Chapter 40 Is the male protagonist the mastermind behind this?
Since it was a matter of life and death, Song Jingqian naturally hoped to find a scapegoat to take the blame for himself.
But after thinking about it, he couldn't think of anyone suspicious. It was indeed he who framed him.
He was afraid that saying a random name would add to his crime, so he could only kowtow and beg for mercy, "I, the student, don't know... Wuwuwu... Please, Your Majesty, have mercy..."
Murong Che did not expect to get any useful information from him. "Pass on my decree. Song Jingqian cheated in the imperial examination and is exiled to the northern border. He is not allowed to enter the capital for the rest of his life! In addition, let the Ministry of Justice take over this case and make sure to find the accomplice!"
The northern border is bitterly cold. What's the difference between spending a lifetime in that barren land and killing him?
However, no matter how Song Jingqian cried and shouted, Murong Che didn't even give him an extra glance.
Scholar Cui secretly breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Song Jingqian being dragged away.
At least I'm still alive, and that's good enough.
The victim, Xue Wuyang, was released on the spot.
When he walked out of the Zicheng Hall, Wang Defa did not send him out of the palace directly, but led him to a side hall.
In the side hall, Xue Youli was waiting for news.
Seeing Xue Wuyang, she turned to Wang Defa and said, "Eunuch Wang, can we talk alone for a few minutes?"
"Of course." Wang Defa immediately dismissed the palace maids and eunuchs beside him and left the side hall.
"Second brother, Song Jingqian is a fool. With his intelligence, he definitely can't think of setting you up. I guess he might be being used as a pawn."
Xue Youli's Book of Secrets has a daily usage limit. She only found out Song Jingqian's crime process and has not had time to dig into the details.
However, she guessed that there must be someone behind Song Jingqian.
After all, Xue Wuyang was a popular candidate for the top three in this palace examination.
Once the crime of fraud is proven, not only will Xue Wuyang be doomed to death, but Murong Che will also be angry with Xue Youli in the harem.
This move kills two birds with one stone. Not only can it cut off Xue Youli's future support to the previous dynasty, it can also make Xue Youli lose the emperor's favor. It's really vicious!
Xue Wuyang is not a stupid person, he just lacks practical experience.
At this time, he also thought clearly about the interests involved, "The emperor also suspected that someone had instructed Song Jingqian to set up the trap, and has asked the Ministry of Justice to continue investigating the case."
Xue Youli's eyes darkened slightly, and he said thoughtfully, "They even dared to use the grandson of Master Song. Their power should not be underestimated. I have a suspect here."
After the news that Song Jingqian falsely accused Xue Wuyang of cheating in the palace examination spread.
The seventy-year-old Song Taifu brought a letter of apology to the palace to meet the emperor that day.
He did not ask the emperor to pardon Song Jingqian, but expressed gratitude with tears in his eyes that the emperor had already shown great favor by sparing his grandson's life.
After Song Taifu knelt on the ground, he took off his official hat and said, "Your Majesty, I am guilty! My unfilial grandson made a big mistake, but as a Taifu, I failed to fulfill my duty of supervision, which led to my grandson almost causing a big disaster. I know that the imperial examination is a major part of the country's talent selection. I feel extremely guilty for my grandson's big mistake. I am willing to accept the punishment and uphold the law!"
When Song Taifu met the emperor, he did not plead for his grandson, but instead asked the emperor to punish him.
Since he knew his limits, Murong Che would not be angry with him or the Song family. "Grandmaster, you are too kind. I know you have been loyal and dedicated to the court all your life. Song Jingqian's fraud was his own fault, and I have dealt with him according to the law. I hope you will strictly control your family members in the future and set a good example for all officials."
On the second day after the Dali Temple took over the case, Zhang, a scholar who had a good relationship with Song Jingqian, left a suicide note and hanged himself in his room.
In his suicide note, he confessed that he was jealous of Xue Wuyang's talent, so he induced Song Jingqian to set up a trap to frame Xue Wuyang.
Now that Zhang is dead, his suicide note only revealed the causes and consequences of the fraud, and nothing more can be found out.
Therefore, the case was closed with Zhang and Song Jingqian conspiring together, and Song Jingqian was exiled to the northern border thousands of miles away.
