Chapter 934 A Big Net
Cao Dejiang and the others never expected to learn from Tang Ning that the arrested candidate was actually dead, and that all those who conspired with him outside were mute. Such a strange thing would make even the dumbest person know that there was something wrong with this cheating case.
Liang Guangyi said in a deep voice: "Is he born dumb, or is it artificial?"
Yuejiandao: "It was man-made. Everyone had their tongues pulled out. They can't read. One of the only two who can read is dead, and the other one..."
She paused and her face looked a little strange.
Cao Dejiang frowned: "What happened to the other one?"
Yue Jian pursed her lips and said, "There are some problems with the other one. The two ministers will know it at a glance."
As she spoke, she clapped her hands, and saw someone carrying a person out from behind the screen. The person had messy hair, a thin body, and bloodstains on his clothes.
Cao Dejiang and the other man subconsciously looked over with their pupils dilated, and Liang Guangyi even cried out in surprise.
"He's not..."
Isn’t this the person who was dragged out of the examination room for cheating before?
No.
wrong.
Liang Guangyi just realized something was wrong as soon as the thought came to his mind. Although the man in front of him looked similar to that man, his face was haggard and he was extremely thin. His eyes were full of dull fatigue, and his lips were pale and colorless as if he was extremely ill. Compared with the man who was dragged out before, although the two were of similar height, their body shapes and expressions were completely different.
Liang Guangyi couldn't help but look up: "Empress, this person is..."
Tang Ning: "He said his name is Zhu Xiyan."
Liang Guangyi and Cao Dejiang's eyelids jumped. The captured candidate was called Zhu Xiyan, and the man in front of them was also called Zhu Xiyan. Not only did he look similar to that man, but he was also trapped and injured and forced to help that man cheat. In just a moment, Liang Guangyi and the others figured out the secret.
Both of their faces darkened. This was not a case of cheating in the exam. It was clearly someone impersonating another student in order to gain the top spot in the exam and gain entry into the imperial court!
Tang Ning turned around and said, "Yue Jian, tell the two prime ministers what you have found out."
"Yes, my lady."
Yue Jian had Zhu Xiyan helped to sit aside before she began to speak, "This Mr. Zhu was rescued by Commander Yu when they were leading their men to apprehend those people. Perhaps seeing the situation was not going well, Commander Yu arrived just in time when they were trying to silence him. However, he was also injured, with a sword wound to his throat. Fortunately, he was still able to write, and managed to get the details of what happened."
"His name is Zhu Xiyan, a student at Jiangnan Fengqin Academy. He comes from a wealthy family and is extremely talented. He performed very well in the Lucheng preliminary exam and even saved Mr. Huo's life by chance."
"A month and a half ago, he was rushing to the capital to take the re-examination when he encountered bandits on the road. The two students traveling with him were killed, and most of the servants who accompanied him also died. Only he survived thanks to the desperate protection of two guards. After arriving in the capital, he lived in the Huo family mansion, but he also fell seriously ill due to the shock he suffered."
"The Huo family..."
Cao Dejiang frowned, and suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he looked at Zhu Xiyan and said, "When Mr. Huo went to Lucheng earlier, he accidentally fell into the water. Were you the student who rescued him from the pond?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but the white cloth oozing blood from his throat prevented him from making any sound. He nodded with a pale face.
Cao Dejiang's face became more and more ugly. Many people knew that Mr. Huo fell into the water. He also heard that the situation was dangerous at that time and that a passing student rescued him. However, Mr. Huo caught a cold that day and was ill for more than a month. Later, there were too many things to do in the court, and the Huo family did not seem to intend to mention the matter. He thought that the Huo family wanted to avoid suspicion and avoid gossip, so he did not ask any more questions.
But who could have imagined that this student would be involved in cheating.
Liang Guangyi asked in a deep voice, "During that accident, you were replaced. Was the person who moved into the Huo family impersonating you?"
Zhu Xiyan nodded.
Yue Jian said, "After they captured Zhu Xiyan, they found someone with the same build and appearance as him, and made him imitate his handwriting and recite his writings. They also forced him to write a letter to Elder Huo, claiming he was injured and trapped, and asked the Huo family to send someone to take them to the capital."
"Zhu Xiyan and Mr. Huo had only met once. The scene was chaotic when Mr. Huo fell into the water, and those who had seen him had a vague impression of his appearance. In addition, the few classmates and servants who were familiar with him were already dead. After entering the Huo family, he stayed indoors for more than half a month, claiming to be frightened. When he came out again, even Mr. Huo didn't realize that the imposter was not the one who saved him that day."
"Later, that man used the excuse of recovering from illness to leave the city to pay respects to a friend. He also took his family, who had come to visit him after learning that he had encountered bandits on the road, to the capital under the name of the Huo family and placed them in the Huo family's villa. And that so-called family member was the real Mr. Zhu."
Cao Dejiang and the other man felt gloomy after hearing this.
Tang Ning also pursed her lips and her eyes were cold.
If it was just an ordinary case of favoritism and fraud, it would be fine, but Zhu Xiyan's case is clearly suspicious in every way.
From the time when those people targeted Zhu Xiyan who saved Mr. Huo, to the time when they kidnapped him halfway, impersonated him, sneaked into the Huo family, and committed fraud today, it was clearly like a big net that had been woven for a long time.
What they wanted was not only to send the fake Zhu Xiyan into officialdom, but also to drag the Huo family and Mr. Huo into it.
The counterfeit was brought into the capital by the Huo family, and later lived in the Huo family mansion. Even the real Zhu Xiyan was secretly brought into the capital in the name of the Huo family and trapped in the Huo family villa. Once the truth is revealed, the Huo family will definitely be implicated, and Old Huo will be the first to bear the brunt and will not be able to escape.
Even if they managed to deceive the world and pass this exam, the Huo family would have been dragged into the quagmire by them. The fake Zhu Xiyan's real talent and knowledge could not match that of the real Zhu Xiyan, and he would be exposed in nine out of ten cases during the palace examination.
Not everyone in the Huo family is as loyal as Old Man Huo. In order to protect themselves and avoid being implicated, they have only one way to go, which is to find ways to cover up the imposter. Once the Huo family really does this, it is equivalent to handing the handle to others with their own hands.
From now on, a clean family like the Huo family will find it difficult to escape the control of those people. It will only fall into the abyss step by step and eventually be doomed.
Those people are not interested in the exam, they are clearly targeting the court!
As the leader of a once-prominent family, Liang Guangyi knew all too well what the consequences would be if the Huo family got involved. He asked Zhu Xiyan in a cold voice, "Do you know who those people are?"
Zhu Xiyan shook his head and glanced beside him.
Someone immediately handed him paper, pen and ground ink. He held the pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote on the paper weakly.
"I don't know who they are, but the one who was able to command the bird spoke with a Jiangnan accent. The others who guarded me were all mute slaves. However, I once heard the one who pretended to be me speak in the official language of the Southern Qi Dynasty."
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