Chapter 215 Public Trial

In fact, Kang Luan had no injuries, just his clothes were torn and his hair was messed up, and most of them were caused by himself.

People say that the Zhenguo Mansion bullies the weak, so they have to show weakness.

The emperor looked at Kang Luan, who looked like a beggar, and could not help asking, "Who is this?"

Zhao Antai explained, "Your Majesty, this is Kang Luan, a member of this year's exam!"

The emperor was a little displeased to see Kang Luan being so vicious: "How could a member be so vicious?"

"I was seriously injured before, and my life was hanging by a thread. It was rare that Madam Zhao had pity on me and took me in to recuperate in the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. I have no way to repay such a great favor. It was also because of me that the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion caused trouble. I wanted to go out and clarify something, but I didn't expect to be regarded as a target by those people as soon as I went out. I was disrespectful in front of you, and please punish me, Your Majesty." Kang Luan spoke slowly. Although he looked vicious, he had reasons and dared to take responsibility. The emperor had a better impression of him.

He said, "You are a man of courage. In this case, call the top ten candidates tomorrow and have them re-examined in front of everyone. What do you think?"

Zhao Antai looked at the emperor in disbelief. The emperor was a little willful this time. It was shocking to let Xu Mo to judge the case, but he wanted to re-examine the case in public. The case was over. Black will not become white, but who can guarantee that he will get the first place again when it comes to academics?

He secretly worried about Kang Lun and Zhao Liming, but he also knew in his heart that since the emperor had spoken, he could only bite

the bullet and go ahead. Kang Lun and Zhao Liming were both outstanding people. How could they not know the interests of this matter? Both of them agreed.

The emperor arranged all this and comforted Su Xiaoxiao, then he left Yu Linjun behind to help clean up the mess in the Duke of Zhen's mansion, and then he drove back to the palace.

Although Gu Huaiyu was worried about Su Xiaoxiao, he couldn't stay any longer, so he only said a few words of comfort to Xiaoxiao, and left reluctantly.

Only then did Mrs. Xu have the opportunity to pull Zhao Wanyue to ask about her well-being, and asked worriedly: "Wanyue, are you scared?"

Zhao Wanyue patted her mother's hand and said: "Don't worry, mother, I'm fine. It's good this way, so that everyone knows that Xiaoxiao is not the witch they say she is, and not everyone can gossip about her behind her back."

After receiving the imperial edict, Xu Mo was just at a loss whether to laugh or cry. The emperor must have disliked him for a long time. He had given three days for Zhao Hongye's case before.

Now the emperor suddenly wanted to try him, the ruler of a country, without even giving him a day. Was he trying to embarrass him, the Minister of the Supreme Court, or was he just shooting himself in the foot?

Xu Mo put down the music score he had just picked up and sighed: "This position is really not a human being." Then he began to sort out the files.

The rioters accused the following points: First, the Su and Zhao families stole the test questions, allowing Kang Lun and Zhao Liming to get the first and second place respectively. Second, Su Bowen recruited soldiers in order to send heads to Dayin. Third, Su Xiaoxiao was a witch. She deceived the emperor and caused Dashuo to lose two generals, the Minister of War and the Minister of Works.

The first and second ones are easy to handle, as long as evidence is found. The matters of Shen Tianyou and Wang Duozi are also easy to handle. These two cases were handled by themselves, and the evidence is solid. It’s just that Su Xiaoxiao is a witch, which is really hard to clarify.

As soon as Su Xiaoxiao was born, many things happened in Dashuo, such as successfully praying for rain, discovering the Golden Mountain, and destroying the nest of the Nether Gate.

These things cannot be explained, and they are indeed somewhat mysterious. But even so, Xu Mo does not think that Su Xiaoxiao is the witch they are talking about. Whose witch is so lovely and has brought so many benefits to Dashuo? He is more inclined to believe what the emperor said, that Su Xiaoxiao is the lucky star of Dashuo.

No matter what, those fools can't just put the blame on Xiaoxiao because they can't explain it clearly. With his eloquence, Xu Mo will also clear Su Xiaoxiao's name.

On the day of the public trial, there were crowds of people in front of the altar. Civil and military officials and the people of the capital all arrived as scheduled. The emperor and empress walked up the stairs slowly with all their ceremonial guards.

Zhao Wanyue and Su Xiaoxiao also attended according to their ranks. Su Lingxi wore official uniforms and stood with a group of officials, standing out from the crowd.

Although Su Changhe did not hold an official position, his green clothes made him look energetic. They all stood up straight, confident and calm. They did not look like they were going to be judged, but rather like they were going to be conferred titles.

The emperor looked at Xiaoxiao and Zhao Wanyue below with eager eyes and complained, "If I was not afraid that they would say that I was protecting the Su family, I would have carried Xiaoxiao up with me."

The queen had a dignified expression and complained with a smile: "Your Majesty, you are too childish. If something goes wrong, Xiaoxiao will become the target of public criticism. How can you be worthy of the Su family and the ancestors?"

The emperor held the queen's hand and said with a smile: "Don't worry, your majesty, the ancestor told me in a dream that someone would support our Xiaoxiao."

Under the watchful eyes of the public, the queen could not withdraw her hand, so she had to smile and say: "You are the emperor of Dashuo, and you support Xiaoxiao like this. Who else can Xiaoxiao rely on?"

The emperor wanted to explain that the ancestor was talking about the gods in heaven, and the ancestor also asked for the benefit of being able to hear Xiaoxiao's voice on national affairs.

This, he did not intend to tell the queen, for fear that the queen would be jealous.

However, Cheng Xingzuo said that the time had come and they had to complete the kneeling ceremony first. The emperor had to stop talking and knelt down devoutly.

After the ceremony was completed, the emperor nodded to Xu Mo, and Xu Mo announced the start of the public trial.

The first thing was to investigate the cheating case in the imperial examination.

The Minister of Rites Gao Ming was called forward for questioning.

"Master Gao, the people said that you were spying on the emperor and colluded with the Su and Zhao families to replace the test questions, which allowed Kang Lun and Zhao Liming to pass the exam. Are you guilty?"

Gao Ming cried out that he was wronged. He said: The scrolls in the library were indeed stolen, but the questions in them were not for this year's joint examination. The real questions were sent by Lin Feng, the commander of the Yulin Army, and Mr. Cai, the chief priest of the Imperial College, one hour before the exam. All the examiners watched as it was opened. "

Lin Feng and Mr. Cai were noncommittal. Mr. Cai explained, "In the past few years, there have been repeated leaks of test questions. This time, the questions used were set by the emperor himself. The one in the library was just a blank scroll, but the emperor was so smart that he didn't know about it in advance and tried his best to protect the scroll."

All the examiners confirmed this. But the emperor still said, "Since everyone has doubts about the results of the imperial examination, let's invite the top ten candidates of this exam and let Mr. Cai come up with questions on the spot, and we will take another exam."

Mr. Cai was somewhat surprised when he heard that he was asked to come up with questions, but he quickly calmed down and started writing.

After the questions were set, the top ten had to complete the questions within the time of one stick of incense, and all civil servants would vote to see who was the winner.