When the Crown Prince's men knocked on the door of Minister Gao's residence, there was no response from inside.
Left with no other option, the guards had to break down the door.
After the door was kicked open, the people in Minister Gao's residence were in complete chaos.
Everyone seemed to know what was about to happen, and they all grabbed their bags and fled in all directions.
The lead guard shouted, "No one is allowed to leave! Not a single one can leave!"
Where have you ever seen such a scene before?
Seeing a group of guards, he had no choice but to obediently stop running away.
The lead guard asked, "Where is Minister Gao?"
Someone pointed in the direction of the study and said, "I just saw him go to the study."
The lead guard and several others rushed over.
Unexpectedly, upon opening the door, they saw that Minister Gao had already hanged himself.
On the desk lay a letter, which appeared to be his last letter.
Meanwhile, at Qiuqiu's house, several people were pacing around the sword that had been questioned about being a monster that morning.
Chiu Chiu was completely disoriented by them spinning her around.
Please stop sharing this, okay? I've already said it's not a monster, it's not a monster!
Xu Junzhou still touched the Flame God Sword with some reluctance.
Xu Junzhou: "What should we do? How am I supposed to explain this to His Majesty at court tomorrow?"
Just then, a servant rushed over, shouting, "Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"
Xu Junzhou looked at the servant nervously and asked, "What happened? Has someone come to search our house again?"
The servant took a breath, shook his head, and said, "No! Something happened to Minister Gao's family."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Ruyun: "Don't panic like that next time. You scared me to death!"
Qi Junlin: "What happened to Minister Gao's family?"
A servant reported, "I heard that the Crown Prince's men have surrounded their residence. Minister Gao has already hanged himself!"
Wasn't Minister Gao in charge of this imperial examination? His suicide suggests the cheating was discovered.
If the cheating allegations come to light, the true rankings of the eldest and second eldest brothers will also be revealed. They didn't fail the exam; they came in second and third respectively.
[If Xie Ju'an weren't so strong, my eldest brother would be number one or two.]
However, this is not bad if the truth comes out. I no longer want to see my eldest and second brothers looking so worried and sighing every day.
Hearing Qiuqiu's series of complaints, Qi Junlin and his second brother finally felt relieved.
Since the results were announced, the two brothers felt ashamed to fail and became quiet, hiding in their rooms all day.
Even when everyone was eating together, they felt embarrassed and wouldn't show their faces, only having their servants bring the food into their rooms.
Even Chirp Chirp rarely sees them.
Now that Minister Gao is dead, their true achievements will likely come to light soon.
Meanwhile, in the prison, the Crown Prince had already instructed people to give Lord Han the respect he deserved.
The jailer led Lord Han to a clean cell, and then someone brought him a sumptuous meal.
Someone mysteriously poured Lord Han a glass of wine.
Lord Han believed he had already told the Crown Prince what he knew and that he was safe.
Little did he know, he was slowly walking toward death.
After a hearty meal, Lord Han lay exhausted on the bed to rest.
Several hours passed, and the jailer, seeing that Lord Han remained motionless, ran over to check on his condition.
When the jailer placed his finger on Lord Han's nose to check for breath, he found that Lord Han had already stopped breathing.
The jailer shouted, "It's terrible! Lord Han is dead!"
Upon hearing this news, the Crown Prince was so angry that he almost overturned the table.
Crown Prince: "Dead? How could he be dead? What were you thinking? Weren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on him in prison?"
The crown prince reprimanded his subordinates.
The subordinate said aggrievedly, "Your Highness, we've been watching him the whole time. Lord Han showed no unusual behavior after eating, and then he just fell asleep and never woke up again."
The Crown Prince: "Sleep forever? Minister Gao is dead, and Lord Han is dead too. It seems there's an even bigger mastermind behind this case. That person wants to cut off the trail so they can't be traced back to him."
The emperor was furious when he learned of the cheating scandal in the imperial examinations.
The Emperor said, "This is the imperial examination! It's an important test for the court to select talent. Are they doing this to fill the court with their own people?"
Crown Prince: "Father, now that the two key figures in this whole incident, Minister Gao and Minister Han, have died mysteriously, I believe there must be an even bigger mastermind behind it all!"
The Emperor nodded and placed Minister Gao's letter on the table.
The Emperor said, "Minister Gao has taken all the blame upon himself. It seems that the person behind the scenes is very well hidden."
Crown Prince: "Yes, Father. All leads have now gone cold."
The Emperor said, "Investigate this matter secretly. First, clarify the details of this examination, so as not to discourage those who failed."
Crown Prince: "Yes, Father!"
Following the clues, the Crown Prince quickly compiled the true results of the imperial examination.
Some students whose exam papers were replaced also had their scores restored.
In the second announcement of the imperial examination results, Xie Ju'an came in first, Qi Junlin second, and Qi Junxian third.
Other candidates who had previously failed the exam are now also on the list.
Grand Tutor Chen hosted a banquet at the largest restaurant to celebrate the occasion for his two students.
Xu Ruyun and several children attended the banquet.
Xie Ju'an was also invited.
"This cup of wine is a toast to Grand Tutor Chen, to express our gratitude for his patient and earnest guidance!"
Grand Tutor Chen happily raised his wine cup and said, "Good, good! I am very happy that you have achieved such results."
I'll be happy when you and your mother get married! Grand Tutor Chen, you'd better work hard! When will you be able to win your mother's heart?
Feeling embarrassed by what she was being said, Xu Ruyun quickly stuffed a chicken leg into Qiuqiu's mouth.
Chiu Chiu glanced at her mother, puzzled.
[I didn't say anything, so why did Mom stuff a chicken leg in my mouth?]
Xu Ruyun looked at Qiuqiu and smiled gently.
Yeah, it's no use silencing her. She's speaking from the heart, and I can't shut her up.
Xie Ju'an raised his glass and said, "This glass is for everyone! Thank you all for your help and care during this time! If it weren't for you, I would have gone back to my hometown long ago. No! I might have been killed long ago."
Yes, but everything is fine now. With the situation escalating so much and the truth coming out, the people behind it won't be foolish enough to kill Xie Ju'an to silence him.
Xie Ju'an: "The two gentlemen said they wanted me to come to their house to work and make up for the money for my younger sister's jewelry."
But when I got home, you all treated me like family. You never made me do any work and gave me good food and drink.
You're clearly afraid I'll get hurt outside, and also afraid I'll feel embarrassed to eat and stay for free, so you're using the excuse of working to pay off debts to let me eat and stay for free."
[Insightful! As expected of the number one player, you saw through it at a glance.]
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