Chapter 15: The imperial examination is unfair, and the disheartened ministers want to sue the Fourth Prince...
In the hall, everyone had their own thoughts. Some people frequently looked outside the cliff, while others looked eagerly at the stone steps.
"We are not in court today, so ministers don't have to be so reserved." The emperor entered from the side door at the back of the hall and walked in front of Qin Yuqing, while eunuch Zhang walked behind Qin Yuqing and took Chuntao's place.
"Your Majesty, your son greets you. Long live your Majesty." Qin Yuqing bowed to the emperor with both hands. "Your son was assassinated a few days ago. I am injured and it is inconvenient for me to pay my respects. I hope your Majesty will forgive me."
The emperor frowned slightly, and a flash of heartache and regret seemed to cross his eyes for a moment, but it quickly dissipated, leaving only a tentative question: "Qing'er, tell me, who arranged this assassination?"
Hearing the emperor's question, Qin Yuqing thought quickly. If she answered truthfully, she might lose her life, so she had no choice but to do this.
Qin Yuqing's eyes turned red, tears welled up in them, and he said with grievance in his voice: "Son, I don't know."
The emperor seemed to have heard an interesting answer. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the scenery beyond the cliff and said, "If you know, you know. If you don't know, you don't know. What does it mean to not know?"
"Father, please calm down." Qin Yuqing's eyes passed from Lu Jingchuan to Qin Youqian in turn, and finally landed on Qin Junyi. He said, "Your Majesty, I know who assassinated him."
"Oh?" The emperor didn't turn around. He placed his hands on the guardrail and said, "You can say whatever you want. I'm here."
"It was the Park family." Qin Yuqing's voice trembled, with a hint of fear after surviving a disaster, "That person told me that someone was offering a large sum of money to buy my head."
"The Park family?" The emperor waved his hand. Eunuch Zhang pushed Qin Yuqing to his side. "I remember that the matter concerning the Park family was handled by the crown prince."
"Father, please forgive me! It was my negligence that put my sixth sister in danger." Qin Youqian knelt down upon seeing this, his tone hesitant, "But the Park family, this is impossible."
Then Qin Youqian seemed to remember something and said, "If the assassin is really a member of the Park family, then it can only be Park Qinghe. He disappeared in the mountains, and I have sent people to search for him for so many years, but I have not found any trace of him."
"Your Majesty, I have a bold guess." Qin Junyi glanced at Qin Youqian, who was kneeling on the ground, and said, "I remember that the Crown Prince and Park Qinghe had a close relationship. I also remember that the Crown Prince, Park Qinghe, and General Xiao Lu once became sworn brothers."
"What do you mean, second brother?" Qin Youqian asked angrily.
"I have no other intentions, but this matter concerns the assassination of Sixth Sister. I cannot show the slightest sympathy." Qin Junyi knelt down and pursed his lips. "Your Majesty, I volunteer to investigate this matter and give Sixth Sister an explanation."
"It's rare that you have this intention. Well, I'll leave it to you. I want to know where these dead members of the Park family came from." The emperor made the final decision.
"Sixth sister, thank you second brother first." Qin Yuqing lowered her eyes slightly, and her eyelashes just covered the emotions in her eyes.
She had to investigate, of course she had to. She was worried that no one would dare to investigate the matter.
"We're all family, you're welcome."
At this moment, Eunuch Zhang suddenly exclaimed, then pointed to the bottom of the cliff and said, "Your Majesty, there seems to be writing over there."
Qin Yuqing looked up and saw yellow flowers all over the sky below the cliff. Above these yellow flowers was a particularly large piece of white cloth with something written on it in red.
"Lu Jingchuan." The emperor frowned, his voice unable to tell whether he was happy or angry, and said, "Go and take a look."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Qin Yuqing saw Lu Jingchuan holding the railing with one hand and flipping out directly. Without taking any safety measures, he fell vertically from the cliff!
