Chapter 39 The whole harem is waiting for her to fall out of favor

harem.

Qingliang Palace, Wangyuexuan.

Song Jingsi was sitting at the desk, plucking the strings of the zither.

Her personal maid Han Qiu ran in excitedly, "Master, good news! Great news!"

Song Jingsi glanced at her, then lowered her head and continued to play her piano. "Why are you so happy?"

Han Qiu immediately told her the latest news she had found out, "I heard that Lady Xue's second brother, Xue Wuyang, was arrested and thrown into prison for cheating in the imperial examination! Lady Xue was so anxious that many palace maids and eunuchs saw her running to the emperor to plead for mercy!"

Song Jingsi couldn't help but sneer when he heard this. "Cheating in the palace examination is a capital crime. If the news is true, Xue Youli's career in the harem has come to an end."

Han Qiu also looked very proud, "I also heard that the essay that Xue Wuyang copied for the palace examination was written by our eldest master!"

"What? You said he plagiarized my brother's article?" Song Jingsi paused in his fingertips movement, a trace of doubt in his heart.

She didn't know what level Xue Wuyang was at, but she knew exactly what her elder brother Song Jingqian was capable of.

If he really wanted to cheat, why did Xue Wuyang choose to copy the answer sheet of someone who couldn't read or write?

Han Qiu nodded confidently, "I spent ten taels of silver to find out this news, so it must be true! The teachers in the academy praised our eldest son for his talent. I think Xue Wuyang is in big trouble this time!"

Hearing this, Song Jingsi plucked the strings of the zither with her fingertips again, and a hint of schadenfreude appeared on her red lips.

That's right, although her elder brother likes to make trouble on weekdays, he is a man who knows the seriousness of the matter and would not joke about the palace examination.

Someone like Xue Wuyang, who came from a small family, probably mistakenly believed that her elder brother, as the grandson of the Grand Tutor, must be extremely talented and well-versed in the classics, so she took the risk in the palace examination.

The Xue family has done such a shameful thing that brings disgrace to the family. What can Xue Youli use to compete with her in the future?

She just doesn’t know how the emperor will deal with Xue Youli, so she can only wait and see what happens!

Of course, she was not the only one in the harem who received the news. Most of the concubines had the same mentality as her, and were waiting for Xue Youli to fall out of favor.

Zicheng Palace at this moment.

Murong Che immediately ordered people to bring tables and chairs and prepare pens, ink, paper and inkstone.

In preparation for the palace examination, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet had already prepared more than a dozen alternative test questions.

Now they picked out a question from these test questions and asked Xue Wuyang and Song Jingqian to sit back to back in the middle of the hall to write the answer sheets.

The six cabinet grand masters were divided into two groups, staring at the two of them three to one.

When Xue Wuyang got the test paper, he buried his head and started writing quickly.

Song Jingqian looked at the blank rice paper in front of him and scratched his ears and cheeks anxiously.

What should I do? What should I do?

He can't write at all!

However, when he heard the sound of Xue Wuyang writing the answer sheet behind him, he made up his mind, grabbed the brush dipped in ink, and began to write.

Whatever! Just write down what's in your mind on the rice paper. It's better than handing in a blank paper!

An hour passed quickly, and the process of Xue Wuyang and Song Jingqian writing their answers was seen by the six great scholars.

Even before grading the answer sheets, they were certain that Xue Wuyang was wrongly accused.

Murong Che gave the scholars some time to look at the answers. After they had passed around Xue Wuyang and Song Jingqian's answers, he asked, "What do you have to say about the two answers?"

Qin Daxueshi was the first to answer, "Your Majesty, although Xue Wuyang is young, his articles are brilliant and insightful, which is admirable. As for Song Jingqian's articles, many parts are not well written, and there are many typos, which is really unbearable to read."

"I agree with Master Qin."

"So do I."

When everyone expressed their opinions, Cui Dashi coughed and expressed his different opinion, "Well, Xue Wuyang's article is indeed good, but Song Jingqian's article is not completely useless. Look here, he quoted from the classics, and although he made four mistakes in writing, it is still relevant."