In addition, Murong Che also ordered that all the candidates who had previously written guarantees to Song Jingqian and slandered Xue Wuyang be removed from the palace examination. These candidates had bad character and slandered their classmates, so they were not allowed to enter the officialdom in this life.
Therefore, except for Zhang and Song Jingqian who had already been hanged, the scores of these candidates in this palace examination will not be counted.
In order to strive for fairness and justice, the emperor personally wrote a "Letter to the Examiners", deciding to hold the palace examination again three days later. After eliminating the candidates with bad intentions and bad conduct, the others would be admitted based on their scores in the two palace examinations.
As soon as the news came out, the candidates were overjoyed.
Wanze Academy was the first academy in the capital. If dozens of candidates were eliminated from the palace examination at once, the chances of others passing the exam would be greatly increased.
The harem, Minghua Palace.
Xue Qingyao's face was gloomy, and he slammed the teacup in his hand onto the table. "Xue Wuyang was actually released without charge?"
In fact, when she received the news that Xue Wuyang was thrown into jail for cheating in the imperial examination, she knew that it was that man's work.
She was waiting for Xue Wuyang's guilt to be confirmed, and by then, Xue Youli would have no chance of turning things around.
However, she didn't expect Murong Che to be so biased that he even let the Song family lose their eldest son in order to overturn Xue Wuyang's case.
However, after this incident, the feud between the Song family and the Xue family was completely settled.
Right now, there are people who hate Xue Youli more than she does, and she is even more uneasy.
She just needed to add a little more fuel to the fire.
Let the fire burn brighter.
Three days later, Murong Che personally presided over the palace examination.
With Song Jingqian's experience as a lesson, the candidates wrote their answers obediently and no one dared to commit suicide again.
After the palace examination was over, the ministers of the inner cabinet marked the test papers and handed them to Murong Che for review. After the final rankings were determined, the imperial edict was posted outside the palace.
Xue Wuyang was ranked third in the first class.
Xue Youli was in the harem and received the news first.
She remembered that in the original novel, after Xue Wuyang passed the imperial examination and became the top scholar, he gradually climbed to a high position and paved the way for Xue Qingyao in the court. In the end, Xue Qingyao became the empress dowager as she wished, but she turned against the Xue family and wiped out the entire Xue family.
And now Xue Wuyang stood on the opposite side of the male and female protagonists of the original book. In order to help him avoid setbacks in his official career, three days ago, Xue Youli left four words for her second brother when she left Zicheng Hall -
To reduce one's shortcomings and make up for one's shortcomings.
Xue Wuyang knew that his sister was pointing at him.
This time in prison, he also deeply realized that he had knowledge but no scheming or tactics.
A newcomer like him could become a sitting duck if he's not careful in official circles.
In order not to bring trouble to his sister, he controlled his scores in the second palace examination and ranked third in the combined score of the two examinations.
The next day, Murong Che awarded the titles of No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 to the top three candidates in the first class, and appointed the No. 1 candidate to the sixth-rank post of compiler in the Hanlin Academy, and the No. 2 and No. 3 candidates to the seventh-rank post of editor in the Hanlin Academy.
harem.
Qingliang Palace, Wangyuexuan.
After reading the letter from home, Song Jingsi clenched his fingers and crumpled the gold-sprinkled letter paper in his hand into a ball!
Today is the day when her elder brother Song Jingqian was exiled to the northern border.
Before, when Murong Che summoned Song Jingqian into the palace, she thought it was to convict Xue Wuyang in front of her elder brother.
Who would have thought that the person who would be convicted in the end would be her elder brother.
Song Jingsi was both angry and scared at that time.
What made her angry was that she was waiting to see Xue Youli make a fool of herself, but she didn't expect that she would become the joke in the end.
She was afraid that Murong Che's punishment of the Song family would implicate her and delay her future in the harem.
Fortunately, her grandfather went to the palace to plead guilty, and Murong Che did not blame other members of the Song family.
In the early morning, when she went to Yu Garden to relax, she overheard the palace maids discussing privately that the emperor had appointed Xue Youli's second brother as the third place in the imperial examination and granted him an official position.
The Song family and the Xue family are enemies. The more Xue Youli thrives in the harem, the more difficult it will be for her.
no!
She couldn't just sit there and wait for death!
Song Jing thought about it, and a cold light flashed in her eyes.