"
Qiu Niang was startled and quickly said, "I'll talk to that lady again."
The middle-aged man simply tossed the booklet back to the other party before coldly saying, "At least five thousand taels."
Qiu Niang hurriedly responded, taking the booklet in a flurry of activity. After hesitating for a while, she finally spoke, "Sir, Bao Xiang Fang has been making quite a splash in the capital lately. Are you aware of this?"
When this official assigned her to these tasks, he promised to make Baoxiangfang disappear from the capital. But now, so much time has passed, and Baoxiangfang has not only not disappeared from the capital, but its business is getting better and better.
Now it seems to be gaining the upper hand over Yan Yue Pavilion. If those people didn't have something to ask of you, Yan Yue Pavilion's business would probably be even worse.
Once the autumn examinations are over, Yan Yuege will probably reveal her true colors.
The middle-aged man glanced at her and said authoritatively, "Don't worry, Baoxiangfang won't last long. Go down."
Hearing this, Qiu Niang was immediately much happier and quickly left the basement with the booklet in her hand.
It wasn't until she saw the sunlight outside that she felt much of the chill dissipate, leaving only happiness.
Baoxiangfang will eventually be finished, and only Yanyuege will remain in the capital.
Forget about lipsticks and newspapers, they're all underhanded tricks, none of them can compare to the fragrant pills she makes.
After the man left, the middle-aged man took a sip of tea from the table, frowned, and asked the person beside him, "Has the Censorate made any moves lately?"
The servant said, "Don't worry, sir. The Censorate hasn't taken any action. His Majesty said that you are in full charge of the autumn examination, so even if the Censorate wanted to interfere, they wouldn't have the chance."
"Yes, there's one difference compared to previous years."
Xue Xingzhao frowned and said, "What?"
The servant hesitated for a moment before saying, "I heard that the people who delivered the examination papers to the examination hall this time were Lord Chen from the Bureau of Classics and that Princess Ning'an."
In previous years, officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Bureau of Classics would come to the examination hall together to deliver the examination papers.
After all, she has a close relationship with Lu Cijian, I'm afraid..."
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