The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He glared fiercely at the people from the Ministry of Rites. Just as he was wondering when the signal Lord Lu had mentioned would appear, he saw a large piece of cloth being stuffed out of the crack in the door, which looked like half a garment.
The clothes, which had been washed until they were almost white, were stained with a large patch of bright red blood, which looked rather frightening from a distance.
Zhang Yi was stunned for a moment before realizing what was happening. He immediately signaled to the person next to him to inform Lord Lu, and then walked towards the main gate.
Before he even got close to the gate of the examination hall, several people from the Ministry of Rites reached out to stop him, their faces full of mockery.
"Oh, what does Lord Zhang want to do? His Majesty has said that the Ministry of Rites is in full charge of the imperial examination. You from the Censorate are just here to go through the motions. You should know the rules and not meddle in things you shouldn't."
The man spoke in a sarcastic tone, with an arrogant air about him, clearly looking down on them.
Zhang Yi glared at the man in front of him, shoved him aside, and sneered, "What do you mean I shouldn't interfere? We are all officials under the supervision of the Censorate. I can interfere with whomever I want. Get out of my way."
After saying that, he walked straight to the main gate and shouted inside, "What's wrong? Did something happen inside the examination hall?"
"I'm from the Censorate, you can speak with complete confidence."
Chen Changli had already given up on asking these people outside for help, but upon hearing this, he exclaimed excitedly, "My lord, my lord, help! Someone inside the examination hall is impersonating the Imperial Guard and has attacked Ning'an County!"
Those invigilators who allow students to cheat on the exams are truly despicable. I hope Your Excellency will open the gates of the examination hall as soon as possible.
Otherwise, something really bad could happen to the people inside.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yicai immediately said with dissatisfaction, "Men, open the gates of the examination hall! I want to see who is so blatantly protecting those who cheated on the exam."
As soon as he finished speaking, the people from the Censorate quickly surrounded him, while the people from the Ministry of Rites hurriedly stopped them.
The middle-aged man in the lead sneered, "Who dares to make a move? The Imperial Examination Hall doesn't open before the examination is over. Even if there's cheating inside, the officials from the Ministry of Rites will handle it."
Furthermore, how did someone from the Judicial Bureau get into the examination room? Such a violation is truly suspicious.
Chen Changli, don't talk nonsense and ruin the reputation of our Ministry of Rites.
"Could it be that you and that so-called Princess Ning'an deliberately tried to disrupt the rules of the imperial examination?"
Upon hearing this, the other officials from the Ministry of Rites immediately echoed his sentiments.
"That's right, how could you, a mere messenger, be allowed into the examination hall? You must be talking nonsense. No wonder you insisted on having Princess Ning'an come with you to deliver the exam papers this year; you were trying to slander our Ministry of Rites."
"Well, well, Chen Changli, you actually had such thoughts. After the imperial examination, you'll be kicked out of the Bureau of Justice."
How can someone like you, who so casually slanders officials of the imperial court and spouts nonsense, be entrusted with important duties in the Bureau of Classics?
It might even reveal the questions on the scroll.
Chen Changli was furious and cursed, "You bunch of bastards, you better pray that the gates of the examination hall really won't open, otherwise, I'll definitely beat you up."
These shameless corrupt officials in the Ministry of Rites not only embezzle and accept bribes themselves, but now they dare to turn around and accuse others.
If he weren't stuck here, he would definitely give them a good beating to vent his anger.
The people from the Ministry of Rites were furious at these words, but they still stood firmly in front of Zhang Yicai and said irritably, "Even if everyone in the examination hall dies today, we will not open it."
The Minister said that even if someone dies inside the examination hall, the gates of the examination hall can only be opened after the first round of the imperial examination is over.
If they break the rules today, how will the Ministry of Rites maintain its authority among the people in the future?
Zhang Yicai was extremely anxious. He had heard clearly that villains had infiltrated the examination halls and even tried to attack the prefectural governor. It was truly hateful.
He now only hopes that Lord Lu can quickly find a way to open the gates of the examination hall.
Otherwise, something might happen to the princess.
Those people from the Ministry of Rites are no pushovers.
At this moment, in a secluded, elegant room not far from the examination hall.
A handsome, tall man stood by the window, peering into the examination hall. His thick eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his face was full of irritation, which only added to the coldness around him.
Wang San, who was standing to the side, was also getting anxious. He gulped down a pot of tea before saying, "Young Master, why is there still no news from the examination hall? Has something happened?"
"Or, I could go in and take a look. The princess can't let those people discover her true purpose."
While the people in the Ministry of Rites might not be entirely insane, they were certainly a group of people with little empathy.
If they truly discover that the princess is investigating something, they will certainly not let her off easily.
Xue Xingzhao wouldn't let this opportunity pass. He had been planning to make a move on the princess, and now that she was in the other party's hands, that person would definitely not give up easily.
A flash of coldness crossed Lu Cijian's eyes, but he did not speak.
Wang San could only sit back down for a moment, but he couldn't sit still for long. He kept getting up and pacing back and forth anxiously. After several times, there was finally a knock on the door.
"Lord Lu, something has happened inside the examination hall."
Upon hearing this, Wang San quickly opened the door, brought the person in, and asked anxiously, "What happened?"
Lu Cijian also looked at him.
The man gasped, "I...I don't know. Lord Zhang seems to have discovered something. He needs to...he needs to come and tell Lord Lu right away."
Wang San was furious and said irritably, "At least find out if the princess is in danger inside!"
The area inside and outside the examination hall is now like two different worlds. News can't get out from inside, and people outside can only worry.
If only we had let him in disguise back then, now we can only watch helplessly from the outside.
The man shrank his neck and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Something big must have happened inside. Just now, someone stuffed a large piece of clothing through the crack in the gate of the examination hall. I glanced at it, and there seemed to be bloodstains on it."
"My lord, something must have happened inside. What are we going to do now? The Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Guards will definitely not open the gates of the Examination Hall."
Lu Cijian simply said, "You go down first."
The man responded and quickly left.
Wang San was extremely anxious. "Young Master, what should we do? Has something happened to the Princess? Should we just rush in?"
He didn't care much if he had to fight those imperial guards; the princess's life was the most important thing.
Lu Cijian shook his head, staring intently in the direction of the examination hall, his expression tense as he said, "Wait a little longer."
Now, in the past, those people from the Ministry of Rites would never have opened the gates of the examination hall.
On the contrary, it will bring negative effects to Mianmian.
If he goes now, the people who don't know the truth will only blame everything on Mianmian.
They said that if it weren't for Mianmian, no incident would have happened in the examination hall, and Xue Xingzhao would have seized the initiative in everything.
If nothing unusual is found in the examination hall, Mianmian will suffer too much.
The absence of other signals is good news for him, as it confirms that Song Er and his group are capable of handling the current situation inside the examination hall.
They had to wait, wait for an opportunity to legitimately open the gates of the examination hall.
We cannot let Xue Xingzhao refuse.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
