The excruciating pain in his head instantly drained Gao Yang of his strength.
He lay on the ground, struggling to open his eyes to look at the people high above him. His initial enthusiasm instantly turned to ice.
The bloodstains on his head gradually blurred his vision. He stared intently at the person in front of him, trying to use his last bit of strength to say something.
But the Imperial Guards had no intention of letting him go, and they continued to punch and kick him.
He just lay on the ground, unable to tell whether his body was hurting more or his heart was hurting more.
He felt that all these years of persistence was a complete joke.
No matter how hard he tried, it seemed that in the end it was all for nothing.
In his dazed state, he seemed to see his mother.
His mother simply gazed at him tenderly, just as she had looked at him every time he failed the imperial examinations.
"Yang'er, it's alright. Whatever decision you make, your mother will support you. Whether you become an official or not, you will always be your mother's proudest son."
Yes, in Mother's heart, he probably wasn't that useless.
Gao Yang smiled at the direction his mother was, and then instantly fainted.
Once the Imperial Guards determined that he was too exhausted to cause any more trouble, they did not pursue him further.
Chen Fangcai glanced at the students looking out of the examination hall and coldly shouted, "What are you all looking at? Do you still want to take the imperial examination?"
This man cheated first, and now he's trying to spout nonsense and confuse everyone. Take him away!
After saying that, the imperial guards dragged the people off the ground and walked out of the examination hall.
Chen Fangcai quickly followed, while the other invigilators swiftly entered the examination room to reassure everyone.
Fortunately, those people had all gone to their own cells and hadn't heard what was being said outside.
Upon learning that it was just someone trying to cheat, everyone went back to their cells to wait for the ink scrolls to be distributed.
Looking at the bright red bloodstains on the ground, Yang Qiguang felt a little scared. He had intended to enter the examination room, but instead chased after Chen Fang in the direction he had just left.
"My lord, my lord, he... he'll be alright, won't he? Where are you taking him?"
Although he was jealous that Gao Yang was able to get along with the princess, he felt a mix of emotions when he saw his friend lying on the ground like that.
In the past, whenever he was beaten by the Liu family, Gao Yang always protected him, but now...
Chen Fangcai gave him a cold look and warned in a low voice, "If you don't want things to be exposed, hurry up and go back to take the exam. This is not something you should get involved in. Just finish your own business."
Or rather, do you want to die with him?
The student clearly recognized the person in front of him. Keeping the person alive would give so many people in the Ministry of Rites a handle to use against him; that person had to die.
Yang Qiguang was startled and stood there speechless for a long time, but he couldn't help but recall Gao Yang's blood-red eyes, which seemed to be filled with hot tears.
The hopeful light in those eyes seemed to have dimmed, losing the brilliance it once held when they talked about wanting to be on the list together.
It was gray and gloomy, just like the dark and dull sky today.
Jiang Yimian was stopped by the attendants behind her before she even got close to the examination hall.
"Princess, unauthorized persons are not allowed to enter the examination hall. We hope you will understand."
Jiang Yimian glanced at him but didn't say anything. Her gaze, however, fell on the Imperial Guards at the entrance of the examination hall.
Just as I was thinking about how to get out of there, I saw several imperial guards dragging someone out of the examination hall, and there seemed to be a lot of blood on the ground.
Jiang Yimian frowned, glanced at the student being dragged away, and suddenly realized that it seemed to be Gao Yang.
She immediately disregarded the servants around her and hurried over, "Wait, what's wrong with him? Where are you taking him?"
The imperial guards were stunned for a moment, then bowed to Jiang Yimian when they saw it was her.
One of the tall men replied, "Reporting to the princess, this person intended to cheat and disrupt the examination order. Lord Chen said that he should be expelled from the examination hall and temporarily detained until the first exam is over before being sent to prison."
Jiang Yimian stared at the blood-covered man on the ground, somewhat disbelieving.
She knew Gao Yang fairly well.
Although we've only met a few times, he's definitely not the kind of person who would cheat on a scientific exam, let alone disrupt the exam order, unless something happens inside the exam room.
Thinking it over, she said, "Just now, someone searched every student outside the examination hall. Logically, no one should have brought cheat sheets into the hall. How did he cheat? The exam hasn't even started yet, has it?"
Since the exam hasn't even started yet, how can you talk about cheating?
Even a normal person who wants to cheat should at least wait until the exam starts and see the exam paper before taking any action.
She didn't believe that someone who had evaded the Imperial Guard's search would expose themselves before the exam even began.
The imperial guards were all speechless, exchanging glances for a long time without saying a word.
Jiang Yimian narrowed her eyes, squatted down to look at the biggest wound on Gao Yang's head, and took the opportunity to feed him a hemostatic medicine before standing up and saying indifferently, "Since you can't tell how he cheated, why did you take action?"
When did the Imperial Guard become allowed to arbitrarily attack ordinary civilians?
Chen Changli and his servants had just arrived when they heard this.
Chen Changli was startled by the person on the ground, and his legs went weak for some reason when he saw the person's face covered in blood.
The attendants then looked at Jiang Yimian and said, "Princess, this matter concerns the Imperial Examination Hall and should not concern you. Lord Zhao has said that you are not allowed to enter the Imperial Examination Hall, so please do not break the rules."
Jiang Yimian only sneered and said indifferently, "Who said this is an internal matter of the examination hall? As a princess, I am fortunate enough to come and deliver the examination papers. Naturally, I should take care of these unfair matters."
As for not being allowed to enter the examination hall, I certainly didn't enter the examination hall.
Since these people can attack students without permission, if she lets them take Gao Yang away, it's hard to say whether Gao Yang will even survive to leave the examination hall.
The attendant frowned, glanced at the imperial guards, and gestured for them to leave immediately.
Just as the group was about to pull the man up from the ground, they heard Jiang Yimian say, "Unless he explains his cheating, you're not taking him away."
It is far too harsh to accuse someone of cheating without any evidence.
These students have all studied diligently for years, and now they're losing their lives because of a crime without any evidence. It's truly laughable.
Seeing this, Chen Changli quickly said, "Don't move! The Imperial Examination Hall is not a place for you to slander people at will. If we don't explain clearly how this student cheated today, how can we convince the people that the imperial examination is the fairest thing to do in the future?"
Upon hearing this, the imperial guards dared not make any rash moves, and one of them hurriedly entered the examination hall.
Just as Chen was about to send Yang Qiguang away, a person rushed in from outside, his face full of panic, "My lord, my lord, something bad has happened, something bad has happened! The scholar has been kidnapped by the princess."
The princess forbade her subordinates from taking the person away, and now they're causing a scene at the entrance of the examination hall.
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