In the capital city of Shengjing, where land is extremely valuable, East Street is the most bustling street besides Zhuque Avenue. It is not spacious, as it can only accommodate a maximum of four carriages passing side by side.
At that moment, forty or fifty vehicles were parked in both directions, completely blocking East Street.
Most of these carriages carried students on their way to take the imperial examinations.
It's quite a distance from here to the examination hall; if you walk there, you'll definitely be late.
"Young master, it won't work. The road ahead is completely blocked. The carriage won't be able to get through anytime soon."
The students were in a panic, and two of them had already gotten off the carriage and were about to walk over.
However, even if you manage to get there, the passageway is blocked.
So the students grabbed each other and prepared to climb over the top of the carriage.
But there were always those who were too weak to climb up to the top of the high carriage.
Several students' exam baskets were knocked over by the jostling, spilling their pens, ink, paper, and inkstones out with a clatter, leaving no room for them to bend down and pick them up.
The students were so anxious that their faces turned red. Three years of preparation and ten years of hard study—could it all be for naught just because the road was blocked?
Immediately, servants climbed over the roof of the carriage to go to the front and argue that the last carriage should move aside.
When the servants and students got anxious, they inevitably spoke rather harshly.
So the last carriage, whose origins and background were unknown, came with a large group of servants. They were very arrogant and refused to give way. The two sides argued and shouted, which eventually escalated into a fight between the servants of both sides.
As more people were beaten, the nearby vendors were also affected.
The vendors, having suffered losses, were naturally unwilling to give up and joined the fight.
The fight spread to more and more people, affecting shops on both sides. Doors and windows were smashed, goods were scattered all over the place, and the customers and merchants inside were alarmed. Even the women and children in the backyard were affected.
In an instant, the entire East Street was engulfed in chaos.
People and horses were thrown about, and there were cries of women and children, as well as curses and shouts from men.
It's unclear which vendor was carrying chickens, ducks, and geese on a shoulder pole, or who kicked the cage, but it fell over and the chickens, ducks, and geese inside immediately ran out.
"Cluck cluck cluck," "quack quack quack," chickens flew and dogs jumped, and the fur of all kinds of livestock flew everywhere.
The entire East Street was in complete chaos.
Several physically weak students were injured in the fight, and some were even beaten so badly that they were bleeding from their heads and unable to get up.
Those who can afford to ride in a carriage are all wealthy young men, and they all come with servants. Who would be willing to suffer such a loss in silence?
In the end, almost everyone on East Street except for the elderly, women, and children joined the fight; looking across the entire area, there were no fewer than several thousand people.
You punch me, I punch you, blood splatters.
The officials from the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Five City Garrison were maintaining order outside the examination hall. By the time someone reported to the authorities and dozens more were sent, it was too late.
"No fighting! Stop it, all of you!"
"Those involved in the fight shall be punished with caning. Stop!"
Dozens of government officials were nothing in the face of thousands of angry mobs engaged in a brawl. Their voices grew hoarse from shouting, but were quickly silenced.
The fighting crowd completely ignored the government officials.
Moreover, there were injured people, a chaotic scene of chickens and dogs flying everywhere, and the entire East Street was no better off than the fire on Zhuque Street during the Lantern Festival.
When there are many people, stampedes are inevitable.
When the news reached Prince An's residence, Lu Xiaoyun was also shocked. She never expected that Zhu Heng would plan such a despicable thing in order to disrupt Shengjing City.
Feng Yan and the others were extremely anxious. If things continued to develop like this, even more people would die.
At that time, even the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Five City Garrison Command will be unable to suppress it.
If this matter were reported to the Emperor, then the Fifth Prince Zhu Dan would also be implicated.
Lu Yuyan looked at his older sister.
To calm this uproar, we must first get everyone involved in the fight to calm down, but there are no loudspeakers or other megaphones available in this era.
Lu Xiaoyun immediately ordered Feng Yan to take the skilled bodyguards and guards from the Prince An's mansion, each carrying a bucket of cold water, and go up to the high-rise buildings on East Street.
The crowd fighting on East Street had no idea that hundreds of people were carrying buckets of cold water that were flying over their heads.
Meanwhile, Zhu Dan, who was in the examination hall, also received the news.
However, he knew all too well that those so-called students causing trouble on East Street were all fake, and were all people arranged by Zhu Heng to stir up trouble.
This is all thanks to what Guo Shaoning said to them some time ago.
Or rather, among the thousands of people involved in the chaotic battle along the entire East Street, very few were genuine ordinary citizens.
So he immediately ordered his guards to take dozens of strings of firecrackers and fly them up to the treetops.
The guards of Prince An's mansion and Zhu Dan's guards arrived at East Street at almost the same time.
The group, who were in the middle of a heated argument, were suddenly doused with cold water.
Immediately afterwards, a series of crackling explosions rang out.
The fighting crowd wiped the cold water off their faces, then splashed sulfur all over their faces, and immediately stopped fighting.
"His Highness Prince An has decreed that anyone who incites a disturbance shall be punished with twenty strokes of the cane! Those who instigate trouble shall be punished for murder!" Feng Yan's voice was extremely penetrating.
"His Highness the Fifth Prince has decreed that anyone caught fighting will be exiled! The Court of Judicial Review is to handle this matter severely!" Zuo Xiu's voice was equally forceful.
Feng Yan and Zuo Xiu exchanged a glance from a distance.
The crowd seemed to realize the consequences of the brawl and hurriedly threw down the sticks, benches, shovels, and other items they were holding.
As soon as the fighting stopped, officers and soldiers from the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Five Cities Garrison immediately stepped forward, binding and arresting those in need.
Although the fighting stopped, the entire East Street was in a mess. In addition to the shops being smashed and many people dying, the street was left in a state of chaos.
Some of the corpses were even trampled into a pulp.
These matters must be settled eventually, and the businesses that suffered losses cannot simply let it go.
Seeing that the fighting had stopped, Feng Yan, Zuo Xiu, and the others left, knowing it was inconvenient for them to intervene further.
The "students," who had been beaten bloody, seemed to still be thinking about the imperial examination, but their clothes were torn, they were covered in blood, and their examination baskets were nowhere to be found.
The students then burst into tears and rushed towards the examination hall while crying.
But at this point, more than half a day had already passed since the exam started.
They were stopped when they were still dozens of feet away from the examination hall.
During these days of the imperial examinations, the area within several dozen feet of the examination hall is under strict control, and no unauthorized personnel are allowed to approach it.
"The Imperial Examination Hall is a restricted area; do not approach!" The soldiers drew their swords in unison.
"Such a big thing happened on East Street, blocking our way. It has nothing to do with us, so why can't we go in to take the exam?" a student shouted emotionally.
"Yes, it's because your government is incompetent. Such a big thing happened on the day of the imperial examination, and the soldiers went but couldn't stop it. Why should we be deprived of our right to take the exam?"
The students and servants were excited, and dozens of them were about to rush in.
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