Qin Yuqing opened her eyes wide again. She knew that people in this world could practice martial arts, but no one told her that the level of martial arts practice was such that they could fly?
Come to think of it, before in the National Master's Tower, those secret guards also flew in from the window holding wine jars, and then flew out with empty jars.
If she starts practicing martial arts now, is it too late? Qin Yuqing pondered to herself.
Soon, the white cloth underneath was collected. Lu Jingchuan seemed to be holding someone hostage. He walked up the stone steps on the side and then walked behind the emperor.
"The man has been caught."
Qin Yuqing looked at the person in front of him. He was thin, with a pale complexion that looked sickly, and he looked like a scholar. He was probably a weak scholar, but she didn't expect him to be so brave.
"General Lu's martial arts have improved a bit." The emperor looked at the flower fields below with some regret, saying, "What a sight to behold."
"I beg Your Majesty to forgive me." Lu Jingchuan knelt on the ground. "I failed to protect the Sixth Princess and caused her to be injured. It is my fault."
"I'm not a tyrant." The emperor turned around, glanced at Eunuch Zhang, walked towards Lu Jingchuan, helped Lu Jingchuan up and said, "I know you've done your best. The imperial physician just reported that you've suffered some serious internal injuries. Are you seriously ill?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am now fine."
Eunuch Zhang pushed Qin Yuqing behind His Majesty. Qin Yuqing felt like the emperor's little tail today. She followed His Majesty wherever he went.
Qin Yuqing grasped the key point of the emperor's words. Lu Jingchuan suffered internal injuries? When did this happen? Could it be the third assassination attempt? Did she lure away the Park family and other assassins?
"That's good." The emperor sat on the chair in the middle, took a sip of tea and said, "General Lu, this man looks familiar to me. I want to ask him about it. I can't let him be upset for no reason."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Lu Jingchuan's handsome face always had a cold look. He pinched one side of the white cloth and used his wrist to spread it out.
"Your Majesty, the words on the white cloth are written in human blood."
Qin Yuqing looked at the white cloth covering the floor with great interest. On it were written eight large blood-red characters: "The imperial examination is unfair, and the world is disheartened."
This plot did not appear in the original text, so it seems to be a completely new plot.
"What does this mean?" The emperor's eyes were deep, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. "The imperial examination is unfair, and the people are disheartened. What a good word."
"Bah!" Unexpectedly, this white cloth brother acted radically and spat at the emperor. "Don't be so hypocritical here, it's really disgusting."
Seeing the guards approaching and trying to drag the white cloth brothers away, the emperor waved his hand and said, "Lu Jingchuan, check."
Qin Yuqing looked at the scene in front of her, and she had an inexplicable feeling that this matter would eventually involve her.
She observed Lu Jingchuan's expression. From the beginning until now, this man always had a cold face and still looked cold and distant.
He is too calm.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Lu Jingchuan pulled out a pair of leather bags from his pocket, placed them on the ground, and asked, "Chen Yijun, the newly crowned top scholar from three years ago, is that correct?"
Qin Yuqing was a little surprised. This person was the top scorer in the imperial examination three years ago mentioned in the letter. His essay "Qingshan Lun" was sharp in words and pointed out the current problems of the court, which won the favor of His Majesty.
"Newly crowned number one scholar? Do I deserve it?" Chen Yijun's eyes were clearly smiling, but tears were sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto his patched sleeves. "Newly crowned number one scholar, what an ironic title."
"After joint investigation by the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Shangshu, Chen Yijun's Qingshan Lun was found to be plagiarized and cheated, so his imperial examination qualification was revoked and he will never be allowed to participate in the imperial examination again." Lu Jingchuan said to himself.
"Plagiarism, cheating." Chen Yijun laughed louder and louder, and said self-deprecatingly, "You think so highly of me. How could a young boy with no family background plagiarize!"