When the others heard that Mr. Cui was trying hard to make amends for Song Jingqian, their expressions became somewhat subtle.

There are only eight words in total, and four of them are written incorrectly. Don't get to the point, just think about your brain.

However, no one pointed out the truth to the Grand Scholar Cui. After all, he was the son-in-law of the Grand Tutor Song, and Song Jingqian was the nephew of the Grand Scholar Cui. With this relationship, he had to say a few words to save his nephew's face.

Murong Che did not express his opinion immediately, but handed Xue Wuyang's article to Song Jingqian, "Since you have accused Xue Wuyang of cheating, I will give you a chance to comment on the article he wrote today."

Song Jingqian has been sweating since he handed in the paper.

He was not stupid. He knew from the look in Murong Che's eyes that if he continued to act like a demon, he would lose the head on his neck.

So, after he finished reading Xue Wuyang's article, he gritted his teeth and commented, "Xue Wuyang's article today was very well written and very clever. It was really amazing."

In fact, he didn't like studying and was a poor student. However, the Song family was a scholarly family with a profound cultural heritage and had high hopes for him.

He was under too much pressure. When he heard someone in the academy mention that Xue Wuyang was expected to become the top scholar this year, he became malicious and set up a trap to frame Xue Wuyang in an attempt to steal his fame.

He recognized every word in Xue Wuyang's article, but when they were put together, the meaning was so profound that he couldn't understand it.

I can only give such a pale and powerless comment.

Murong Che was not going to let him go. "The essay in your palace examination paper has a lofty idea and every word is brilliant. Several great scholars have praised your talent after reading it. So I want to know, what do you think is so wonderful about Xue Wuyang's essay?"

Song Jingqian had no idea what to say in his head, and he couldn't think of any good words to praise this article no matter how hard he tried.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "This... that... the beauty of it is that it is really wonderful."

Grand Scholar Cui could no longer bear to see his nephew being so stupid, and shouted, "Song Jingqian, you still don't want to confess the truth in front of the emperor! Do you still want to deceive the emperor?"

Song Jingqian was frightened from the moment he was watched by several great scholars while he was writing an article.

At this moment, after being yelled at by Master Cui, both of his legs instantly went limp.

He fell to his knees with a thump, "Your Majesty! I admit my mistake! Please forgive me!"

In the past, if cheating was discovered in the imperial examinations, the punishment was severe.

Murong Che glanced at the person kneeling at his feet and said in a deep voice, "Song Jingqian slandered his classmates, wasted his time reading the books of sages, and cheated in the palace examination. His crimes are extremely serious and he shall be sentenced to death."

Song Jingqian originally thought he had won this game for sure, but who would have thought that he would end up being sentenced to death.

Even the candidates who testified for him were implicated and their careers were ruined.

He was so frightened that his heart and liver burst, and he immediately kowtowed and apologized, "Your Majesty, please spare my life... I was just confused for a moment... Please spare my life..."

Grand Scholar Cui immediately knelt down to plead for Song Jingqian, "Your Majesty, Song Jingqian is as stupid as a pig. I think the scheme to frame Xue Wuyang is not something that his pig brain could come up with. If there is someone else behind the plot, wouldn't killing him let the real culprit go unpunished?"

Murong Che said sternly, "The imperial examination is to select talents for the court. It is true that Song Jingqian slandered his classmates. If he is not severely punished, wouldn't it encourage the evil trend of favoritism and fraud?"

Scholar Cui knelt down and kowtowed, speaking earnestly, "Your Majesty, there are many suspicious points in the fraud case. I earnestly request the Dali Temple to assist in investigating this case!"

The test paper just now is enough to prove that Xue Wuyang was wrongly accused.

In order to give an explanation to the candidates and to announce to the world the fairness and justice of the imperial examination, Song Jingqian could not make a light judgment.

However, everyone present saw that Song Jingqian was a fool, and he certainly didn't have the brains to frame Xue Wuyang.

Murong Che glanced at the person kneeling on the ground, his eyes were heavy, and every word he spoke was filled with a chilling sense of oppression, "Song Jingqian, are you involved in the fraud?"