Qin Yuqing frowned. She had also met people like Chen Yijun in the modern workplace, and she felt a similar aura from Chen Yijun.
Some senior leaders are good-for-nothings who only use up the creative ideas of junior employees, while there are always some brave newcomers who find her to accuse and prove themselves, just like Chen Yijun's expression today.
Regardless of the unknown truth in the letter or Chen Yijun's expression at this moment, she felt that cheating in the imperial examination was not a simple matter.
"Are you still holding a grudge against what happened back then? Could it be that you still want to redress your wrongdoing here?" Lu Jingchuan still had a cold face, and his voice was flat, with no emotion in his voice.
"I, Chen Yijun, want to sue the Fourth Prince Qin Yunchen for suspected cheating in the imperial examination!" Chen Yijun spoke loudly, his voice filled with tears.
Qin Yuqing was slightly stunned. Qin Yunchen was a character who didn't occupy much space in the original book. He was the fourth prince born to the unpopular Song Cairen and had been bullied since childhood.
After being conferred the title of prince upon adulthood, he moved out of the palace and never asked about the affairs of the court. He liked traveling and was a leisurely prince.
"Me?" Qin Yunchen, fanning himself with a folding fan, walked out in a light blue outfit, holding a pot of wine, questioningly, "Do I know you?"
"It's him!" Chen Yijun pointed at Qin Yunchen excitedly, "It's you! You cheated in the imperial examination! I won't let you go even if I die!"
"Your Majesty, I did serve as the supervisor of the imperial examination three years ago, but I was only in charge of all internal affairs of the examination room and had no access to the examinees' papers." Qin Yunchen looked puzzled, but still explained patiently.
"As I recall, all the papers were recorded by the co-examiners with the names covered. Then, the co-examiners behind the curtain conducted a preliminary screening. Finally, the chief examiner decided whether to admit the students and the ranking of the students."
"How can it be the turn of a minister like me to make decisions on matters outside the examination hall?"
Qin Yuqing glanced at Qin Yunchen sideways. His expression did not seem fake. Unlike the "gentle and elegant" second prince, he gave people an approachable and friendly feeling.
"Chen Yijun, you are from the Pu family of Ling County." After seeing Qin Yunchen finish speaking, Lu Jingchuan opened the briefcase, took out four booklets, opened the top one, and continued, "On the day when the entire family of the master of the capital was executed, you also went to the capital, but secretly left the city in the middle of the night and went to the mountains. Explain."
Chen Yijun's face was momentarily panicked, but he quickly calmed down and explained, "I'm not of the Lingjun Park family's bloodline. I was adopted by the Beijing Park family from a child, but because I was born weak, I was sent to Lingjun to be raised. Since I grew up in Lingjun, it was written that I was a member of the Lingjun Park family."
"Even so, how do you explain the surname?" Lu Jingchuan nodded, put down a booklet, took out another one and continued to ask.
"I'm just an adopted son, and I haven't yet been included in the Park family tree, so I'm not eligible and can't change my surname to Park." Chen Yijun paused and continued, "When I first came to the city, I wanted to convince the head of the family to let me change my surname and be included in the family tree."
"After investigation, you happened to appear in Wenshan a few days ago and explained why you wanted to assassinate the Sixth Princess." Lu Jingchuan pulled out the last two booklets, handed one to Eunuch Zhang, who handed it to the Emperor, and threw the other in front of Chen Yijun.
Qin Yuqing frowned calmly. If she hadn't understood what Lu Jingchuan wanted to do just now, she had already guessed it now.
Lu Jingchuan is a man who values ​​friendship but is also cruel. In order to protect Park Qinghe, he does not hesitate to drag someone down with him.
But this is also good, at least such people will not easily betray their partners.
But I still feel a little unhappy. We are obviously partners, but the plans changed without informing me.
This will only make her re-evaluate whether this cooperation is stable.
Should I continue?
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